Chapter 262: The Forest Edge

Vivian’s POV

A sharp wave of guilt hit me first, sudden and completely uninvited. It had not even occurred to me over the last few days to wonder where Joshula had been hanging out—not with all the heavy funerals, crying families, and pack chaos demanding my attention. It was so easy to accidentally push him aside when everything else in our lives was falling apart.

Zahliver immediately stepped forward into the entryway to greet his brother, his posture looking relaxed on the surface, but his tone carrying a clear note of surprise.

"Hey there. Just getting back now?"

Joshula hesitated for the briefest fraction of a second before his face abruptly settled back into a cool, guarded mask.

"Yes. I was out with a friend," he replied smoothly, giving away absolutely nothing through his expression or his steady voice.

Zahliver tilted his head slightly to the side, showing a subtle sign that his curiosity was piqued, but something passed silently between the two brothers that made Zahliver hold back from pressing any further.

I, on the other hand, did not catch that quiet warning cue—or maybe I just stubbornly ignored it because I was tired.

"A girlfriend?" I teased playfully, arching a brow with mock innocence. I honestly could not help myself—there was something so amusingly satisfying about poking a little fun when someone walked right into the house looking entirely too guilty after a late night out.

Joshula’s reaction to my teasing was immediate and sharp. His face darkened instantly, a deep scowl pulling unhappily at his lips, and for a split second—just a tiny flicker of a moment—his eyes shifted into that eerie, cloudy yellow color. It caught me completely off guard, and I was left wondering if he had done it on purpose or if it slipped out by accident.

Zahliver was standing in front of me in a literal flash, his large body sliding smoothly between mine and Joshula’s like a protective wall of steel.

"Joshula..." he began, a stern warning clearly ringing in his deep tone.

Joshula did not even bother to glance at his older brother. His intense gaze remained locked directly on me.

"No. I was not out with a female," he said firmly, his voice tight. "Just a friend from town. That is all."

I decided not to push the subject any further. I just nodded slowly in response, though a strange, uneasy sensation continued to twist uncomfortably in my gut. I could not even put a proper name to the feeling. It was not jealousy, and it certainly was not fear—it was just... something off.

Zahliver tried to change the subject smoothly, his voice grounded and steadying this time.

"We are heading out into the woods for a quick run. Do you want to come along with us? Might help clear your crowded head."

"No."

The single word cut through the heavy air of the foyer like a sharp blade, cold and definitive. I unconsciously held my breath.

Even I was not expecting that high level of outright aggression from Joshula. Judging by the way Zahliver’s side of our mate bond suddenly flared up with a volatile mix of sudden anger and hurt, he was not expecting it either. On a personal level, I could feel the sharp sting inside Zahliver—Joshula was still his long-lost brother, after all—but the ruling Alpha inside him? He certainly did not take kindly to being snapped at like an unruly pup in his own home. I could practically feel the fierce tension vibrating through Zahliver’s muscles, the heavy desire to retaliate bubbling right up under the surface of his skin. But he kept himself tightly in check.

Barely.

"Well then, have a good night," Zahliver said stiffly, matching Joshula’s cold tone with chilling precision.

Without another single word, Zahliver reached down, took my hand firmly in his, and led us right past his brother toward the door. As we walked past, Joshula cast me one final, very strange look—something hanging uncomfortably in the space between deep contempt and a silent warning. It made the tiny hairs on the back of my neck stand straight up.

We were out the heavy front door and stepping into the cool embrace of the surrounding forest faster than I could even finish processing the weird interaction. The crisp night air hit my skin immediately, and the earthy scent of pine needles and damp soil instantly grounded my racing thoughts.

When Zahliver finally came to a stop in a quiet clearing and turned around to face me, I opened my mouth to ask him what on earth had just happened back in the house. But one look at his face—the tightly clenched jaw, the haunted look in his eyes—made me snap my mouth shut.

He did not want to talk about it.

Not right now, anyway.

So I swallowed my questions and said nothing at all.

And for the first time in what felt like a very long time, choosing silence felt like the absolute right choice to make.

"Are you going to shift out here with me?" I asked softly, watching him closely through the dim moonlight.

He raised a dark brow, his large hands slipping casually down into his pockets. "What, and give your little wolf a heart attack when she realizes just how much bigger and scarier I am right next to her?"

My eyes instinctively trailed down his tall, powerful frame. Goddess help me, why does he have to look so ridiculously good while making dumb jokes? I mentally slapped myself across the back of the head. Get it together, Vivian.

"Fair point," I muttered, offering a small, lopsided smirk. "Maybe next time, big guy."

"Maybe," he echoed, his voice dropping into a low rumble. Then he glanced carefully around the shadowy tree line before adding, "Wait right here for a minute. Do not move an inch."

Before I even had a chance to respond to his command, I felt the air around us shift—the telltale sign of his sudden, lightning-fast disappearance into the brush.

Classic Zahliver.

Of course, he was going to make me wait before letting me shift. He always insisted on scouting the surrounding area first, positioning me right in the most isolated, secure spot he could possibly find in the woods, and only after all of that would he give me the green light. All while watching me like... well, not exactly like a hawk, but more like a very intense, deeply overprotective Alpha whose stare alone felt hot enough to melt skin.

I let out a long sigh, shook my head fondly, and closed my eyes to center my frantic energy. A deep, steady inhale helped calm the buzzing nerves vibrating right under my skin.

Who is ready for a good run tonight? I asked internally, reaching out mentally to touch base with both my inner beast and my wolf. They both stirred instantly with eager excitement, their collective energy practically vibrating inside my mind.

To avoid another chaotic disaster like last time, we are going to take this very slow, my beast stated calmly, her voice carrying a strong, commanding authority. I will let the wolf take the lead and go first. She needs this run much more than I do right now, and I can easily last longer without stretching my legs.

Yeah, what she said! Let me out! my wolf barked with pure, unadulterated glee.

"Alright, wolf goes first," I agreed out loud to myself. "Are you two going to actually behave yourselves this time around? Or am I about to explode into three entirely different shades of chaos again?"

Just focus on bringing her forward gently, my beast replied sensibly. Do not try to yank all of us to the surface at the exact same time. You already know how terribly that ends.

She was not wrong. The very last time I had tried to force a shift with all three parts of my soul working in perfect sync, it had nearly torn my fragile human mind straight apart. We were simply too much, too different, and far too volatile all at once.

So I forced myself to focus solely on my wolf—just her, and nothing else. It proved to be a lot harder than I originally thought. Both she and my beast were so tightly intertwined deep inside my soul that trying to separate one without the other felt a bit like trying to rip myself directly in half. But my beast gently assured me through our mental link that she was not being hurt by the process—it was just my own heavy human anxiety and guilt complicating things.

Eventually, the familiar, aching magic of the shift began. That well-known ripple coursed through my veins, sending waves of intense heat through my bones and reshaping my skin. When I finally blinked my eyes open again a moment later, I found myself standing firmly on all four paws.

Ohhh, yes! my wolf howled happily in the back of my mind. Now this is the proper body, baby!

For a wild creature driven purely by basic instinct and thick fur, she was surprisingly, hilariously dramatic.