Chapter 30

Chapter 30
VIVIAN'S POV

I woke up with warm arms wrapped around me. I smiled, loving that Chris was still holding me next to him. I was where I belonged. I snuggled deeper into his arms, causing him to stir and pull his arms away. "Vivid?"
His saying my nickname gave me chills. "Good morning."
He sat up, pulling away from me entirely and clearing his throat. "About last night..."
Oh no. Oh no, no, no. "Yes?"
"It can't happen again."
I sat up, grabbing his arm. "What are you talking about? It's already been done. You've got to tell Samantha now. You can't possibly go back to normal with her and ignore what happened."
"I'll tell Sam what happened at the right time, and we can ignore what happened."
He pulled his arm from my grasp, standing. I looked at him desperately. "I don't think you should come with Zeke and me."
"I'm still coming. Someone has to be there to make sure you're not getting in over your head."
I crossed my arms. There was no point arguing with him. It was too early. I'd get my answers, fix this situation, and deal with this later. By the time this trip ended, he'd be asking Sam who.


When we met with Zeke, his expression went from shock to anger. "What is he doing here?"
I shrugged. "I couldn't shake him. He figured out we were going outside and insisted on tagging along on the threat of tattling."
Zeke puffed up his chest, pushing out his Alpha aura. "I didn't bring enough supplies for three."
Chris motioned to his bag. "No worries. I brought my own."
Chris had always been able to ignore Zeke's intimidation, which had always irked Zeke. One of the many reasons they didn't get along. Zeke and I exchanged glances, his eyes begging me to do something. When I offered nothing in return, he let out a groan, turning around and heading towards the gate.
We followed. “So, what's the plan to get past the guards?"
Zeke callaed over his shoulder. "I already arranged with Carl to let us pass. I do have connections, you know. He needs to learn exactly what we're doing. It's just a getaway. I told him we're researching different flora and stuff. He'll be suspicious of an asshole but ultimately not question my story."
I nodded. It was good enough for me. It was almost too easy. As we neared the gate, we saw Carl standing with another guard. When he saw us approaching, he leaned in to whisper to the other guard. The guard nodded and then turned and left.
As we reached the gate, Carl directed his attention to Zeke. "I told him to go patrol so he wouldn't ask questions. How long will you be gone?"
Zeke shrugged. "Just a couple of days. We have some gear to be out for a while. We'll be safe, Carl. Don't worry about us."
"I'm more worried about your dad. When he finds out where you've gone, I'm dead."
"As far as he knows, I've taken V to a romantic getaway to bond."
Carl nodded at Chris. "And him?"
Zeke scoffed, "He won't notice or care about that loser."
Chris growled, "Watch it."
Zeke ignored him. “So, can we get going before your partner gets back?"
Carl gestured towards the gate. "Let's get you guys out of here."
He stepped forward and raised the lock and bar, opening the entryway for us enough to slip through, which we did quickly. We were outside.
Not wasting any time, we took off running, wanting to be anywhere near the gates for a guard to see us who may be patrolling nearby.
We kept running in the direction we knew we were headed. Branches scratched my face, and the ground was uneven. Ivy wished I'd shift, but I couldn't do it with the pack on my back. We hadn't been able to snag wolf bags, which would have raised questions we couldn't explain. Human form it was.
We kept running until we were a safe distance away, and then Zeke called out for us to halt. We stumbled into a clearing. The grass was so green. I leaned over, my hands on my knees, catching my breath. I was more out of shape than I realized. I needed to work on my cardio. At least I'd been able to keep up with them.
I looked at the two of them, and they still glared at each other. "Are you going to keep running the whole way?"
Zeke shook his head. "Not the whole way. Maybe in spurts. It's safer to be quick."
Chris snorted. "If you had trained harder, you wouldn't have had such a hard time running, Vivid."
Back to being the asshole I knew in school. I couldn't wait to have old Chris back. "Thanks, Chris."
"How about you shut the fuck up, Chris?"
I was shocked when Zeke defended me. My head was hurting from all the back-and-forth with these two. This all started with Samantha. I'd be glad when this was over.
I just rolled my eyes and listened to them bicker over respecting me. I didn't have time for this. "Can we just stop? I really don't care about any of this."
Zeke and Chris both stared at me. Zeke spoke first. "He was rude to you."
"Who gives a flying fuck? I don't care anymore. Shut up—both of you. Let's get this over with and deal with it later. I'm beyond caring about how anyone talks to me right now, and I'd rather get the answers I'm searching for about who I am."
Chris narrowed his eyes. "Are you two finally going to spill what this little field trip is about in the first place?"
Rolling my eyes again. "Since you've come this far, I guess we can fill you in on the way there of all the dirty details. But you're not changing our minds or making us turn back. So don't even consider that one. Got it?"
He nodded. "Got it."
"No matter how stupid you think it is."
He arched an eyebrow at me. "How stupid is this?"
"Oh, you have no idea..."