(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 the only thing that was keeping me going.
By this point, it had been 23 months since I ran away from home. My 20th birthday was in just a few more days, which meant that I would finally be old enough to meet my mate.
I should have felt relieved and excited, and a part of me was. Wanting a chance to meet my fated mate was the main reason Xander convinced me to run away.
However, a bigger part of me was sad. And homesick. And the biggest part of me felt guilty. So very, very guilty.
Xander promised that he would come for me when it was safe to come back, but I had not seen or heard anything from him. The herbs that he gave me to mask my identity as a ranked wolf had almost run out, and I was getting nervous. The more time that went by, the more scared I became that Xander’s absence meant something bad had happened.
I worried that Bloodstone had carried out its threats and attacked our pack after I left. Worse, I worried that Blue Ridge had lost the war and/or that wolves that I cared about had been hurt or killed.
The guilt I felt was overwhelming.
I had the chance to save my pack and everyone that I cared about, and instead of doing so, I ran. I was a selfish coward. Would it really have been so bad to marry Leo Bloodstone? He wasn’t my mate, but he was handsome and powerful. Sure, everyone including Xander said that he was a cruel a&&hole, but could marrying him have been any worse than living without my family and friends?
“Xander was right, Piper. We deserved the chance to meet our mate, just like every other wolf. And there was no guarantee that even if you had married Leo, Bloodstone would have left our pack alone. They may have attacked anyway,” my wolf reminded me in our link.
I sighed. “Yes, Penelope, but there was also the chance that Bloodstone would have kept their promise. And if it didn’t, I might have at least been in a position to warn our pack. Or to fight alongside them. I never should have left.”
“Piper, you cannot think that way.”
“Sure I can,” I responded dismissively.
Penelope groaned and then retreated to the recesses of my mind. She did not enjoy my self-imposed pity parties. She preferred to be optimistic and focus on our future.
When I was younger, I was optimistic just like her; it was why Penelope and I got along so well. However, the guilt and homesickness had slowly begun to change my personality.
Every single day, I thought about those that I left behind. My father. My little brother. Xander. Xander’s family. My school friends. The pack omegas.
Not knowing what happened after I left —and not knowing how everyone was doing— was practically killing me.
Unfortunately, I did not deal with the combined guilt and homesickness very well. And by “not very well,” I mean that I made some really bad decisions. The weight of those bad decisions has also began to impact me.
How bad were my bad decisions? You have no idea. My bad decision making started on the one-year anniversary of running away, and it centered around an unfortunately very handsome male wolf....
Sorry it has taken me longer than expected to get this one started. Life on the personal and day-job front has been crazy, and I've had a little bit of writer doubt (as opposed to writer block). I think I am largely past most of that now and hope to start posting regular updates.
(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
(Leo Bloodstone POV) “Alpha, we lost Xander.” “What the f&ck do you mean, you lost Xander?” I growled into the phone. “He was here, and then… he wasn’t.” “PULL OVER!” I screamed at our driver. Knowing my temper, the driver immediately complied. “How long has Xander been gone?” I asked the lead warrior. “He was last seen going into his room five hours ago.” “And?” “And he never came out.” “How do you know that he isn’t still in there?” “Because we sent one of the omegas to his room under the guise of finding out if he was coming to dinner. He never answered the door.” “And?” “And after waiting for about 20 minutes, we got a key from Alpha Tyler and entered the room. He was gone.” “I assume you have already checked with Nicholas?” I growled. “Nicholas was supposed to be watching Xander’s window and balcony.” “Y-yes, Alpha. Nicholas did not see anything.” “Why the f&ck not?” “H-he says he was watching the room the entire t-time except---”“EXCEPT WHEN?” “Nicholas ha
(A few hours earlier)(Piper POV)We left Moon Shadow Pack right after breakfast. After what felt like a really long drive, we stopped at a human mall to pick out our dresses and shoes. We then checked into a motel to change and get ready. I was starting to feel better about going. After thinking about it, I realized that with the conference going on, there were unlikely to be many ranked wolves in attendance. Meaning, it was unlikely that wolves who who knew my parents, my old pack, or me would be at the party. And, on the off chance that anyone there did know me or know of me, the glittery masquerade masks that Natasha picked out —coupled with the herbs that Xander had me taking— would make it very hard for anyone to pick me out of the crowd.I was also started to getting excited about having an opportunity to get dressed up. I have not worn a dress since the wedding, but it was something that I always loved to do growing up. In fact, Xander would sometimes tease me that I
(Piper POV)“My name is Joshua,” he said with a smile. “Your names?”“Maya,” Maya replied.“None of your business,” I responded at the exact same time. Whether or not he was hot, I was enjoying being 100% unknown here. I wasn't ready to give that up.Joshua brought his hand to his heart, pretending as though I had wounded him.“Ouch! You kill me, Blondie! And to think we are practically family!”At first, I raised an eyebrow at him, but then I realized he could not see it through my mask.“Family?” I asked.Joshua wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me close to him while making a show out of of gawking at my exposed cleavage.“Yeah, family,” he said in a sultry voice. “You know, because my friend is mated to your friend. It practically makes us relatives.”I rolled my eyes. “Oh, really? Do you get hard-ons for all of your relatives?” I asked sarcastically, pointing to the semi-obvious tent forming in his pants.Maya began laughing so hard that she spit out half her drin