(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 not,” I admit.
A couple minutes of silence passes between us. Finally, Dr. Eggert breaks the silence for a second time.
“Your face changed when you brought up the one-year anniversary of running away. Did something happen that night?”
I continue staring out the window. “You could say that.”
“Do you want to tell me what it was?”
“No.”
I don’t want to tell anyone. Not again. The last —and only— time I told anyone what happened that night, the conversation did not go well. The confession led to a lot of yelling, screaming, and crying. Worse, confessing my mistakes ultimately led to me losing my best friend.
Xander’s reaction still plays like a cruel echo in my mind.
It was a year later when I told him --so two years after I ran away. I had naively expected understanding and sympathy from him. Perhaps even relief that I made it through safely. But instead, Xander’s cruel words cut me to my core.
“How could you be so stupid?”
“How could you betray me like that? After everything I sacrificed. After everything the pack has sacrificed.”
“Do you care about anyone but yourself? Did you think of anyone else?”
“What would your mother think about what you did? What would your father think?”
“You are nothing but a horrible slut.”
In all the years I had known him, Xander had never spoken to me like that.
Perhaps he was just angry and said things he did not mean. Or perhaps I deserved his reaction. Perhaps I deserve what is happening to me now.
“Piper?”
“Hmm?”
“I lost you again.”
“Sorry, Dr. Eggert.”
“Tell me what happened, Piper,” Dr. Eggert urges me. “It will help you to get it off of your chest.”
“I made some big mistakes,” I respond truthfully.
“Teenagers are good at that,” Dr. Eggert replies.
I know she is trying to make me feel better, but it is not working.
“My mistakes were bigger than most.”
“What happened?”
I say nothing. Instead, I wipe away the tears that have managed to begin falling.
I hear Dr. Eggert sigh as she walks over to where I am standing. She puts her hand on my shoulder.
“You can trust me, Piper.”
Again, I say nothing. What can I say?
“Piper, whatever it was that you did, it cannot be that bad.”
I spin around and look at Dr. Eggert angrily. “How can you say that? You don’t even know what I did.”
“I know that Luna Lily intervened on your behalf. I know that she is waiting in the alpha’s office along with Alpha James and their two little pups, hoping and praying that I can help you. I do not know if you know their story, Piper, but Luna Lily and Alpha James themselves had a rough go of it years ago. They made mistakes, and they came out stronger. They are good judges of character now. They would not have intervened unless you were worth it.”
I wipe more tears away. I want to believe that what Dr. Eggert is telling me is the truth. But what if it’s not? Or what if Luna Lily and Alpha James are wrong about me?
“What is your story, Dr. Eggert?” I ask, desperate to change the subject.
“I am not the patient, Piper.”
“You want me to trust you with my secrets, but you will not trust me with yours?”
“Who said I have any secrets?”
“Don’t you?”
“You are deflecting.”
“I am just asking a question, Dr. Eggert.”
“I am not the one who attacked a gamma wolf unprovoked, Piper.”
I scoff. “It wasn’t exactly unprovoked.”
“What did he do to deserve the attack, Piper?”
“He was f&&king a she-wolf who was not his mate. Third she-wolf in a week. His future mate will thank me. I was basically doing a public service.”
Dr. Eggert studies my face. “Is that what you did?” she asks.
“What?”
“Did you sleep with someone else’s mate?”
Sh&t, sh&t, sh&t.
I turn and look out the window again. I start to do mental math about whether I can safely jump out the window, and about how long it would take the guards to catch up with me.
“Piper? Did you hear my question?”
“Tell her, Piper,” Penelope links me. “Just tell her.”
I cover my face with my hands.
“Piper?” Dr. Eggert repeats. “Did you sleep with someone else’s mate? Is that the big mistake that you made on the one-year anniversary of running away?”
“Worse,” I whisper.
"How could it be worse?"
“I slept with Leo Bloodstone.”
(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
(Piper POV)Joshua leaned forward and forcibly kissed me. I tried to claw at him to get him to stop, but again I wasn't strong enough.Thankfully, however, we suddenly both heard footsteps nearby. Joshua stopped kissing me, allowing me just enough room to turn my head and see who it was. All I saw was the back of a male’s head, but that was enough for me.“Help!” I cried out.The male did not stop. Instead, he kept walking.I tried to cry out again, but Joshua clamped his hand against my mouth and warned me to be quiet. Once the unknown male was gone, Joshua started up again.“Just take one drink, Blondie. That’s all I ask. Take one drink and I promise that I will leave you alone.”“I said NO, Joshua. Now let me go.”“Fine. Have it your way.”At that point, Joshua let go of me. He took a small step back and took a sip of the wine. For a moment, I naively thought he had given up. I was wrong.In the very next second, he leaned forward again and forcibly kissed me as he squee
(Piper POV) The next thing that I knew, I was laying on a bed in a bedroom that I did not recognize. The male from before was sitting next to me, gently shaking me awake while holding a glass of water. “Piper, you need to drink this.” “How do you know my name?” I asked. “We can talk later. Fow now, you need to drink the water. It will help chase the drugs out of your system.” I looked at him in confusion. “You don’t have three heads anymore. What happened to your other two heads?” “Drink, Piper.” I took the water glass and studied it. Deciding it really was water, I quickly drank it. "Thank you. Now get some rest." With that, the male stood up, put the glass down on a table, and started to walk towards the door. “Wait! Where are you going?” “I need to leave.” “Why?” I was trying desperately to piece everything together. Penelope was still asleep and my brain felt like swiss cheese. Party. Dancing. Bathroom. Wine. Pigs flying. Blood. More pigs. Males wit