Chris's POV I watched as Vi stormed off, resisting the urge to chase after her. I knew when I didn't smell Caleb on her, I should have kept my mouth shut. But I had to make sure she knew I didn't trust her. I had to make that dig. She needed to feel as bad as she had made me feel. A slap on my back jolted me from my thoughts. "You okay, man?" I turned towards my friend, Kyle, who was looking at me with concern. "Yeah, I'm fine." "You sure? You look pretty engrossed in thoughts and staring down where Vivian walked off. You two alright?" "Just a lovers' spat. That's all." "Alright. Well, I'm here for you if you need me. Let's get to training. I'm going to kick your ass today." I shoved at him, grinning. I needed a distraction.***** I threw everything into training today. I was physically and mentally exhausted by the time Bailey called time. Bailey called me to his side when it was over and questioned me about it as well,
Vivian's POV What just happened? I needed to find Zeke and figure out what was going on. He was supposed to be with Samantha. He'd help me make sense of what was going on. Then, together, we could confront the two and set the record straight, and things could return to normal. Then I'd talk to Chris and settle what was happening between us. Without outside influences. Just us. Because if he meant what he said, then I needed to listen and stop being so back and forth with his emotions and my own. I was so deep in my thoughts that I overlooked the steady footsteps that started mimicking my own behind me or when a shoulder bumped mine. Only when Caleb said, "Earth to Vi. Earth to Vi." Oh, great. Just what I needed. Like today wasn't complicated enough. "Oh, hi, Caleb. What are you doing?" "I saw you walking like a woman on a mission and wanted to check if you were okay. You alright?" "Just trying to find Zeke. Have you seen him?" I
VIVIAN'S POV Zeke sat me down at the small table he had in his room. "So let's get started. We have a lot to discuss." "We do." "First, we need to figure out where Sam came from." I nodded. "Agreed. It's kind of weird how she just came out of nowhere. Where did you even meet her?" Zeke paused, trying to remember. "I don't know. I just know she was there. I remember seeing you before you got ready for your birthday. Then we were on the stage. I remember the mate calling. Then being so angry." Ivy stirred in my chest, recalling the rejection and the pain. "I remember that." "But I can't recall anything else. I don't know where she came from. I just know she was there." "You don't find that a little weird?" Zeke shrugged. "I didn't think about it before." "We need to go to the border patrol and find out how she gained access to the compound and what they know." "Let's get going. We shouldn't delay any
Vivian's POV It wasn't hard to find out where Chris was taking Samantha on a date. He was taking her to Rosy's. Go figure. Real original, Chris, I thought to myself. I was a little spiteful and jealous, and I knew that, but I couldn't help it. I'd made a mistake rejecting him in the first place, and now my duty was to fix this mess I was in. Right now, I need to play Happy Couple with Zeke. I looked over at Zeke, whose arm looped in mine, grinning like the cat who ate the canary. I shuddered, not enjoying this part of the plan. I told him we could have just come here as friends, but he insisted that it would have worked better if Samantha had thought we were together. I finally relented. She seemed to have some jealousy complex with me. As we neared Rosy's, I felt myself pulling away from Zeke, starting to doubt our plan. But his grip on my arm tightened. "It'll be okay," he whispered to me. I nodded. This was a good plan. Samantha would be jeal
Chris's POV I watched as Vivian walked away with Zeke. Something in me wanted to call out to her and stop her, but I didn't. I looked back at Sam, who was staring intently at me as if she were judging me. "Are you okay, Chris?" I nodded, grabbing my glass and taking a long drink. "I'm fine. That was a weird exchange. Should we continue our date?" She shrugged. "I'm actually not feeling too well. Can you walk me home?" I looked around and signaled for the water to bring us our check. I didn't feel up to continuing our date, either. I just wanted to go home and rest. I felt a migraine coming on. Leaving Sam's company didn't sound appealing, though. "Did you want to come home with me?" Sam smirked. "Not on the first date, silly. Maybe next time." I blushed. "Not for that. I don't want to be away from you." She patted my hand. "I know. I was playing with you. But no. I have some things to take care of at home." The waiter came and brought us our check. I qu
Samantha's POV I watched as Vivian and Chris entered Chris's apartment. Something was bothering Chris, so I decided to follow him to see if he would get into trouble once he left me. I was right. The second I turned my back, he was letting that bitch into his apartment. And who knows what she was telling him once they were alone? Probably undoing all the work I'd done after my little fixer-upper this morning. I needed to take out the big guns now. First, I needed to stop what was happening in that apartment before they were in a compromising position that I couldn't explain. I closed my eyes, whispering the words I knew would darken the streets and the building before me. When I opened them, glancing around, I saw all the lights were out. Silence engulfed me. I made my way to Chris's apartment, formulating my plan as I went. When I reached the door, I started banging on it and crying out, "Chris! Chris! Chris!" I heard shuffling feet, and then the door cracked
VIVIAN'S POV "Zeke! Zeke! Zeke!" I called, banging on his door. Swinging the door open, a groggy Zeke stood there. "V, what are you doing? It's after midnight." "Are you going to invite me in?" He stepped aside, gesturing inside. "If you so rudely insist, I guess come in." I brushed past him, entering his room. I heard the click of his door. I walked over to his small couch, which I spent many nights crashing on. I slung myself down, patting the seat next to me. "We need to talk." He rubbed his face, trying to wipe away the sleep. "This better be good. I was in a dead-ass sleep." "It is. Somehow, Samantha is abusing Chris. I don't know how, but it's some mental abuse. Or maybe it's physical. But she's creating some mental warfare on him. I was with him tonight, and he left with her. But when he came back, he completely forgot why I was there." Zeke sat down next to me, confusion lacing his face. "That is strange. But maybe Chris is into drugs." "You
VIVIAN'S POV "What do you mean?" I asked. "Honey, sit down," my mother said, sitting on the bed and patting the space beside her. I stared at her, not able to move. I shook my head, stumbling backward. "Just tell me. I don't need to sit." She sighed. "It would be much easier if you weren't looking at me like I slapped you. Come on now. Your father will be home soon and freak out if he knows I'm telling you any of this. It's best to discuss this now when he's not around." I eyed the space next to her and moved to sit on the edge of the bed, a distance away from her. I felt she was about to tell me I wouldn't like it. Like she'd been hiding something from me. "I'm listening." She looked down at her hands, hesitating. "I'm not sure where to start. But as you know, I used to be a rogue but before that, I was part of another pack. Did I ever tell you which pack?" I shook my head. She'd never told me anything about her time before she'