Page 21 of Bite

“I can’t even believe this,” I laugh, slightly hysterical. “So you and Clay are shifters? What about your parents?”

“When Clay’s wolf emerged, my parents were forced to admit that Clay and I had been given to them to raise. Unbeknownst to us, this kind of arrangement was very common in the bunker. We don’t know why we were orphaned or why we were given to them, but in the end, it doesn’t matter. They aren’t our biological parents, but they are our mom and dad in every way that actually matters,” she says, eyes flashing with gratitude.

I nod. “Of course they are.” I take a moment to let everything she’s said sink in, then ask, “Wait, can your wolf tell if someone else is a shifter?”

Vale hums, considering my question. “I’m not totally sure. I’ve only ever met two other shifters—Clay, and the wolf that chased us from their territory. I’ve yet to meet the visiting shifters face-to-face, but maybe I’d be able to tell.”

“Oh my gods!” I exclaim, buzzing now that things are starting to make sense. “That’s why Clay is always volunteering to leave the compound! He leaves so he can shift without being seen.”

“Yes, although, as you now know, he’s also looking to avoid a certain someone.”

“Right,” I sigh. “Wait, so you haven’t shifted since you got here?”

“Not until today,” she says, sadly. “I don’t always feel the same pull of my wolf like Clay does. I sometimes wonder if it’s because of the traumatic way that my wolf emerged, you know? But neither me nor my wolf could watch you get turned into Biter bait, so out she came.”

I launch myself at her, hugging her tight against my body. I am so overwhelmed with emotions: I’m relieved that she was there to help, I’m astonished that this is her reality, I’m proud that she made it out of that bunker alive, and I can’t help but be just a little sad that she didn’t tell me sooner. She was even going to let me fake mate her brother without saying a word.

“You can’t tell anyone,” she whispers into my shoulder. “It’s not safe for folks to know, when most people’s first instinct is to control or destroy things they don’t understand. While I know that you’d never do anything to hurt us, we’ve been living in secret for so long that telling people feels dangerous and painful.”

The truth of her fear sobers me a little. Knowing what I do about this new world, I probably wouldn’t have told her either if our situations were reversed. “I swear I’ll never say a word,” I promise.

A deep throat clearing interrupts our moment, and we spring apart, hands flying to holstered weapons. My face warms with embarrassment as I turn to see Dair standing in the doorway, his eyes shadowy as they scan over my body. It feels almost physical, the way his eyes catalog everything about me. “Everyone has been looking for you two,” his low voice rumbles.

“Sorry?” I breathe, my body deflating in something like relief now that he’s here. His presence alone elicits such a warm, bubbly feeling in my chest. Does he feel this too? This unexplainable pull between us?

“We’re fine,” Vale says, face cooling into a stoic expression.

Another deep voice booms from behind Dair, “And the trail of dead Biters outside? I assume you two know something about that?” Tore pops his head over Dair’s shoulder, peering into the room.

“Well—” I start, but Vale squeezes my hand, stopping me.

“No idea what you’re talking about,” she says. Tore’s gaze zeroes in on her, his mismatched eyes almost glowing.

I watch as Dair’s face softens a little, almost with amusement. “I’m sure you don’t,” he says. “Alright, killers, I’ve been told that Doc needs to check you over, and I need to report back to River that I found his missing sister before even more heads start to roll.”

“Right,” I say awkwardly. Holding Vale’s hand, I lead her toward the door, where Dair steps aside to let us through. Tore stays close, watching us intently. As we pass, his nostrils flare and his eyes squint, homing in on Vale. I inconspicuously try to scent her, but my sense of smell is still burned out, so I don’t know what he’s smelling.

“Well, thanks,” I tell Dair, and then to Vale, I whisper, “let’s go.”

As we make our way to the compound center where Doc is running her emergency clinic, I wonder how Dair managed to find us at all.

[ 15 ]

DAIR

Grand Prairie Compound

Days Since Last Attack: 0

My heart nearly fell out of my ass when I overheard River asking the compound doctor if she’d seen Raine, and the doctor confirmed she was unaccounted for. River had seemed like he was nearing his breaking point even before realizing his sister was missing. His wavy hair had been sticking up every which way, like he’d been yanking on the strands. Although he hadn’t been in the heart of the fight, his clothes were covered in black mess from helping move bodies, and his scent was heavy with sadness.

I’d like to say I volunteered to find Raine out of compassion for his obvious stress, but truly, it was entirely selfish. I needed to lay eyes on her immediately. My wolf demanded it, and the last thing I needed was for him to burst from my body to find her himself. This community might tolerate us in human form, but I doubt they’d be happy about my wolf tearing around. Tore must have sensed my unease, because he caught up with me and tagged along as I tracked her down.

Imagine my surprise when I followed her scent and found her cozied up in some strange cabin surrounded by the slaughtered bodies of eight Biters. I don’t think I’ve ever been more turned on in my life, knowing that she handled business, then hunkered down with her friend, still wearing the blood of her enemies like warpaint across her freckled face.

I knew she’d take care of herself, but I was not expecting to scent wolf all over her, or for that scent to be coming from her best friend, the omega named Vale. I’ve known that shifters emerged all over, but I wasn’t expecting to randomly find one in Grand Prairie because we usually congregate into communities of our own. Interestingly, after we found the omegas, Tore cryptically told me he needed to do something and stalked off without another word.

I try to swallow down my wolf’s annoyed growls as I use my heightened sense of smell to track down River. I need to tell him that I found Raine, but I also really need to speak with him alone. We walked past the destroyed wall on our way to find Raine, and without the tide of Biters fighting to squeeze through the gap, I was able to see the point of breach with clarity. My conclusion? There is no fucking way a bunch of brainless Biters managed to demolish the wall without help.