Chapter 62

Tristan POV

The moment they were gone, I exhaled, steadying myself. This is the right thing to do.

This was necessary.

I needed answers, and I couldn’t risk her spinning them in front of witnesses.

I pushed the door open slowly, partially dreading what I would see.

Viviana was already awake, draped across the armchair as though she owned the room.

A smile nearly curved my lips when I saw her.

Of course, she would turn a prison chamber into her own space.

The faint curl of smoke from a candle lingered in the air, mixing with her scent… lavender and something darker.

“Aww, you came. I always knew you would come see me.” She said, smiling like she’d won a bet. “You can't resist.”

“I came for answers, and nothing else Vivianna,” I said, closing the door behind me. “Why are you here, Viviana? Where have you been all this time? And please don’t give me riddles. I need to know the truth, are you tied to the rogues who crossed our borders?”

Her eyes glittered. “Geez, straight to business, hmm? No warmth for an old friend?”

“You vanished, Vi! I bit out. “You let me think you were dead or that something bad had happened to you! Did you even think about how that would make me feel?” My voice rose before I forced it down. “Why?”

She rose gracefully, every movement deliberate, predatory. “Because I had to leave. It was safer for everyone that way.”

“Safer for who?” My brows came together.

“For you.” She said softly, rising to her feet. “For me. For everyone who mattered.”

I stepped forward, frustration boiling over. “That’s not an answer, Viviana. If you know something about the rogues, about what’s happening in the pack, you tell me. Now.”

Instead of answering, she reached for me, her fingers brushing the sleeve of my shirt.

The contact was feather-light, but it burned through me like a brand.

“Still so fierce,” she whispered, tilting her head up to meet my eyes. “I almost forgot how commanding you could be.”

She moved even closer, such that her body warmth ignited mine.

I knew what she was trying to do but I wouldn't fall for it.

I caught her wrist, holding it still. “Don’t do this.”

Her lips curved, sly, unrepentant. “Don’t do what? Remind you of what we were? Or what can we still be?” She slipped closer, her free hand trailing up my chest before I could stop it.

I should have shoved her back, or I should have turned around and walked out the door.

But her eyes…they held me in that old space I thought I’d broken free of.

She was just so captivating and easy to be with.

I didn't even know when my grip loosened against my will.

“You can’t deny it, Tristan.” She murmured, moving even closer so that her lips were a hair's breadth away from mine. “The bond we shared…that type of connection doesn’t just vanish.”

“Yeah, but this isn’t about us,” I said hoarsely, but the words were already too thin, too strained.

It's become an effort not to give in to my desires.

“Isn’t it?” Her body pressed even closer, heat radiating through the thin space left between us. “Tell me you don’t still feel it. Tell me you don’t still want me and I'll stop. I promise.”

My pulse betrayed me, thundering.

Every instinct screamed to resist, but memories surged….of nights long past, of promises whispered in the dark.

For a moment, I let my guard down and she seized the opportunity, moving forward so her lips closed around the shell of my ear, her nails scraping down my chest.

The movement was so good and familiar that I let my eyes flutter closed.

And that was when the door crashed open, taking Vivianna and me by surprise as the sound caused us to pull apart.

However, that wasn't the most surprising part.

It was the person on the other side of the door.

“Tristan?”

Isla’s voice.

I spun, my heart slamming against my ribs.

She stood in the doorway, wide-eyed, frozen.

Her gaze swept over the scene…. Viviana’s body pressed close to mine, my hand tangled with hers, the nonexistent space between us.

It didn't take a genius to figure out how it looked.

The hurt that bloomed in Isla’s eyes gutted me more than I expected to feel.

“Isla, trust me, it's not what it looks like-” I tried to explain, but it was too late.

But before I could take a step toward her, before I could reach out to her, she let out a shaky, disbelieving gasp.

Her eyes darted between Viviana’s body pressed against mine and my hand still tangled in hers. I could see it…. the instant she decided there was nothing left to hear.

Her face crumpled, and then she turned and bolted from the doorway, her footsteps pounding down the hall like thunder cracking through my chest.

“Isla!” I tried again, but she was already gone.

A silence lingered, suffocating, before Viviana’s laugh sliced through it.

It was low and cruel.

Like she took delight in what just happened.

“Well, well …serves her right.” She said smoothly, turning her head toward me with that venomous smirk. “Little girl should’ve known better than to poke her nose where it doesn’t belong.”

Her words made me upset, but I couldn't focus on that at the moment. All I could think about was Isla’s expression….the betrayal in her eyes, the sound of her gasp….burning itself into me with every breath I drew.

What have I done?