Chapter 70: Rejected by My Best Friend & Alpha

KILLIAN'S POV

It was early morning, and the screams started before I smelled the fire. Why was it always fire? You'd think she'd be more original when she attacked. I jumped out of bed, ran out of my room, and headed towards Vivian's.

Vivian was already leaving her room, shooting a wild look in my direction. Sarah had said she was coming, and this was it. We didn't say a word as we took off outside.

When we emerged, we emerged into chaos. There was fire, and people were running. Some running from the fire, and others are running toward it. Looking at where the fire came from at the front gate, I saw shifters pouring in. Some in wolf form, others not. They were breaching.

I spun around to see Marcus before he shifted, my army behind him. Good, they'd handle the breaching army. I screamed at my citizens. "Get in your homes!"

I hoped they heard me and listened. Not all my people were built to fight. My army whipped past me, taking off. Vivian grabbed my hand, jerking me back. I looked over at her. "Remember what we talked about. This ends today."

I nodded. "It ends today."

I felt a lump in my throat. But we ran towards the fray, searching for the mane of red hair that would be there somewhere. Would she be in wolf form? I searched. I didn't remember what she looked like in wolf form. I hadn't seen her as a wolf since we were teens. But I'm sure I'd sense her.

As Vivian and I neared the gate, I felt it—the aura of evil. A wolf jumped in front of us, a snarl on its face. Then it shifted, and she stood in front of us, her grin matching the snarl of the wolf that had just stood in its place. Sarah. "Hey there, V."

Vivian froze. "Sarah."

I stared between them. I was not saying a word. Sarah shot a glance at me. "I see you brought along my betrothed."

I inched closer to Vivian, wanting to wrap my arm around her. "We are nothing, Sarah."

She grinned at me. "Awww, you wound me, Killian."

Vivian kept her eyes trained on Sarah. "This is between you and me, Sarah. Leave him out of it."

Sarah turned her attention back to Vivian. "You're right."

Suddenly, Vivian was flying backward, leaning on her back. I ran towards her, grabbing her. "Vivian!"

She coughed. "It's okay. I got this."

She jumped to her feet, then sent a force back at Sarah, who stumbled, grinning. "You've been learning."

The two lunged at each other, claws extended. A flash of fire came from Vivian's hands as she grabbed at Sarah. Sarah screamed, backing off. "You bitch!"

Someone ran past me, temporarily blocking my view, but when I saw them again, they were on the ground, fighting. Flashes of light, fire. Vivian was on top; I saw blood. I ran to them, desperate to help. Vivian held out a hand, pushing me away with a force of wind, and I flew backward.

More people running came between us, and my viewpoint of them became blocked as they continued to fight on the ground. Then, they were both standing. How did they get off the ground now? A vine ripped through the ground and wrapped around Sarah's ankle, trapping her. That's my girl!

Sarah tore at it, cursing. "You and that wood bitch!"

Sarah tore away the vine. I pulled myself from the ground, running again towards them. Vivian screamed at me. "Go. I don't need you here anymore, Kill. I got this."

No. She did. I needed to protect her. Chris had been right. I couldn't let her get hurt. I looked around frantically, seeing the fighting going on around me. Where was Sylvara?

As if I spoke her into existence, I saw vines rippling across the ground, headed towards the gate. Our defense was here. I looked around until I saw the line of Sylvara and her posse walking towards us all. Her expression was one of anger. She was prepared to fight.

Sylvara and Marcus could handle what came through the gate, but I needed to stay where I was. Vivian was on the ground now, and Sarah was standing above her. I lunged at her, but I was flying across the ground again. I was getting sick of witches.

Shifting was useless in this situation, and they knew it. I stood, running at Sarah again, prepared to lunge at her again as she stood over Vivian, talking to her. I couldn't hear what she was saying, but Vivian's eyes were wide. Sarah held out her hand, keeping me from coming up to them. I wanted to hear what she was saying, but I couldn't make out what it was.

Vivian's hands started to glow, and she pressed into the ground, pressing herself up against Sarah's force. Sarah actually looked shocked. The force holding me back weakened a little; Vivian distracted Sarah, but not enough for me to get closer.

Vines started to grow, a barrier forming a wall. Who was doing that? Vivian? Vivian cast a glance at me and mouthed one word. Sorry.

I screamed at her. "What are you doing?"

The vines continued to grow, creating a dome around her and Sarah—a hard shell—until they were completely entombed. They were alone together in the shell. And then I heard it. The shell rumbled. It was like a small explosion.

I banged on the shell, screaming. "Vivian!"

I clawed, screaming, my voice becoming hoarse. I started peeling away at the vines. The vines were shredding. Had Vivian set off some bomb inside? What had she done? Had she just ended her life to end the war?

A voice beside me woke me up from my thoughts. "Where is she?"

It was Chris. "She's inside. She covered herself and Sarah, and then I heard an explosion. I don't know what happened."

He started clawing at the vines. We were shredding them now, and then there was an opening, and smoke wafted out from inside the dome. No. No, no, no. She had. She'd made an explosion. She'd entombed herself and exploded inside.

I broke away from the vines, cracking an opening. I climbed inside until I could fit inside. The smoke made me gag, but I didn't care. Once inside, I screamed, "Vivian!"

She didn't respond. I ran to the center, looking for her. I saw two figures in the smokey haze. I dropped down next to one. The charred skin made it difficult to tell who it was. I grabbed at the wrist, trying to sense who I was touching. There was no life. Nothing. I felt nothing.

I crawled over to the other figure and grabbed their wrist, desperate to find out if this one had survived and whether it was Vivian or Sarah. The skin was just as charred. Please, please say she was okay.

The skin was warm, and I felt a slight twitch. They were alive. Or they were dying. Not quite dead yet. But who were they? Was it Sarah?

"Chris!"

Chris was already behind me, though. "Who is it?"

"I don't know."

I lifted their body into my arms and stumbled out of the dome, careful not to bump them into the vines since the opening was so small. I looked down and saw. It was Vivian.

And she wasn't moving anymore. "Get me Divinity."

He didn't say a word as he took off. No, no, no. She had to be okay. I felt her twitch. That meant there was something. She had to live.