Page 49 of Just One Bite
“No.” I shrug. “We’re casual. Just for show.”
“Yeah, sure. That’s why you’re scenting her in the hallway.”
“Scenting her is part of it.”
Zant knows me. I don’t even fuck girls for the fun of it. “Stop fucking lying to me.”
“I’m not. She’s …” Just a woman? I can’t say that because I don’t invite women in my room to sleep and cuddle all night. I didn’t tell him about Olivia staying in my room even when he could smell her immediately. “Under my protection.”
Not a lie.
“Okay Mr. Noble. Good thing because she’s going to need it. The council is on one lately. Everything is on fire. They’re announcing funding cuts today. Some programs are getting cut entirely. Olivia is lucky Octavia holds a council seat and her mother is on the board for the dance department. It’s only going to get worse. The Weres are going to back a nomination for Cane.”
“Oh, fuck no.”
I’m starting to think I’ll never be rid of that parasite. Cane will continue to latch on to anything close to me and gradually find ways to suck the joy from my life.
“Yep, and everyone here loves him, so he’s probably gonna get it. If only there was someone we knew who would be a good rival … Maybe the beloved Rage captain? If you’d just campaign, I can help you.”
“You know I don’t want to. I can’t be on the council. I have my hands full with all of this. You saw the practice. I can’t even—” I sigh and run my hands through my hair. “I don’t know what you think I’d be able to do.”
“You gotta get Mr. Owens’s voice out of your head.” Zant’s smile is gone, and he’s staring out into the rink where the rest of the team is struggling. Chase and Ryker are bickering back and forth because Chase wants to fuck around and do goalie shit, and it’s interfering with Ryker’s shots.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“The worst part about being your friend for so long is knowing how long you’ve let him fuck with your head. I wouldn’t bring it up if I thought you couldn’t do it. One day, you’ll stop fighting it.”
Zant’s encouraged me to accept my alpha blood since we were kids. When we were younger, it was probably because he wanted me to beat up Cane and put him in his place, but when we were teens, he started telling me I was wasting my potential. But how? Rage is my thing. It’s the only thing that’s ever made sense and brought me a real sense of purpose. Why do I have to have more than one thing? Why do I need to make my own pack when my mother’s rejected me after she died? They had their reasons. Can’t I have mine?
I used to want to accept it and take over her pack. I dreamed of the leader I’d be when I became of age, but when she died, she took all that confidence with her.
If Cane gets the council seat, Gavin and his family are going to have trouble. Cane’s pack would get stronger. Then Aster and Barrett will go unchecked with the majority of Were packs in the school.
Fuck.
Parker Owens: The Golden Boyis in all the papers, but I’m an average player who knows how to win Rage matches, awaiting the moment someone else will come in to show the others I’m not that special. Not pro material. I’m just Parker. A lone wolf at heart.
Chapter Sixteen
Parker
"How much longer?" she asks.
"Soon," I whisper into her hairline. I'm not in a hurry. I've waited a long time for this.
The sun beats down on me as I make my way back toward the castle for class. Doxlothia’s academics work differently than other universities, and those who play sports or who are in special programs spend the majority of their time perfecting those talents. However, there are a few classes we’re all required to take. I don’t mind. They’re interesting subjects that aren’t available at other schools like the History of Interspecies Cooperation, and Potions and Elixirs for Healing Modalities.
My gaze lingers on the dance hall. I haven’t talked to Olivia since this morning, and it feels like too long. We've spent the whole week together and I'm getting used to her in my routine. I pull out my phone to text her, then spot a familiar head of blonde curls across the path, and her sweet scent makes her a decent beacon. Olivia’s sister Evangeline is sitting on a bench with her head in her hands, sobbing.
I hurry to plop down next to her, slow and quiet.
“Hey.” I start small.
I have a little sister, though she’s way younger than I am. Evangeline is likelymy age. I’ve learned to be calm and offer my sisteranythingshe asks for in a crisis.
She startles, moving her hands from her face, revealing red eyes and smeared makeup. I halfheartedly offer her a dry towel from my bag as a way of telling her. She says nothing and breaks into another sob.
“Evangeline, right?” Olivia mentioned only her sisters call her Eva. “I know you don’t know me very well, but … uh … you know, I’m a brother … so like, I get it … well … I don’t get it. But I could. I mean. Fuck. Do you want to talk about it?”
