(Piper POV)Note to self: Be careful what you wish for. You might just get it.I wanted a reason to hate Leo Bloodstone, and he had just given it to me.“What the f&ck, Leo? Why isn’t this ring coming off?!?!”Leo smiled. That sexy, evil smile of his.“I had it spelled by a witch. It will come off only when I release the spell.”His tone was so matter-of-fact… and so innocent… that you could almost believe that it was no big deal. But, of course, it was a VERY big deal. To think just fifteen minutes ago, I was getting upset about a stupid sandwich when he had this up his sleeve the entire time.“Told you,” Penelope linked me.“You don’t get to tell me ‘I told you so’ when you were the one wanting to jump his bones not even ten minutes ago,” I linked back.I turned my attention back to Leo. “Do you really think an engagement ring is going to prevent me from running away from you again?” I sneered. “Or make me marry you?”Leo laughed. “You have no idea, Little Pea.”“I don’t li
(Piper POV)Leo unlocked the door to the hotel room and ushered me inside. It was a nice room with a living space, bedroom, and a view overlooking the woods. I pretended to look around and out the large windows, but my focus was on anything and everything but my surroundings.Leo had not said anything to me since we left the diner, so I had no idea what he was thinking or how he planned for this to work. Did he want me to just get naked and get on the bed? Did he want me to strip for him? Or strip him? Did he want a blow job before we got down to business?Even though this would not be my first time having sex, it sort-of felt like it would be. I had so many questions that I had not had the ability to think about before. Was there any alcohol in the mini-bar? Maybe if I had some that would make this a little easier.“Piper, come here,” Leo said, breaking me out of my thoughts.I slowly turned around and saw him sitting casually in a chair. That’s the position a male sits in
(Piper POV)I woke up feeling happy, well-rested, and energized. My pillow was a little firm for my liking, but it smelled really good.“Little Pea?” a husky voice said next to me.Thanks to just-waking-up grogginess, I was a little confused to hear another voice in the room. In my groggy mind, I was alone in my bed back at Moon Shadow. I got even more confused when I felt someone begin to rub circles on my back.But then —much quicker than if I had been in a drug or alcohol-induced haze— everything came back to me. I opened my eyes. My “pillow” was Leo Bloodstone. And he was the one rubbing circles on my back. I sat up and started to panic, but Leo brushed my hair out of my face and took my face gently in his hands.“Ssshhhhhhh. It’s okay, Little Pea. You are safe,” he soothed.Safe? He thought that I was safe? I was alone in a hotel room, in bed with the wolf that I have been running from for over two years. How was that safe?“I-I have to go.” I tried to push Leo’s han
(Piper POV)“BUT I WANT MY FATED MATE!!!!”Apparently, that was the wrong thing to say.At that point, Leo’s facial expression changed from unhappiness to an expression that was absolutely dark and evil. It was no longer the face of the male that I had been getting to know; it was now the face of the stories that I had heard about him.“I SAID, ENOUGH.”“No, Leo! We need to talk about this.”“FROM NOW ON, CALL ME ALPHA.”“What?” “I AM DONE TALKING,” he growled. “TAKE A SHOWER. NOW.”I felt Leo release his alpha aura as he spoke the last command. It did nothing for me —just like Aiden’s had done nothing for me— but even so, I could feel it. And for the first time in a long time, I felt scared. Without saying anything else, I quickly grabbed my duffle bag and went into the bathroom and locked the door.****(Leo Bloodstone POV)As soon Piper went into the bathroom, I got up and punched a hole in the wall. It was a cliché alpha move, but it definitely made me feel better.My Pipe
(Xander POV)“Bring me three more shots of whiskey and a Long Island Iced Tea,” I tell the bartender.The 30-ish looking human gives me a funny look. “Man, you’ve already had four rounds of those in the last hour.”“And?”“I can’t serve someone who is visibly intoxicated. Liability issues.”I roll my eyes. “Do I look visibly intoxicated to you?”The bartender shrugs. “No, I guess not. But I’ve seen men pass out after drinking far less.”“Do I look passed out?”“No.”“Then bring me my f&&king drinks,” I growl.The bartender watches me for a few seconds, and then backs off. “Fine. I’ll be right back.”Goddess, this is why I hate human bars. Bars not familiar with werewolves tend to water down drinks or get all judgy, like this guy.Normally, I would get annoyed and go home, but this is the first time that Daphne has let me out of her sight in four f&&king days, and I am going to enjoy every last minute of the peace and quiet. And then tomorrow, we will go back to Blue Ridge.Hon
(Piper POV)I spent more than two years trying to imagine what life at Bloodstone Pack might be like.I often imagined it being a dark place, with angry pack members who did very little but train, fight, and plan evil attacks on other packs. Other times, I imagined it being a quiet place, with members who walked around on eggshells because they were terrified of questioning or upsetting their leaders.Still other times, I would try to imagine what Bloodstone’s pack members would think of me. I usually came to the conclusion that they would think of me as being far too loud, too liberal, and too opinionated, and that they would all not-so-secretly hate me for jilting their alpha heir at the altar.All of these possibilities were consistent with what I had been told about the Bloodstones by Xander and others. They were also consistent with Leo’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde personality.And none of the possibilities could have been further from the truth.The moment that Leo and I arrived
(Piper POV)After dinner was over and we said good night to everyone, Leo escorted me to the bedroom that I would be staying in for the next two weeks. It was a large, airy room with a private bathroom, and it was right across the hall from his room.I want to tell you that I was relieved to have my own room. After all, that would have been the right way to feel. And a separate room would have been what Xander, Aiden, and Asher would have expected me to ask for. More importantly, it was what any morally-sound she-wolf being forced into a marriage to someone who was not her mate would want.Unfortunately, however, if I told you that I was relieved to have my own room, I would be lying. Despite everything, I enjoyed being close to Leo. And I somehow seemed to sleep better when he was around. That makes me sound like a horrible she-wolf, doesn’t it?Do you want to know what’s even worse? I was starting to fall for Leo. Admittedly, Leo’s evil —Mr. Hyde— side scared me. I was con
(Leo Bloodstone POV) “Why does she smell more like an omega than a beta or alpha daughter?” my mother asked.I sighed as I took a seat on the couch next to her. I knew this question was coming; I just didn’t know it would come this soon. I glanced over at my father, who was sitting in the side chair.“I think that Piper is taking some sort of herbs that mask her rank and scent.”“Why?”I gave my mother a look. She laughed. “Okay, silly question. I meant, why is she still taking them? I understand her taking them while she was in hiding.”“I don’t know for sure that she still is. We haven’t talked about it yet. My guess is that Piper has been taking the herbs for a long time, and I would assume they take a while to wear off.”My mother frowned. “I don’t know that that is true. Maybe it depends on the type of herbs. But even if it is, is it safe to take herbs like that long-term? It has been two years…”A knot formed in my stomach. I worried about a lot of things when it