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Author Note
I am SOOOOOOOO sorry for the lack of recent updates.
Not to make excuses, but I am deathly allergic to lilies and lavender (true anaphylactic reactions)... and was inadvertently forced to officiate a wedding in a lavender field over the weekend (long story). The allergy attack and following migraine did not go well.
I hope to get back to daily-ish updates tomorrow.
I am sorry that this is the second time I've had to go MIA on this book.
Related chapters
Mated in the Shadow of Betrayal   Chapter 109: Time Together
(Piper POV)On Thursday morning, I woke up to the wonderful feeling of being wrapped in Leoâs huge, strong arms. His scent was all around me, and like always during that time period, it brought me a sense of comfort and safety.The last few days had been wonderful. In fact, they were the happiest days that I had had since leaving Blue Ridge. I still missed my family, friends, and my pack⊠and yes, even Xander⊠but I knew that I would soon get to see them again, right after the wedding. My excitement of finally being reunited with them easily overpowered my homesickness.With respect to Leo and I, things were going great. Our days had been mostly filled with wedding planning and entertaining the Brogans, though, which left very little time for us to simply hang out or talk about any of the serious stuff, including the secrets that he continued to hold onto. The little time that we got alone usually happened before bed or when we woke up in the morning. Because I cherished this ti
Mated in the Shadow of Betrayal   Chapter 110: Their Connection
(Leo Bloodstone POV)After breakfast with my family, Piper and I went to see the pack doctor. I still had a bad feeling about Xanderâs f&&king herbs, and I wanted to have Piperâs vitals checked again. I also wanted to find out if Dr. Tuttle or his nephew had come up with any viable plans that would allow Piper to stop taking them.Spoiler alert: They hadnât.That was not the news that I wanted to hear, and I made that well known when I grabbed Kade-the-nephew by the collar and slammed him against the wall. Of course, my reaction had as much to do with Kadeâs cocky attitude and the way that he continued to look at Piper as it did my frustration with the f&&king herbs.Dr. Tuttle was used to my temper, and he tried to calm me down. His nephew, however, seemed amused by it. âAlpha, if you are worried that you cannot take care of your bride, I would be happy to help,â he taunted.âKADE!!!!â Dr. Tuttle exclaimed.I pulled my arm back, ready to punch him, but Piper grabbed onto my arm
Mated in the Shadow of Betrayal   Chapter 111: Inner Conflict
(Piper POV)As soon as the guard announced that there was a fire at Ingridâs house, I saw and felt how conflicted Leo became.Given how horrible my one and only interaction had been with her âand given that Leo and I had not yet talked about who she was to himâ that conflict hurt. However, I brushed my feelings away. I told myself that I was being selfish and that I had to trust Leo.âGo,â I told him.He looked at me, obviously unsure.âItâs okay. Go,â I repeated.âLittle Pea, I ---âI reached out and touched his cheek. âWe can finish this conversation tonight,â I reassured him. âI have my wedding dress fitting soon anyway. Go, make sure Ingrid is okay. Do what you need to do.ââItâs not Ingrid that I am worried about. Itâs ---âI held up my hand. âYou donât have to explain right now. I can see how worried you are. Go. You can explain later.âLeo pulled me into his arms and kissed my forehead tenderly.âThank you, Little Pea. Have fun with my mother. I will see you for o
Mated in the Shadow of Betrayal   Chapter 112: Ingrid's Fire
(Leo Bloodstone POV)I didn't want to leave Piper after that f&&ked up bombshell that she laid on me about Kade, but I didn't have much of a choice. When I heard that there had been a fire at Ingridâs house, my brain went immediately to Axel. I had to make sure that he was safe; Goddess knew that pup had been through enough sh&t in his young life.Thankfully, Piper seemed to understand even without me explaining everything.As soon as I arrived at Ingrid's house, she appeared almost out of nowhere and threw herself at me.âOh, Baby, thank Goddess you are here!!!!âI shoved her off of me. I looked around for Axel, but I did not see him anywhere, and the smoke from the fire was blocking me from being able to scent him. While continuing to look around for Axel, I spotted the chief firefighter, Donny, coming out of the house.âDonny.ââAlpha.ââIs Axel okay?ââHeâs fine, Alpha. Heâs with his nannies around the side of the house, by one of our trucks.âThank Goddess.âIs the fire comp
Mated in the Shadow of Betrayal   Chapter 113: Their Second Date
(Leo Bloodstone POV)My parents agreed to both take care of Axel and entertain the Brogans while I took Piper out for our second date.I wanted it to be special, but after the crazy f&&king day that I had had dealing with all of Ingridâs bullsh&t and its aftermath, I did not have a lot of energy left for a grand gesture. I decided to keep the date simple and traditional: a romantic dinner followed by a movie. I knew that I needed to use part of our date to explain some things to Piper, but I really hoped I did not have to spend all of the date doing so. I honestly just wanted to spend some time with her⊠and the last thing that I wanted was to give her any reason to run.I tried to remind myself that I had taken steps to avoid any unexpected problems, but âbetween the herbs, Kade, and Ingrid, and my own familyâs constant questioningâ my d&mned gut was on high alert again. And, as close as I was to the finish line, I could not help but worry.Thankfully âor notâ those worries evapo
Mated in the Shadow of Betrayal   Chapter 114: Secrets & Truth
(Leo Bloodstone POV)âLetâs start with Ingrid,â Piper said. âShe seems to think that you are replacing me with her. Is that true? Is that why she hates me?âAs Piper asked the question, she looked down. I did not know if it was fear, anxiety, or⊠jealousy?... causing her to do that, but I knew that, whatever it was, I needed to address it.âLook at me, Little Pea.âShe didnât.âLook. at. me,â I repeated with a gentle growl.She did.âSweetheart, I want you to look into my eyes and see the truth in them when I answer your questions. Ingrid is a spiteful, selfish b&tch. Her problems have nothing to do with you. They have everything to do with her. You are not a âreplacementâ for Ingrid. You could never be, because you are nothing like her. You are everything that is she is not.ââYour family seems to hate her.ââBecause they have good taste. They love you. Already more than they love me, I think.ââIs it true that you and Ingrid had a âŠthing⊠in the past? That you were engag
Mated in the Shadow of Betrayal   Chapter 115: The Date Continues
(Piper POV)âTell me about Kade.âIt took me a few minutes to process Leoâs question.My brain was swirling. I felt overwhelmed and confused. My brain, my gut, and my heart were all on completely different wavelengths. I have no idea how I managed to order dinner. Perhaps I did it on autopilot, or perhaps Leo did it for me. Looking back on it, I really could not tell you. Either way, this much I knew: Leo had managed to tell me a lot of things without telling me much at all. For example:I now knew that Leo had a pup with Ingrid, who he was strongly attached to and protective of, but that he was not the biological father.I also knew that Ellis was that pupâs father, but I did not know what the relationship between Ellis and Ingrid had been.Hell, I did not even know what the relationship between Leo and Ingrid was, or what it had been. Leoâs laughter confirmed that they had not been engaged⊠but I knew from the wedding dress shopping trip that his family had seen her in a we
Mated in the Shadow of Betrayal   Chapter 116: The Rest of Dinner
(Piper POV)Eating dinner while sitting on Leoâs lap was a little awkward, but I did not mind. Especially because it came with a healthy amount of flirting, teasing, and touching.Goddess, the sexual tension between us was off the charts. It was like my body took all the confusion and unease that I was feeling and converted into sexual interest. Or maybe it was just sex-on-a-stick-Leo drawing that out of me on his own.Who knows. Either way, I was a happy, horny she-wolf. We seemed to reach a silent agreement not to talk about anything else too serious for the rest of our date, and for the most part, we stuck to that. Instead of the things we probably should have been talking about, we talked about movies, sports, our packs, and Leoâs family.Leo even tried to tell a few jokes. Unfortunately, his version of comedy would not qualify him to even be an apprentice for Buster McGee⊠but I actually found his effort and lame jokes both charming and strangely sexy.The only other âser
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Mated in the Shadow of Betrayal   Chapter 187: Addie Calls Leo
Mated in the Shadow of Betrayal   Chapter 186: Calling Home
Mated in the Shadow of Betrayal   Chapter 185: Conflicting DNA Tests
Mated in the Shadow of Betrayal   Chapter 184: Getting to Know Addie
Mated in the Shadow of Betrayal   Chapter 183: Getting Updates
Mated in the Shadow of Betrayal   Chapter 182: Warm Welcome
Mated in the Shadow of Betrayal   Chapter 181: Their First Fight
Mated in the Shadow of Betrayal   Chapter 180: 48 hours earlier
Mated in the Shadow of Betrayal   Chapter 179: Dungeon Confessions, Part 2
