Page 94 of Just One Bite
He moves the hair from my neck. It’s so tender. Tentative. Like he’s afraid too much pressure will hurt me.
“No. It doesn’t show up right away. You’ll start to see it come through tonight, and it will gradually darken.”
I wait for his smile. That confidence to peek through. The elation that even though something terrible happened he kept me safe. Or the cockiness from him marking me, and that I’ll smell just as he intended. But there’s pain behind his enlarged pupils.
“What?”
His eyes dart to mine. “Hmm?”
“You’re looking at me … strange.”
He shakes his head. “Don’t worry about me.”
“Do you feel different?” I ask.
“I …” His nostrils flare, and a muscle feathers in his jaw. “It might change as itdevelops.”
Before I tell him that doesn’t answer my question, there’s a knock on his door and we separate.
My feet have dirtied Parker’s sheets, and there’s no sign of my shoes or phone.
“Where is our sister?!” Emma’s high-pitched voice pierces the air.
Parker opens the door to let them in, his shoulders falling.
“I knew she’d be in here.” Eva’s eyes widen when she sees me, and she flutters in, huffing in panic. “I was so worried when some random person called me this morning saying they found your phone on the ground.”
Eva is listed at the top of my contact list underEva–ICE: pls state type of emergency immediately.
“I was wondering why you weren’t texting me any details about the trip. Then when Eva called me, I was certain you’d been killed!” Emma says.
“I’m fine.” I assure them; they’re making me anxious now with their worry.
I fill them in from beginning to end, starting with the messages I received, to the terror when I realized I’d been drugged … and Parker isstaring. I try not to notice the heaviness of his gaze, but it’s hard. There’s an intensity to it like a bright light after a night alone in the dark.
He only speaks up to mention his findings on the potion.
“So the point was to get Olivia marked by another werewolf? That’s what the potion does?”
He nods.
“Thank the stars above Parker found you first,” Eva says.
“Yeah, Mom was looking out.” Emma grips my hand, and my heart skips.
How would she react to such a thing? Especially now that I’ve been marked.
We skip the marking part. Well, I skip it, so Parker skips it too. It’s a silent pact to keep that to ourselves for the day. This is the last day it’s a secret. The last few hours before the news breaks and everyone sees me as Parker’s mate.
That’s not the part I’m worried about. I’m sure my sisters will understand, but I’m too groggy to explain today—and I’m more concerned with why Parker won’t stop staring at me like that.
“Someone is targeting you. And I’m going to figure out who,” Parker growls.
Chapter Thirty
Parker
“You found me.” Her words feather my neck.
