Chapter 9

Piper

Once my door was shut to my room, I launched myself at my bed, and screamed into the mattress. My escape plan had gone to Hell quicker than I imagined it would. The worst scenario I had conjured up was getting lost in the woods, and surviving off the land.

How sadly I"d been wrong.

An alligator hadn"t been on my radar, but that was probably why I sucked so badly at escaping. I turned around, and stared up at the high-vaulted ceiling. At least, I did have some giant beast to come to my rescue.

Oddly enough, that wasn"t the strangest part of the evening. It was the random boy I saw watching us from behind one of the cypress trees. The war paint, the lack of a shirt, the smile ... it gave me the worst feeling.

Then there was Zander"s reaction to it, oh yeah, after he tore an alligator into pieces.

None of it made sense. Did they not realize they had neighbors? Zander was so pompous he probably didn"t realize there was anyone close by. He lived in his own little bubble, and it rubbed me the wrong way.

The only solace I had in the world was that stupid library. My gaze traveled toward the two books I swiped before I was dragged back here like a ragdoll. I could spend the entire day reading, being fed and catered to. It wasn"t the worst kidnapping situation, but my thoughts wandered to my parents. Amanda. My grandmother. Had they started to look for me yet? Deep down I wondered if Henry cared that I had disappeared off the map. Even though I knew better.

I wouldn"t know unless the cops pounded on the door, and came to my rescue. I prayed for it.. I yearned for my parents. They didn"t deserve to lose their only daughter, and have no closure.

I would have disappeared into thin air.

I sat up quickly when I remembered the computer in William"s den. It was my only chance to the outside world. I hadn"t noticed one TV or cell phone in this house. Not that I expected them to leave them lying around.

Standing up, I walked slowly toward the doorway, listening to the distant sound of their whispering in Zander"s room. The room I wasn"t allowed to go into, which made me all the more curious to know what he was hiding. As if he could hide anything that would shock me at this point.

Huge wolfy beast was enough to blow the lid off any other surprise for the rest of my life.

Carefully, I tiptoed down the stairs, and toward the hallway. Vivian"s absence made the castle seem lonelier than before, made the hallways seem longer. Knowing I was alone with the two psycho brothers made it worse.

The office door was unlocked, so I carefully shut it, hoping their wolf abilities didn"t give them that good of hearing. I scooted around, tapped the keypad, and it brightened the screen. William"s background was a picture from years before of the two of them. It looked like they stood on the steps of the castle, with other people around them.

They looked like a family, close but none of them looked alike.

I tapped the screen again, and his password came up.

Sighing, I rummaged around in his desk for a password written somewhere. Nothing. I knew it was a long shot, but I put in random passwords until it locked me out. Sitting back in his leather chair, I rested my head and grunted in frustration.

Why did I think it would be easy? Nothing else had been since I left for my trip in the first place. I could always wait and try again later.

Zander"s chuckle slid underneath my skin, but I didn"t even bother getting up. Apparently, this man wasn"t going to hurt me, his goal was to woo me into some type of forced relationship. "Nice try," he said.

I shrugged, still staring at the ceiling. "It was worth a shot."

"Of course it was," Zander said, his footsteps drawing near. When they stopped, I glanced up at his handsome face. "I need your help. William is going to take you outside, and you"re going to show him where you saw the little ... boy."

I tilted my head to the side. "Am I?"

Zander"s gaze turned stormy. "You are. And it"s not a question, it"s an order. Get ready. You"re leaving in a few moments."

I pursed my lips, not budging from my seat. "I"m not leaving to go anywhere unless you do something for me."

Zander stalled as he started to turn around. "Oh, I have plenty I would like to do to you, Little One."

I smirked. "Well, I"m not sure how you"ll like this one, Big Guy."

"Shoot," he said, gesturing for me to continue.

"Let me tell my family I"m safe, and I"ll do whatever you need."

He smiled. "Right, because letting you call your family will definitely settle well with my plan of breaking free of my beast, and claiming my mate."

Unable to stop it, a tingle of lust fluttered in my stomach. I wanted to know what claiming me would insist of, but part of me wasn"t sure I wanted to know that answer. "That"s not happening either way, Zander. And what does me liking you have to do with your little beast friend?"

"All in due time," he mumbled. "Well, it looks like you"re out of luck. I will find another way to find the boy, because I can"t trust you to just let your family know you"re okay."

I frowned, my opportunity to reach out to my mother and ease her pain was slipping through my fingertips. "What do I need to do to text my mother that I"m okay? You understand that, don"t you? You understand that my mother is worried? I"m sure you had one once in your life."

He stalled in the doorway, tilting his head over his shoulder. "I did once in my life, yes. And what I need from you, want from you, I"m not sure you"d be willing to give me in exchange for a text to your mother."

"What do you want?" I whispered into the air between us. It sizzled and crackled like frying bacon, until he turned and his gaze dropped to my mouth.

"You show William where you saw the boy," he said, turning to face me. "And I want a kiss."

I pressed my lips together, my hand voluntarily palmed the desk in front of me for support. I couldn't deny the sexual attraction I had toward my capturer. Kissing him wouldn"t help me in anyway, especially if I wanted to get out of here.

I stared down at my feet, knowing his eyes were on me. When his feet came into my view, I glanced up into his hazel eyes. "Are you afraid to kiss me?" he asked softly.

I scoffed. "Scared? No. I"ve kissed plenty of men, Zander."

"Then what is the problem? If I"m just some other man that you"ll kiss, another man to add to your list, what"s the issue?"

There were too many issues. The way his mouth parted, and his full lips held an open invitation. Or the way my traitorous body fawned over the slope of his deltoids, or the coils in his forearms.

"There is no issue," I corrected him. "Let"s do it," I said, biting down my pride. "Kiss me now so I can text my mother."

His eyes searched mine, a slight pull of his mouth formed that stupid infamous smirk. "Oh, Little One. I never said when I wanted to give you this kiss. If you agree, it will be whenever I please."

Flames of heat licked my kiss. "Not while I"m in the shower."

"Hmm," he said, examining my reddened cheeks. "Of course, not. I"m a gentleman," he said. "And plus, that will come much later. After I mark you."

Mark me. My head began to grow dizzy, and I felt my body purring like a cat. "Okay," I said, giving him my hand.

He snaked his out, wrapping his fingers around my own, he brought my hand toward his mouth. "You"re already making deals with the devil, Little One. Be careful, you may begin to enjoy my company."

I snatched my hand away. "Tell William I"m ready," I said, avoiding his eyes.

He chuckled. "I left you a pair of boots by the door. I"ll see you soon, Little One."

The sunlight kissed my skin, and I nearly cried at the feeling of being out in the open. If only William wasn"t beside me, watching me like I was the sideshow character.

"What are you looking at?" I snapped.

"Nothing. I"m just making sure you"re okay."

I gawked at him. "Seriously? Is that seriously a question you"re going to ask me, William? Am I okay?"

He sighed. "I know. But I don"t want your time here to be more inconvenient than it has to be."

I grumbled beneath my breath. "Whatever. Let"s just get this over with. I had to make a deal I didn"t want to make to do this."

He smiled. "Zander told me. I picked up a throw away phone for you to text your mother. Of course, I"ll check it before you send, but I wouldn"t want your mother to worry about you."

"Of course not."

William followed me toward the bayou, which looked less scary in the daylight. The water was murky, full of slime, and knowing what hid in it made it all the worse. We walked for what seemed like forever when I saw our tracks from the night before.

"There is where Zander ripped the alligator," I said, pointing half-heartedly, because the sight made me sick to my stomach. "And there, over there by that cypress tree, I saw that little boy looking at me."

William pursed his lips, stepped back, and jumped clear across the bayou. I would have been flabbergasted or astonished under any other circumstance.

He searched the trees, weaving in and out of the mossy limbs, but came back with a frown on his face. "Find what you need?"

"No," he said. "Did anything stand out about the kid?"

I shrugged. "Not that I haven"t already told you. Just a little boy with pain on his face. He was there and then he disappeared. Are you going to tell me what it all means?"

William started back toward the house. "It"s nothing that concerns you."

I laughed half-heartedly. "Of course not. Why would you tell the woman trying to escape about your demons?"

William stopped abruptly. "Piper. I like you, I do. I think your spunk and attitude will be good for my brother, but you have to know this situation he is in ... it"s bigger than you know. He"s being punished."

I folded my arms over my chest. "A curse, right? I"ve read the fairytale, William. I know this sick fantasy you all are trying to play out."

He sighed. "I wish this was a fantasy, but it"s not. It"s his worst nightmare. And you"re the shining light." William started back toward the castle. "This little bargain you made with my brother," he said. "It"ll be your undoing, Ms. Sloane."

I snorted. "I"ve kissed plenty of men in my life. It"s just a kiss."

William chuckled. "You"re right. But you"ve never kissed your soul mate before. You don"t know what you"ve signed up for."

I laughed humorlessly, trying to keep my nerves out of my voice. "So you"ve said."

The closer we grew to the castle the more my mind raced with thoughts about his kiss. Not knowing when he would do it made me nervous. Zander was charming, I was woman enough to admit it, and coy. He"d wait until my guard was down before he did it, which made me worried.

Worried that I would slip ... and enjoy it.