Chapter 5

    Vivian's POV

  

  The following day, Chris was there at 4:30am sharp. I almost wanted to grunt at him in greeting, to rekindle our inside joke, but I didn't want to run it into the ground and look desperate. I was already getting too attached, and it'd only been a couple of days. And this was Chris. I hated Chris, and Chris hated me.

    

    "What did you get for groceries?"

    

    "Chicken, rice, and broccoli."

    

    "Good for you!"

    

    "Just kidding. I thought that's what you wanted to hear. I got a lot of junk food."

    

    Chris glared at me. "Seriously?"

    

    "Kidding! I got the boring stuff! I'm taking this seriously."

    

    He rolled his eyes and started walking down the street. "Come on, you're gonna make us late. I don't have time for your games."

    

    His strides were long, but I was light on my feet, so it was easy to keep up with him. For the first time, Ivy finally spoke up.

    

    'He's fun.'

    

    I almost stumbled at her comment. 'No, he's not. We don't like him. He's a jerk. Remember who tore Mr. Buttons to shreds when we were four?'

    

    'Then remember who saved us from him? Look how that turned out. Things aren't always as they seem.'

    

    Before I could argue, she went silent again, and I was left with a scowl. Chris interrupted my thoughts. "What are you scowling so hard about?"

    

    "Don't worry about it, asshole."

    

    "Who pissed in your cornflakes today?"

    

    "Everyone. Just damn near everyone."

    

    He shrugged and kept walking. Chris wasn't my friend. He wasn't half a friend. He felt sorry for me after Zeke's humiliation and probably didn't want me thrown out of the pack. He might hold some honor due to his status as a top warrior in his family. Or maybe he'd miss his favorite verbal punching bag. He loved harassing me. He'd help me gain footing, and things would return to normal.

    

    *****

    

    After training, I didn't bother to say goodbye to Chris. I ran straight to breakfast, grabbed a muffin, scarfed down, and then went to Zeke's room. I knocked lightly. I heard a female giggling. Did Zeke have a girl in there? Zeke said he was saving himself for his mate. He had been saving himself for me…

    

    But he rejected me. So, of course, that meant he could now be with whoever he wanted. The reality brought tears to my eyes. They quickly evaporated when the door swung open, and Samatha's bright red curls greeted me. "Hello, Vivian. Do you mind giving Zekey a couple more minutes? He's indisposed at the moment."

    

    She winked at me like we were two gal pals and weren't discussing my mate. Ivy growled. She accepted the rejection, but the audacity of this female still enraged her. "Yeah, sure. I'll be out here."

    

    Samantha slammed the door in my face. I braced my back against the wall and slid down to the floor. This was my life now—training with my enemy in the morning and then serving my ex-best friend and his mistress.

    

    I have yet to figure out my compensation package with Zeke, but hopefully, it will be enough to get a decent one-bedroom apartment somewhere. There were few since most of the pack coupled up. The ones who didn't were of high status and could afford more than one bedroom. But I couldn't continue living with my parents. Not that it mattered much. They barely existed to me and vice versa.

    

    It took half an hour for Zeke to finally summon me inside his bedroom and Samantha to leave, her winking at me like we held a secret. He was lounging in bed, shirtless. I'd seen him shirtless plenty of times, but the way the sheets laid across his hips made him look more mature than I'd ever seen him. My breath caught in my throat. For a moment, Ivy came back again. 'Mate?'

    

    'No. Not mate.'

    

    "You always did have a thing for me, didn't you?"

    

    I stuttered. “W-w-what?”

    

    He threw back the sheets and swung his legs over the bed. He wore nothing but boxers. His legs were perfectly toned. He walked towards me slowly, his eyes taking me in. Ivy started quivering. 'He rejected us. Why is he coming near us?'

    

    He stopped a breath away, towering over me. "You always liked me more than a friend, didn't you?"

    

    "No, Zeke. You were like a brother to me."

    

    His nostrils flared. "Stop lying to me."

    

    "I…I had a small crush, maybe. But I would never have let it ruin our friendship. It meant more to me than anything."

    

    He tipped my chin up, looking at my lips. "It's too bad."

    

    "What?"

    

    "That I was mated to someone as worthless as you. You'd make a lovely breeder, though…"

    

    I slapped his hand away, appalled at what he said. "What the fuck, Zeke! Breeders are outlawed! And how can you say that to me? I was your best friend!"

    

    "Breeders can still volunteer. I can make your life so miserable that you'll beg to be my breeder. You wouldn't be a pack breeder."

    

    I gagged. "Why would you want me to breed with you?"

    

    "They say mate pups are the strongest pups. And if I'm to be Alpha, I need the strongest. Without you as my Luna, I can still have those pups if you're my breeder."

    

    "You're disgusting."

    

    "I'm looking out for the pack's best interest, V."

    

    "Do not call me that. Do not ever call me that again."

    

    I spun around and ran out of the room, ignoring his shouts to come back. Even his Alpha aura couldn't keep me and Ivy in that room.