One Bite

Chapter 5-6

"Let me get this straight," Elena chirped in between fits of giggles, dragging the tips of her fingers over her glossy eyes. "You punched each other? Getting inspiration from Raina?"

"I'm sitting right here," was the unimpressed response from across the table.

"You know I'm sitting right here," was the dry response from across the table.

"I think it's romantic." Rose sighed, cupped her cheek with her palm, then propped her elbow up on the breakfast table between us.

"A punch in the face is romantic to this one." I pointed my egg-stuffed fork at Raina.

"Still sitting here." Her dark eyes peered over her cup of coffee, crinkling at the corners.

"Not the face punch." Rose offered me a soft smile, a soft glow highlighting her skin. "The part where he came to see if you were okay."

The four of us sat around a table in the packhouse kitchen for an early breakfast. The informal space served up food all day, where people came in and ate around shifts. This morning the kitchen was crowded with all the additional warriors, whose impressive appetites kept the staff scurrying to keep the family-style plates filled.

"And you expect me to believe those -" My fork trailed a line in the air down the side of Raina's neck. Her darker skin was littered with fresh, purple and green bruises. "- are from training?"

"I don't ask what goes on in the confines of your bedroom, so don't ask about mine," she grumbled but I caught a twinkle in her eye.

"Are you even in your own bedroom here, or Theo's?" My eyebrows lifted, my lips curling up when her cheeks turned pink.

"Terrible, coming from someone who -" Rose clapped her hand over her mouth before she finished that 'doesn't have a mate' thought.

By the silence that spread through us and eyes dropping to plates, we all knew what she meant. I set down my fork with a sigh, my shoulders slumping.

Great, they all feel sorry for me.

"I'm not giving up hope." Elena reached over and patted my empty hand. "We'll have to remind him what he's being stupid over at the ball."

"Ball." I snorted at the word. "Is that what the poofy pile of white lace and sequins bagged in my closet is for?"

Her head nodded but before anyone spoke, all three of them paused and stiffened. My lips parted at the synchronized way they sat higher, eyes glossy. Rose and Elena turned their eyes toRaina, whose skin paled. Her lower lip trembled, she pushed her chair back with a screech, and tipped her chair as she stood up. The clattering sound was muffled by the kitchen noise but her dark eyes glistened with tears and she ran out of the kitchen.

My neck craned and watched as her small frame left. In her absence, silence fell over the animated kitchen. Casual conversations were replaced with hushed whispers, then quiet noises like silverware and glasses set down and discarded. With hurried cleanups, people emptied out until Rose, Elena, and I were left alone.

A frown creased my forehead as my eyes shifted between the two of them, both with tears spilling over their cheeks. As they sniffled and choked back sobs, an unsettled feeling squeezed in my chest. Reaching over, I took one of their hands in each of mine.

"What?" I whispered as my heartbeat quickened.

'The Northern pack lost against your father,' Elena linked me and squeezed my hand. 'They lost two-thirds of their warriors, including Alpha Faelon and Beta Anders.'

'Lost, as in... captured?' My eyebrows squeezed together.

The sadness that soaked her hazel eyes as much as her tears answered my question before the shake of her head confirmed the worst.