Chapter 32

Zander

Piper opened the front door as the sun set, and the beast stirred awake within me. The humid Louisiana air was muggy, and stuck to my skin like slime from the bayou.

Piper seemed anxious to get outside. She stepped out onto the front steps, the moonlight brightening her face, and the growing wind blowing her hair around her shoulders. "It's hot tonight," she said, glancing around.

Her attempt at drawing my attention away from the subject of Priscilla had been kind. Not that I deserved any kindness from the weight of the truth I kept from her.

I stroked my fingertips against the back of her arm.

She glanced up at me. "Your eyes are changing."

"I feel them," I whispered.

"What does it feel like?"

"It's hard to explain. I never experienced it before this, and I doubt you have either, Little One. It's like someone trying to see through your eyes, shoving you out of the way, and taking over. You still see, and hear, but it's far away, like you're watching someone else."

Piper stood back against the start of the brick railing, and looked at me. "Can I watch him come out?"

Piper looked genuine, not that I thought differently, but it was an odd request. There had been a time in my life that I didn't even want William to see me like this. Now, my fated mate was asking to watch me shift from start to finish.

"I want to see," she whispered. "All of you."

I swallowed the heavy pressure the beast pushed against my chest, and answered, "Have you shown me all of you, Little One?"

Piper blinked. "There isn't much to me, Zander."

I chuckled. "I don't think that's true, but I'll go first. I'll show you mine if you show me yours."

She laughed, her voice echoed around us. "I don't turn into a beast, and you've seen me without makeup, maybe I'll tell you my deepest darkest secret one day."

"Deal," I said.

The beast shoved against me, pushing against my bones and frame, sending me to all fours. It only took seconds now, my body had become accustomed to the shift and welcomed it.

A roar formed in my stomach, working its way up my throat, it shattered my own ear drums. The beast took over my senses slowly, maneuvering around me, pushing me to the back of my mind.

Piper looked calm, though the beast almost tasted her heartbeat. He loved the fear he sensed. He would never hurt Piper, she calmed him, but he still held that predator mentality that made us different.

She walked closer, running her palm against the side of his face. Seeing my reflection in her eyes turned my stomach. How could she look at me like this?

I hated the sight of him.

But she didn't fear him.

She embraced him.

She calmed him.

A wolf howled in the distance, breaking the silent interaction between the two of them. "Want to go on a walk? If you save me from alligators, I don't mind getting a little muddy."

There were worse things than a gator out here, but most of them stayed clear of this place. They sensed the beast.

Piper walked alongside the beast, down the brick stairs that led to the front doors, and toward the gravel driveway that circled around toward the garage. "Can we go into the back yard?" she asked, glancing up. "I've never been to the garden."

Memories from a time I played outside in the garden as a child surfaced. I missed the sunlight. I was a werewolf, so the moon was my friend, but nothing felt better than the warm sun soaking into my flesh.

The beast wanted to give her what she wanted, so he rounded the corner of the house, and led her toward the garden. Cicadas sang in the distance, the bayou talking to us despite the fear the animals held.

Piper seemed excited the closer we walked toward the garden. A trellis arched over the entrance, beautiful roses slept there for the night. Piper ran in front of the beast, her fingers sliding over the sculptured bushes.

"I would have played hide-n-seek here if I were you growing up," she said, glancing over her shoulder. "Maybe once the curse is broken, we can play out here. We can have the same rules. I don't mind stripping in the sunlight, and I bet you'd die for that right about now."

The beast didn't like to hear that the curse would be broken, but he didn't fight her. He cared for her, because he was a piece of my wolf. My wolf loved her, because we were fated.

It was nature's way.

Piper searched the trees, and for a brief moment it looked as if she searched for someone. Then I heard it.

"Piper!" someone shouted from far away.

She twirled around, her hair a tornado around her shoulders, her gaze sweeping the woods. "Piper!"

"Daddy," she whispered in a voice that reminded me of a seven-year-old. Tears formed in her eyes, and I briefly thought she would run to him, but she didn't.

She took a step back. "We need to go inside. I see the flashlight."

The beast snarled, his anger rising and rearing its head like a bull. I pulled him back with all of my might. If they saw him, or her, they would call the police. I didn't need the police hovering around my home.

Piper wiped away a tear, and turned toward the beast, resting her hands on him. "Stop. If he comes he will take me, or call the police. Please calm down."

The beast fought through the reason she offered him, and tried to run forward. I pushed my way to the front, trying to gain control, briefly winning, enough to pull us back toward the back steps.

Piper cursed under her breath, and tried relentlessly to pull me up the brick steps.

The beast broke free, his roar pierced through the night sky, quietening the cicadas. The beam of the flashlight stopped, and I could feel her father's fear from almost half a mile away.

"Hurry," Piper pleaded. "Just come inside."

Pushing against him again, I regained myself for long enough to get inside the back door. Piper locked it, and rested her back against the door, swiping her palms down her face.

I wanted to reach out and hold her, reassure her that everything would be okay, but I couldn't. The beast stared, his lack of empathy hurt me. She was distraught seeing her father.

I imagined all of the conflicting emotions pouring into her.

I wanted to comfort my mate.

Hold her.

Sleep in the damn bed with her.

For the briefest of moments, I felt someone staring at us, and the distant sound of laughter.

Piper stood up, and walked us toward my bedroom, sadness written all over her pretty face. Going outside had been a mistake. If it wasn't her family coming for her, it would be Priscilla.

I tasted magic in the air, and it reminded me of the night it all happened. The night Priscilla beat me, and cursed me in front of her family. The night she swore I would bear the burden of a beast for the rest of my life, because I was truly a beast on the inside, and no one would ever love me.

The night her son died, because of me.

Piper was in the shower when I woke the next morning, the door open as an invitation, and my shackles unlocked. I wasted no time joining her, stepping into the steam.

I tangled my fingers into her hair, and turned her to face me, pressing her soft body against the shower wall. "Are you okay?" I asked against her mouth.

She nodded. "Yes."

"Don't lie," I warned. "I need the truth to make sure I can make you happy."

Piper closed her eyes. "It was my dad. I heard him. He's searching for me, Zander."

"I heard him. Why didn't you go?"

She looked up with confusion on her face. "You want me to?"

"No," I hissed, shaking my head. "Of course not. But you're hurting, but you still didn't go."

Piper reached up to touch the mark on her neck. "I'm mated to you. I would hurt if I left, too. I want to go see him when the curse is broken. I want my family to know I'm alive."

"Of course. I would never keep you from them."

Her bottom lip trembled, and I stopped it with my thumb. "Little One. I promise you can go, whenever you need to. They are getting close to the house again. They maybe back."

"Maybe," she whispered.

"They can't see the beast. They won't understand, and they'll call the police. They can't come here."

"I understand."

"We can't go outside again," I said.

"I don't want to. I feel vulnerable outside. I enjoyed the fresh air, and the moonlight, but I feel like someone is watching me closer outside."

Chills worked their way down my spine. "You were right about Priscilla," I whispered. "I tasted the magic in the air last night."

Piper lowered her gaze to my mouth. "What does that mean?"

"It means she's coming for us, for you, she is going to do whatever she can to break us up. I need you to be strong, no matter what she tosses at us. Don't let her fool you. Don't let her warp your vision of me. This is me," I whispered, softly kissing her mouth. "But this hasn't always been me. She's going to use that against us."

Questions traveled across her face. "I promise," she whispered.

The truth shoved it's way up my throat, and it lingered on my tongue. I wanted so badly to tell her everything, but I couldn't. The soft look in her eyes, the way her body called to me. My heart would shatter if she left.

And I was afraid the truth would make her run for the door.

"Let's enjoy today," she whispered. "We'll start with a little pick me up."

Smiling, I picked her up to my hips and crushed my mouth over hers.

The truth spewed down my throat, drowning in the fear of being alone after tasting my forever.