(Piper POV)“This is not on me, Piper,” Xander growls. “We would not be in this position if you had not whored yourself out at Wildwood!!!!”I have no idea what Xander is talking about, but his words feel like a slap in the face. It was bad enough that Alpha Aiden had believed those things before he got to know me. But for Xander —who I had grown up with and who I considered my best friend— to also believe those stupid rumors? That cuts deep.“I don’t know what you heard, Xander, but those rumors about me whoring myself out at Wildwood are not true,” I respond bitterly.“RUMORS?!?!?! Do you think I listened to rumors, Piper? I SAW THOSE THINGS FOR MYSELF!!!!” Xander roars back at me.“You what?” What is he talking about? I am so confused. He was not there. I would have known if he was… wouldn’t I have? “I don’t know who you saw, or what you think you saw, or when you thought you saw it, but ---"“It was a year ago. You were wearing a slutty black dress and dancing close to
(Piper POV)It took me more than ten minutes to tell Xander everything that had happened at Wildwood Pack, and everything that had led up to that night. Xander gently held my hands throughout the story, and he quietly listened to the whole thing without interrupting or asking any questions. In a way, it felt good to finally talk to someone about what had happened. I had been having a hard time making sense of everything on my own, especially my conflicting feelings about Leo. Xander’s quiet support reminded me of when he was there for me after my mother died. Back then, he let me cry for hours until I had gotten all of the emotions out —good, bad, irrational, and ugly. When I finally ran out of tears and things to say, he took me in his arms and promised me that everything was going to be okay, even if it did not feel like it in that moment.Call me crazy, but I had expected a similar reaction from Xander when I finished talking about everything that had happened at Wildwood. M
(Xander POV)When Piper got that funny look in her eyes, I knew immediately what was about to happen. Unfortunately, there were chairs between us, so —although I have killer instincts and I was able to quickly catch her— I was half a second too late and the back of Piper’s head still managed to hit the corner of the desk.The blood suddenly oozing from her head made our already horrible situation even worse. The overwhelming guilt hit me immediately, replacing the rage that I had been feeling.Goddess, I cannot believe that I blurted out the news about her father that way. The horrified, pained look in her eyes may be forever burned into my memory. I know it is no excuse, but I was just so angry with her… and myself… and the Moon Goddess… and the entire crappy situation. And to make matters worse, I knew I still had to tell her about Alpha Aiden being her brother. On top of that, all throughout our fight, I kept thinking about how we had so many secrets keeping us apart, and how
(Piper POV)I woke up in a strange room. I felt groggy, and I had a massive headache. As my eyes adjusted to my surroundings, I realized that I was in a hospital room. Alpha Aiden was sitting on a chair beside me, holding my hand.“W-where am I?” I asked, as I tried to sit up. “What happened?”“Relax, Piper. Don’t try to move too quickly.”“What happened?” I asked again.“You fainted and hit your head.”“I did what? When?”“You don’t remember?” Aiden asked with concern.I tried to think back. I was working, and Asher came to get me. He said that someone needed to see me. I was a little worried, but he promised me that I had nothing to worry about and that Alpha Aiden and Beta Jonas had both approved of the visitor.I went to the guest office that Asher directed me into and….…then what happened?“I… I’m not sure. I remember Asher bringing me to a guest office, and then….”“It’s okay, Piper. Don’t stress yourself out too much. It will come back to you in time.”Aiden sounde
(Xander POV)I did not want to leave Piper behind at Moon Shadow Pack, especially after our fight. However, the doctor reassured me that she was going to be okay; I had already been there far too long; and I knew that it was only a matter of time before Amanda and Leo’s men came looking for me.Ultimately, trusting that Alpha Aiden and Beta Jonas would follow through on our discussion, I left the herbs with them and headed out with Daphne.As we waited for our taxi, Daphne excitedly asked me where we were going. Her excitement annoyed me to no end, but it was a fair question.A part of me debated whether I should take Daphne directly back to Blue Ridge, or whether I should first return to the hotel where I left Amanda. There were pros and cons with both approaches.The deciding factor for me was that I knew Amanda would lose her sh&t upon seeing me with my fated mate. In fact, I knew that there was a decent probability that —if I brought Daphne back to the hotel— Amanda might even
(Piper POV)Dr. Fellows insisted on observing me overnight, just in case I had any more fainting spells. That was mostly fine, except that it meant that —once visiting hours were over— I was stuck alone in a hospital room, with little more than a television and my wolf to entertain me.I would never admit it to Aiden, Jonas, or any of my friends, but I was not sure that being left alone was a good idea. After everything that happened with Xander, and after hearing that my father… died…, I would have appreciated more of a distraction. The kind that human cooking shows can’t really offer.(Yes, I am addicted to human cooking shows on TV. I figure if I watch enough of them, eventually I will learn how to cook properly. Of course, that may work about as well as my addiction to romance novels teaching me about love.)I guess the good news about being stuck in the hospital was that it gave Penelope and I some extra time to talk about everything. Penelope was even more angry than I was
(Piper POV)I could tell that Asher was hiding something from me, and I had a ton of questions. However, I knew that most of my questions would have to wait. I needed to get out of Moon Shadow before an unnecessary war broke out; I did not want any lives to be lost over me.For a brief moment, I thought about leaving Moon Shadow and going directly to Bloodstone Pack. However, Penelope was against the idea, and I knew that both Aiden and Xander would view it as another betrayal. I also worried that one or both of them would try to get me back from Leo, which would give up any home field advantage they might have otherwise had. Whether I liked it or not, running again was the only logical answer right now. Or so I thought.I hurried to try to get out of bed, but I was still dizzy and my legs a bit wobbly. I guess I hit my head harder than I realized. Asher caught me just before I fell.“Easy, there, Piper. I am going to have to carry you out of here. I am also going to have to
(Piper POV)Suddenly, we hit a pothole and both of our bodies were thrown against the body of the car. Thank Goddess we were both wearing our seatbelts, but even with that, the jerking movement was not great for my still-recovering head wound.“Sh&t,” Asher cried out. “Piper, are you okay?”I rubbed my head. “Yeah, I’m okay. The wig added some good cushion,” I teased as I tried to make light out of the situation. “I am just glad that the air bags did not go off.” “Me too. I know that this tunnel has not been used in a long time, but you'd think that they would figure out a way to maintain it somehow. I’ll have to talk to them.”I don’t know why, but that comment was all it took to trigger a “light bulb moment” in my head.“Asher, I know Aiden did not tell you about this tunnel, because he would have tried to stop us from using it. Who told you about it and gave you the key?”Asher glanced over at me and smirked. “You are starting to figure it out now, huh?”“I think so,” I