บททั้งหมดของ Mated in the Shadow of Betrayal: บทที่ 161 - บทที่ 170

(Piper POV)Nick leaves the bedroom and tracks down an omega, who helps him quickly find another bottle of Windex.While Nick is gone, Dr. Hyder —who probably still senses my skepticism— explains what he is doing.“The council estimates that there are less than 500 witches left in the world. Most of those witches live in human territories, and they usually prefer to have little to no contact with werewolves.For these reasons, encountering a spell is pretty rare. However, it still happens from time to time.In a hospital setting, being able to quickly differentiate between conditions caused by spells versus conditions caused by illnesses can be really important. It used to be that you could only tell the difference if you had a witch come and identify the magic. However, several years ago, a witch I befriended taught me a trick to do it on my own. I do not understand how or why it works, but it has never failed me.” “We have the Windex, Sir,” Nick informs Dr. Hyder as he comes

(Jenny Brogan POV)When Nick and I first arrived at Bloodstone Pack, I thought that the mistakes that I made in the past were long behind me.It turns out that I was wrong. Although Nick, Luna Lily, Alpha James, and the others had long since forgiven me, I realized that I had never completely forgiven myself. That was and is a problem. In fact, I think that is why I have so far resisted the idea of having pups with Nick. I have not only worried that I did not deserve to have any pups, but I have also feared that I would not be the kind of mother that my pups needed me to be.Where did all these epiphanies come from, you may wonder? Piper. Well, not really her per se. More like helping Piper. The more I help her —and the more that I think about ways to help her— the more I feel like I am somehow redeeming myself and my soul. That I am earning back the Moon Goddess’ trust and faith in me.I admit that I came on a little too strong at first, but I backed off. I chose to instead

(Piper POV)Kade directs me to a spot a few feet away and then video-calls Dr. Hyder. After a few words of greeting, Kade turns the phone around so that Dr. Hyder and I can see one another for the first time.“Piper, it is an honor to finally see you. I am sorry that it is under these circumstances,” Dr. Hyder says.“The honor is all mine,” I say truthfully. “Have you heard any updates about Jenny?”“Not yet. But we will find her. Don’t you worry about that. Are you ready to get started?”“Yes, Sir.”“Kade, I assume that you have the syringes and the drydratipramine?”“Yes, Sir.”“And the anti-antagramine?“Yes, Sir.”“Good. Now put your phone in your shirt pocket, with the camera at the top allowing me to watch what is happening, and then let me see you fill each syringe.”Kade follows the instructions. As he pulls out the syringes, I notice that one has a red rubber top and the other has a black rubber top. I assume the different colors are so that they do not get mixed up w

(Piper POV)Kade and I made our way to a human diner that was walking distance from our hotel. Thankfully, despite it being a Sunday morning, it was not very crowded. My guess was that most people were either sleeping in or were at church. Either way, I was grateful for the quiet and super excited about the food.The pretty, young waitress sat us in a booth towards the back. After not-so-subtly trying to figure out if Kade and I were a couple, she stepped away to grab a couple of menus.Before she came back, I saw her unbutton the top three buttons of her uniform, exposing her red lace bra and the tops of her obviously-fake breasts. When I saw her do it, I laughed and rolled my eyes. Did that desperate trick really work on men?Well, apparently it does, because when she came back over and I glanced over at Kade, he was practically drooling in appreciation. In fact, when the waitress leaned over to place his water and silverware in front of him, I was half-surprised that he did n

(Leo Bloodstone POV)It has been almost 48 hours.I was supposed to be a married male by now. Piper was supposed to be wearing my mark. I was supposed to be explaining to Piper everything that I had done and why, and then —assuming she understood and was willing to accept it— having more of the best sex of my entire life while giving the symbolic middle finger to the werewolf council.Instead, Piper is gone. I have no idea where she is. Despite the three spells that I had placed on her engagement ring and despite all the other precautions that I took, it wasn’t enough. She left. And without a trace.I am a complete and utter wreck. If you were to see me right now, you may not even believe that I was me. The big, bad alpha has been reduced to a fraction of who I was before. I think most of my enemies would take one look at me and call me a major f&&king p&ssy right now. Hell, most of my friends probably would too. Especially because, instead of being out there killing someone