(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 Ingrid’s 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 —between the herbs, Kade, and Ingrid, and my own family’s constant questioning— 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 —or not— those worries evapo
(Leo Bloodstone POV)“Let’s start with Ingrid,” Piper said. “She seems to think that you are replacing me with her. Is that true? Is that why she hates me?”As 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.“Look at me, Little Pea.”She didn’t.“Look. at. me,” I repeated with a gentle growl.She did.“Sweetheart, 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 ‘replacement’ for Ingrid. You could never be, because you are nothing like her. You are everything that is she is not.”“Your family seems to hate her.”“Because they have good taste. They love you. Already more than they love me, I think.”“Is it true that you and Ingrid had a …thing… in the past? That you were engag
(Piper POV)“Tell me about Kade.”It took me a few minutes to process Leo’s 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 pup’s 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. Leo’s 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
(Piper POV)Eating dinner while sitting on Leo’s 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 Leo’s 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 “ser
**AUTHOR NOTE: SOMEWHAT STEAMY SCENE AHEAD.**(Piper POV)Can you be a sl&t if you have only ever slept with one male? And the male you slept with was one that you thought that you loved?I used to think you could not be a sl&t in that situation, but I would soon learn how wrong I was.Of course, I shouldn’t be surprised. Everything that I did at dinner and beyond was the definition of sl&tty. Yes, Leo had touched me, but I did not exactly resist him. Instead, I begged him to touch me more. I kissed him, teased him, and basically taunted him into taking me back to the packhouse and f&&king me senseless.Looking back on it, I had been the instigator the first time that we had sex too, but that time I could blame it on the drugs that had been forced on me. This time, the only thing I could blame was my own raging hormones and uncontrollable lust. Well, that and my stupid, ill-informed, ignorant heart.As Leo drove us back to the packhouse, both of us had difficulty keeping our ha
(Leo Bloodstone POV)After round five, Piper fell asleep with her head on my chest and her arm around my waist.Piper was the only she-wolf that I had ever shared a bed with for anything other than sex. After just two weeks with her, I was not sure I could even consider sharing a bed with anyone else. Yes, the sex was amazing, but it was more than that. Her body and soul fit mine like f&&king puzzle pieces.I happily watched Piper sleep for as long as I could, memorizing each of her features, until exhaustion tugged me into dreamland too.Just before I fell asleep, I set the alarm on my phone for 8:00 am. It was later than I normally woke up, but after the night that we had had, I figured it was fine to skip my traditional morning workout.My plan was for Piper and I to wake up together, enjoy round number six in the shower, and then have just enough time to get ready and meet my family for breakfast.Unfortunately, that is not what happened.Instead, shortly after 5 am, I was awok
(Piper POV)“H-hi, Axel. I am Piper. Why are you in my room?”Or more importantly, why was he in my room —while I was naked— and Leo wasn’t?“I am looking for my daddy.”“Why would he be looking for Ellis in here?” Penelope asked me in our link. “I am pretty sure Ellis hasn’t lived at the packhouse or at Bloodstone Pack for a long time.”I had the same question.“Why are you looking for him in my room?”“Because he wasn’t in his room, so Mommy said to check in yours.”I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. “Sweetheart, I don’t think your daddy lives in the packhouse,” I told Axel gently. “If you want, I can see if someone else can help you find him…”Axel giggled. “Of course my daddy lives in the packhouse, Pwetty Lady!! He is the alpha.”I raised an eyebrow. “But the alpha is Leo….”“Yes!!! My daddy is Leo!!!” Axel said excitedly. “Do you know where he is?”I looked around again, hoping for some sign of him that I had overlooked. Unfortunately, the bathroom door was open, so
(Piper POV)“W-what am I doing in the picture?”“Leaving, so that Mommy, Daddy, and I can be a family again.”I looked at Axel as he said the words, and his face was full of youthful innocence and sincerity.My heart stopped.And then… as I processed what he had just said… my heart broke into several pieces.“Y-you want me to leave?”Looking back on it, I know that it was silly of me to have felt hurt and offended. I mean, the pup had known me for all of ten minutes. But I did feel hurt and offended. And sad too.This was a pup who was incredibly important to Leo… my future husband… and he wanted me to leave.Because I was standing in the way of his mommy and daddy being together.I did not want to be that person. As much as I loved Leo, I did not want to be the one that stood in between a family.“We don’t even know if he is telling the truth,” Penelope linked me.“Pups normally don’t lie,” I responded.“Usually they don’t. But maybe he is. He is Ingrid’s spawn after all. Or m