(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
(Piper POV)Around 7:30 am the next morning, I heard a knock on my bedroom door. I opened it, only to find Leo waiting there with a large tray in his hands. Thankfully, I was already dressed.“Good morning, Little Pea. Do you mind having breakfast with me?” he asked.I gave him a half smile and opened the door so that he could come in. He set the tray down on the small round table by the window. He then took lids off of the plates, revealing sausage, bacon, scrambled eggs, toast, and freshly baked cinnamon rolls. There were also two glasses of water, and two large glasses of orange juice.We sat down across from each other and slowly began eating.“How did you sleep?” he asked after a couple minutes of awkward silence.Not great. My mind was going a million miles per minute, still trying to process and understand everything that was happening. And I missed you. Even though I barely know you and I know that my feelings are wrong.“Fine. Thank you. You?”Leo gave me a sad smi
(Leo Bloodstone POV)Piper continued to confuse me. And fascinate me. And make me want to throw her on the bed, tear her clothes off, and pound into her while she screamed my name. It was seriously painful.I needed to control myself. Maybe breakfast was a bad idea. Of course, it was too late to change course now. I needed to get through this.“I know that you have been taking scent blocking herbs,” I told her.Piper nodded. “I was.”“Was? When was the last time you took them?”“At the hotel.”“How long have you been taking them?”Piper swallowed.“Please tell me the truth, Little Pea.”“Since I ran away from Blue Ridge.”“Do you know if it is safe to take the herbs for that long?”“I assume so. I mean, Xa… the wolf who got them for me would not have given them to me if they weren’t safe.”Xander. Of course, she got the herbs from that a&&hole. Now I really was worried; Xander had given me no reason to trust him with my pet spider, much less Piper.“I am going to take you t
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