The Bite (Book 1)

Original Edition - Chapter 19: Donuts

"Can't sleep?" I asked quietly through the darkness of the kitchen.

Levi let out a breathy laugh. "Nope."

"Want one?"

He flicked on a lamp and nodded. I got busy making him a sandwich while he went to the liquor cabinet and fished around for something. My belly churned as the sound of bottles clinking broke through the silence of the night, it reminded me too much of the last time Levi and I drank together–well, more like it reminded me of the hangover I had the next day.

"Whiskey and peanut butter and jelly don't really go together you know?"

Levi scoffed. He closed the cabinet then opened the refrigerator and fished around for a bit before he pulled out a bottle of Bailey's. I gave him a curious brow as he pulled out the carton of milk as well.

He poured some milk in the glass then added some of the creamy liquor to it. "Want a sip?" he said while angling the glass towards me.

I let out a partially defeated sigh and took the glass from his hand. The milk mixed with the taste of the vanilla creaminess that was the liquor warmed my belly and danced on my tongue.

Levi chuckled a little bit and poured some of the liquor into my glass of milk. "It's not bad, right?"

I shook my head as I cut his sandwich in half. "No, I've never had Bailey's before actually."

"Really?" Levi replied incredulously.

I shrugged and handed him his plate. "The only serious drinking I did was in college, even then I wasn't much of one. A few wild nights, but nothing worth noting. Anyways, Marcus forbid it, so I guess you could say I am kind of a novice?"

Levi gave me a half smile and nodded. He took his place and glass and headed out to the porch. It was a beautiful night out; the air was warm and the breeze was gentle. Crickets were singing in the background as the trees swayed gently in the night.

We sat on the porch steps and tore into our sandwiches. No matter how polite we wanted to be when we were eating, it was hard; we were werewolves after all.

"So, what's got you up this late Charlie girl?"

I swallowed down a bite of my sandwich and chased it with the milky cocktail. Wiping my mouth I shrugged as he mused at me. "My mind wouldn't shut up."

He chuckled a little. "Not a surprise, you never really shut up either."

"Hey!" I chunked my napkin at him which only made him laugh harder.

He settled down a bit and took a long drink from his glass. "Want to tell me about it."

I let out a breath weighted with the emotions plaguing my mind. "It's just, I don't know. I was thinking about tomorrow, and how crazy this all is still. A year ago I am pretty confident I was getting my hair bleached at a salon, my biggest concern that day besides Marcus was making sure that I made it to my pedicure appointment on time."

Levi's looked at me disbelieving. He shook his head and started to swirl the liquid in his glass. "I would have never pictured you as a blonde."

I laughed a little. "I was, bleach blonde. I was also much tanner too, I used to get spray tanned all the time." Levi let out a groan and sipped at his drink. I just shrugged again. "Marcus liked it. It's what he wanted. I was so brainwashed then, hell, I would have probably dyed my hair every color of the rainbow if he told me to."

"Doesn't sound like you at all..."

I met his knowing silver eyes and nodded. "It's not." I took a drink from my glass and let the liquor warm my belly. It was good. It would probably be better over ice cream. "I just kept thinking about my parents and what they would think of all this."