Chapter 12

Zander

Kissing your mate—which I"d never done obviously—was far greater than anyone ever described to me. Men made many good things, but nothing compared to the creator"s hand at delicately crafting Piper Sloane.

Everything about the woman pressed between the wall and my chest was perfect. The soft taste of her mouth, the angle of her neck, the way her breast pushed against mine, all the while she wanted to pull away—but couldn"t.

She couldn't because this was a fated bond.

Piper"s mouth opened, without my persistent tongue pressed against it, inviting me in deeper. Like the Pied Piper, luring me with chocolate and sin. It was the dawn of a new day for her. She had no idea how a mate bond would change her. Mold her. Even if she fought it, there was no going back now.

The Little One was mine.

Piper curled her fingers tighter into the front of my shirt, delving her tongue further and further into my mouth. The kiss had my wolf—the beast—begging for release. In a normal world—or my normal world before the curse—I would have dragged her toward my bedroom and marked her right then and there. Then enjoyed days of screwing each other"s brains out.

But this wasn"t a normal day anymore.

Wedging my thigh between her own, I angled her mouth upward, pushing up on her most sensitive spot, listening to her heartbeat hammer against her ribs, and the sound of her blood rushing like a raging river in her veins.

Piper moaned loudly, this time I knew everyone in the castle heard what was happening. They knew better than to interrupt us, and the silence that greeted me, reassured me of being alone in the hallway with her.

Pulling from her mouth, I nipped her bottom lip once—twice—and then made a hot path down her neck, twisting her shirt into my fist with one hand, I pulled her even closer. White-hot need scorched my insides. Piper tugging at my clothes, twisting her fingers into my hair, it all spilled over into a different realm of pleasure.

Lowering my palm to her waist, I dragged her closer, smiling as she rolled her hips against my thigh. I ate the incoherent words flowing from her mouth, and pinned her harder against the wall with my weight.

Against my better judgement, I pulled her toward me and stepped toward her bedroom. I wished I hadn"t. She stalled, her chest rising and falling in deep heaves, reality slowly settling into her bones.

Piper pulled away, and the sight of her set me on fire.

Her flushed cheeks, the rise and fall of her chest, and her fingers curled into tight fists. "That was a mistake," she whispered softly.

However, by the look in her gaze, we both knew it wasn"t a mistake. Taking a step toward her, and seeing she didn"t take one back, I smiled. "We both know that isn"t true. You felt it, didn"t you?" I asked.

Her eyes lowered to my feet, and it told me everything that I needed to know, not that I didn"t already know she was mine. But this proved the bond affected her just as much as it did me.

She might as well have signed herself over to me, because it was all over now. However, the hard part had just begun. Feeling attracted to me, feeling that nest of butterflies when I neared her wasn"t what I needed.

I needed her to love me.

And everyone knew that was a horse of a different color. At this point, she just wanted me to press her against the wall, and ride out all of those schoolgirl fantasies.

That wouldn"t break the curse.

It wouldn"t give me my life back so that I could start one with her.

It would give us both a good time that would be short lived, because the old me would cease to exist once the last petal of my tattoo disappeared.

"You"ve put something in my food," she said. "Spiked my morning coffee. It"s witchery," she snapped.

I chuckled loudly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "You think I put what in your drink, Little One? A love potion? Why aren"t you lying on your back with me between your legs then, hmm? Because," I said, taking a step backward. "This isn"t my doing. It"s fate. You"re my mate, and this proved to you, whether you want to admit it or not, that I haven"t been pulling this out of my ass the entire time."

She looked off the side of the banister, working her jaw in a way that told me she was irritated, but couldn"t muster the strength after what happened to act on it. "This is ridiculous," she mumbled, turning toward the door.

I"d still have her pressed against the wall, withering into a puddle of goo on the floor, if I hadn"t taken that step toward that door.

"Is it?" I asked, tracing her curves with eager eyes.

She scoffed. "Yeah, it is. This can"t be real. These feelings. This—it"s not real. I"m not even sure I"m in reality right now."

I chuckled, turned to face my room and glanced over my shoulder. "You"re in reality, Little One, and things are only going to get tougher for you, if you resist me."

She cocked an eyebrow, not liking my statement. "Oh yeah? You think your kiss was that amazing that I can"t resist you now?"

"Only time will tell."

She snarled, but didn"t offer any more argument, and I didn"t pry one from her. What she didn"t know was that my wolf would haunt her until I claimed her. Not physically, but mentally, emotionally, spiritually, my wolf would call to her.

Not many dealt with finding their mate and not being claimed. Our situation was obviously different. She"d see me when I wasn"t there. Feel me when I wasn"t touching her. That resistance she felt she had would dwindle and snap into two pieces.

I"d be waiting for her when she couldn"t take another minute of being away from me. I"d slowly weasel my way into her heart, or I"d die trying.

William sat behind his desk when I walked into his office moments later. By the wrinkle in the center of his forehead, I figured something was wrong.

His light eyes turned toward mine. "I see she"s loosening up to you, or are you forcing yourself on her now?"

I shut the door behind me. "Right, because forcing myself on women is a personal hobby of mine."

"Desperate times," he mumbled.

I stopped in the middle of his office. "What is it?"

"Nothing."

"You"re hiding something from me, Brother," I said, making a circle around the desk to stand beside him. "What is it?"

He turned swiftly in his chair, and reached for my forearm. I snatched it from him, daring him to try again.

He sighed. "If you don"t look, how will you know if you"re getting close?"

"I won"t," I snapped. "I don"t need the pressure of wondering how long I have on me while trying to make this woman love me, William."

He scoffed, and braced one elbow on the desk and slid his hand down his face. "I don"t want to lose you to the beast, Zander. The pack needs its true alpha—,"

"The pack is fine," I said. "I"m trying the best I can. I"m doing everything that I know how. Now that I"ve kissed her, it won"t be as easy for her to resist me. You know what happens. The mate bond will make it nearly impossible for her to leave. My wolf will reach out to her."

"Physically," he said, standing up. "That is calling to her sexual need for you, your wolfs need to mark her and mate. That isn"t the curse—,"

"I know the curse!" I screamed, my voice rattling the stained-glass of the windows. "I was there. I will make her fall in love with me, or die trying. Now please speak of something else before I bash your head into the wall."

William"s steely eyes narrowed to slits. Coyly, he grabbed his phone and handed it to me. I glanced at the black screen and tapped the front to bring it to life. A news article with Piper"s face at the top pulled up.

MOTHER OF MISSING LOCAL WOMAN RECEIVES A TEXT FROM BURNER PHONE.

Screwing my eyes closed, I sighed, before reading the rest. They had no leads, or at least, they weren"t letting the public know about it. However, I was sure they would search the area her phone last pinged. "You think they"ll check this far out?" I asked.

William chuckled. "I watched an interview with her mother. She"s hysterical, William. Her friend, even her ex-boyfriend was there for the interview. So, yes, I do think that. The look in her father"s eyes. He isn"t going to give up. We need to have a plan."

I scoffed. The ex she found cheating on her? Bastard. I"d beat him to a pulp if he showed up looking for her here, and then tell him kindly I had no idea who he was speaking about. "They can"t come inside without a warrant."

"What if they get one? Better yet, how will we keep her away from any knocks at the door? Or who is to say they won"t come searching for her vehicle?"

"Burn it. I"ll buy her another one," I mumbled, kicking the tile. "We"ll figure it out. Give me a couple of days and I"ll come up with something."

William nodded, and sat back down in his chair. "I"m glad she let you near her," he said with a smile. "I know it"s a relief for you."

"You have no idea." I turned and walked toward the door, but stopped. "No news on the voodoo queen"s whereabouts?"

William frowned. "No."

He"d been searching for her for so long I figured he"d lost hope, but I knew the bulletin board full of information in the bedroom said different. She didn"t want to be found, and she wouldn"t be until she needed to be.

The little" boys face flicked in my mind, but I shook it away. There was no changing the past, only breaking the curse and saving what was left of my future.

"Hey," William said as I walked past the threshold into the hallway. "Have you ever heard of an aphrodisiacs? I can get Vivian to buy some. It may help you out—,"

"I don"t need those, William. My wolf will call to her. She"ll be begging for more than a kiss before we know it."