(Piper POV)When I next woke, I was completely disoriented. I had no idea where I was or how long I had been out.I was, however, vaguely aware of voices in the background. Those voices became clearer as the grogginess cleared from my mind. I decided to keep my eyes closed and listen. As they talked, I began to remember coming to Nick and Jenny’s room and finding out that my engagement ring had more than one spell on it. Wanting to avoid panicking again, I reached up and grabbed my mother’s locket. I rubbed it, hoping it would bring me a little bit of comfort.“Is she awake yet?” a voice I now recognized as Dr. Hyder asked.I did not know if the phone was on speaker phone, but given my werewolf hearing and Dr. Hyder’s strong voice, it did not really make a difference.“No, not yet.”“Make sure she eats something when she does. She is going to need her strength.”“Yes, Sir.”“I have been doing some digging, and there are three potential ways to get the ring off.”“That’s great!”
(Jenny Brogan POV)When Nick and I first arrived at Bloodstone Pack, I thought that the mistakes that I made in the past were long behind me.It turns out that I was wrong. Although Nick, Luna Lily, Alpha James, and the others had long since forgiven me, I realized that I had never completely forgiven myself. That was and is a problem. In fact, I think that is why I have so far resisted the idea of having pups with Nick. I have not only worried that I did not deserve to have any pups, but I have also feared that I would not be the kind of mother that my pups needed me to be.Where did all these epiphanies come from, you may wonder? Piper. Well, not really her per se. More like helping Piper. The more I help her —and the more that I think about ways to help her— the more I feel like I am somehow redeeming myself and my soul. That I am earning back the Moon Goddess’ trust and faith in me.I admit that I came on a little too strong at first, but I backed off. I chose to instead
(Piper POV) I somehow make it to the border in record time, without running into any other guards along the way. Kade is not at our meeting spot yet, so I find a tree stump and sit down. As soon as I sit, I realize that my hands are shaking. I cannot believe that Jenny has been kidnapped, and all because her kidnappers thought that she was me. The crazy thing is, why would anyone want to kidnap me? Like everything else lately, it does not make any sense.Hopefully, once we get my engagement ring off and (most of) the spells are gone, I will be able to think more clearly. Maybe I will even be able to help with the efforts to find and save Jenny. I say a silent prayer to the Moon Goddess that Nick will find her quickly and that Jenny will be safe. I do not know what I will do if the kidnappers hurt her.I try to calm my nerves as best I can as I continue to wait for Kade. I still have not heard from Penelope, so I close my eyes and try reach out to her again. Unfortunately, sh
(Piper POV)Kade directs me to a spot a few feet away and then video-calls Dr. Hyder. After a few words of greeting, Kade turns the phone around so that Dr. Hyder and I can see one another for the first time.“Piper, it is an honor to finally see you. I am sorry that it is under these circumstances,” Dr. Hyder says.“The honor is all mine,” I say truthfully. “Have you heard any updates about Jenny?”“Not yet. But we will find her. Don’t you worry about that. Are you ready to get started?”“Yes, Sir.”“Kade, I assume that you have the syringes and the drydratipramine?”“Yes, Sir.”“And the anti-antagramine?“Yes, Sir.”“Good. Now put your phone in your shirt pocket, with the camera at the top allowing me to watch what is happening, and then let me see you fill each syringe.”Kade follows the instructions. As he pulls out the syringes, I notice that one has a red rubber top and the other has a black rubber top. I assume the different colors are so that they do not get mixed up w
(Piper POV)The next time that I opened my eyes, I was in a hotel room. Given the position of the sun and the sunlight streaming through the windows, I guessed that it was now morning.I sat up and began to look around. I felt different, but I could not put my finger on exactly why. My head did feel clearer, though. Like it was somehow easier to think.“Good morning, Sunshine,” Kade said to me as he came out of the bathroom.Kade was shirtless, and it appeared that he had just gotten out of the shower because his hair was wet. Kade was an attractive male, but seeing his semi-naked body did nothing for me. Spotting his shirt on the bed opposite me, I tossed it to him.“How long was I out?” I asked.“A while,” Kade replied with a smile. “Apparently dying, even temporarily, takes a lot of energy out of you.”“What time is it?”“8 am.”“What day is it?”“Saturday.”“My wedding day,” I whispered, almost to myself.I looked down at my left hand. My engagement ring was no longer there
(Piper POV)Kade and I made our way to a human diner that was walking distance from our hotel. Thankfully, despite it being a Sunday morning, it was not very crowded. My guess was that most people were either sleeping in or were at church. Either way, I was grateful for the quiet and super excited about the food.The pretty, young waitress sat us in a booth towards the back. After not-so-subtly trying to figure out if Kade and I were a couple, she stepped away to grab a couple of menus.Before she came back, I saw her unbutton the top three buttons of her uniform, exposing her red lace bra and the tops of her obviously-fake breasts. When I saw her do it, I laughed and rolled my eyes. Did that desperate trick really work on men?Well, apparently it does, because when she came back over and I glanced over at Kade, he was practically drooling in appreciation. In fact, when the waitress leaned over to place his water and silverware in front of him, I was half-surprised that he did n
(Piper POV)I was pretty quiet for the rest of breakfast.Kade tried to apologize, but I wasn’t sure why. I reassured him that he did not need to do so. I was the one who should be sorry. I was, after all, the one who started the conversation, and he was right that who he slept with was none of my business. I told him that I was just in a mood —because of being hungry, having died yesterday, and missing my wedding today— and that he should just ignore me.Kade did not seem too convinced that there wasn’t more to it, but he thankfully let it go. The last thing that I wanted to do was admit that I missed Leo.Once our pancakes arrived, we began to talk about the next part of our journey. And by “we,” I mean that Kade talked, and I mostly listened.Dr. Hyder wanted Kade to take me back to his pack, Red River, but that was on the other side of the country. Taking a plane would be the fastest way to get there, but Dr. Hyder did not want me getting on a plane for at least a week. He
(Leo Bloodstone POV)It has been almost 48 hours.I was supposed to be a married male by now. Piper was supposed to be wearing my mark. I was supposed to be explaining to Piper everything that I had done and why, and then —assuming she understood and was willing to accept it— having more of the best sex of my entire life while giving the symbolic middle finger to the werewolf council.Instead, Piper is gone. I have no idea where she is. Despite the three spells that I had placed on her engagement ring and despite all the other precautions that I took, it wasn’t enough. She left. And without a trace.I am a complete and utter wreck. If you were to see me right now, you may not even believe that I was me. The big, bad alpha has been reduced to a fraction of who I was before. I think most of my enemies would take one look at me and call me a major f&&king p&ssy right now. Hell, most of my friends probably would too. Especially because, instead of being out there killing someone