(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
(Leo Bloodstone POV)Piper just kissed me. No drugs were involved. No force or threats. Just my sweet Little Pea voluntarily and enthusiastically kissing me.Best f&&king kiss of my life.I knew that forcing her hand in marriage was wrong. I also knew that my reasons for doing it were pretty sh&tty. And I knew that, if Piper knew the truth, she might have a hard time forgiving me. Worse, I knew that if Piper knew the truth, she might want something different than what I wanted.But a kiss that felt that d&mn good had to mean something.As soon as her lips touched mine, I put my hands on either side of her face and kissed her with everything I had. The moment she opened her mouth, allowing our tongues to intertwine, I lost the small shred of control that I had been holding onto. I picked her up by her thighs, forcing her to wrap her beautiful legs around my waist. I then carried her to her bed, ready to f&&king pounce.I felt her reach her hands under my hoodie, running her han
(Piper POV)The visit to the pack doctor was … interesting.The doctor examined me in both my human and wolf forms, took blood work, did a bunch of tests, and asked me a ton of questions. As intrusive as all of it was, I appreciated that the doctor was thorough. I did not tell Leo this, but I had lots of questions about the herbs myself… questions that Xander had never had time to answer. The only thing that annoyed me about the appointment was Leo. For example, he refused to leave my side for even a second; he refused to look away while I changed into an examination gown; and he asked the doctor almost as many questions as the doctor asked me.Ultimately, though, it was fine. Mostly. At least until the end.“How long have you been taking the herbs, Piper?”“A little more than two years.”“Is that safe?” Leo asked.“Probably, although it is rare for wolves to use scent blockers for such long periods of time. Do you mind if I ask why you have been taking them for so long?”I gl
(Leo Bloodstone POV)Our walk back to the packhouse took much less time than our walk to the hospital, primarily because my steps were hastened by anger. I could tell that Piper was also angry. However, to her credit, she left me alone to my own thoughts during the walk, choosing to avoid making a scene in front of the many pack members that we passed.I still could not believe that I had even briefly considered letting Piper continue to take herbs given to her by that moron a&&hole Xander. I had yet to figure out what his end game was, or even what his real motivations were, but he was consistently doing things that made me trust him less and less. This whole herb thing was a perfect example.Once we arrived at the packhouse, I took Piper through a back entrance —thus avoiding any of my family members who may have wanted to chat— and led Piper directly up to her room.“Give me the rest of the herbs,” I demanded the second that we walked in.Instead of getting them for me, she clo
(Piper POV)Maybe our fight about the herbs was a stupid one, but Leo was not backing down. And, once again, I found myself crying.At this point in my story, you are probably used to me crying. However, what you have to understand is that —prior to me running away from Blue Ridge— I never would have considered myself a crier. Yes, I cried… but not that often. It just wasn’t my thing.It was only after leaving Blue Ridge that I began to cry all the time. It was one of the few outlets that I had to deal with feeling guilty, overwhelmed, confused, and homesick.This silly fight with Leo was a good example of these emotions hitting me all at once.Yes, I was raging mad at Leo for ordering me around and making decisions without thinking about my input. I did not like being bossed around or treated like a toddler. And I HATED a male thinking that his wife was required to do whatever he told her to do.None of that is what brought me to tears, though. What brought me to tears was th