One Bite

Chapter 3-6

Later that night, I couldn't get settled into my room. My head spun from the lack of informational innuendos dropped at me before dinner, a glass of wine intended to soothe my nerves that now did me no favors, and painkillers Rose sent over from the infirmary after I shared with her that my back was sore.

All my mind wanted to do was slow down, go to sleep, and tackle whatever Elena, Torak, Luna Rashida, and Alpha Stephen's suggestions meant tomorrow. I relayed Alpha Stephen's confession via mindlink to Elena. She didn't look anywhere as surprised as I felt, just told me to keep the information to myself, play nice through dinner, and we'd discuss tonight.

Problem was, I couldn't reach her.

'Elena?' Reaching out to her with my mind until my forehead strained, I received no response. Lifting a hand to my forehead, I pressed hard into my skin to release the dizzy sensations.

'Cole, you there?' Again, silence.

I rubbed small circles at the headache throbbing my forehead. Rose's painkillers slowly kicked in. As tired as my mind felt, after I sat through a delicious but four-course, two-hour dinner, my legs twitched too much to let me sleep.

My eyes focusing on a suitcase in the corner by the closet, I walked over to inspect and smiled at Elena's kindness unpacking for me. Glancing over the clothes she chose for this part of our trip, my fingers perused through the options.

I grinned at the high-neck shirts and dresses hanging at the front of the closet and how Elena pushed the sexier options to the back. She respected my wish to cover my back scars but nothing looked fitted or low-cut in the front.

While he wasn't my mate, he wore a mysterious air about him I hadn't quite figured out.

His demeanor is very... alluring, to say the least.

Intensity aside, Torak was attractive. While I was attracted to Lucus, an undeniable pull drew me to Torak. Thankfully, our dinner conversation topics stayed neutral, but that pull lingered through dinner. His intense gaze from across the table prompted me to sip at the glass of wine. I didn't trust these reactions and was relieved when Lumi pulled me out of whatever snake charm hold he put me under.

After I shut the closet door, the gleam of a full-length mirror in the nearby bedroom corner caught my eyes. While I wasn't ready earlier, the wine and pain relievers now relaxed me enough where I was curious to see how my scars looked. My fingers trembling, I stripped off my pajama shirt, dropped it on the floor, and stepped in front of the mirror.

After almost eighteen years of daily reflection gazing, I felt indifferent. My eighteen-year-old frontal reflection paused both my thoughts and movements. My skin was smoother, less pale from more time outside, my blonde freckles vanished, and my muscles toned from Cole and Raina's workouts.

My clear-aquamarine eyes squinted as I scrutinized my altered appearance, which in addition to a few muscular indents in my abdomen, also looked more... feminine. Despite the faint purple and green bruises on my neck, my breasts were fuller and hips swayed out with a more pronounced curve.

How did that happen?

Apparently wolf heat does a female body good.

I shook my head, frowned at the cleavage puffing out the edges of my bra, and made a mental note to tell Elena I needed to go up a bra size. With all the training, I lived in the sweaty comfort of sports bras.

Remembering what I meant to look at in the mirror, I turned away from my reflection, twisted in my bra and pajama pants, and glimpsed at my scars. From what little I saw, one glimpse showed they would be with me the rest of my life. Faded to an almost skin tone, the edges of the lacerations looked like raised tributaries running diagonal from my shoulder to past the waistline of my pants.