Chapter 261: The Broken Silence

Vivian’s POV

"Oh, Zahliver," I whispered softly, my voice completely soaked in deep sorrow.

He gently cradled my face in his large, calloused hands, his handsome expression twisted with raw pain. "I cannot bear the thought of losing you too," he murmured, his deep voice cracking right down the middle. "Not again. Not you, Vivian. I... I just cannot survive that."

His broad body trembled slightly against mine, and I had to blink my eyes rapidly to stop the hot tears stinging my lids from spilling over onto my cheeks.

"You are not going to lose me," I told him as gently as I possibly could.

He opened his mouth as if he wanted to argue back, but I quickly pressed a soft finger right against his lips, silencing whatever storm of worried words was threatening to escape.

"Will you protect me out there?" I asked quietly, lowering my hand and searching deeply into his brilliant blue eyes.

His electric blue gaze flared brightly, the look in them so fierce, proud, and intensely insulted, as if I had wounded something sacred just by asking such a question.

"Always," he said, his voice low, steady, and absolute.

"Do you honestly believe you can keep me safe?" My fingers slid upward into his thick black hair, curling into the soft strands like a secure anchor in a storm.

"Yes," he replied without even a single second of hesitation.

A small, genuine smile crept onto my lips. I tilted my head sideways with playful confidence. "Well then, I really do not see what the issue is here. I mean, I have got my own big, bad Alpha mate guarding my back. My very own personal hero."

That simple joke made something tight in his chest finally ease. After a moment, his broad shoulders dropped slightly, and a reluctant, handsome smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

"I suppose I cannot exactly find a logical flaw in that statement," he admitted with a faint huff of amusement.

I lifted my chin upward with exaggerated smugness. "Of course you cannot. I am right. I am always right."

One of his dark brows rose in a teasing, skeptical arch. I narrowed my eyes playfully at him in mock challenge.

"Do you have something witty to say about that?" I leaned in closer, letting just a tiny bit of playful threat lace my voice.

"I just love you," he said instead, his tone turning quiet, soft, and completely certain.

I could not help but laugh softly at his smooth recovery. Leaning in close, I pressed a quick kiss to both of his cheeks, one right after the other.

"Smart answer, Alpha."

Sliding off his lap, I did a quick little twirl on the hardwood floor just for the pure feel of it. My dress followed the motion, twisting gracefully around my legs like flowing water. Then I reached out and grabbed both of his large hands, trying unsuccessfully to tug him up to his feet.

"Come on, lazy, help me out here!" I groaned playfully, putting my full physical effort into yanking him upward.

Zahliver just sat right there in his leather chair, looking entirely too amused as he planted his weight deeper into the cushion. That crooked, devastating grin stretched fully across his face, and my heart skipped a traitorous little beat against my ribs.

"And just why on earth should I cooperate with you?" he drawled slowly, his intense eyes traveling deliberately down my body and then back up again, heavy heat simmering visibly in his gaze. "What is in it for me, exactly?"

Ugh. This man had an annoying talent for switching from a brooding, terrifying warrior to an incorrigible flirt in a matter of seconds.

Letting go of his hands, I planted both of mine firmly on my hips, trying my absolute best to look unimpressed. Even with him sitting down, it still felt like he somehow had the upper hand, and we both knew it. But that definitely did not mean I was going to back down and let him win.

"Why is literally everything a negotiation with you? Why can your heavy ass just stand up without turning it into a business deal?"

"I prefer to use the term fit, thank you very much," he retorted smoothly with a smirk.

"Well, I am about to prefer the term hit if you do not get up right now. Do you seriously want me going out there into the dark alone?"

The exact second those words left my mouth, all the playfulness vanished completely from his face. He let out a deep groan of resignation and finally stood up to his full height, his heavy hands coming to rest warmly on my shoulders as he gently turned me around to face the direction of the door.

"No," he muttered gruffly, the protectiveness returning in full force.

"Then let us go," I said, leading the way toward the office exit.

"Fine," he sighed heavily behind me. "At least walking behind you means I get to watch you get ready."

I rolled my eyes at the ceiling. "I might just make you turn around and walk backward, you know," I warned him, only half joking. A massive wave of restless energy had been building up under my skin for hours, crawling through my veins like fire with nowhere to go. I needed to shift into my wolf form, I needed to run hard, and I needed to let all of that heavy tension out into the night air.

He chuckled low in his throat right behind me, and the warm brush of his breath against the sensitive skin of my mate mark made me shiver involuntarily.

"You really think I would ever turn away from watching you?" he murmured, his voice rich with thick amusement and quiet hunger. "My little cloud... always so innocent."

Then he bent forward slightly and let his lips skim slowly along the curve of my neck. I tilted my head back without even thinking about it, silently inviting him to stay. But instead of teasing further, he pressed a firm, deeply possessive kiss right onto the center of his mark.

And just like that, the wild fire coiling inside my chest pulled tighter, hot and demanding.

I let out a soft, involuntary sigh, my body reacting instantly before my brain could even tell it to stop. Zahliver was playing games with me again—tempting me with that gravelly voice, that warm touch, and those intense eyes that always made my careful thoughts scatter like dust. But I knew exactly what he was trying to do. He was trying to distract me, trying to keep me safely inside the house and away from shifting outdoors. And while I completely understood that he was only acting out of deep concern for my safety, I knew I could not avoid my wolf forever. Eventually, I had to face the wild part of my soul. It was much better to do it now on my own terms than let the pressure build up into something uncontrollable later on.

Taking a small step backward out of his arms, I glanced back over my shoulder and stuck my tongue out at him in a final, playful challenge before slipping quickly out of his office. I did not even need to look back to check if he was following me—I knew he would be right behind my heels. Sure enough, the sound of his quiet, steady footsteps echoing in the hallway confirmed it.

We made our way quickly toward the front entryway of the grand house. But just as we reached the double doors, they suddenly swung open, and stepping right inside was Joshula.

I stopped dead in my tracks. Zahliver froze instantly behind me. Even the air in the foyer felt like it paused around us, heavy and sudden. It was honestly the very last thing any of us expected to see right then.

Joshula?