CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

O liver glanced up as he heard Ari approaching.

“You know, you could hear her just as clearly from your room down the hall,” Ari said, frowning at Oliver as he sat on the floor outside Piper’s room.

“She’s awake,” was all he said in reply.

Ari nodded.

“She’s a tough cookie. Give her time,” Ari replied. “They aren’t so different, you know.”

Oliver arched a brow.

“Sage was no mean feat to turn around when she discovered my fangs.” Ari shook his head, clearly recalling the memories of the recent past with his own mate.

Oliver pressed against the wall and slid his body up so he was standing. “Sage wasn’t repulsed by you.”

“You read her mind?” When he nodded Ari added, “The mind lies when it is in fear, Oli. Trust me.”

He shrugged, not wanting to listen to reason. The rejection had hurt, and he wasn’t vamp enough to admit it.

Ari patted him on the shoulder and indicated he follow. They walked through the halls and out the front door, following the path through the sizeable grounds. Above them, the stars were still twinkling but the sun would soon be rising.

“I’m in a predicament.”

Oliver’s stomach twisted. He’d been expecting this conversation at some point after the director had returned from the kidnapping site. He knew they couldn’t keep Piper. Holding her against her will was illegal, and, well, it was technically kidnapping.

“I know.”

“I can give you twenty-four hours. Max. You either claim Piper and begin the change, or if she still wants to leave, I will wipe her memories and return her to her human life.”

“It’s not safe. Whoever is after her will not stop until she is eliminated. I assume it is BioZen.”

Ari nodded. “We’ll put a team on her for protection. I’ve spoken to Brayden, and we’re going to continue to act aggressively on this now. When you’re ready, I’ll update you.”

Oliver frowned. “Update me now. I’m not exactly rushed off my feet.”

Ari shook his head. “You need to focus on your mate. Forget work. Trust me when I say this is too important. We’ve got this.”

Oliver looked away.

He knew what was happening. His job was being reassigned to someone else.

He nodded. “Sure.”

Ari stared at him but left it at that.

“Tell her Darren intercepted the alert to the authorities so there’s no manhunt out there. And Sage phoned her boss and said she returned to Seattle with a bug, and it had been her that set off the alert trying to get into her email to message him,” Ari said.

“What are you talking about?”

“Her laptop set off a signal that alerted more than us. Looks like it’s a safeguard on all Seattle Times laptops. Journalism is a dangerous business these days.”

That was the truth.

Piper had proven that fact true twice over the past twenty-four hours. Yet he didn’t think it was enough to stop her. He had a choice to make. He could forcibly change her into a vampire and know she was safe, but despite what Ari said, hearing Piper’s thoughts of disgust about him was enough to let her go. No vampire wanted to hear his mate think of him like that. It had cut deep.

Still, some of the things she’d said had been ludicrous.

“Piper really wanted to break the story about vampires. Guess she learned more than she wanted,” he said. “She thinks I want her as a fucking pet.”

Ari smirked. “I heard.”

Oliver let himself smile, then let out a long sigh. They stood staring toward the thick tree line knowing what would happen if she rejected him. Neither of them would find true love again. Piper would never understand why she had a hole the size of Texas in her heart.

Oliver, on the other hand, would have every single memory. Worse, it would drive him to madness and into the sun. That they hadn’t yet bonded meant he had some time.

He stiffened. “My eyes?”

“No,” Ari said, confirming his eyes had not yet shown signs of the dark ring around the outside which all bonded vampires had.

Thank fuck.

He had twenty-four hours to convince her he wasn’t a monster, and she wasn’t going to be renamed Lassie.

Or Fluffy.

“Any great advice?”

Ari shook his head. “Patience. Honesty. Mostly patience.”

Oliver bunched his lips together and half laughed.

“And strength. She will test you over the next few hours. You must remain solid and strong in your feelings for her.”

He let out a long sigh.

“And Oli, she may not be your mate,” he said. “I have seen a few false starts in my long life. Be prepared for that.”

“How will I know?”

“You’ll know,” Ari said. “There’s a moment when nothing matters, nothing in this long fucking void of life matters as much as your mate. That’s when you’ll know.”

A chill ran through his body, and he shivered.

“What if the memory wipe doesn’t work?” he asked. “I’ve tried multiple times and for some reason, she’s resistant to it.”

Ari whacked him on the shoulder and laughed. “No, son, you were the one interfering. I was in there before she went to sleep. Trust me. She’ll have no recollection of it.”

Fuck.

And had Ari just called him son? For some reason, that meant the world to him.

Oliver blinked about seven hundred times.

“Go to her.”

“Yup.” He drew in a long breath, and ran a hand through his hair. He met the director’s eyes. “Thank you.”

At his nod, he teleported back outside Piper’s room.

Then knocked.

Twenty-fucking-four hours.

Shit.