Chapter 274 WARRICK 1/7

The laughter that echoed in celebration at the packhouse never reached my heart.

I glanced through the hall for Piper, who was laughing across it with Rowan and some of the younger wolves, a smile that spoke of shared secrets, easy conversation, heard in bitter overtones that only kindled the burning and jealousy within me. I turned away, my fingers closing more tightly on the edge of my cup.

Jealousy clawed its way through my intestines. Irrational, I knew, yet after all we had been through, to see her this way—it made me feel small, invisible even.

“She’s just being friendly,” I thought, but it sounded hollow even in my ears. Before I knew it, I reached for another drink.

It was as though the smooth burning of the liquor slid down my throat, muddling my head but sharpening my emotions.

One drink gave way to a second, to a third, and the lines of the room grew dizzy, my insecurities weighing down upon me as I walked toward the rooms for guests. I fumbled my way down the dark hallway; the world spun a little.

Chapter 274

The guest room door was open, and the dizzy outline made it just about like mine. I flung it open, falling onto the bed, the weight of drinks covering my head.

2/7

First thing that hit me was the lavender scent. My dizzy brain thought that it was Piper in an instant. “Piper?” I said. I was drunk.

A soft voice came back, “What are you doing here?”

I blinked up at her darker figure standing by the door. Her silhouette reminded me of Piper, the movements slow and uncertain.

“You came back,” I mumbled, reaching for her without thought.

She took a step closer, her face scanning mine, bewildered. “Are you all right?” she asked more quietly.

I said nothing. Before I knew it, my hands reached out and wrapped at her hips. “You… you smell of her,” I whispered.

She didn’t say anything, but before even a word could leave her mouth, I pressed her against me, my lips kissing hers as if compelled.

She gasped, her hands flying to my chest, but she didn’t push me away.

“Warrick, wait,” she whispered between kisses, indecision strong Chapter 274 in her tone.

But my alcoholic haze didn’t catch her hesitation.

My hands slid up her sides, grabbing her breasts before cupping them.

A small moan escaped her, and her body leaned into mine. Her hands moved to my pants, her fingers brushing against my growing dick.

I groaned, the alcohol heightening the sensations. “Piper,” I muttered again, my voice thick with my need.

Whatever frustration had been there was forgotten in an instant as she dropped to her knees and pulled my pants down.

Her lips went onto my cock; the movement eager, intoxicating. I let myself lean back, lost to it.

The door then came open, slamming against the wall.

“Warrick?” Piper’s voice was sharp, a blade cutting through the haze.

My eyes snapped open, and my heart sank. There she stood, her eyes wide with shock and hurt.

“Piper, wait,” I began, trying to say the right words as I pushed the woman away.

“Wait?” Her voice cracked high above, sad and unbelieving. “I walk in, and this is what I see? You, you’re unbelievable!”

“It’s not what it seems,” I said, scrambling into a standing posture, my trousers around my ankles.

“Not what it looks like?” She let out a bitter, choked laugh as her eyes welled with tears. “You’re half naked and she’s…” She started choking up, face contorting. She shook her head.

“Piper, please,” I pleaded, taking a step closer to her, but she raised a hand against me, and I felt the ice-cold water fill all my hope as she froze.

“Don’t,” she whispered. “Don’t you dare come near me.”

The woman behind me now moved into the corner, mumbling an apology. Piper’s gaze flicked to her then back to me, her face hardening.

“I trusted you,” she said, hurt dripping from her voice. “And this is how you repay me?”

Before I could say anything, she turned on her heel and walked away, her footsteps echoing down the hall.

“Piper!” I yelled out behind her, pulling my pants up as I ran to catch up with her.

She didn’t miss a step but quickened the pace. “We’re done, Warrick,” she called out over her shoulder, her voice cold, final.

“No, we’re not,” I pleaded, running after her. “We can talk about Chapter 274 this. Please, just…”

5/7

She turned back to him, her eyes afire. “Talk about what? About how you couldn’t have even waited to betray me? About the fact that I am not enough for you?”

“You are enough,” I exclaimed in a rush of words as I reached for her. “You’re enough and more than I deserve. I had one too many. I didn’t…”

“Save it,” she said shortly, cutting into him. “Whatever it is this time around, save it, and do not tell me.”

She turned away from me once more and left me standing there in the hall, heaving and heartbroken.

I stood frozen in the hall, staring after her disappearing form. With every step she took away from me, it was as if another spike was nailed into my chest.

“Piper, please,” I again called after her, voice breaking. “Just give me a chance to explain!”

She froze. Her shoulders rigid, slowly she turned back to me, her eyes ablaze with anger and heartbreak.

“Explain?” she spat, her voice shaking. “Explain what, Warrick? That you mistook some other girl for me? That you were too drunk to know who had your hands on? That you lied to me the whole time?”

I shook my head frantically. “No! I wasn’t lying, Piper. I have Chapter 274 never lied to you.”

6/7

Her laughter was icy, slashing. “Really? Because what I just saw says otherwise.”

“It was a mistake,” I pleaded, closing the distance. “I was drunk. I wasn’t thinking. I thought…”

“You thought what?” she cut in, her voice loud. “That I’d just forgive you because you’re Warrick, because we have something? You do realize what you’ve done?”

“I know I messed up,” I said quietly. “But it didn’t mean anything. She didn’t mean anything.”

Piper’s eyes flashed and her face went to a mask of stone. “She didn’t mean anything? That’s supposed to make me feel better? You let someone else touch you, Warrick. Someone else!”

“I know,” I said. My voice shook. “I know and I hate myself for it. But I swear to you, Piper, it wasn’t on purpose. I never wanted this.”

She crossed her arms over her chest, her lips pressing into a thin line. “Do you even hear yourself right now? Do you know just how pathetic that sounds?”

I winced at her words, but I couldn’t blame her. She was right, I did sound pathetic.

“Piper,” I said softly, reaching for her, “I love you, I have always loved you. This was a mistake, a terrible, stupid mistake. Please Chapter 274 do not let it ruin what we have.”

7/7

She stared back then, her stare shining with the depth of her tears unshed, after which her head began to turn sideways, with her voice harking like treachery for each word falling off her mouth:

“Love is just not enough, Warrick; trust holds it glued, and you blew that.”

I felt my chest tighten, the words going deeper into me than any blade. “I’ll do whatever it takes to fix this,” I promised. “Anything. Just tell me what to do.”

Piper wiped at her eyes, her expression unreadable. “You can’t fix this, Warrick. Not right now. Maybe not ever.”

“Don’t say that,” I whispered, stepping closer again. “Please, don’t say that. You’re my everything, Piper.”

She raised a hand, arresting me in place. “I need time,” she said with an edge.

“Time to think, to figure out what this means for us. But for now, I just can’t look at you.”