Chapter 11

Piper

I envisioned my mother reading that text over and over, calling the police, crying to Amanda on the phone, and my dad trying desperately to pick up the pieces. The guilt would slowly eat away my insides. What kind of daughter am I? I"m not shackled. Not imprisoned in a cell or box somewhere, and I can"t get out of the house without being almost eaten by an alligator.

Sighing, I ran a brush into my hair, and stared at myself in the mirror. My skin glowed from the lack of makeup, not that I would give him the pleasure of seeing me try at all for him.

The bastard.

Slinging my brush onto my bed, I opened my door the next morning, ignoring the growl in my stomach, and stepping over the rose in my doorway. I wouldn"t dare save the thing, and give it some water.

It"d die just like I would. Slowly weathering to death.

William and Zander"s voices traveled from the kitchen, probably hovering over Vivian as she cooked for them, like the little puppy dog—no pun intended—that she was. Apparently, she wouldn"t be any help in my escape plan that was still in the works.

I shoved opened the library door, slid my book back into place, and grabbed another. Not that I minded reading in my spare time, I loved it, but my lack of entertainment outside of pompous men turning into beast, was really tearing down my self-worth.

It was my senior year of high-school all over again. The loner reader girl, always tucked away in her room, reading about fairytales that would never happen for her.

Because those weren"t real. The dark nightmares they were based on, however, seemed to be alive and well. I tucked my book underneath my arm, and walked down the hallway toward the kitchen.

Vivian stood at the kitchen nook, shoveling eggs and bacon onto the boy"s plate with a perfect 10-watt smile on her face.

I couldn"t stop my snort.

William looked up, ignoring my annoyance, and gave me a similar smile. "Good morning, Ms. Sloane."

Zander on the other hand, not being able to control his mouth, gave me a daring look. "What has your feathers ruffled so early in the morning, might I ask?" he said, taking a bite off the end of his bacon. "Or is it a mistake to ask?"

"I"m just curious as to how you got Vivian to agree to work here for you two? She cooks every meal, cleans up after two grown men, and does your bidding. Sounds sad. This is the twenty-first century. Women rose above all of this," she said, gesturing around her. "A long time ago."

Vivian held her empty tray to her chest, avoiding eye contact with everyone in the room. Zander chuckled, and sipped his orange juice. "Wow, what a spectacular declaration of female independence, Piper. Hoo-rah."

I sat my book face down on the kitchen island. "Says the King of the castle," I said, walking slowly around the island. "Demanding everyone do his bidding."

He chuckled, and his light eyes met mine. "Oh, you have it wrong, Little One. Not everyone, just you."

William cleared his throat after several seconds of awkward silence. "We saved you a plate. Your leftovers from last night are also in the fridge if you would like them."

I turned toward the fridge, but Vivian raced over. "I"ve got them, ma"am—,"

"Vivian," I hissed. "Did you not hear anything I just said? I"m trying to have your back here, take a hint."

She frowned. "I like working here with our alpha, ma"am."

I studied her face. Since I"d arrived, she had come and went as she pleased. Laughed. Been free. No one was keeping her here.

"Okay," I said, nodding. "But," I said, snatching the handle from her grip. "I"ll make my own food."

She looked at Zander, who must have approved behind my back. I didn"t dignify him with a glance, as I awkwardly heated my leftovers with no knowledge of the kitchen format.

Both brothers stared at me as I ate standing up next to the counter. Vivian danced across the kitchen with ease, cleaning up her mess, and theirs. Her hair was piled on top of her head, showcasing her slender neck.

A faded blueish crescent moon tattoo stared up at me from underneath her ear. "What"s the significance of that?" I asked.

Zander glanced at me. "Of what?"

I avoided his glare. "Vivian," I said, drawing her attention.

"Ma"am?"

"Don"t call me that. We"re like the same age."

"Okay," she said in that mousy voice.

I gestured toward my neck. "On your neck. The moon. What is that?"

Vivian"s face paled, if that was possible, and she swallowed down what looked like a sob. I watched too many emotions travel on her face for comfort. "You don"t have to answer—,"

"I"ll be back to clean the rest. I need to use the restroom," she said, bolting from the room, leaving the kitchen door swinging in her wake.

I blinked several times, replaying the situation in my mind. Had me asking about her tattoo been that bad? Why get one where people could see, and be offended when someone asked about it?

"It"s her mark," Zander said, pulling my gaze toward his.

He leaned back in his seat, resting his elbow on the arm of his chair. His auburn hair looked shorter, perhaps William had given him a haircut. I hated how sexy he looked with it. Shaven down on the sides, a hard part on the top, and the rest softly pushed over. I briefly wondered if it felt as soft as it looked? Not that I actually cared or anything. Men always lucked out with the luscious locks.

"What mark?"

He narrowed his eyes at me. "Her mate gave it to her. He died, and it will slowly fade."

My mouth opened in shock. Vivian had a mate. No wonder I offended her. "Oh. I didn"t realize."

Zander laughed humorlessly, and stood up. "You wouldn"t, would you? You have no interest in learning the ins and outs of mates, do you, Piper?"

I watched him with disdain on my face, until he exited the way Vivian had.

William cleared his throat. "How was the rest of your food?"

I looked down at my empty plate. "Fine. Thank you for it. It really hit the spot." William walked toward the door. "Hey," I said stopping him. "Don"t encourage Zander to give me flowers."

William nodded. "Noted. It"s probably for the best anyway. He doesn"t like roses too much either."

The rose tattoo on Zander"s forearm said differently. Though he hid it mostly, I saw it. Why would he get such a huge tattoo of something he hated?

I dumped my leftovers into the trash, and went to snag my book from the island.

"No flowers, William. Tell him to bring me no flowers."

I slid past him, and walked back toward my room. Perhaps if I stayed locked in my room, Zander would tire of trying to break me down and let me go. Plus, I need privacy to concoct a plan to escape.

I rounded the corner of the stairwell, and stopped. Zander stood by my door, leaned back against the wall, his foot propped up behind him. I sighed loudly, to make sure he knew how annoying it was for him to be there.

"What do you need, Zander? I"m full, and want to take a nap." Lie. I wanted to dive into my diabolical plan to escape these hellish halls.

Zander chuckled lightly beneath his breath, shoving his palms into the pockets of his lowslung slacks. "Yeah? I wouldn"t mind a nap since the beast did his best to break the chains last night, to get to you," he said with a devilish smile.

"Well, your bed is that way," I suggested, jabbing my thumb over my shoulder in the opposite direction.

On shaky legs, I walked toward my door, feeling his heavy gaze crawling over me, leaving behind a blanket of heated lust on my skin. I grabbed the door handle, but Zander swiftly trapped me against the neighboring wall, blocked me in with a hand on either side of my head.

His hazel eyes turned a stormy golden color right in front of me, his throat moved as he swallowed, and his smell ... Dear God, send help. Send the apocalypse, I"m in desperate need of a magical portal to suck me from this situation.

I felt my resolve slipping slowly away from me, waving goodbye on it"s way out the window.

"I"m well aware of where my bed is, Ms. Sloane, and if I"m correct," he said, shoving my door opened with the toe of his boot, "yours is closer."

Turning my head away from his, I titled my chin upward. "Mine isn"t open for invitation."

He inhaled, his breath skated over my skin, his nose traveled along the span of my neck. "Technically, everything in this house is mine, Little One, including that bed."

My heartbeat hammered against my chest, and I clutched my thighs together in frustration of him being so close, but not touching me. A deep-rooted seed of want tugged my belly, pulling and bullying me into reaching forward and touching the warmth of his skin.

"By all means," I whispered. "You can lay down, but I won"t lay with you."

"You will one day," he quipped. "Sooner than you realize. Your body is calling to me," he whispered. "My wolf senses it. I sense it. You need me like I need you."

I closed my eyes. "You need to bite me, and put one of those marks on my skin?" For a brief moment, I wondered if his would look the same as Vivian"s?

"I need much more than my mark on your skin, I need you in every way imaginable, Piper. I need you to trust me, and I do know that won"t come easily, but I"m willing to try anything to give you a life you can cherish."

That eager pull in my stomach warmed at his words. Each breath I took came out shakily, leaving me a quivering mess. "Are you going to ask for your kiss now?" I couldn"t believe the words fumbling out of my mouth.

He nearly purred in my ear. "Your body is asking for it," he said.

I didn"t deny it. I couldn't. Any sane man could tell how badly I wanted it. Wolf. Alpha. Beast. The boy next door. It didn"t take super senses to know it. It laid on display for him. "Should I put you out of your misery?" he asked, tucking a strand of chocolate hair behind my ear. "Or make you beg for it?"

At this rate, I"d need new underwear soon. How embarrassing would it be to ask William to order me new underwear because his brother was ruining mine with a simple touch? I didn"t answer, I kept my eyes focused on the beautiful engravings of the doorframe to my room, observing the elegant crowns molded into the design.

"I think I"ll make you beg," he whispered, turning to walk down the hallway.

Uncharacteristically, involuntarily, a lack of judgement, someone invaded my body, I didn"t know which, but they all sounded good at the moment. I reached out and grabbed his wrist, halted him from leaving.

Zander stalled, the touch of his skin electrocuted up my arm and burned my chest in the best way possible. He turned to look over his shoulder. "You want my kiss, Little One?"

I opened my mouth but nothing came out. My coherent word forming ability malfunctioned. Zander turned toward me, entrapping my wrist with his palm, he pressed it against the wall above my head. The book tucked underneath my arm fell to the floor, making a loud sound that I hardly heard because of the erratic beating of my heart.

"Who would have thought?" he chuckled. "Behind that smart mouth, those feministic thoughts, hid this need for my mouth on yours?"

I swallowed, tears of desire formed in the corners of my eyes. He leaned close, noticing my free hand balled into a tight fist beside me. Carefully, he reached down and brought that hand to his face, sliding my index finger past his lips, and into the depths of his mouth.

That did it ... it spewed out of me like a broken damn. My want. That need I had to be wanted, to be dominated. It broke free.

I moaned so loud that I was sure the entire castle heard it.

Zander"s eyes danced a honey color, and he let go of my wrist, wrapped his fingers gently around my neck and kissed me.