Page 62 of Bite

It’s another exceedingly hot day even though autumn has well and truly arrived. Even during the harshest winter nights, the temperature rarely dips below freezing anymore. Based on what I’ve been told by Josef about old weather patterns, the autumns and winters in this part of the country are now far less cold, with nearly zero snowfall. The springs are far drier than they once were, but full of unpredictable, monstrous storms capable of producing massive flooding, and the summers face the threat of titan tornadoes along with never-ending drought.

I’d rather be traveling across the country in this kind of weather, though, where it’s hot enough to make you sweat during the day, and cool enough to cuddle at night. Even still, sweating this much is depleting our water stores faster than we can afford when we’re headed into the Wastes.

The day drags on, and we’re all exhausted from the horrid night, followed by hormone-driven sex, so we barely even talk. We don’t stop for a midday meal, having gotten started later than we’d like. We hike all the way through, far past our usual stopping time, and it’s near darkness by the time I’m putting our tent up while Dair tries to hunt meat.

He manages to catch a rather plump pheasant, which we roast alongside a few more wapato. We fall asleep nearly the second our heads hit the blankets and don’t wake until dawn. Then we hydrate and start again.

10 Days Until the Full Moon

The landscape drastically changed about three hours ago, shifting from the green I’ve known my whole life to patchy dirt, sand, and increasingly desiccated grasses. There are hardly any trees, and fewer shrubs, and the horizon always looks empty and bare.

“In the next couple of days we’ll officially be in the Wastes,” Dair says. “We should probably leave the roads to try to stock up in one of these little towns. If we’re lucky, we’ll pick one that hasn’t been looted.”

Raine pants, “What are the chances of that?”

“Out here, in the middle of nowhere”—Dair waves his hand around—“not zero.”

In another hour, we see an older dirt road splitting off from the paved one, with a small green sign indicating there’s a town a few miles away. “Here?” I ask.

Dair nods. “Might be our best bet. All the stores off the side of the highway were probably shut down long before the Switch, so there’s no point in trying there.”

It takes another two hours, putting us in the middle of the day, before we finally start to see houses in the hazy, dust-filled air. “Maybe I should go ahead,” Dair muses. “Might be good for me to get a feel for things.”

I don’t like it. In fact, I specifically remember telling him we were all doing shit together from here on out. Yet, it’s the smart thing to do. He looks to me for my opinion, something I’m slowly getting used to, but appreciate more than he’ll ever know. “Alright,” I concede. “Let’s find a place to hide on the outskirts and you can break off from there.”

Luckily for us, the very first thing we come upon is an abandoned school. It’s a tall brick box of a building with broken windows and a boarded-up entrance. Most of the letters spelling out its name across the front have fallen off, making it illegible.

Dair says, “Don’t go inside. It might have been boarded up for a reason.” I think of the store with the Biters and nod my agreement.

“If that’s the case,” Raine snarks, tilting her head toward one of the smashed windows, “Whatever was in there definitely isn’t anymore.”

Dair growls playfully, pulling her into his belly. “Either way, best not to get trapped in a building, yeah?” He leans down and kisses her like he’s leaving for months instead of minutes.

They break apart and her cheeks flame a gorgeous pink. Dair’s eyes pin me in place as he adds, “Be good and maybe I’ll kiss you when I get back.”

The dominant instinct inside of me rises, and now that I know my alpha is a wolf, I can actually feel his animalistic qualities. A small growl tumbles from my mouth, equal parts affronted and intrigued.

Dair just laughs, something rare, but oh so beautiful, and then strips down, handing Raine his clothes. In the blink of an eye, he’s fur and claws, bounding away from us into the small town.

I wonder what that feels like—to simply let the animal out.

“So,” Raine drawls. “We should totally go inside, right?”

“Absolutely not,” I snarl. “Dair is right, we need to stay out in the open where we can easily fight or run.”

“But there might be books,” she says, green eyes bright with mischief.

“Fuck,” I groan. “Fine, but we’re gonna be in and out, okay?”

“Promise,” she says, freckled face breaking into a beaming smile. Fuck me, I think. How does anyone ever tell their omega no?

[ 41 ]

RAINE

Unnamed Town

I’ve been in a lot of abandoned buildings in my life, but this school is by far the worst. Ferris climbed through one of the broken windows, cleared out the glass, then reached down and boosted me inside. The room we ended up in can only be described as a trash dump. It’s like the town started using this building as a makeshift landfill after losing access to public works like waste removal.