บททั้งหมดของ Bite: บทที่ 171 - บทที่ 180

Question: How do you claim something that doesn’t want to be claimed?Well, first, you wait.You spend a large chunk of your time, of your life, hoping and praying that one day they turn their gaze your way and pick you out of all the fools there are to pick.Like with Quinn.So much of what I did with her was an elaborate waiting game. And for the most part, it worked: I waited for her to see I was worth loving, and when we had our first kiss just outside her house, I knew I had finally gotten my wish.I waited for her to choose me, and over and over again she did. I was grateful. I was in love.And then, when the war happened, I waited for her to pick me again.This time, it wasn’t as easy as the other times. This time, she wanted to get away from me.So I can’t understand what it’s like, loving someone as deeply as I loved my Quinn and having that affection thrown in the mud.I was upset, to say the least.But not half as upset as when she died.It was an accident. At least, that's

Axel and Ryker lead me up a winding staircase. I have to be careful on the glass steps, even though I know the boys with me will never let me slip and fall. Also… a winding staircase in one of Talon’s cheaper houses? I should have been born rich. “This place is insane,” Ryker whispers like he heard my thoughts. His grip on me is firm as he swings his head around, surveying the chandeliers. In front of us, Axel reminds him, “And it’s temporary. We just need to get through—” “Axel Parker, are you really about to remind me what we need to get through?” Ryker cuts in sassily, one hand on me and the other on his hip. “Or didn’t we both live through the whole Nester Rist mess?” Axel spares him an accusatory glance. “I’m just saying, Rye, don’t get caught up in how lovely things are. The worst might just be beginning.” That’s a sting to the heart if I’ve ever heard one. I usually appreciate Axel being realistic, but we’ve had to be that for too fucking long. For once, I’d like a little

When I wake up, I wish I were still passed out because everything hurts. The mattress that is gripping my aching body hurts. The night light that is piercing into the room from that obnoxiously large window hurts. The towel Hunter is dabbing over my sweaty forehead hurts. The commands Axel is barking at the others hurt. Talon holding my hand. Ryker running his shaky fingers through my hair. It's too much. And somehow, it's not enough. I feel like I’m being wrung out and stretched too thin, and still I’m being stretched further. I release a groan like a wounded animal. Talon’s hand in mine tenses. “Fuck,” I whisper out, my mouth too weak to speak louder. Talon jolts forward toward me. “What? What!” “You’re squeezing the life out of my fucking hand.” Axel turns on his packmate, eyes vicious. “She needs space!” “Thanks, Captain Obvious,” Ryker mutters, although he doesn’t move back one inch away from me. I can't really see Axel because another crippling wave of pain hits me, bu

I grab the phone from Hunter and toss it against the wall. It smashes in two. But that doesn’t matter. He has already done what I was afraid of happening. “What have you done?” I whisper. His gaze meets mine, cold and far away. “Get ready” is his only mindless response. He pushes past me, and I hear his feet patter out of the room, leaving the rest of us to wonder what the fuck we're supposed to do next. Maybe I would be angrier, or more frightened, if I wasn’t still in shock. Olivia’s death scared all the emotions out of me. Mechanically, I turn back to my darling and settle at the edge of her bed. Her skin is still pale, and when I press my palm to her forehead, I flinch from how cold her skin has become in just a few minutes. She’s not okay, but at least with her eyes closed now, she looks like she’s sleeping. “She’ll make it,” Axel murmurs beside me, his fingers still pressed to her pulse. “She’ll be fine.” But what if she’s not? What if that second before she collapsed wa

“Mum?” I only whisper her name, but her lips pull in a small smile. “Olivia,” she says. My knees threaten to buckle, but I force myself to stay standing. I can’t fall apart here. Not in front of the one woman I’ve been desperate to meet my entire life. Wherever I am, it’s not a real place. It’s full of golden light and clouds. So maybe I’m dead, and maybe she’s the one who’s going to take me to meet the goddess. “Are you…” I pause, swallowing. “Are you real?” “I’m real to you, aren’t I?” she responds softly. I shake my head. “That’s not enough.” “It has to be for now.” I nod. It’s not that I’m not frustrated, or I’m not desperate for answers, but I get the feeling this is the only time I’m going to get to talk to her while I’m still on Earth. If I’m still on Earth. My mum opens her arms wide, and any doubt I have that this doesn’t matter melts away when she says, “Well, aren’t you going to give me a hug?” I rush forward. I crash into her the way I’ve always imagined. Exce