(Piper POV)One strange advantage to having your soul crushed into a million pieces is that it gives you options in terms of where to focus your energy.You can choose to focus on the heartbroken pieces, the jealous pieces, or the confused pieces. Alternatively, you can choose to focus on the pieces of your soul that are still desperately holding onto hope and faith and trust.Or, you can do what I decide to do: you can focus on the angry pieces.Truth be told, there is still a part of me that thinks that this is all just a set up by Ingrid. A masterful, brilliant set up. Another part of me isn’t sure what is going on, but it is nevertheless convinced that Leo loves me and that I can trust him.Unfortunately, if I listen to those latter pieces right now —after everything that has happened not only today, not only during the past two weeks, but rather during the entire past two years— I know me. The confusion will take over and I will end up in a corner of the stairwell crying for
(Piper POV)After a couple of rings, the house phone in the alpha suite is answered.“Hello?” says a female voice.I know that voice, but it isn’t Luna Rachael. Who is it?“Hello?” the voice asks again.“H-Hi. Who is this?” I ask hesitantly.“Andie.”Realization hits me and I sigh in relief. Andie is one of the Blue Ridge omegas. She and I used to be good friends. We were close in part because she was one of the few she-wolves who did not lust after Xander; she was too obsessed with her neighbor and long-term boyfriend, David.“Oh my Goddess, Andie. It’s me, Piper.”“PIPER!!!!!!” she squeals. “Oh my gosh. I have missed you so much!!!! How are you doing? Where are you? How is life? Have you met your mate? Any pups?”“Slow down, Andie,” I laugh. “First, tell me how you are doing? How is David?”“David is great. We just found out three months ago that we are fated mates, and… I’m PREGNANT!!!!”I squeal a little bit at her response. “Oh, Andie!!! That is fantastic news!!!!
(Xander POV)After Andie disconnected the call, I yanked the phone out of the wall and threw it angrily across the room. It immediately shattered into pieces.No sooner had the pieces hit the floor than regret hit me, hard and fast.I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket and tossed it to Andie. I was still angry, but I knew that I had to fix this situation. More importantly, I needed to fix this situation quickly. “CALL HER BACK,” I demanded.“W-what?”“I. SAID. CALL. HER. BACK.”Andie looked at me as though I had lost my mind. And, of course, she was probably right. Andie and I had known each other since we were pups, and she had never seen me behave the way that I was behaving right now. Unfortunately, I did not have time to worry about how Andie was feeling.“Xander, I can’t. I –” “ALPHA XANDER!!!” I corrected her. “Right now, I am your alpha not your friend!!! And I am giving you a direct order. Call Piper back, NOW!!!!!!”“Alpha, I-I can’t.” “WHY NOT??!?!?”“I… I
(Xander POV)***FLASHBACK TO A FEW HOURS EARLIER***Leo and I had just worked out the terms of our agreement. With no time to write it out, we quickly dictated it into audio files on each of our cell phones. It wasn’t the ideal way to record a peace treaty, but it was enforceable all the same.While we waited for Luna Lily and Alpha James to rejoin us in Leo’s office so that we could tell them that we had reached a deal, I was feeling great. Powerful, even. Despite Leo’s strength and his reputation —and despite us being on his home turf, fighting over a she-wolf who unbeknownst to him was his fated mate— I felt confident that I was just days if not hours from having Piper in my arms, and in my bed, exactly where she belonged.Yes, I still had more steps that I would have to take to achieve that goal, but get there I would. After all, this mission had proven how quickly I could think on my feet and how masterfully I could get myself out of tough situations. Even if Ellis had playe
(Xander POV)“Fine. I’m listening. Why don’t you tell us why you won’t accept the peace treaty between Bloodstone and Blue Ridge.”Alpha James growled again, but Luna Lily gently rubbed his cheek.“Darling, they aren’t the first a&&holes that I’ve had to deal with, and they won’t be the last. Let me deal with this, okay?” she whispered.Alpha James did not reply —out loud at least— but he did pull Luna Lily closer to him. I got the sense that Luna Lily was slightly annoyed with the protectiveness of her mate, but that she was willing to humor him for now. The love between the two of them was obvious.I briefly hoped that, once we were mated, Piper would be like that with me. But maybe not as loud about it in front of others. I saw her in more of a supporting role, letting me do the talking, and only correcting me in private.Luna Lily took a deep breath.“Look, Alpha Xander. I’m going to be blunt because we really do not have a lot of time. We need to get back to your pack.”
(Xander POV)“The werewolf council received another call from Blue Ridge about twenty minutes ago,” Luna Lily informed me.My stomach dropped. What the f&&k was Ellis trying to do now?“This call was from Dr. Jack Garcia.”Oh.F&&k.My heart started to race.Dr. Garcia was one of the Blue Ridge pack doctors. He was also the one I had asked to take care of my parents while they were in their drug-induced comas.“Dr. Garcia was calling to make a couple of mandatory reports, and also to request that a representative from the werewolf council come to Blue Ridge for an emergency alpha swearing-in.”I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. Why would Dr. Garcia be making that kind of call? What kind of “mandatory reports” would he be required to make? And why would the council need to do the swearing in? Was Dr. Garcia a traitor? Was he the one to blame for this morning and not Ellis? He had been with my parents for decades, but perhaps he had gotten tired of not having a rank and a highe
(Xander POV)It is funny the things that you focus on when tragedy strikes. It isn’t the big things that bother you and that you pay attention to. Sometimes it isn’t even the important things. It is almost always the stupid things. Or at least that is how I handle tragedy. Who the f&&k knows what other werewolves do. I guess I’ve never really paid that much attention. I am learning that I need to change that about myself. Well, that and a million other things.In any event, I think it is fair to say that I did not react to the news involving my parents the way that a sane person would. Nor did I react the way that I would have expected even of myself. For example:Gunner and I remembered to grab my cell phone and wallet after we shifted into Gunner’s wolf form… but we did not think twice about, or even really care about, all of our men that were locked up in Leo’s dungeons after the attack.Then, when I arrived back at Blue Ridge, I took a shortcut to the pack hospital throu
(Xander POV)Ellis and Daphne came to my parents’ room together about ten minutes later. Daphne handled me a small bundle of clothing, which I quickly put on.Once dressed, I told Daphne to wait outside. I needed to talk to Ellis about the counteragent, and the last thing I needed was for Daphne to hear our conversation and have one more thing to blackmail me with.“But I’m your mate. I should be in here with you,” she protested.I rolled my eyes. “No, you aren’t. Now leave.”“To everyone out there,” she pointed to the pack hospital hallway, “I am. It would look strange if I left. So I stay.”“To everyone in here,” I replied tersely, “You are not. So leave.”Ignoring me, Ellis sat down in a chair and pulled Daphne onto his lap.“She stays, Xander.”Ellis spoke as though he was the boss, and the one in control. It pissed me off.I glanced at my parents, briefly wondering if they could hear what we were saying while they were in their comas. I decided to lower my voice, just i