Chapter 14: The Passage of Innocence
**Kait**
Reality crashes in on me in waves, the fabric of space folding in on itself like a tsunami. Of course, I had suspected something was wrong…that John had some sort of end game. Perhaps I didn’t really want to believe it.
But what Jake is telling me now makes me realize how wrong I’d been about everything. This has been one hell of a day.
I start to hyperventilate; the room is suddenly too small. I try to back out, to open the door, but the knob is slick in my fingers. I stutter and flail, trying to get away, when a pair of arms reach around me.
Their strong warmth instantly calms me, the shuddering in my body vanishing like the end of a storm.
“Shhh,” Jake whispers in my ear. “I know this is a lot to take in. Trust me, I’ve been there before, in a way.”
“But he…he…”
Jake turns me around, his eyes focused on me. “Don’t worry about any of that right now. But I do need you to tell me something.”
“What?” I ask through misty eyes.
“Did he bite you?”