Chapter 49

Piper

The tears in my eyes blurred my vision. My father's tugs became harder, and it only made me cling to Zander. I tried to blink the tears away, in an attempt to see him for one more second. I just needed one more second ...

Zander gave up his life for my dad.

That reality was a bittersweet poison sliding down my throat.

He'd given up our chance to be together to save my father. I wore his mark on my neck, and he gave it up. To save a man that didn"t want me to be there. It didn"t seem real. It all felt like a dream, a nightmare come to life.

Dad tugged me harder, urging me to stand up. "Get up, Sweetheart. We have to find a way out of here."

The bittersweet taste in my mouth turned to acid in my throat. I turned my gaze upward toward my father's ashen face. "I don't want to leave. Zander's dead. He saved your life, and you're still trying to run! They saved your life!"

My father stepped back and stood up straight. "Piper. I know he did, but we have to leave before another one of those things shows up. He is the reason we're both alive, and he's gone. We'll all be gone if another one comes—,"

I closed my eyes, blocking out the sight of him. My heart was shattering into tiny pieces, and my father wanted to leave Zander's body here. "Another one isn't showing up," I said, running my fingers into Zander's blood-soaked hair.

Dad scoffed. "How do you know that? That man over there just turned into a huge wolf and fought this beast. We need to leave, now. I don"t know what you"ve stumbled into but none of it is good."

A soft hand landed on my shoulder, and I glanced up at Vivian. She wore a frown, and her brown eyes were brimmed with tears. I knew if she blinked they would spill over onto her cheeks.

"We need to move him—,"

"No!" I shouted, a sob climbing my throat. "I need a few minutes. Please." I needed another lifetime. A lifetime that"d been stolen from us.

Vivian nodded, her attention shifted toward William who stirred on the floor. Vivian ran over and scratched at his fur, while I listened to the sound of footsteps on the staircase.

My mother stopped on the last step in shock. Amanda ran over, passed my father, and lifted my chin in her palms. "Oh my God, what happened? I'm so sorry, Piper," she whispered.

A sob broke from me. Heartache overtook my body and I began to shake. I couldn"t contain myself, I felt far away, looking down at us. When William shifted to his human form, I couldn"t look away from Zander"s face. Even when he crawled over, and began to cry out for his brother, I felt too numb to move.

"No," he said as he touched Zander's blood-soaked chest. "I should have asked her to stay. To help. I failed him."

The despair in his voice twisted the knife in my heart. A heart I knew would never be the same without Zander Blackwood.

Minutes ticked by, and my body grew numb from the weight of Zander on my legs, but numb was better than hurt. I would have taken anything over the hollow ache forming in the pit of my stomach.

Pounding on the outside of the door startled me.

Vivian walked toward the door to open it, when the heaviness on my lap stirred. My heart stopped beating in my chest. Surely I'd imagined it. Surely I'd imagined Zander moving.

I watched him closely, seeing his chest jolting as if someone shocked him back to life. William glared at the side of my face. "Am I dreaming?"

"If you're dreaming, I'm dreaming, too," I whispered.

The front door opened easily—as I sensed it would—and Henry's voice spilled into the room. But I couldn't focus on anything other than Zander's body coming back to life.

"What the hell is going on? I've been screaming for help for hours."

Zander's eyes moved behind his eyelids, and slowly, they opened. Those bright hazel orbs stared up at me. He groaned, and moved his body around, his palm covering the wounds on his chest.

"Zander," I whispered.

His gaze shifted toward mine. "Little One."

"You're alive?" I asked quietly. "Is this real? What happened? How are you here?"

His bloody hand lifted and he cupped my face. "I'm alive. My mother—she saved me."

William cleared his throat. "You saw mother?"

Zander kept his gaze on mine but nodded. "Yes," he whispered.

I wrapped my hand around his wrist as tears raced down my face. "I thought you were dead."

"Me, too," he whispered.

He lifted his arm into the air, drawing attention to his forearm. "It's gone," he whispered. "The tattoo is gone. It's broken. We broke the curse."

"You're not the beast anymore?" I whispered, tracing circles over his skin.

"No. I'm all yours," he whispered.

All mine. There were so many things I wanted to do with him. I wanted Zander to walk outside into the sunlight. I wanted him to feel the heat of the sun against his skin. I wanted to spend an entire night in bed with him, doing all the things I'd dreamed of.

Excitement flooded me.

"We need to get you bandaged up," I whispered. "You're still hurt."

Zander nodded but didn't move. He glanced over at my father who stood several feet away still in shock. "You're okay?" Zander asked.

My dad only nodded.

Henry's shadow fell over Zander. "Well, I don't know about anyone else, but I'm ready to leave, and I can't without Mr. and Mrs. Sloane. We all rode together. I'm not even going to ask any questions about what happened here. I don't care. I want to leave."

William stood up slowly, and Henry's eyes widened. "Why on Earth are you naked?"

No one answered. By the look on my parent"s faces, I wasn't sure they'd tell him. The secrets that had been shared would stay with us.

"I think it's a good idea that you all leave, as well. Zander needs medical attention, and we have a lot to do."

Henry clapped his hands. "Great," he said sarcastically. "Let's go, Guys."

"Go wait for us outside, Henry," my dad said.

"Are you going to lock me out again?"

My dad glared at him until he finally got the hint and left. "You're not coming with us?" he asked.

I squared my shoulders. "No." How many times did he need to hear it?

Dad nodded, almost as if he understood, and glanced down at Zander. "Thank you. I'm not going to pretend like I understand what just happened in front of me. Your brother turned into a wolf, that thing showed up out of nowhere, and you came back from the dead. But all of that stays here. Who would believe me anyway? I just ask one thing of you," he said, his voice lowering. "Take care of Piper. She seems to trust you and to love you. I'm going to trust her. Please, do not let some paranormal creature take my baby."

Zander lifted to his elbows, groaning at the pull on his chest. "I will protect Piper until the day I die, Mr. Sloane. You're all welcome here."

My dad nodded. "Let's get him upstairs so Piper can clean him up."

Zander kissed my knuckles before William and my father struggled to get him to his feet. My numb legs ached as I stood to my feet, and watched as they slowly guided him toward his bathroom.

My mother stepped into my view. "Piper," she said, cradling my face. "Are you sure staying here is a good idea?" she asked, her wide hazel eyes full of fear.

"Mom. I am sure I'm safe here. I wouldn't stay if safety was an issue. I love him," I whispered.

Mom's bottom lip trembled. "Will you come to see us?"

"Of course," I said. "And you all will come to see me. I'm not trapped here. I'm here willingly."

"Piper!" my father yelled from the stairs.

"I love you, Momma," I whispered, pulling her into a tight hug.

She nodded into my shoulder, her smell made my eyes water, but I pushed the tears away. I'd cried too much for one day.

I smiled at Amanda who wore a proud smug smirk. "Go help your man, Girl. I will if you don't," she said, winking at me.

I hustled up the stairs, toward our bedroom, and to Zander leaning against the bathroom sink. His shirt was off, and three deep claw marks were angled across his broad chest.

The sight of it halted me in my tracks.

My dad touched my shoulder, drawing my attention. "I love you, Baby Girl," he said. "We will call you tomorrow morning. Maybe we can schedule a time for all of us to meet ... under different circumstances."

"I think that would be best. I love you."

Dad kissed my forehead and left me in the room with William. "Do you need help?" he asked.

"No. I'm just going to clean it and bandage it up. Is everything in the room?"

William nodded.

Zander stared at me while William shut the door behind him. The space between us tingled. Each step I took felt like a million yards.

I stopped in front of him and buried my head into his shoulder, smelling his skin, and feeling like I was with a new person. "I can't believe this is real," I whispered.

Zander tangled his fingers into my hair and tilted my head back. "It's real," he said, his voice dropping an octave.

I smiled and closed my eyes. "I need to clean you up."

Zander didn't let go of my hair, he stared down at me with bright—hopeful—eyes. "I need you so much more right now," he whispered, bending down to bite the crook of my neck.

I chuckled. "We have plenty of time for that tonight. All night. No beast. No curse. And I promise, I can't wait for it, but I need to get you cleaned up first."

Zander smirked and leaned back to allow me access to his chest. Slowly, I grabbed the alcohol wipes and began running them along the wounds, cleaning the blood from his skin.

"What happened over there?" I asked.

Zander looked far away for a few moments. "It's hard to explain. My mother helped me back to this world. She'd been watching us and Priscilla."

I expected a chill to enter the room. "Where is she?"

Zander cupped my face with his big palms. "Not coming back. Ever."

I continued to clean him and used a bandage to cover him up. I reached up and put my hands into his hair. "Your hair is bloody, but we'll wait until your chest is better before we wash it out. I want to do something with you."

Zander chuckled. "I have several somethings I'd like to do with you."

I hid the bush with my hair. "I want to go outside."

Zander's face turned serious, and his gaze shifted toward the window. It'd been so long that I figured he'd forgotten what it felt like. "Let's go now," he said.

Grabbing his hand, I led him downstairs toward the backdoor, and out onto the steps. Zander stalled at the doorjamb, his eyes adjusting to the sunlight. With his hand above his eyes, he slowly moved down the steps.

Seeing him in the sunlight melted my heart.

His face was luminous. His skin bright and proud in the sunbeams. Zander outstretched his arm and offered me his hand. I stepped into his arm and watched as he enjoyed the breeze on his skin.

"God, I'd forgotten what it feels like to be outside."

"You look different in the sunlight. I can see the freckles under your left eye better."

He glanced down at me. "You're more beautiful outside. I want to go see something." He tugged me along, but I had a sense of where he was taking me.

We stopped in front of his mother's grave. "It looked like this in my dream, too."

I watched him walk over and run his fingertips against the concrete. "I can't believe we broke the curse," he whispered more to himself.

He looked over his shoulder. "You love me," he said.

A smile tugged at my mouth. "I adore you, Zander. I"m just sorry it took me so long."

"Well, there's only one way to prove that you really love me."

"Besides dealing with a curse for the past few weeks, and a deranged woman hell-bent on killing us. Do tell, Zander. What else do I need to prove?"

Zander smiled ear-to-ear. "That entire night in bed with me.

Heat draped over my skin like silk. "Don't worry, I haven't forgotten. We only have a few hours of sun left. Are you ready to live up to your word?"

The look on his face told me yes. Zander was ready to prove everything.