Chapter 22

Zander

Temptation gnawed at me well into the day. With each passing second that my wolf didn"t see her, he cried in agony. It was pathetic to look at it from a human"s perspective.

Wolves were different. Possessive. Needy. Irate when they didn"t get what they wanted. Especially an alpha. An alpha went after what he wanted and would stop at nothing until he claimed his prize.

But this alpha needed to slow his roll, play it cool, and let her come to him, because it worked in the kitchen. She wanted my touch, and I"d eaten it like my favorite candy.

When dinnertime came, her scent was fresh in the air, which meant she voluntarily come down to the table. She sat with William, who looked like a child without any birthday presents.

He wasn"t dealing with the slow process of this game, or the fact that I planned to willingly let her go. It wasn"t my choice, it was the only way to gain her trust.

"Good evening," I said, sitting down in my chair. Vivian swung open the kitchen door and placed the pot roast on the table.

"Evening," Piper said, swirling her glass of red wine around in her long-stemmed glass. "Smells good, Vivian," she said, playfully avoiding my gaze.

William cleared his throat. "I need to speak to you after dinner."

I didn"t want to speak to him. I sensed his sadness, and it"d been a good day. "Tomorrow," I said.

William gave me a frustrated glare.

Vivian brought out the mashed potatoes and stopped with her hands on her hips. "I made apple pie since everyone is suddenly craving sweets."

I glanced up at her face, and couldn"t stop my laughter. She looked embarrassed. "Vivian, you"re so easily offended. Piper and I just did a little baking. We aren"t replacing you."

Her cheeks turned bright red. "Hmm," she said softly under her breath.

Piper caught my gaze from the other end as she made her plate, and slipped a small potato into her mouth. The tease ...

For the entire dinner, she played with her food, eating it slowly, tauntingly. Pulling the fork out slowly until I felt like a bubble of need would burst inside of me. The thought to push all our food off the table, and take her amongst the silverware taunted me. William spoke about some national news overseas, and Vivian hung on his every word.

I didn"t hear any of it. All I could focus on was Piper"s mouth and the way she smiled at me over her fork.

"Zander."

My eyes turned toward William who looked irritated. "What?"

"What do you think about it?"

"About what?"

Piper smiled and took another bite of her food. I watched her chuckle under her breath as if she enjoyed taunting me. Distracting me.

William sighed. "About Vivian"s pie?"

I glanced down at my untouched pie, and swiftly took a bite. "Delicious," I said.

Vivian smiled half-heartedly.

"It"s delicious," Piper said, swiping a piece of hair from her forehead. Tugging at the front of her dress, she adjusted herself, and slowly stood up. "Do you need help with the dishes?"

Vivian shot her a look. "No."

"If it"s okay, I need to get out of this dress, and into something more comfortable."

The image that sentence formed in my head would make a nun blush.

"Of course," I said.

She smiled, and slipped from the table, walking slowly up the stairs. My fingertips dug into the thighs of my pants. William stood up and wiped the corner of his mouth. "Can I speak with you?"

Here comes the doom and gloom ...

"All right, William. It was great, Vivian."

William led me toward his office. He shut the door behind us and turned to face me with a grimace. "The police stopped looking."

"What about her family?"

"They"re still looking. It was on the news that the police stopped their search because of a murder in another part of the parish. They don"t have the manpower for both."

Bittersweet syrup ran into my stomach. On one hand, it was great to know she was mine. On the other, she would think I was lying. If her family showed up, would it be harder for her to stay? I couldn"t imagine her hearing her mother"s voice, and not going to them.

What if they didn"t venture this far into the bayou? Would they miss us? One could hope ...

"They will find us," William said, putting his palms on his desk. "I"ve been researching her parents" social media presence. They have a group of volunteers. Her ex, her best friend. They are picking up where the police left off."

I slid my palm down my face. "Why are you telling me this? You"re wasting my time—,"

"I"m telling you this because if her family shows up at our doorsteps she is not going to stay with you, Zander. She misses them. Even if she makes up a lie to try and save us, we"ll get hauled down to the station, and how are you going to explain turning into a beast that night in front of any cellmates, or police officers? Did you even think about this when you gave her the option to leave? No," he said, standing up. "You didn"t. Just like you didn"t think before you kidnapped her—,"

"So my option was to not save myself? Not to get my mate, and at least try for my wolf or my pack?"

"I don"t know," he said, shaking his head. "This is one big sideshow you"ve created. I know you don"t control the beast, but you could have come to get me. I could have helped her, learned her name, her address, and we could have earned her trust without kidnapping her ..."

"Well, it"s a little too late for that. My beast doesn"t ask questions, he takes what he wants, obviously, William." I walked toward the door, completely over the conversation. "All I can do is what I"m doing. I"m trying to earn her trust. You"re wasting my time. Don"t call me here with stressful, useless arguments on what is already done."

I stormed up to my room, ignoring the waves of irritation I had toward William. The sun was setting, and I only had minutes before the beast awoke. Slamming my door, I crawled over to my chains and rested my head against the wall, fighting back a frustrated slew of curses.

The door swung open, I expected to see William, but I didn"t. Piper stood in my doorway in a silky nightgown. Her long dark hair hung toward her breasts. "Hey," she said. "Can I come inside?"

I rested my elbow against my knee. "He"s coming soon," I said.

She nodded and pointed toward the chains. "Can I? Or will William accuse me of taking his job?"

I chuckled. "I think he"ll survive."

She walked over, bending down in front of me, I eyed the hardly there top of her nightgown, and how her nipples peeked against the fabric. Carefully, she chained each of my wrists to the wall and sat back on her butt.

"The police stopped looking," she said.

I lifted a brow at her. "Eavesdropper, are we?"

She smiled. "It"s one of my many talents."

"Your parents haven"t stopped searching, and they"ll be here soon."

She nodded and picked at a hangnail on her finger. "My dad is relentless."

"It"s what a good father would do," I said, feeling the beast stirring inside. The pity inside of me took over, and I imagined never being a father like I wanted because my happiness was always one more day away. "I"m sure he"ll be happy to see you."

Piper"s hazel gaze lifted toward mine and held. Her face was unreadable, and I let it be. I wasn"t sure I wanted to know her thoughts. "I slept well last night."

"Me, too."

"Can I stay in here tonight, too?"

"I"d be a fool to say no."

She sat on the edge of the bed and glanced over when William stopped in the doorway. "Oh. Well," he cleared his throat. "Good night."

He shut the door behind him.

"He took it much better than Vivian. I kind of enjoy her tantrums. At least she is speaking."

I chuckled. "She"s as quiet as a church mouse, that one."

The minutes slowly ticked by with Piper watching me. She gnawed on her lip every time my body shuttered. The beast was calmer since she was near, and I appreciated it. "Is it scary?" she whispered.

"It was at first, now I know what to expect. Now it"s just another part of my life."

Piper frowned. "What were you like before?"

I lifted my gaze toward her curious one. "Happy. I made mistakes, many of them, and I live with them every day now. But, I have hope that I"ll be happy again."

She swallowed. "Vivian says you"re different now that I"m here."

"Vivian is right. You make me happy."

Swiftly, the beast broke free, while she watched in amazement. Part of me didn"t want her to see it, but the other part enjoyed the peace she brought with her. When the beast was finally free, he didn"t try to break from the chains, he waited on her.

And she came. Bending down, he ran her fingers into my hair and caressed me like a child. The beast purred, relaxing into her touch. Her eyes met mine, and my heart soared in harmony with hers.

She smiled. "You"re not so scary."

The minutes turned into hours, and when I woke, I hadn"t realized I"d fallen asleep. The sunlight peaked out from my bedroom window, brightening the room enough to see her. Piper slept beside me, but her moving was problematic and grew increasingly wild the longer I ogled her.

"Piper," I said, clearing the sleep from my throat. "Piper!"

She thrashed her legs and arms wildly. I tried to break my wrists free from their restraints but I was stuck. "William!" I shouted. "William!"

Moments later, he burst into the room wearing a pair of sweats and no shirt. He glanced at Piper"s thrashing body, and bent down beside her, shaking her shoulders until she came to life with a scream.

The fear that laced it pierced my heart.

With wide eyes, she glanced around, searching the room. "Oh, my God. Zander," she whispered.

"What is it? Let me out, William," I nearly growled. He jumped up to grab the keys and unlocked my chains.

I leaned forward, bringing her close to me, cradling her shaking body to my chest. "What is it? What happened?"

"The woman that cursed you. Is she blind?"

I stalled. "How do you know that?"

She looked up at me. "Because I dreamed of her."