Chapter 4

Zander

William snapped the cuffs of the chain around both of my wrists and stepped back. His brows were pulled down with concern, dark circles hung beneath each eye. "Do they feel secure?"

Laying my head back against the wall, I slunk down to the floor, resting my elbow against my bent knee. "Aren"t they always?" I asked.

William slid his palm down his face annoyingly. "Okay, Zander. Well, this time, if you escape, we have someone besides myself and Vivian to worry about."

I hadn"t forgotten. How could I?

I scoffed, turning my head to shake off the beast regaining his strength. "I haven"t forgotten, William. How could I?"

He shrugged, shoving his hands into his pants pockets. "That little show at the dinner table could have fooled me. You do want your mate to like you, right? Or do you not care?"

The beast stirred, arching my back as the feeling of red-hot coals slid down my spine like molten lava. Carving and remolding my bones to accommodate for his build.

"She has no choice but to like me, William," I said, my voice gravely and hoarse. "She"s my fated mate."

William chuckled, and I heard his footsteps growing distant before they halted at the doorway. "We have to find her. You can"t win your mate with this beast. Who could love a beast, Zander?"

The beast roared, sending me back down to the floor, my body convulsing, the beast banging for release. It was the same every night. That little taste of freedom I offered him in the evening. It was never enough. He demanded to be free. He wanted to roam. Roam the woods for blood. For freedom. To make those around him fearful.

It was as if he"d been pulled straight from hell and transferred into my body.

We"d spent many years searching for the voodoo queen that did this to me with no luck. She didn"t want to be found—so I figured she wouldn"t be.

Her face flashed in my vision, the crown of decaying roses she wore fluttered down petal-by-petal, her smile evil, her eyes a glowing yellow. The same piercing color as the beast.

My teeth ground together in anger, my body shaking from the unimaginable pain clawing down my veins. The beast beat down my body daily, only breaking during the night for a short amount of time.

The daylight gave me refuge. A moment alone to sink into myself and try to renew my self-worth.

It"d been my fault it all happened.

I deserve this.

But, for how long?

A roar ripped from my chest, slicing through the air like a sharp knife. My thoughts wandered to Piper. Her soft curls against her shoulders, those beautiful hazel eyes staring up at me in fear.

Dear God, the smart mouth that would undo me.

William was right. How could this beauty learn to love this beast? She was human, unaware of the supernatural until tonight. She would run the first chance she got, and I"d have to run after her, forcing my love to love me.

It was pathetic. I am pathetic.

Not like the alpha, I had been once before.

Not the alpha I wanted to be for my pack. My pack that a neighboring alpha took over for me years ago, as I was cursed to the woods, the forest grew up around us, guarding us against the outside world.

My mind sank into darkness the further the beast pushed against my conscience. I felt like drowning in a sea of death. Drowning would be a break from the torment conflicting inside of me.

Moments ticked by as if hours, and I let go, letting him free. His piercing cry of realizing he was chained rattled my eardrums, the fear she felt from down the hallway coursed through me, and then everything went black.

It was never a true sleep. Not one that rested my body or soul. It felt like being knocked out cold, waking up with cricks in places you didn"t know existed, and bruises that weren't there the day before.

The sunlight beamed in from the floor-to-ceiling window of my bedroom, brightening the elegant crown molding and the dust particles floating above me.

It was short-lived. The blinds pulled, and I realized I wasn"t in the room alone.

Groaning, I turned my neck from side to side, stretching out my muscles and enduring the aches from the night. Slowly, I stood up with the help of the wall, fresh blood coated my wrist from the restraints, but the restraints had been unlocked.

Fresh clothes, a tray of food, and coffee sat on the table next to the door. Vivian stood by the window, hands interlaced in front of her. "Good morning, Sir."

"Good morning," I groaned. "I"m guessing Piper has already eaten?"

She frowned, her gaze dropped to the floor. "Not exactly."

I turned to face her. "What does that mean?"

"She wouldn"t come out of her room this morning, and William told me to let her be."

It aggravated me that she wouldn"t eat, but it gave me a chance to eat with her. "Gather our food, and take it to the breakfast nook. I"ll make sure she comes." I ignored the unsure look on her face and grabbed my clothes.

I took a shower in record time, making sure I looked presentable. Vivian pulled all of the blinds in the house diming my dungeon as if being trapped weren"t enough, the sun would burn me like a vampire.

Completely trapped.

Completely bound.

The silence etched into my skin, reminding me of just how lonely I was—despite the other people in the house—the silence was vast and deafened me with despair.

Her door was locked when I knocked. "Piper. It"s time for breakfast."

Silence. Not that I expected her to swing the door open and run into my arms.

"Piper," I said, again.

Nothing.

Irritation bubbled in my blood. The alpha in me didn"t take silence, or no too well for an answer. Wiggling the knob, I slammed my fist against the door, this time making it shake. "You have two seconds to open this door before I break it in half, and you"ll go without one—,"

The door swung open in a rushed swish. The air brought her scent with it, drowning me in desire. She wore a dress that I knew was left for her. The length hit the floor, and dark satin material fell against her feet, but the cleavage displayed her ample breasts and the long lines of her neck.

My mark would go there one day.

Upon her pale flesh, showing our pack"s crest.

The one I"d handed over when I lost my title.

The one I would take back one day.

"I"m sorry. Did you need me?" she asked sarcastically. My gaze swept over her makeup-less face, the natural pink tint of her cheeks, and the long layers of her chocolate hair.

My fingertips twitched at the sight of it.

"I need a lot from you, Little One. But let"s start with breakfast."

She swallowed, and I watched her slender throat move with the motion. With her chin held high, she walked past me, not caring that her shoulder brushed my chest, or that I fought inwardly not to shove her against the wall and tangle my fingers into her hair.

She marched down the steps, gathering the material of her dress into her palms as she took each step. She was shorter than I imagined her to be, not that one can choose their mate.

Vivian stood at the doorway to the kitchen; her eyes cast downward, gesturing Piper toward the table full of fresh foods. She must have rewarmed them because heat billowed above the rolls. Piper took her seat, and I sat across from her, watching her annoyed eyes, and her jaw clenching and unclenching.

"Help yourself," I said, pouring myself a cup of coffee.

Piper didn"t budge; she stared at the design on her plate and continued working her jaw. I made my plate, gesturing for Vivian to do the same. Piper glanced up as Vivian sat beside me.

A blush spread across her cheeks. "Perhaps you wouldn"t like me to join you two today—,"

Piper shook her head. "No. I—you just didn"t join us last night, I wasn"t expecting—,"

"You weren"t expecting me to have manners is what you wanted to say," I said, spreading some butter onto my roll. When I glanced up, she stared straight at me.

"Well, do you blame me? You"ve only treated me like an object since I arrived. No, since I was forced to live here. What would you suggest? I forget the beast you turned into. Should I just ignore that? Or that I"m being kidnapped. If you"re expecting some kind of fairytale out of me, you can go ahead and forget it. I"m not your girl."

Vivian gasped. Her being raised in a pack, under an alpha, she understood how to speak to a superior.

Piper, apparently, did not.

I craned my neck, taking a slow bite of bacon, I stared at Piper with a smile. "You couldn"t be any more wrong, Piper. You are my girl. My Luna. The only girl for me—,"

She scoffed, and sat back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest. "Here we go with this crap again," she said rubbing her eyes with both hands, she slammed them down on the table. "I am not your Luna!" she screamed, tossing her juice at me from across the table.

Vivian jumped up quickly, running to gather a towel to dry me off, but I was up and out of my seat before I had time to comprehend what happened.

I interlaced my fingers into the hair at the nape of her neck, titled her head back, and forced her to look at me. "You do not throw things at me," I said softly, though my body shook with anger. "I am your mate. Your alpha. I will love my mate, but I won"t tolerate her disrespecting me. Do you understand?"

Piper"s eyes blazed with fire. Vivian"s footsteps halted behind me, and she slowly backed away. She stared at me, and I dared her not to answer me.

Her mouth parted. "I understand, Sir."

William"s heavy footsteps stopped in the doorway. "Brother," he hissed.

I didn"t look away from her.

"What?" I barked.

"Can I have a moment?"

I cleared my throat, watching her lower her gaze to my parted mouth, and a blush crawl up her skin. "Of course," I answered, standing tall, I regrettably let go of her hair. "And after, we"re going to have a chat with Piper. We"re going to learn about mates and packs today."

Piper turned away from me, her heartbeat pumping wildly against her ribcage.

"Vivian. Please continue eating. I"ll clean this up later. Also, make sure Piper eats. She"ll need her strength for this lesson."