Page 104 of Just One Bite
Except for today.
Darien is sitting in the stacks with his fingers holding up the cracked, crumbling spine of the book in his hand.
“Olivia.” He doesn’t look up. “How did I know I’d find you here?”
“You’re probably stalking me.”
“No. Not me. I did pluck this for you, though. Saved you the trouble of combing around for it.”
He holds up a book, and I reluctantly reach out to take it. With all the areas of danger, somehow Darien seems the least scary right now. I may not like him, but I’m picking up on his strategy. He’s a sideline sitter; he holds his cards close to his chest. He won’t outright attack me now that I’m Parker’s mate.
Wow, that’s the first time I’ve let it sink in.
The silver spine reads:Linked Beyond Time.
“That’s the best book you’ll find on the subject here.”
“So you don’t believe it’s fake like the others?”
“Oh, I know it’s not. You know everyone talked about Parker when he first arrived too. You two are really quite similar. When he took to you so quickly, Ihad an idea shortly after you arrived to look in your files, and you know what I found?”
“You’re going to tell me.”
“You and Parker share the same birthdate and time, down to the minute. You both have deceased mothers who died when you were ten, and both happened in the spring. And your mothers were friends, well, at the very least, acquaintances.”
He hands me a picture of my mother. The blood drains from my face when I see those familiar violet eyes and dark hair. It’s the dimpled smile I miss. One faint and the other clearly visible. She’s laughing with another woman who’s taller and has a wider smile. From her nose up, all I see is Parker. There’s a cauldron in front of them. They were lab partners.
I squeeze the book to my chest to put something between us. Anything so his words aren’t carving me open.
“Where did you find this?”
“Doxlothia yearbooks. You don’t know anything about linked mates, do you?”
I shrug. I hate answering rhetorical questions.
“Linked mates’ lives run parallel to each other until they diverge. But no matter what, accepted bond or not, they will remain linked till death. Perhaps beyond, who knows? So, say you do reject your bond with Parker, you find another man to marry you—very unlikely now, by the way—Parker would, too, marry. Say you have a baby girl with those beautiful eyes of yours. Parker will also have a girl. Then one day you decide to enroll that child in school, you might find they attend the same one. Your children would probably end up friends. Even if you traveled as far as you could away from him, you would always find your way back to each other somehow. It’s quite fascinating.”
“Again, I say you seem very interested in my life.”
I take a step back toward the door to get Darien out of my space and my head so I can think. But when I blink, he’s in front of me. This time, I’m not afraid of his teeth in my neck.
“Exactly, Olivia. Always remember that this is a game. And you of all people should know the way to win is to think a few steps ahead.”
“Is that why you showed up when Barrett took me alone into the woods?”
“Of course. Can you imagine what would have happened if he’d actuallymarked you then? Parker would be front page for murder.”
“And that would be bad for you.”
The edges of his smile curl insidiously.
“Why would I want to remove the most interesting players off the board?”
He brushes my shoulder as he passes for the stairs. “Read your books. Cuddle with your mate. But remember the game.”
I stop him when I hear the top step creak.
“Wait …”
