Page 77 of Rocky Top

“No,” she said, firm. “But I thought I did. At first.”

“But weren’t you angry? Angry that he bit you and chose this life for you?”

“Yeah, a bit. But you’ve got to remember, folks were trying to kill me. Mark. What he did to me and his own daughter. There was so much for me to be scared and angry about, Knox biting me was the last on the list. When he told me what he was... when he told me what I was carrying... I thought my life was over. Turns out, it was just beginning.”

“How did you know?”

“I didn’t.” Eliza smiled softly. “I just knew I didn’t want to go back to who I was before.”

“I don’t even know who I am now.”

“You’re still you, Birdie.”

“But what if I’m not?” My voice cracked, shame pooling in my gut. “What if I’m this... this thing now? What if I wake up one day and I’m covered in fur and chewing on somebody’s poodle?”

Eliza laughed. “Then we’ll get you a chew toy and some conditioner. But you’ll still be you.”

I shook my head. “It’s not just that. It’s him.”

“Rocky?”

I nodded, feeling the burn behind my eyes. “I want to hate him. I really do. But I can’t stop dreaming about him. I wake up and my sheets are a mess, and I’m sweating like I’ve run a marathon. I feel like my body is craving something and I don’t even know what it is.”

“That’s the bond,” she said gently. “Sound’s like.”

“I didn’t ask for a bond!”

“No,” she said. “But it’s yours now. You can’t ignore it.”

“I can try. But Rocky said the bond wouldn’t make me want him.”

“No. You already wanted him, I’m pretty sure.”

“Ain’t that the truth.”

Eliza reached over, taking my hand. “You can run all you want, honey. But eventually, you’ll have to stop. And when you do, he’ll still be there. Rocky’s not goin’ anywhere.”

I looked out into the trees, watching the shadows stretch long and low.

“I don’t know if that’s a promise or a threat,” I muttered.

She gave my hand a squeeze. “Both.”

Later that night, after Eliza went to bed, I found myself wandering the edge of the property.

Don’t ask me why.

Maybe I wanted to see if he was there, like she said. Maybe I was hoping to catch a glimpse of those blue eyes in the moonlight, or hear that deep, familiar voice calling me Sunshine like it was the only word he knew how to say soft.

But the woods were empty. No growls, no snarls, no biker in black waiting in the shadows.

Just me.

And that was worse.

Because now I couldn’t pretend he was the danger.

I was.

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