Page 155 of Just One Bite
Fingers clench in my hair, and he forces my head forward like he’s going to kiss me. I jerk away, and pain radiates in my skull. Delirious, hot, and aching everywhere.
“You’re a psycho,” I say, managing to loosen his grip.
“No. You don’t understand. Aside from the dead mother, Parker has gotten everything he’s ever wanted in life. And his mother was highly regarded, respected, and loved by everyone on the Werewolf Council. My family has always had to fight hard for our respect. It’s toil. It doesn’t come easy. When I joined the Rage team, Parker joined too, but he was better. I gave up on that dream, and good thing I did, because he became the youngest Rage captain at Doxlothia. And then he gets not only the mate of his dreams but is a linked mate legacy? With eyes that are meant for me and my bloodline? Parker Owens’s name will be known forever, and I can’t escape it. He doesn’t get to have you too.”
“What are you going to do to me?” I whisper. I’m in no place to defend myself. I can’t hear Parker anymore, and that’s enough to make me panic.
“Me? Nothing. I won’t touch you. I’m not a monster. I’ll let that bond of yours run its course.” His thumb grazes my cheek, and I’m dizzy when I lean away. Those fingers move down my neck till they reach Parker’s mark. “Your temperature is already rising by the second.”
“Parker, hurry.”
“You don’t want to hear the statistics of linked mate deaths. Not good odds for him once you go. Then I’ll be rid of it all. They’ll find your body in the city. No murder weapon. No evidence.”
“You don’t have to do this. There’s still time to go back.”
“No one will know. After all, you’re known for running. I’ve got this little piece of paper, and you’re going to write on it for me. Let’s tell the story of Olivia Osborne, the mate who didn’t stop running until it killed her.”
I flinch away when he leans forward to undo my hands. There’s little relief in it.
“You’re too weak to move now anyway.” He grabs a pen from his breast pocket. “Now, let’s write that letter. Starting with a little note for your linked mate.”
My hand shakes as he places the pen between my fingers and I press the pen into the paper. I can’t think of Parker’s reaction to my death. I have to keep fighting. When I move, a hard object jabs into my hip. My phone is still lodged in my back pocket.
I just need to not pass out before I get it. I try to blink away the emotion of it all. The fear of Parker finding my body. The thought of never seeing him or my family again. My mother wouldn't and didn't give death even the slightest thought. She carried on with a smile and hope in her heart, and so will I.
“Okay, write what I tell you:Dear Parker, I’m sorry I couldn’t stay with you…”
This is just another performance, and I've been waiting my whole life for this one. I start writing, hoping I can stay awake.
Chapter Fifty-Three
Parker
Olivia stopped responding to me. Why did she stop?
I slam my fist into the dashboard. My head is pounding.
“We’re almost there,” Aster says.
“Just stop talking,” I growl. His voice and the sound of the engine revving as we drift around corners are setting me on the brink of a full meltdown.
I’m too panicked to give a shit that Aster is my companion for this. There wasn’t any time. Darien put an alert out for Cane’s car when he realized Olivia had been taken. There’s blurry footage of him exiting his car with his pack, and getting on a train with someone tucked under a coat.
I didn’t give any thought to grabbing Aster by the shirt and making him drive us in one of his super cars.
He’s doing it with ease. The tires screech as we round another turn, and I have to grip the handle above the door.
“Gavin’s gathering his pack at the end of the train line in the city. He’s tried using his connections to contact the conductor, but it’s not getting through. Cane has likely already thought of it. Sounds like he’s been planning for a while. There’s one little bridge the train goes under. We’re going to have to make a jump for it.”
“We?”
“I’m coming with you.”
“No way.”
“I can’t have you killing the only witness, can I? Plus, in case you forgot, you’re packless. His whole pack is on that train. You need my help.”
“Fine. I don’t fucking care.”
