Page 33 of Bite

“It’s okay,” she tries to smile. “I wanted this.” She caresses her new bite.

Fuck, she assumes I’m upset because I bonded her while out of my mind. If only my worries were that benign. Instead, I’m nauseous with the overwhelming disgust that I lost control and mated her, and now I have to break her heart. Leave her. Hurt her. Just like my father.

“We can be together now.” Her tentative smile stretches. “Just like we were always meant to be.”

I feel my own heart crack into a thousand pieces when I reply, “No, we can’t.”

Her eyes go wide. “What do you mean? You bonded me.”

“And I’ll never forgive myself for doing so. But we can’t do this. You need to go to Dair and convince him to take you with him regardless of the bond.”

She scrambles off my lap, still covered in her slick and my cum. Tears form in her eyes, making the green all that more vibrant. “Shut up,” she cries, her scent burning with anger. “You just . . . stop talking. You promised me, Ferris. Last night, you said you’d never let me go!

“Listen to me,” I plead, my chest growing heavier with fear and anxiety. I open my mouth to try to convince her to speak with Dair when the knocking starts again, louder this time. Raine and I freeze, staring at each other with heartbreak and regret. I move first, stooping to grab my clothes.

“I have to get the door,” I mumble, rushing to pull on my crumpled pants. Raine is saying something behind me, but her words are drowned out by the ringing in my ears.

[ 20 ]

RAINE

Grand Prairie Compound

Days Since Last Attack: 1

Ferris storms out of my room, leaving me alone in the saturated scent of our mating. Moments pass in stunned silence, and then there’s yelling and boots stomping, and my door cracks open, Clay’s face peeking in.

“Get dressed,” he growls.

After he shuts the door, I move on autopilot, grabbing fresh clothes, pulling each item on one at a time, and then gathering my knotty hair into a messy bun on top of my head. When I exit my room, Clay is standing outside my door with my coat and a scarf that he got from gods know where.

Wordlessly, he helps me into my jacket and winds the scarf around my neck, covering the evidence of my bond. I wince as the roughened wool scrapes against the fresh mate bite, and Clay stiffens, his scent turning frosty.

“Ferris left,” he tells me. “River wanted him as backup for a discussion with the assembly about changes in the terms of the alliance. I could smell what happened here the second he opened the door. I confronted him about it, asked him if he was going to publicly claim you, and he said no.”

My soul crumples as that tiny golden thread stretching between Ferris and me rusts and weakens. The bite on my neck pulses with heat and pain, but I ignore it because it doesn’t hurt nearly as bad as my heart.

“We need to think of a plan, okay? Maybe you can scrub yourself in the shower, I can scent-mark you, and then we’ll tell River that I bonded you.” Clay’s face looks green at the prospect, but he doesn’t take back his offer.

“I need you to get Dair,” I whisper.

“Dair? The Cascade Alpha?” Clay asks, surprise evident on his face.

“Please,” I beg. Clay’s face is full of questions, but he grabs me into a tight hug, tells me to take it easy, and that he’ll be back soon.

I blink slowly and my body feels sluggish, so I shuffle over to the couch. When I sit down, the sweet scent of Dair and me puffs out from the cushions, and I whine in longing. My head starts pounding, and I rest it against the back of the couch, right where Dair had tilted his head back in pleasure. How did such a wonderful night turn into this nightmare?

My heart aches so fiercely that I need to close my eyes for just a second, but when I open them again, I’m burning up. I try to lift my hands to unwind the scarf and remove my jacket, but it’s like trying to push through mud. Sweat soaks my entire body, and I feel sickly and weak. Muscles that should have been only mildly sore from yesterday’s fight and last night’s love feel shredded instead. Dizziness spins the edges of my vision, tunneling until I can’t bear to keep my eyes open any longer.

I close them again, but they don’t reopen.

[ 21 ]

DAIR

Grand Prairie Compound

Days Since Last Attack: 1