(Piper POV)We hit the third pothole hard, and we could hear and feel the damage being done to the car.I suggested that Asher pull over so that we could check how bad it was, but he did not want to. Instead, he wanted to get as far away from the pack as we could. He insisted that we would continue to drive until we got to the next town, or until we couldn’t drive anymore, whichever came first.Unfortunately, it was the latter. We probably only made it another 2000 - 3000 feet before he was forced to stop.Thankfully, despite everything, I now had a decent amount of adrenaline in my system. That adrenaline allowed me to temporarily ignore my dizziness and my head wound —by this point, head wounds— and get out of the car on my own. I grabbed the umbrella that I saw in the back seat and used it to cover myself and Asher.The damage wasn’t as bad as we feared. Basically, our back passenger tire had been punctured and completely shredded. Asher opened the trunk and found a spare, w
(Piper POV)There are times in life in which everything moves at the speed of light, and there are other times in which life stands still. Somehow on that rainy night just outside Moon Shadow, life managed to do both, starting with the moment that the strange SUV parked in front of us and a male got out.At first, the umbrellas (his and mine) and the heavy rain blocked my view of the male. However, I could tell that he was wearing what appeared to be business clothes —nice pants, a button-up shirt, and a tie— and his outfit seemed out of place given the late hour. But even more unusual was the chill that ran down my spine when I heard his voice. The chill was one of familiarity as opposed to fear, but I did not yet recognize it.“You okay?” he yelled back at me from a distance.“Just a flat tire,” I yelled back. “You got any tools?”I wasn’t sure then why I was comfortable enough to ask him, but I was.Unfortunately, just as I yelled back, a bolt of lightning came out of the sky,
(Asher POV)I have watched Piper since the first day she arrived at Moon Shadow Pack, in part because Jonas was nervous about having her around. In anticipation of her arrival, Xander told Jonas a variety of things about Piper. Some nice things; some not-so-nice. I had a bad feeling about the entire situation, and that feeling grew the more time I spent around her.My bad feeling was part of the reason that Jonas started to become suspicious of Xander too. They had been friends for a long time, but Jonas had slowly started to realize that he only knew the side of Xander that Xander wanted him to see. I suppose that is the benefit and downside of a long-distance friendship.Fast-forwarding to today, and I am not sure of many things. So much about the Piper-Xander-Leo situation confuses me. There is one thing that I am absolutely sure of, though: Piper is cream of the crop when it comes to she-wolves. She is kind, funny, and loyal. She calls you out on sh&t when you cross a lin
(Leo Bloodstone POV)It has taken me two f&&king days, but I have finally tracked Piper down again. She is currently waiting for a table in a packed human diner, which is actually perfect because it limits her escape options.This time, I am not taking any chances. I am 100% on my own. No one knows where I am, and I doubt anyone else knows where Piper is either. Nor do I have any guards with me. I do not trust them not to mess this up again.Tracking Piper was tough, but I was determined. Also, Addie’s suggestion to follow Asher’s scent was brilliant. Yes, I now know that Piper’s friend’s name is Asher. Thankfully, he is doing okay. Or at least I think he is. It was difficult to fully follow what Addie was saying when I talked to her a few minutes ago. Most awkward f&&king conversation of my life.*** FLASHBACK, 10 MINUTES AGO***I am f&&king relieved when my eyes land on Piper for the first time in two days. She is walking into a diner, and I decide to let her get settled
(Piper POV)As I walk into the diner, I am aware that Leo Bloodstone is nearby. It is weird that I can somehow sense him even though he must be too far away for me to smell him… but I can. Maybe it is just that his strong alpha energy sticks out like a sore thumb amongst the humans in this area. In fact, that is probably exactly what it is. When I was younger, I remember always being able to sense when Xander was around when our families went on trips together through human territories. (Those trips did not happen very often, but I have fond memories of the few we took.) Now that I have sensed Leo nearby, a part of me wants to keep running. However, at this point, I am too tired to do so. Penelope is too. Although my head wounds are healing, the more the adrenaline fades, the more drained I become. On top of that, neither Penelope nor I have gotten much sleep since we ran. We have alternated between our wolf and human forms, in the hopes of giving one another rest breaks,
(Piper POV)“What are you celebrating?” Charlie asks hesitantly, clearly confused.“I finally found my runaway bride,” Leo says matter-of-factly. It is a little eerie just how matter-of-factly he announces that, and the tension at the table increases.“Congratulations,” I reply with fake enthusiasm. I then pretend to look around the diner. “Where is she?”The corners of Leo’s lips tilt upwards, but he does not respond. I decide to continue to push him; it may be my only opportunity to do so. At least for a while.“Why did she run?” I ask Leo. “Was she afraid that you would kill more of her friends if she didn’t?”Leo’s eyes remain locked on my own. “I have killed none of her friends.”“Oh, I’m sorry. I meant, was she afraid that YOUR MEN would kill more of her friends?”Leo now seems slightly irritated.“I repeat,” he growls, “none of her friends have been killed. And none of them would have been harmed if they had not pointed a gun in my direction. My guards acted on instinc
(Piper POV)“Good. Now let’s really talk,” Leo says.I nod, but my heart starts racing. I’m nervous about this conversation. Really nervous.“You know, Leo is pretty hot,” Penelope links me. “And I like that he keeps protecting us. I wouldn’t mind a repeat of what happened between you two at Wildwood.”I sigh. I want to ignore Penelope’s comments as being more silliness from my unusually sex-crazed wolf, but the sad truth is that I agree with her. Leo’s dark hair has grown a little since I last saw him at Wildwood. It is still fairly short, but it is long enough now to reveal that he has natural waves in it. Meanwhile, his arms —which are just as muscular as before— look absolutely mouth-watering in his button-up shirt, which is rolled up to his elbows. And don’t get me started on his tight a&&, which I got a glimpse of when he got up to send Charlie away. In fact, his a&& alone looks good enough to make me want to drop my panties right here and now.No. Stop it Piper. I
(Leo Bloodstone POV)I cannot take my eyes off of Piper. Even now —after she has been running for two days with little sleep and food, and while she is wearing a simple blue maxi-dress— she looks like an absolute goddess. It is all that I can do not to lift her over my shoulder, take her to the bathroom, and have my way with her right here in this diner. Goddess knows that I want nothing more. But I know that it is too soon. Despite the fact that I enjoy teasing her, I am happy to wait. For a little while.I am not normally this patient. But the more that I get to know Piper, and the more that I have gotten to know about her, the more impressed I am by her. Alpha Aiden is correct that her attitude is similar to Addie’s, but I can see and appreciate the differences between the two she-wolves. Both Addie and Piper are strong, blunt, and unwilling to let themselves be intimidated by bullsh&t. But Addie is the way that she is largely because her parents have spoiled her througho
I have NOT abandoned this story. 2024 just hates me.I am determined to finish this story, and do so as soon as possible.2024 willing, updates start again tomorrow.
(Piper POV)“Boss thinks it is time for you to go back to Bloodstone Pack.”I practically jumped off of the bench, almost throwing up right then and there. “What?!?!? You have to be joking.”Viper sighed. “No. I’m serious.”“No, you are insane,” I replied angrily. “How could you possibly suggest that I go back to him?!?!? After all that he has done?!?!?!”Even if a part of my heart still craves him, I added silently.“That is why I wanted us to talk. I need you to tell me what happened between you.”“You have been watching me for years. So you must already know.”“We are bikers not psychics.”I sighed and pointed to the darkening sky.“You really want to do this right now?”“Yes.”“Why?”“Again, boss’s orders.”“Which boss? Rooster?”“No. The one who hired us.”“And that was?”“Someone that loves you a lot. Someone who even you would have to agree has always had your best interests in mind.”I laughed bitterly. “And now I know for sure that you are lying. No one alive fit
(Piper POV)“How do you know about my connection to Leo Bloodstone?” I asked gingerly.Viper ignored my question. “Why did you run away from Bloodstone Pack?” he asked me instead.“Answer my question first.”“No.”“Viper ---”“Poison, this is important. Before I tell you anything, I need to know why you ran away from Bloodstone Pack. I’ve given you time and space the last few months to see if you would tell me on your own, and you haven’t. Now I need to know.”“Why now? In the middle of a run with everyone else?”“Boss’s orders.”Huh. That comment puzzled me. The boss/ alpha/ president of the club was Rooster. I had only met him a few times, and he only barely seemed to notice me.“Rooster knows about Leo too?”“Yes.”“Why does he care? Did Leo threaten the club?”“No.”“So why does Rooster care?” “Before I answer that, answer my question first. Why did you run away from Bloodstone Pack?”Just like that, the anger and frustration I was feeling towards Viper returned. I de
(Piper POV)As Viper and I continued to sit in silence on the bench overlooking the lake, the sky darkened, signaling a thunderstorm was on its way. At first, I tried to ignore the impending change in weather. However, after several raindrops hit my face and the first roar of thunder landed in the distance, I stood up and faced him. Regardless of whether I was ready to talk about my past, I knew that we needed to quickly do so and then get back on the road.“You said that you wanted to talk, so let’s talk,” I said softly.“We have been keeping secrets from each other,” Viper said in a serious tone of voice. “That needs to end today.”I gulped.“What do you mean?”“Don’t play stupid with me. We both know each other better than that.”“Well, I thought we did…”“Poison,” he said sternly.I sighed. “Okay, fine. Where do you want to start?”“First, I want you to tell me something. Do you trust me?” Viper responded.“That’s a weird place to start.”“Maybe. But answer the question
(Piper POV)I was silent for a long time after Viper told me that we needed to talk. I knew that he was right, but I was not sure who should start the conversation… him or me. Ten minutes earlier, I would have been sure that I was the one who needed to talk and confess some things. However, it was also ten minutes earlier that I had no idea that Viper knew anything about my past, much less about Leo Bloodstone’s connection to it. It was now clear to me that Viper had been keeping secrets of his own. Because, of course he was. All of the males around me kept secrets. URRRRGGGGGGHHHHH.I suppose I should back up before I confuse you any further. I forgot that I skipped ahead and left a few things out.As you already know, I had a car accident six months before this. Just before the accident, I stole a delivery van and ran away from Moon Shadow Pack. I thought that I had gotten away successfully, and I was planning to make my way to Dr. Hyder’s pack for treatment and help elimi
(Six Months Later)(Piper POV)I found myself lost in thought as I stared out over a large lake. It was still pretty early in the morning, so there were not a lot of people around. The only movement that I saw came from the water, the wind, and the birds.So much had happened in the past six months. In many ways, I was happier than I had been in a very long time. However, a big part of me still longed for my old home, my old friends, my (now deceased) family, and …as stupid as it sounds… for Leo. After all the time that had passed, and after all of Leo’s lies, tricks, and secrets, I was not sure why my heart still held on to Leo. After all, we had only been together for a couple of weeks. I tried to convince myself that it was just the lingering effects of the spells that he had placed on me. For her part, when I asked her about it, Penelope agreed with me that that was all it was. However, I think both of us knew deep down that it was more than that; we just did not want to
(Leo Bloodstone POV)“Where is she?” I asked.Addie did not answer right away. I could tell that she was beginning to fade. I began to worry that Addie would pass out or fall asleep any minute.“WHERE IS PIPER?” I repeated in a louder voice.“I don’t know,” she said in a sing-song voice.“How long has she been missing?”“I don’t know. A while.”“What happened?”“I don’t know.”Addie closed her eyes and leaned her head on one of her suitcases. No. I could not let her sleep. Not yet.I gently grabbed Addie by both of her arms. “Addie, this is important. Please concentrate. Where is Piper?”Addie shook my hands off of her. “I already told you, Leo. I don’t know!!! She was here, and then she wasn’t.”“What happened? Why did she leave?”Addie took in an annoyed breath. “I. DON’T. KNOW.”“I came all the way out here to get her, Addie. And I came because you called me. You’ve got to do better than that. You know how important this is. Give me something!”At that point, Add
(Leo Bloodstone POV)It was nearly 2 am by the time that my team and I finally made it to Moon Shadow Pack. It had taken me longer than I expected to leave, mainly because my father —despite doing better— was still not 100%. More on that later.I felt a mix of relief, guilt, and worry as we got close to the pack gates, and as I thought about Piper and all that had happened the past few weeks. But above everything else, I felt a sense of excitement. I genuinely missed her, and I could not wait to hold her in my arms again.I promised myself and my wolf that, once we found Piper, I would explain as much as I could to her. I would also never let anyone hurt her again. Nor would I ever let her go… even if I had to handcuff her to me this time.I was not surprised that Addie was waiting for me when we arrived. I was, however, surprised to see her sitting on the ground, waiting for me outside the border… by herself… while surrounded by suitcases and a few empty bottles of wolfsbane vo
(Piper POV)Luna Addie told Leo where I was. How could she do that? I really had thought that she had wanted to help me. Was I that bad a judge of character? I mean, yes, I had not completely trusted her …but I had trusted her a little bit… and I had never expected her to turn me over to Leo. Maybe she really did want to punish me for my relationship with Aiden, and her saying otherwise was just a lie.Goddess.No matter what, it was now clear that I could not trust anyone. Nor could I trust my own judgment.It was also clear that I needed to get out of Moon Shadow Pack. There was no way that I could stay now that Leo knew where I was.I raced as quickly as I could to my bedroom so that I could grab my duffle bag. Thankfully, I had not unpacked it at all and no one stopped me on the way to get it; everyone seemed busy with other tasks.Once I had my duffle bag, I went to Kade’s room on the next floor up to let him know that I was leaving. Despite being angry with me, I assum