Daily double updates start tomorrow.
(Leo Bloodstone POV)Yes, it is true. I reached a peace agreement with Xander Ross and Blue Ridge Pack.The agreement was necessary to get the werewolf council off of our backs, and it was a temporary agreement that would explicitly expire upon my marriage to Piper. Nevertheless,entering into the agreement was a huge f&&king deal, and it felt wrong on so many levels. And not just because the terms were ridiculous.Indeed, I knew when I entered into it that my father would have some colorful things to say about it. As he should. As my entire family should. It was to my father’s immense credit that he did not interfere with my decision to do it. It was also to his immense credit that he chose to leave the room during the negotiations. Hell, it was to my father’s immense credit that he had waited this many years to burn Blue Ridge Pack down and destroy every living being inside of it.Perhaps I should explain.Eighteen years ago, my little brother was murdered. It happened while
(Leo Bloodstone POV)So what happened to my little brother?Well, this is what my father was able to piece together. While I tossed a football around with another alpha pup, Axel had been playing on the swings. He kept getting off of the swings and asking Beth for permission to play with the bunnies that he saw running wild in the forest behind us, but Beth would not let him.We could only guess that when Beth got distracted, he decided to chase after them anyway. Bunnies being bunnies, they likely led him on quite the chase. Axel was a pretty fast four-year-old, but he was also pretty clumsy. Tiny parts of his shirt were found deep into the forest, as though his shirt had snagged on them as he was running.Of course, as a four-year-old, Axel did not understand or appreciate pack boundaries. As a result, we suspect that he had no idea that he crossed through multiple packs on his little journey until it was much too late.Eventually, Axel ran into a small group of rogues. Normall
(Leo Bloodstone POV)Warrior Ruben’s letter continued: “I did not want to kill your pup. I was following orders.Looking back on it, I wish I had pushed back on the orders or ignored them entirely. But I was still just a pup myself, having just turned 21 years old the month before. And I had a new, pregnant mate at home. I did not know how to challenge authority, and I was scared to try.I know none of these things are excuses. I also know that my regret is probably of very little comfort to you. But it’s true. I desperately wish that I could have changed what happened that day.Before I go further, please understand that my alpha is not a bad guy. He never has been. He was just a young alpha who was a little …misguided… and who experienced some things that messed with his perspective. He also hasn’t always gotten the best advice from others around him.Let me back up. As I see things, the story of your pup’s death begins almost three years before your pup died, when rogue
(Leo Bloodstone POV)I'll pause for a moment, because at this point in the story, I am sure that you are wondering two different things. First, how could I possibly memorize such a long letter after reading it just one time? In response to that question, I will say two things: 1) I am both a werewolf and an alpha, which means that I have all sorts of abilities that an average human does not have; and 2) you try forgetting a letter that explains so much of a tragedy that has impacted your entire life.Second, do I (or did I) have any sympathy for Warrior Ruben’s plight? Did/ does my father? The second question is as easy to answer as the first: No. Does that make us cruel and heartless? Maybe. But the a&&hole shot and killed a 4-year-old pup who was chasing after a f&&king bunny. I don’t care how scared Ruben was. I also do not care how young he was. There is a thing called a moral compass, and if Warrior Ruben had a functional one, he would have stopped to think about what
(Leo Bloodstone POV)The next part of Ruben’s suicide letter may have been the hardest for me to read, but it also had a profound impact on my life. It also gave me my first glimpse of Piper Monroe, aka my Little Pea.“While members of the werewolf council led the search for your pup, myself and another guard transported your pup to the border gates and dropped his body off there.We had been directed to drop off the body and leave, but I just could not leave the pup alone. It was starting to get dark, and I worried that an animal might come and paw at his body. I may have taken his life, but I could not take his dignity too. So I waited and watched.There must have been a group of she-wolves who went shopping in human territory or something and who were unaware of the search for your pup, because after about an hour, several cars casually pulled up to the border gates. At first, I worried that we had placed your pup’s body in a bad location, because none of the cars seemed to no
(Piper POV)It was now closing in on noon. My stomach was rumbling, meaning that my body was hungry, but I had no desire to eat. I was numb.It had been hours since I had been stuck in the panic room with Ingrid, Axel, and the nannies. Thankfully, it had also been hours since anyone talked to me. Once Ingrid said what she wanted to say, she left me alone to process it.And process it I did. Like poison.I knew deep down that she was lying about at least some of what she told me. But was any of what she said true? So much of what she said answered questions that I had. Was she such a good storyteller that she could identify questions that I never asked and answer them with stories that were 100% lies? Was anyone that good? I didn’t know.All I knew was that I trusted Leo. And I felt safe with him. And I loved him. Goddess, did I love him.But Ingrid had an answer for that too. She said that my engagement ring had been spelled by magic. That part I knew was true —Leo had
(Piper POV)As I hear what sounds like a steel door opening, I race out of the bedroom. The moment that I see Leo, I feel a tremendous weight lift from my shoulders. Without saying anything, I jump into his arms. I wrap my legs around his torso and bury my face into the crook of his neck. He smells like sweat, blood, and war, but I could care less. He is here. An answer to my prayers.“Well that is a greeting that I could get used to,” he chuckles. He begins rubbing comforting circles on my back with one hand, while the other holds me up by my a&&.“Are you okay? Is everyone else okay? Is the pack okay? What happened?” I ask in single breath.He smiles as he gently pushes me back just a little bit so that he can look into my eyes.“Everything is fine, Little Pea. Everyone is okay. I missed you.”I smile at his words. I know that we need to talk, and I know that I have even more doubts and questions for him than before, but this feels right. I can feel it deep in my gut; b
(Piper POV)After Leo leaves, I can feel the tears beginning to form in my eyes, but I fight them back. Like hell am I going to let Ingrid and Axel know that they have successfully broken me.Not that they don’t already know. It is pretty obvious that they do. Axel sticks his tongue out at me the moment that Leo is out of earshot, and Ingrid looks like she just won a billion dollars. At least the two nannies have the decency to have at least a little bit of sympathy in their eyes.As the four of them push past me to leave —presumably headed towards their rooms as Leo had directed— I find my feet stuck in place. I think a part of me hopes that if I stay in that same spot for long enough, I will wake up in my bed and find out that everything that has happened for the past six hours was just a nightmare.But then I hear Ingrid praise Axel, and for some reason, that is all it takes to bring me back to reality.“Mommy, did I do good?” Axel asks her, hopefully. “I tolded Pwetty Lady e