(Approximately Four Years Ago)
(Piper POV)
I am currently waiting in a dressing room on the fourth floor of the packhouse, studying my reflection in the full-length mirror. My hair and makeup have been done expertly, and my white wedding dress hugs my curves in all the right places. Despite my insecurities, even I have to admit that I look beautiful.
My fingers begin to trace the silver and diamond locket on my neck. I find myself desperately wishing that my mother was here with me.
Through the open window, I can hear various voices from the wedding guests who are gathering in the courtyard below. I can also hear soft violin music playing, and I can smell the vibrant rose and lily arrangements that have been placed everywhere. And I can feel just a hint of the bright morning sun on my back.
Unable to resist the temptation, I walk over to the window and peer outside. Like a magnet, my eyes land on Leo Bloodstone, who is greeting guests. He is tall, super muscular, with dark hair. In any other situation, I would admit he is rather attractive. Leo looks up and our eyes meet. My stomach skips a beat, and I quickly step away from the window.
If I did not know any better, I would think today was a day of celebration. I might even think the feelings in my stomach are happy butterflies.
But, today is not a day of celebration.
No, today is the day that I will say goodbye to my family, my friends, and the pack that I have known and loved all my life. Worse, today is the day that my alpha plans to trade my life away to one of his enemies.
This less-than-ideal situation is the reason that I asked for a morning wedding. In the werewolf world, anything truly joyous happens under the moonlight. I have never been good at faking my emotions, and I did not want to pretend that I was happy about this situation. The morning wedding was one of the few requests that I had that for the wedding that was actually honored; everything else was planned according to my groom’s wishes.
Not that I actually care. But I had to pretend that I did. Maybe I am better at faking than I give myself credit for.
“Piper? Piper, we have to go. Now.”
I spin around to see my alpha’s son, Xander, rushing into the dressing room. As our eyes lock, he suddenly freezes.
“Piper …wow … you look … amazing.”
Despite the seriousness of the situation, I cannot help but blush. Xander has always had that effect on me.
“Thank you, Xander. Do you have the clothes?”
Xander continues to stare at me.
“Xander?”
Xander shakes his head as he seems to break himself out of his trance. He tosses a small duffle bag to me.
“Here. Hurry… please go and change. Fast. We do not have much time.”
To Xander’s frustration, I look down at the duffle bag and find myself hesitating. Again. Although we have been planning this escape for almost as long as our fathers have been planning the wedding, the idea of running away still just does not feel right.
“Xander, are you sure about this? I am willing to marry Leo if it means protecting the pack….”
Xander takes three large steps towards me. He puts his hands on either side of my face and looks at me seriously.
“We have talked about this, Piper. You marrying Leo Bloodstone will not solve anything. My father is a fool to think that he can trust that pack. Who is to say that you marry Leo today and they won’t attack us tomorrow? There are other, better ways to defeat them.”
“But Xander, what if ---”
Xander put his finger gently over my lips.
“There are no ifs, Piper. You are going to leave this pack, and you will not come back until either I come for you or you have found and marked your mate. You are only 18 years old. You deserve a chance to be with someone who will love and cherish you. I do not want you to marry someone like Leo Bloodstone who sees you as nothing but a toy or a tool in some sick game. You have heard the rumors about him, just like I have. I care about you far too much to let you end up with someone like him.”
"But if marrying him can save the pack---"
"It won't. Today he wants you. Tomorrow he wants what? My sister? Our northern lands? Half our soldiers? It doesn't make sense, Piper. You should not sacrifice yourself. Not now, not ever."
My eyes begin to water. I wrap my arms tightly around Xander. “I am going to miss you. You are the best friend I could have ever asked for.”
Xander returns the hug. “I am going to miss you, too, Piper.” He kisses my forehead. “Now, please, hurry and change. The ceremony is supposed to start in twenty minutes. We have to get you as close to the border as we can before anyone realizes that you are missing.”
(Xander POV) My heart was pounding. We were doing this. We were really doing this. The alpha in me was excited, but the man in me was worried. I have never defied my father like this before, and Leo Bloodstone was not someone that I normally wanted to piss off. However, in this case, the risk was worth it. Piper was worth it. I just prayed that my plan worked. Piper quickly changed into leggings and a hoodie while I sprayed myself with a de-scenting spray. We then grabbed our backpacks —which I also brought with me— and left the room. After saying a quick prayer to the Moon Goddess and making sure that the coast was clear, Piper and I made our way downstairs. We “hid” Piper’s wedding dress behind a bush near the side exit, and I threw her high heels as far as I could into the field. Our goal was to make it look like Piper fled across the meadow towards human territory. That would be the fastest, most logical exit route. Once Piper’s dress was fake-hidden, it was Piper
(Leo Bloodstone POV)My bride has been missing for over five hours. And it has been exactly 4 hours, 15 minutes since anyone bothered to inform me.I do not know what I am angrier about: that this stupid pack allowed her to escape; that they wasted 45 minutes making excuses for her delay coming down for the wedding that we could have used looking for her; or that their trackers are so incompetent that they spent the first half of their search following the fake trail Piper left with her “hidden” wedding dress and heels. The Blue Ridge trackers would probably still be following that trail had my men not pointed out their stupidity. Thankfully, my men are well trained. They immediately noticed that Piper's scent did not carry through the meadow, meaning that although her shoes may have been there, Piper herself never walked through.At this point, my wolf is ready to murder everyone in sight. It is a small miracle that I have been able to prevent him from doing so. As it is, both
(Almost Two Years Later) (Piper POV) It was currently nine-thirty at night. I was alone in my room in the basement, and after working all day, I felt completely exhausted. Nevertheless, I had something important that I had to do before I went to bed. I placed a single candle into a chocolate chip cookie that I had stolen from the packhouse kitchen. I lit the candle and began softly singing, hoping to avoid anyone hearing me. “Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday dear Daddy. Happy birthday to you.” Smiling sadly, I blew out the candle and made a wish. It was not just any wish… it was my only wish. The same wish that I made every single time I celebrated the birthday of someone that I left behind: that the Moon Goddess would continue to look after everyone that I cared about at Blue Ridge, and that she would allow me to see them again soon. So far, my wish had yet to come true, but I continued to hold out hope. I had to. Hope —however waning— was
(Xander POV)I miss Piper. I miss her so d&mn much it practically hurts. I miss her laugh. I miss her smile. I miss the way that we used to spend hours talking about anything and everything. I even miss the silly practical jokes that she used to pull on me.She was my best friend. My partner in crime. My everything. Well, almost everything. We never kissed much less had sex. Our fathers would have killed us if we even thought about doing that with each other. That does not mean I never thought about going for it anyway, but the timing was never right. Sadly, it still isn’t. Not yet.Sometimes it is hard to believe that Piper left Blue Ridge Pack 1 year, 11 months, 2 weeks, 4 days, and 49 minutes ago. Other times, I miss her so much that it feels like an entire lifetime has passed. Well, a lifetime and 49 minutes. 50 minutes now. Yes, I have been counting every single minute since she ran away.When I helped Piper leave, I was sure that it would only be for a little wh
(Present Day)(Piper POV)While Dr. Eggert continues to watch me, I get up and walk to the window. I stare at the wolves who are busy down below, and I secretly wish that I was among them. Or, at the very least, that I was anywhere but here.Therapy is about facing your demons. As much as I want to save my wolf, I am not sure that I am ready to do that. Four years ago, I would have done it gladly. But now? Now too much has happened. I do not know if I am strong enough to face my demons anymore. Nor do I know if it is even worth it to try. If I tell Dr. Eggert everything, and she tells me that there is nothing that can be done… that losing Penelope and experiencing the betrayal pains are punishment for my misdeeds… it will take away whatever remaining shreds of hope I have away. “Piper?” Dr. Eggert asks, breaking me out of my trance.“Yes?”“Where did you go?”“Just lost in thought.”“What were you thinking about?”“Different things.”“That’s not very descriptive.”“No, it’s
(Dr. Eggert POV) Piper and I end up talking for another several hours. I originally thought that her confession about sleeping with Leo Bloodstone was a major breakthrough, but like everything with Piper, the story was not as simple as it appeared to be. It took a lot of additional work, a lot of tears, and a healthy amount of sorting through Piper-style sarcasm before I finally got what I thought was the full picture about what Piper has been going through and why she did what she did. By the point that Piper had finally spilled everything, Piper and I were huddled next to each other on the floor. Both of us were crying… although as a professional I am embarrassed to admit it. This is the first time in my career that I have ever felt this invested in a patient. I do not know what it is about Piper that I connect with, or how —as a patient— she seems to see right through me as though she knows the secrets I have hidden. Nor do I understand what it is that makes her so differe
(FLASHBACK) (Day before the one-year anniversary of Piper running away) (Piper POV) It was 8:00 at night. I had just finished helping with dinner service, and I was eager to get back to the book that I had been reading. Unfortunately, instead of reading the book, I found myself fighting with a friend who desperately wanted me to agree to go to a party with her. “Piper, come onnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn,” Maya pleaded with me. “Just agree to come with us tomorrow.” I looked at Maya and sighed. Moon Shadow’s alpha and beta had gone to a conference, and they had taken a large number of the warriors with them for security. That meant there was less work for the omegas to do at the packhouse. Less work meant fewer hours, and fewer hours meant that my friends were constantly itching to party and drink. I waived my hand dismissively. “I can’t. Someone has to stay and cook and clean for the warriors who stayed behind.” Maya gave me a look. “Sure, someone has to say, but why
(Leo Bloodstone POV) A year. Blue Ridge Pack and its moron future alpha have kept me away from Piper for a whole f&&king year. My patience is running thin. During the past twelve months, I have personally interrogated almost every single member of Blue Ridge. It is clear that Piper is absolutely loved and adored by her family, friends, and pack members. And that is what confuses me the most. They must know that their efforts —or rather, their future alpha’s efforts— to keep Piper away from me are in vain. Indeed, given the time that has passed, they must realize that I am not giving up. One way or the other, Piper will be mine. The only question is whether Piper becomes mine the easy way, or the hard way. I have a hard time believing that her family and friends want her to become mine the hard way. But time is running out. If I do not get to Piper before her 20th birthday, the “hard way” may be the only option left. I have only seen Piper once through a window, and yet I