Chapter 7
Piper
Sitting across from the pompous ass at lunch felt like middle school all over again. When the popular girl had it out for me, and stared daggers at me the entire hour. Except, this was a man. A man that thought he could intimidate me.
Scare me into minding his rules.
Scare me into submitting to him ... like a dog.
Well, I wasn"t going. I couldn"t just disappear from my life. My family. My career. The amount of irrational things that came out of this man"s mouth astonished me. The worst part was the way those crude words slid against my skin like silk.
It had to be some kind of hex over this place.
I"d been in a mundane relationship with Henry for years. I knew deep down something was missing, and I"d encouraged him to be more dominate. But he only laughed. Like it was a joke.
Though I knew from the look in Zander"s eyes that none of what he said was a joke. I felt it deep inside my stomach. It ate at me like an airborne virus. The lure of his words were heavy with promise, and it did ungodly things to me.
Which was all the more reason to get the hell out of dodge.
I had to make a run for it tonight.
After everyone went to sleep I"d run, but not before I snagged a couple of books from the library. Maybe on the way out I"d run out of this wonderland and reenter the real one.
"I see you"re enjoying your salad much more than the other meals. Should I have Vivian make you one every day?"
Do what you want, you pompous—
"Piper," he asked again, sliding his fingers into his shot auburn locks.
"Anything is fine," I said. "I prefer meat."
He eyed me. We"d had nothing but meat the last few meals, I was just finally coming to my senses. I needed energy to escape. Protein especially. I didn"t know what waited for me in the bayou.
Zander stabbed his food, and took a slow bite, keeping his eyes glued to mine as he did it. My traitorous hormones stirred deep in my belly, and it was as he almost sensed it. The corner of his mouth pulled into an infamous smirk.
"Vivian. What time are you leaving tomorrow?"
My gaze snapped to Vivian who hadn"t said one word. "As soon as I wake up, Sir. My grandfather has passed, and his funeral is tomorrow."
Zander"s gaze moved to hers and held. "I"m so sorry to hear that, Viv. You tell your parents I said hello, and take all the time you need. We have everything under control here."
Vivian excused herself after a few seconds, walking to the kitchen to hide her tears. Zander continued eating, while William kept silent.
"Why are you staring at me?" Zander asked, never looking up.
I swallowed. "No reason."
But the reason weighed heavily on me. Why had he seemed so human just then? His emotion—the sympathy—the care. He had it inside of him, whether it was deep down or not, it was there.
He wasn"t just the beast, and I knew that. The irrational part of me wanted to know that man. But the rational side—the one that would bring me to safety—won. And both sides of me were leaving tonight.
William caught my gaze, but I continued eating until I finished my entire plate, and both brothers stared at me in curiosity. I smiled, and sat back, sipping the wine they seemed to drink with every meal. I"d need a little liquid courage to make a run for it.
Zander cleared his throat, and rolled up the sleeves of his button-down shirt. His coiled forearms drew my attention, and my knees pressed together at the site of them. I knew how stupid it was to be turned on by my abductor.
But it was beyond my control.
No matter how badly I wanted out. A piece of me was curious about Zander.
My eyes drifted to the rose tattoo on his forearm. It was elegant, and the brightness of the color made it look new, but I didn"t see him leaving this castle to get one.
"See something you like?" he asked over the rim of his wine glass.
I chuckled. "Not on your life."
Liar someone said in my head. You"re a dirty liar. You don"t want to leave. Why not give in once before you run ...
I shook my head at the crazy idea of putting my mouth anywhere near this kidnapper"s body. It was insane. I was insane. This place was insane, and placing ludicrous ideas in my head.
"I need some air, please," I said.
Zander chuckled. "Are you asking for permission to go outside? Because I can"t imagine that"s a good idea. Why doesn"t William take you out on the balcony?"
William stood. "Gladly. Coming?"
I stood quickly, and nearly ran toward the double doors in the living room. The covered balcony was grand, with comfortable outside furniture that led toward a giant maze of a garden.
I stood in front of the railing, bracing my palms against the rail, I looked out over the perfectly manicured land. "You ate today," he said. "Does that mean you"re comfortable enough to know that we aren"t going to poison you?"
"What would be the point in poisoning me? Why kidnap me if you just want to kill me with poison?" I asked, turning to look at him.
He stood on the other side of the balcony, ankles crossed, and arms folded over his chest. "Zander would never purposefully hurt you."
"No," I said, shoving from the rail. "But this beast would, wouldn"t he?"
William shook his head. "No. He wouldn't either. He is a twisted version of Zander"s wolf, and he knows you"re his mate. You"re safer here than anywhere else."
Part of me believed that.
"I don"t want to be here," I whispered.
"I know," he returned.
There wasn"t any more to say. If William knew I was going to run, he didn"t mention it. I sat on the balcony until my butt grew numb from sitting. Neither William nor Zander waited on me when I walked back inside.
I was glad. I didn"t need any more distractions from my plans. I was leaving to go home tonight, no matter what.
Zander"s roar shook the glass of my windows from clear across the house. I tucked myself further into the covers, almost too afraid to move. Too afraid to run. However, I knew today was just as good as any.
With the array of emotions that Zander forced upon me, I needed to leave soon. If I stayed any longer, I would be inclined to give into those irrational urges that pushed me to kiss him. To believe this stupid mate bond that he talked about. I knew it was a stupid ploy to get me into his bed. But part of me, the teenage girl inside, believed it could be more than that, which was the reason I needed to leave.
William said goodnight over an hour ago. I wasn"t sure if he was asleep, or how he could sleep, with Zander beating on his chest and roaring like a bear.
I knew it was hard for me. As quietly as I could, I pulled back my covers, and slid into my shoes. My bag was full of clothes from the closet, which consisted mostly of dresses, but I needed a few in case I was stuck in the forest. I tucked the two books I stole from the library into the bottom, and slung it over my shoulder.
With as much ease as I could, I opened the door, and walked outside into the hallway. Zander beat and roared down the hallway, and as curious as I was, I didn"t go look. I tiptoed down the stairs, and toward the front door.
Luck was on my side. It opened, inviting me out into the murky night. Shivers raced down my spine, making me second-guess my escape. It was dark. Colder than I remembered it being when I first got there.
I took a deep breath, and descended the stairs. The street lamps guided me the way Zander brought me, but too soon, it turned into a dense forest. I had no idea where I was going, but I knew I needed to keep walking.
Twigs, branches and brush pulled at me, piercing my skin and forming a blood trail against my arms. None of it mattered. All that mattered was escaping.
Seconds turned into minutes and minutes into hours. The forest never lessened. Where was the road? My car? I figured they hid it from sight, perhaps somewhere on their property.
I didn"t have my keys anyway.
I continued, the lone sound of a wolf howled in the distance, working goosebumps up my spine. When the trees began to lessen, the moonlight brightened my way from breaks in the canopy of trees above me. My feet began to sink into the muddy floor, and I realized I"d stumbled upon the bayou.
My heart sank at the slimy water beneath me.
"Crap," I whispered. Fear grabbed my throat, and a sob crawled upward. "You can do this," I whispered. "You have to get out of here."
Slowly, I pushed my way through ankle deep mud, following the water and hoping for the best. The trees nearly disappeared, only a few cypress lingered overhead, which I was glad for, because it gave me moonlight to see in front of me.
I knew snakes were around, but I prayed they left me alone.
Stopping to regain my breath, I noticed something shift to my right. It was too small to be Zander, so I figured it was an animal. Maybe a harmless one. I continued a few feet when I heard the bellow. It vibrated the water like a growl, and I"d only heard it once before in my life when my parents took me to the alligator farm.
I stalled, my legs and arms grew shaky, and I looked around. The lack of movement was the worst, not knowing where to run or where to move. Two beady eyes glistened from above the water a few feet away.
My heart stopped.
The mud covered my ankles, and I knew running was going to be hard. I took a step back, and then another, until the alligator began to creep forward. Tears brimmed my eyes, masking my vision.
"Please," I whispered. "Just go home. Go back to your little hollow, and I"ll be on my way."
Making a rash decision, I turned and ran as fast as I could through the mud. The scream lodged in my throat escaped, and all the cicadas quietened and my heartbeat filled my ears.
Seconds ticked by, and I felt the alligator snapped at the back of my leg, definitely drawing blood, but I ignored the shot of pain.
That"s when I heard the roar. It was bittersweet knowing that I would be saved, only for a beast to drag me back to his castle. When his silhouette formed in front of me, I dropped to my knees, and listened as the alligator was ripped apart behind me.
A soft childlike laugh hit my ears, and I glanced up. A boy—around seven or eight—stared at me from behind a cypress tree. He wore some kind of paint on his dark skin, but it wasn"t as unnerving as the way he disappeared while I stared at him.
My nerves were short-lived. Zander picked me up and hauled me over his shoulder. I didn"t cry, or scream. I let him carry me to the quiet, clean castle that I knew wouldn"t hurt me like the bayou would.
They hadn"t been lying.
I wouldn"t make it out in the bayou.
I would have to find another way out of this madness.