Chapter 29: HUSH
Vivian Grey’s POV
I watched him as he worked, quiet and beautiful and powerful. And I wondered if I’d ever be close enough to understand what kept him caged.
Could that really be it? The possibility twisted like ice in my stomach. The idea that I might somehow hurt Zaliver, gods, I couldn’t bear it. I shoved the thought into the farthest corner of my mind, locking it away. I wasn’t ready to face something like that. Not yet.
Later that evening, Zaliver surprised me by making soup for the both of us. Honestly, I expected something bland or underwhelming, but it was the opposite. Whatever he’d added to it filled me up completely. I couldn’t have eaten another bite if I tried.
"Now, bed," he said simply.
"But I’m not even tired," I whined with a half-hearted pout, following him down the hall.
He gave me an eye-roll over his shoulder. The casual way we moved into the bedroom startled me. Our room. I’d already started calling it that in my head, like I belonged here. But I didn’t know where I stood. Without the mating mark, what was I really? Not his Luna. Not officially. I felt like some uninvited guest the Alpha refused to kick out.
"Give me your hands," he said, lifting the chains from the nightstand.
I backed away and shook my head firmly. "Nope. I’m not putting those things on. They’re unnecessary."
Relief washed over me when he sighed and let them fall to the floor with a clink.
"Fine. But you will wear them tomorrow when I leave," he warned.
That caught my attention. My ears twitched.
"We’ll see," I said vaguely, eyeing him as he turned toward the dresser. "What are you doing?"
He pulled out some bottoms and pajamas and handed them to me. "Business," was all he offered before disappearing into the bathroom and flicking on the light.
Business. That probably meant time alone, finally. I hadn’t realized how much I craved a moment to just be, without his looming presence filling every corner of the room.
As soon as he shut the door, I changed quickly on the couch and ran my fingers through my tangled hair. I needed normalcy. Something to do. Something mine.
"If I’m going to live here, I should start looking for a job tomorrow," I muttered to myself. "Not that I have any of my paperwork." Maybe Zaliver could use his influence to help with that.
"You don’t need them," his voice came from behind me, sharper than I expected. "Because you won’t be working. If you want something, just tell me."
He walked over and sat next to me, arm draped along the back of the couch, his body heat curling around me like smoke. His nearness was unsettling and comforting all at once.
I tried to stay calm. "I need a job, Zaliver."
He narrowed his eyes. "Why?"
"Oh, I don’t know, maybe because I can’t keep living in your clothes forever?" I gestured at my borrowed shirt. "I have other needs too. Personal things. Long-term things."
He clicked his tongue. "If you want something—"
"I’m not going to just ask you every time I need something. That makes me feel like a gold digger," I cut in, trying not to laugh at the absurdity of it. Still, I held his gaze.
He rolled his eyes. "You’re using that word wrong. I was around when it first started popping up in conversation. But this isn’t gold digging. I’m your mate. I want to give you everything."
I crossed my arms. "I don’t care. I’m not living off you."
That struck a nerve. The air around him shifted, darker, heavier. His expression hardened.
"Why do you sound like you’re planning to pay me rent or something?" he snapped.
My eyes widened. "What?"
"That’s what it sounds like to me."
I shook my head, trying to make sense of his leap in logic. "That’s not it—"
"Then what is it?" he pressed, voice rough with irritation.
I took a breath, unsure how to explain the chaos in my chest. "I don’t really know what kind of relationship this is, if we can even call it one. Everything’s happened so fast. I didn’t ask for a mate, and then you came, well, took me, and now you’re some ancient god on top of it all. A job would give me something solid. Something that’s mine. Something normal."
I stared at the floor, fingers twisting in my lap. Saying it out loud lifted something off me, like peeling away a layer of confusion. Silence followed. I hesitated before finally looking up.
He was watching me, expression unreadable, blue eyes flat.
I bit my lip, unsure if I’d said too much. Maybe I’d ruined the fragile peace between us.
Then, to my surprise, he chuckled softly, running a hand through his midnight hair.
"What?" I asked, nervous.
He shook his head with a low exhale. "At first, I assumed they sent you to manipulate the bond. That you’d act sweet and tempting, draw me into some trap. But now I realize..." He smirked. "It’s the opposite."
I blinked. "Come again?"
What the hell does that even mean? my wolf grumbled.
Zaliver suddenly let out a full, unrestrained laugh, deep and loud, clutching his stomach as if I’d told the best joke of his six hundred years. It startled me. I’d never heard him laugh like that before, and something about it warmed me. It was real. Alive. It made him look almost human.
But just as quickly as it came, it vanished.
Before I could process it, he was above me, his body braced over mine, eyes glowing with something intense and unfamiliar. Mischief, maybe. Reverence, even.
He reached out and traced his fingertip from the corner of my eye, down to the edge of my lip, and slowly across it. My breath caught. I couldn’t stop my eyes from drifting to his mouth.
"You," he murmured, voice like velvet. "You haven’t been corrupted by this world yet. You’re just you. And now that I see that clearly, I intend to savor every second."
His smile was soft and full of something that made my heart stutter.
"What are you talking about?" I whispered.
"Hush," he whispered back, and kissed me.
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