Chapter 22: I'll Find A Way
1929 Words
*Piper’s POV*
It had been forty-eight hours since Jaxon and the pack of fighters left. I felt like I was on edge this entire time. I felt sick to my stomach at the thought that maybe something had happened to him. I just wanted to know he was okay, but I wouldn’t know until the fighters returned.
“Piper.” Matteo’s voice came into my mind.
I rolled my eyes. I had willingly kept my connection open after Jaxon left just in case anyone tried to communicate with me. Matteo must’ve picked up that the walls were down as he took his opportunity to mind link.
“What do you want?” I asked with a slight annoyance in my tone.
“I just want to talk.” His voice was calm as he spoke.
Truthfully at this point I couldn’t say that I felt love towards him anymore. He had kept things from me and was part of something dark. I didn’t like what he was a part of and something was going to have to be done about it. The bond growing stronger between Jaxon and I didn’t help either. It was getting in the way of the one I had with Matteo, which now felt like it was being stretched too thin.
“Talking hasn’t exactly gone over well between us the last few times Matteo. Just save the argument and go away please.” I really had no interest in carrying on any type of conversation with him.
“Piper, please.” He pleaded.
That’s when a thought occurred to me. Silver Moon wanted to fight Dark Moon because Alpha Bradley had requested it. Maybe I could make Matteo useful after all. Maybe he knew what was happening in the fight, maybe he could tell me if Jaxon was alright. I couldn’t just ask though, I had to come up with a better way.
“Fine. What do you want to talk about?” I asked. I needed to start with small talk so he would be more willing to answer my questions.
“Piper, I miss you. My father and I are working to get you back home safely.” Matteo informed me. “Do you miss me or has Jaxon got to you?”
“I miss you too.” I lied. Our connection was too weak for him to pick up on my dishonesty. I was fully intending to use this to my advantage.
“Then why do you keep blocking me out?” He questioned the lack of communication between us lately.
“After learning the truth I needed some time to think.” I explained in a calm tone. “I needed to process everything, especially when it came to the information about my parents.”
That wasn’t a total lie. I did need to think things over, however my thinking hadn’t gone in Matteo’s favor. Our last conversation about this he told me to drop it and refused to answer any further questions. Maybe if he had been more willing to be open it would have changed things. It probably would change things in a bad way though, that’s the only thing I could think of as to why he was so adamant to keep this secret.
“I understand.” He responded. “I just want to know that your loyalty still lies here with us, with your pack.”
“Matteo, I’m still unsure about some things. I still needed to think this through, okay?” I just needed to give him enough that he would feel content with my response.
If he knew I was leaning more towards staying with Jaxon he would freak out. Jaxon was the one I felt more connected to though. It felt like Matteo wanted me for whatever it was that was so special about me. Jaxon wanted me for me though. He saw the potential in me but he also wanted this bond between us as much as I did.
It may have only been a few weeks but I wanted him more than I ever wanted Matteo. Jaxon made me feel equal to him and I wasn’t even part of the pack yet. He was withholding information from me but I could understand why. As a leader he needed to protect the pact, he had to make sure he knew I was going to stick around before giving me all of their details. I would have done the same myself.
Matteo on the other hand, he led me to feel like we were equals but I knew we weren’t. There were times when I gave my thoughts on something and he completely disregarded it because his father had a different plan. It never mattered how good my idea was either, if Alpha Bradley didn’t like it then it didn’t get considered. Matteo also had been sitting on some of the darkest information I had ever seen while Jaxon was more than willing to tell the truth.
“Piper, has he told you anything else?” Matteo asked. His tone wasn’t as calm as it was at first. My reluctance to go back to him clearly was beginning to get to him.
“No Matteo.” I keep my tone cool as I respond to him. “I do know that Jaxon and some of the other pack members left to go fight Silver Moon. Want to tell me what that’s about?”
“There are two reasons.” His hesitation was clear in his voice, he wasn’t sure if he should tell me or not.
“What are they?” I decided to push further for information. Either he would give it to me because he thinks it’ll help our relationship or he’ll cut off the connection and leave me alone.
“We made a deal, so we can’t fight Dark Moon.” He explained. “But Silver Moon can take them on, it’s been a long time coming anyway. The second reason is it would give you a chance to get away while Jaxon is gone.”
“Matteo, I can’t do that.” I could feel a pang in my heart at the thought of leaving Jaxon. If anything his absence was only making my decision clearer. I needed to be here, by his side.
“Why?” I could hear the displeasure in his voice.
“Because of the deal.” I said the first thing that came to mind. If I had taken too long he would know I was just trying to get information. “If I just up and leave, when he comes back he’ll just come for our pack again. It would be irresponsible for me to put them all in that position again.”
“That’s if he comes back.” Matteo responded smugly.
“What do you mean if?” This was my opportunity to see if he had an update he could give me.
“Alpha Alec plans to take him down once and for all.” Matteo answered.
“Do you have any updates on the fight?” I asked.
“Not yet.” He answered. “No one’s checked in to let us know how it’s going.”
“Oh.” I spoke without realizing how clear my disappointment was in my tone.
“Oh?” Matteo paused for a moment. This must be where his moment of clarity came in. “You b***h! You just wanted information about the fight!”
“You’re not the only one who can deceive a someone Matteo.” I had gotten the information I needed. There was no reason to continue playing along to please him.
“I knew this would happen! I knew the longer you stayed the more likely we were to risk losing you.” I could hear a mix of disappointment and anger in his voice. “Piper, you’re MY mate! I marked you, not Jaxon! I will be coming for you and I plan to bring you back here, where you belong!”
“You keep making it sound like you own me Matteo. Honestly I’m not a fan of it.” I refused to hold anything back with him right now. All my feelings and emotions towards him were negative and needed to be let out. “I think it might be best if you just leave me alone. I still have a decision to make and you’re just being a pain in my ass.”
“You’re actually considering staying there with them?! This is unbelievable. This is f****d up Piper and you know it!” He snarled in an angry tone. “I’ve had enough of letting you figure this out on your own! I don’t care what you want, you are this pack’s luna and I will see that you fill your role one way or another!”
“Once again, you’re trying to make decisions for me Matteo.” I knew he wasn’t going to like my next few words but he would get over it. “Matteo, I think it’s for the best if we part ways. If I don’t stay here then I would rather be a rogue than go back to you.”
“I MARKED YOU!” His voice roared with anger.
“I know. I’ll find a way to get this off of me.” I remained calm and collected as I spoke. “Goodbye Matteo.”
I closed off the connection and blocked him off before he could try to come back. I could feel part of my heart break, I did have a bond with him after all. He did mean something to me at one point. I was going to miss him, but not the him I had gotten to know since I had left. I was going to miss the him that I had made good memories with, the him I had thought I knew.
This unfortunately wasn’t easy as just rejecting him. We were marked to each other. The bond was still there regardless. There had to be a way to remove this. Jaxon sounded like he was so sure he could find a way to do so. Maybe I needed to kill some time trying to figure it out myself while he was gone.
There was a knock on the door that pulled me out of my thoughts. This wasn’t just a regular knock, this was someone hastily pounding on the door as if they were in a panic. I got up from the couch I had been sitting on and opened the door to see Dee with a look of worry on her face.
“Piper, the others are panicking because we haven’t heard anything from Nikko or Jaxon since they left. They’re all down in the dining hall losing their minds.” Dee explained the reason for her coming up here. “I know you’re not officially the luna but the only thing I can think of is for you to come talk some sense into them.”
“Was no one left in charge?” I asked.
”The higher ranks went with Jaxon. The one left in charge was Brandon but he’s not high enough that anyone is actually listening. Please come help.” Dee pleaded.
I thought for a moment and took a deep breath. I then proceeded to let it out. They needed a leader right now, this was how I could prove myself worthy of being their luna. “Let’s go.”
- Writer
