Page 84 of Bite

Four. Ferris begs me to run away.

Three. Dair’s wolf slashes the throat of another Biter, growling his distress. I’m not making it out of here and my alphas might not either.

Two. I brace, eyes watering from a mix of crushing devastation and the putrid scent of Biters. I try to calm my racing heart and raise my tear-soaked eyes to look at my alphas one last time.

One.

A howl sounds in the trees, echoing around the clearing. A second howl splits the air, closer. I swing my axe, connecting with a Biter’s outstretched arm and manage to rip off the entire limb. Then, a wolf black as night soars over my head and slams into the approaching Biters, dispatching them swiftly. By Dair and Ferris, a foxy red wolf rips through the bodies, leaving a trail of death in his wake.

Vale and Tore.

My heart thumps wildly with shock, unable to breathe through the overwhelming relief. I nearly fall to my knees, but instead, I focus and block a Biter from slicing through Vale’s flank. Her wolf looks back at me, and I see a healing gash bisecting the left side of her face from her forehead down past her now hazy eye. Before I can say a word, she’s back to destroying the horde. I want to ask her what happened, but now is not the time, so I refocus as we work our way toward the men.

Shockingly, the small horde of Biters is no match for three wolves, Ferris, and an exhausted omega. When the last head rolls, we all stand in a semicircle, panting and watching for more to appear from between the trees. Long minutes go by without another Biter appearance, and we all slowly start to relax. Disbelief washes through me.

Dair takes skin again and runs toward me, holding up my exhausted body. “You alright?” he growls.

“Yeah,” I pant. “Just beat.” His fading silver eyes stay locked on mine for a few moments before he guides me over rotting bodies to sit on the metal steps of the camper. Vale, in wolf form, trots over and sits at my side. I lean into her furry body and whisper how fucking happy I am that she’s alive and here. She hides the scarred side of her face from me, but her chest rumbles with a quiet purr. I chuckle wetly through my tears, trying to wrap my head around how they found us right when we needed them.

Tore shifts back into a human to speak with Dair, and I avert my eyes, swinging them toward Ferris instead. He stands still in the wake of his destruction, an odd expression on his face. My heart starts hammering when I realize that I can’t sense his feelings through our bond—almost like he’s blocking me. I sit up, moving away from Vale.

“Ferris?” I call.

His eyes don’t rise to meet mine. I stand, intent to walk toward him, but Vale’s wolf stands in front of me and growls, keeping me right where I am.

“Vale, let me go, something is wrong,” I cry. But she doesn’t budge. Her wolf keeps me pinned near the metal stairs and snaps at me whenever I try to dodge around her.

Fine, if she won’t let me go to my mate, I’ll just shout. “Dair!” He looks over at me, eyes briefly flaring when he sees Vale’s face, but I gesture toward Ferris as fear slices through every cell in my body. Something is really fucking wrong; I’m starting to feel it even through our closed bond.

Dair’s gaze finds Ferris and he frowns, walking over to him. Ferris holds an arm out, keeping him back, and refuses to look at anyone. He just keeps backing away. Even from where I’m trapped by Vale, I can scent that Ferris is horrified and Dair is concerned.

I whine, long and devastated, confused about what’s happening. My cry finally forces his eyes to me, like he can’t help but try to fix whatever is wrong. But as our eyes clash across the field of death, I feel my entire soul shatter into a million pieces when I see reflective eyeshine staring back at me.

I whimper, “Ferris?”

PART THREE:

RELEASE

[ 53 ]

FERRIS

1 Day East of the Foothill Territory

Istand in the bloodied mess of our battle, heart thudding dully despite the adrenaline still coursing through my veins. The grotesque scent of Biter blood stings my nose and burns my exposed skin, making me feel itchy and uncomfortable. My legs feel weird, like they’re anchored to the ground by roots growing out of my feet instead of toes.

Several feet away, I can hear Tore and Dair speaking logistics and flinging questions at each other. “How did you find us?” and “Are you alright?” The scent of Raine’s tears slices through the decaying atmosphere, and my heart pangs painfully in my chest.

Under all of the overwhelming sensations, something doesn’t feel quite right with my arm. I shut down my senses one by one until I can focus on the searing pain melting into my shoulder. Numbly, I reach across my chest with one arm and feel skin as shredded as the flannel I’m wearing. My heart tries to race with panic, but it simply cannot pump that much blood and keeps its sluggish pace despite the fear coating my tongue in acid.

I bring my hand away from the wound and stare, dumbfounded, at the bright red smear laid over the thick, viscous black blood of the Biters. I’m bleeding. Is that why everything feels wrong? Maybe I’m losing too much blood. Yet, the smear on my hand doesn’t indicate blood gushing from a life-threatening wound.

Distantly, I hear Raine call my name, but my mouth refuses to move. I try to reach through our bond to reassure her, but there’s a physical block between our souls. I can’t feel her. I can’t feel my arm anymore either. Maybe my body is overriding the pain.

Something growls, low and threatening, and I worry for a single moment that we missed a Biter. I should check. I should raise a weapon and ready myself to defend my pack, but my brain feels fuzzy and slow. Slow like my heart.

Dair’s scent breaks through my muddled consciousness and the disarming scent of Biters. It’s so bright and alive, like a living forest soaking in fresh rain. Like lightning striking the ground only to reverberate back into the sky. Dair is like that, I muse, alive and virile, always getting back up after crashing.