Chapter 71 - Rejected by My Best Friend & Alpha

CHRIS'S POV

"I tried to make her my breeder?"

I stared at him, my arms crossed. "Yeah, you did."

Zeke cringed. "Man, I was a total asshat. Do you think she'll ever forgive me?"

I shrugged. "If she survives, maybe. You two were best friends."

"And mates. We're mates."

It was my turn to cringe. I forgot about that. Now that Zeke's spell was broken the war was over, and Sarah was gone, would Vivian feel different about being mated to Zeke? Or was the decision still between just Killian and me? Vivian hadn't woken up yet, so it's not like I could ask her.

After Vivian tried to sacrifice herself, Zeke woke up from his dreamlike state and stopped his men from attacking. Many lives were already lost on both sides. Killian could have demanded retribution, but seeing as he knew the root cause had been Sarah, he hadn't. Plus, he was too concerned with Vivian.

Divinity had been working tirelessly to help heal Vivian. But Vivian had used magic to create a power surge to kill Sarah. The only reason she wasn't dead herself was because it was her magic. But the energy had been zapped from her, damaging her external body. And now we waited, hoping her wolf could mend her.

Every day, I sat outside her room. Not doing anything but waiting. Sometimes, Zeke joined me. Killian would also, but he had a lot of Alpha duties to attend to, families that needed placement, and repairs that needed to be made.

But I didn't have anything to do but wait. Wait for Vivian. Vivian was my everything.

"So what's the first thing you'll say to her?" Zeke asked.

"That I love her."

"You can't talk like that to my mate."

I sighed. "You rejected her, Zeke."

"I was under a spell!"

"It doesn't matter. You still rejected her. Vivian loves me."

Zeke crossed his arms. "We'll see."

"How are you not more messed up in the head anyway? After my spell, I was all fucked up and had absolutely no memories. You seem more like you were just on a mental vacation."

He shrugged. "Perks of being an Alpha, according to Divinity."

I snorted. "You were still weak enough to fall for it in the first place."

He bumped my shoulder. "You were weak enough, too, big talker."

He kept trying to be my friend, but that was not happening. I hated him. I think he thought if I were his friend, I'd back off from Vivian, but that was also not happening. Vivian was mine.

A door flinging opening broke the silence, and Divinity looked at us excitedly. "She's awake."

I jumped up, wasting no time to rush into the room. Vivian was sitting up in bed. Her eyes red-rimmed, her face pale. She looked at me with a small smile. "Chris."

Her mouth formed a small O as she looked over my shoulder. I looked where she was staring and saw Zeke had followed me. "Hey, V."

"Hey, Zeke. What are you doing here?"

"I came to see you. I'm so glad you're okay."

She offered him the same small smile. "Did we win?"

I sat down on the bed, reaching for her hand. "We did."

She looked over at Zeke. "Does this mean you're...you?"

Zeke nodded, grabbing her other hand. "I'm me again, V."

Her grin widened. "I'm so happy."

I felt like a knife twisted in my gut. "He's still the same asshole he's always been, though, Vivid."

She shot a glare at me. "I just woke up. Let's not start with this."

I scolded myself. Zeke ignored me. "I'm so glad you're okay. And thank you for everything. But I wanted to say sorry. For everything I've done to you."

"Do you remember everything?"

He nodded. "A lot of it. Some of it."

"How?"

"Divinity says it's because I'm an Alpha. It wasn't as hard on me as it was on Chris."

I felt the smugness in his voice. He was naturally an asshole. Always had been. I ignored it, though. "How are you feeling?"

Vivian turned her attention back to me. "Tired. Thirsty."

Zeke reached over and grabbed the glass of water on her nightstand. He was going to get on my nerves quickly. She grinned at him. "Thank you."

Chugging the water and handing the glass back to him, she continued, "Now that the war is over, have things returned to normal?"

"Killian is getting things there. Speaking of, someone needs to go get him, or he will rage out about not being here."

I cast a glance at Zeke, hinting that it should be him. But Zeke didn't make a move. Fuck it, I'm sure Divinity was doing just that because I didn't see her now.

And then came the booming voice. Everyone and their damn timing. "Vivian!"

Snatching her hand from me, Killian dropped to his knees. "I'm so glad you're okay."

Vivian smiled. "I'm fine. Thank you."

Killian looked at her. "Thank you for what?"

"Letting me do what I had to do."

"I didn't let you do anything. You made me."

Killian and I had fought over what had happened. I had been angry at him for letting her sacrifice herself to win the fight. But he had insisted that he had changed his mind and tried to protect her. I stared between them.

She patted his hand. "If you had stopped me sooner..."

He flinched. "I know. I should have."

"No, you did the right thing. Thank you."

He sighed. "I'm just glad that you're okay now. And thank you for saving us all. It's all over now. We can finally live as we should. Without the fear of some witch set out to destroy us all."

Zeke is tired of being ignored. "I'd like some alone time with my mate now."

Everyone's eyes shot to him. Vivian piped up. "Zeke, we need to discuss that in private."

"Agreed, V. Which is why I suggested that we speak in private."

I growled. "First, stop calling her your mate before we allow that. You rejected her. Your bond is gone. She's not even part of your pack anymore."

Vivian looked down. "That's right. I'm a rogue."

"Can the two of them just leave? I'd really like to talk to you, V. Regardless of whether they want to accept that we're mates, we're still best friends."

Vivian looked up at him. "You're right."

She cast a glance at me. "Both of you. Go ahead and go. I'll be okay."

Killian looked offended. "I just got here."

"You'll get your turn."

I knew he was angry, but Vivian wouldn't give in, so I gripped her hand again, offering her a smile. "I'll come back later."

She grinned. "Thank you. I'll see you later."

I headed towards the door, listening to Killian huff something, but he followed close behind me. When we were both outside, he turned towards me. "You're just going to let him try to take her back?"

I shrugged. "I'm not worried about him. Those two were never meant to be."

"What do you mean?"

"I've known Vivid her entire life. And Zeke could never make her shine as bright as she's meant to."

Killian looked thoughtful. "And you think you could?"

"I know I could. And I know you couldn't. That's how I know not to be worried about you either."

He glared at me. "I really hate you."

I winked. "You'll hate me when the Blood Moon gets here, too."

With that, I turned to head towards the mess hall. I had worked up an appetite.