Chapter 79 - Rejected by My Best Friend & Alpha

KILLIAN'S POV

"Zeke is dead," Vivian stated.

Chris stood there, covered in blood, Vivian, too. I listened as they both explained what had happened. Marcus was already on the way to the cabin to verify their story, but I was sure what they had said was true. I could already tell by Chris's new aura that what had happened was undoubtedly true.

Chris had killed an Alpha and was now an Alpha. I narrowed my eyes at him, suspicious. An Alpha should never trust an Alpha who murdered another Alpha. But he had done it to save Vivian. So, I should give him a little leeway.

Turning back to Vivian now, I brushed her shoulder, ignoring the blood that covered her. "Are you okay?"

She nodded. "I'm okay now. Chris saved me. I was initially upset, but...it had to be done."

Damn. Chris is saving the day, of course. I should have been the one to kill Zeke. Now Chris looked like a damn hero. Vivian stepped closer to Chris. Oh, no. This was not looking good for me. It's not looking good for me at all. She continued speaking. "And I think it's very fitting given my decision."

"What are you saying, Vivian?"

"Kill, I know you've been waiting patiently for me to decide, and it's been very hard on you. But I've made my decision. I've chosen Chris."

I felt like a knife ripped through my chest. "What? Why?"

She looped her arm through his. "I love him."

"Love? You love him?"

She was staring up at him. "I've always loved him."

She was twisting the knife deeply, and she didn't even realize it. "You could have loved me," she said.

She looked at me now. "I could have, yes. But Chris is my true mate."

Chris looked down at her now, both of us staring at her in confusion. "Sarah had messed with the mate bonds from the beginning. Chris was always meant to be my true mate. Not Zeke."

Oh. It all made sense now. That's why she never mated with me. She hadn't even mated with her true mate. Sadness stretched over me. I lost her. I lost my perfect Luna.

Chris wrapped his arms around her, them oblivious to the knife twisting in my gut. I spun around, unable to bear the sight of them any long. "I wish the both of you the best."

With that, I shifted and ran towards the forest.

*****

CHRIS'S POV

"How long did you know?" I asked.

"How long did I know what?"

I kissed Vivid's nose. "That you were my true mate."

"Since the day I killed Sarah. She told me the day of the fight."

"Why don't we feel the mate bond now, though, now that she's gone?"

She smiled. "Oh, about that."

Closing her eyes, she whispered words, and then I felt like I was being smacked in the face and chest, and I felt my entire body shudder. Then I heard howling in unison with another wolf howling—the mate bond. I grinned down at her. Mate.

*****

DIVINITY'S POV

Watching Killian get all bent out of shape about Vivian was frustrating. He said he needed her for the pack, but that was just a lot of malarkey. He knew I was powerful enough to keep us running well in magic. If he wanted to make us super powerful, all he had to do was marry me.

I had made the joke before. But it wasn't necessarily a joke on my part. So I was in love with my best friend. Like, who didn't see that coming?

Vivian was a great person. She started lame but ended up a lot better than I anticipated. And now that she chose someone other than Killian, I liked her. If she had chosen Killian, I probably would have had to poison her or something. Or something. I'm not sure how jealous I would have gotten. I've never had to deal with jealousy before.

Following Killian to where he ran off after leaving Chris and Vivian to their little kisses and playful teasing, I found him in our treehouse. He always came back here when he was upset. No matter how old he was, our treehouse was his escape. Big Alpha baby.

Climbing up the ladder, I found him there. I'm just sitting there, staring off into space. I sat down next to him. "You okay?"

"We needed her, D."

I shook my head. "No, we didn't. I told you that before. I can handle the magic. You need to trust me."

"I can't ask that of you. It'll take all your magic."

I reached over, grabbing his hands. "Vivian and I discussed what would happen if she didn't choose you. And we had a plan."

"You two discussed this? So you knew this was a possibility?"

He snatched his hands from mine. "Don't act like that. It's not like I knew this was going to happen. It was just a what-if situation."

"It sounds like she knew her decision all along."

I rolled my eyes. "Shut up. Anyway, she will put some of her magic in a tree. Mother Nature taught her how. It will continue to nourish itself and grow. And I can draw from it. It's a little more complicated, but that's the gist of it. She will give up some of her magic to help us."

He stared at me. "She'd do that? For us?"

I nodded. "She said she doesn't need magic that badly. Greywood is peaceful."

He dragged a hand over his face. "In repayment, we can build a truce for them and be their protectors."

"That seems only fair."

"Perfect. Just perfect...I lost the love of my life. I still have no mate. And now my pack has to help protect my ex and the love of her life."

I rolled my eyes. "You're so overdramatic."

I reached over, ruffling his hair. He caught my wrist, pulling me down playfully. I landed on my bottom. "Leave my hair alone."

"Okay, pretty boy."

He grabbed at my sides and started tickling me, causing me to kick out at him, landing one in his ribs and making him grunt. "Oof. You got me."

I squealed, jumping to my feet. "That's what you get, asshole."

I hurried down the ladder. I wouldn't say I liked it when he tickled me. It always ended with him on top of me. One time, I thought we were going to kiss, and then we didn't. I thought about it for days and had never felt so depressed before. It was too confusing. I needed to get away from situations like that.

Running back to the hall, I didn't look back to see if Killian was following; I just searched for Vivian. Talking to Vivian would make me feel better.

The party had started. Killian was missing his party. Chris and Vivian were still in the same room we had left them. They were sitting down now, giggling and talking. They looked so happy and in love. I was so pleased for them. "Vivian!"

She looked up and waved at me. "Hey! What do you need, Didi?"

I grinned, happy that I had made a friend in her. I waved her over. "Can we talk?"

She kissed Chris on the nose and hopped up, heading towards me. "Hey, what's going on?"

I looked around, making sure no one could hear us. "Were you serious about that tree thing?"

"Oh, the magic tree? Of course. Why?"

I sucked in a breath. "I don't think you should do it. I have another plan."

She arched an eyebrow at me. "What's that?"

"I'm going to get Killian to marry me. Because if he marries me...we'll be just as powerful if you two had married, and then we won't need the tree."

Realization bloomed over Vivian's face. "Ah, I see."

I blushed. "I just don't think it's fair that you give up part of yourself for us."

"But I could use this to negotiate something for Greywood."

Damn, she was right. And Killian had said something about being protectors of Greywood. I tapped my chin. "Okay, okay. But if I'm Luna, I can still barter a truce for you."

Vivian gripped my shoulders. "Didi, why don't you just come right out and say it?"

"Say what?"

"You're in love with Killian?"

I narrowed my eyes. "What's it to you?"

She laughed. "Why didn't you tell me that in the first place?"

The blush on my face deepened. "I didn't want to influence your decision. Plus, he seemed all sprung on you. I couldn't get between you two. It was so complicated."

"Look, we're going to get you two hitched. Don't you worry about that? You're going to be the Luna of Blackmoon, I guarantee it."

I felt a flutter in my stomach. I sure hoped so.