Chapter 53: Hi mate
Vivian Grey’s POV
Zaliver’s gaze locked with mine while he spoke to the doctor in a low, serious tone. His expression was unreadable, hard lines carved into his face like stone. I tried to read him, tried to silently ask for answers with just a look, but his eyes slid away. That familiar pang of frustration twisted in my chest. Why wouldn’t anyone just tell me what was going on?
I swung my feet over the side of the hospital bed and let them dangle, kicking at the sterile air. I wasn’t broken. I didn’t feel sick, at least not in the normal sense. That sudden overwhelming heaviness that came after Zaliver left earlier had hit me out of nowhere. At first, I thought it was just the ache of missing him. Then it turned sharp, like my insides were being ripped apart by invisible claws.
Maybe he was right. Maybe I needed to shift more often. But it didn’t explain the intensity of the pain. It didn’t explain the silence from my wolf, either. I tried to reach her, but everything felt foggy, like she was just out of reach, dulled behind a thick haze. Probably the medication they’d pumped into me. I needed it out of my system before I could even think of communicating with her properly.
I was so deep in my thoughts that I didn’t notice Zaliver standing in front of me until I looked up and there he was. Close. Too close.
His blue eyes studied me in that unnerving way of his. I glanced over his shoulder and noticed the doctor and nurse making a quick exit. I scrambled off the bed, determined to catch them and demand answers, but my legs gave out underneath me. My body felt like jelly.
Strong arms wrapped around my waist, steadying me before I hit the floor. My palms landed on his shoulders for support.
"Whoa," I muttered, dazed.
"Easy, Luna," Zaliver murmured near my ear. "You’ve been out for a few days. Your body’s still catching up."
A few days? My eyes widened. That couldn’t be right. That meant, oh Goddess, sponge baths.
Dr. Leonard’s polite expression cracked for just a second, slipping into unease as his eyes flicked nervously to Zaliver behind me. His voice stuttered out a parting sentence, and then he practically fled, dragging the nurse with him. But before the door closed, I caught sight of him gripping his temple like something had pressed hard against the inside of his skull, then released. I recognized that look. Zaliver had said something to him through that quiet, invisible authority of his. Something that ended the conversation before it could start.
Something was off. Way off.
"Zaliver, what the hell is going on?" My voice sharpened with frustration. "Why didn’t Dr. Leonard tell me what’s happening? What did you do to him just now? Don’t lie to me!"
He didn’t answer, at least not in words. Instead, he stepped in and grabbed my arms gently but firmly, folding them across my chest and holding me still. His nose skimmed along the side of my neck, and my breath hitched. The heat of him pressed up against my back, his chest rising and falling rapidly.
Even through the leftover haze of drugs, my body responded to him instantly. My head tilted, baring my neck without thinking, and a soft sound escaped me, half moan, half sigh.
A low growl rumbled from him, vibrating against my skin. His mouth opened, and I could feel the scrape of his canines just barely grazing my neck. My legs trembled.
And then he pulled back. Abruptly. Like something snapped inside him.
He started pacing, running both hands through his dark hair in frustration. I watched him silently for a moment, then eased myself back onto the bed, taking slow breaths. The fog was lifting, and with every second I could feel more of myself again. My thoughts were clearer. My instincts sharper. My wolf, closer.
"I need to get you home," Zaliver said finally. His voice was gravelly and low.
I narrowed my eyes and sat up straighter. I’d had enough.
"Not until you tell me the truth," I said calmly, but firmly. "What’s going on with me? Why is everyone acting like I’m fragile and dangerous all at once? Why does no one seem willing to just look me in the eye and say it?"
I crossed my arms again and stared him down. My heart was pounding, but I didn’t flinch. His glare was fierce, his jaw clenched tight, and his body practically radiated frustration, but I didn’t care.
I was done being in the dark. I had a right to know what was happening to me.
Even if that meant defying the most powerful wolf I’d ever known.
Even if that wolf was my mate.
"I’m trying to help you, Vivian. Don’t make this harder than it already is. I need you back home. I’ll explain everything there."
His voice was low and tense, words pushed through clenched teeth. His fists were tight at his sides, and the way his body vibrated with restraint made my wolf stir uneasily.
"I am calm," I said, keeping my voice even, despite the storm building inside me.
That earned me a crooked smirk that sent a jolt through my stomach. I swallowed hard, resisting the shiver crawling up my spine.
"I wasn’t talking about you."
Oh.
Right.
He meant his wolf.
Zaliver never really talked about that side of him. Honestly, the man himself was already wild enough, like he was barely tethered to civility by a single thread. And that thread frayed more each time I defied him.
Most wolves balanced their human and beast. Not Zaliver. His instincts ran the show, feral, brutal, unpredictable. I’d never seen him shift, not once since we met, and that scared me more than I cared to admit. I had a feeling that if he ever did, there’d be no man left, just the monster beneath.
"Fine," I said, lifting my chin, "but I want answers. Or—"
"Or what?" he snapped, stepping toward me.
His energy hit me like a wall of fire, and my heart thudded in warning. Still, I didn’t back down.
"Or you’ll find yourself rejected and mateless."
The words fell from my mouth before I could stop them. A bluff. A dangerous one. But he didn’t know that.
His body stilled completely. His eyes tracked my every movement as I took a cautious step back. He didn’t lunge or roar, didn’t throw me over his shoulder like I half-expected. He just looked at me. Piercingly. Blank-faced. Something unreadable brewed behind those cold, blue eyes.
Panic crept in as I realized what I’d done.
"I was—" I almost said joking, but he cut me off.
"Go to the bathroom. Change into the clothes in there. Come out when you’re done."
I blinked at him, my mouth parting slightly. There was no inflection in his voice, just pure command. Alpha command. My body moved before I could decide if I wanted to.
Shit.
He was using his Alpha tone on me.
Not a suggestion.
Not a plea.
A demand I couldn’t disobey.
My chest tightened as I made my way to the bathroom. Folded on the counter were sweatpants, a t-shirt, and a hoodie. Not exactly my style, but I pulled them on with trembling hands, barely glancing at the mirror. I didn’t want to see what I looked like right now. I already felt like a wreck.
When I stepped back out, he hadn’t moved a muscle. He stood there like a statue carved from ice, waiting.
The moment I got close, his hand wrapped firmly around my elbow. Not gentle. Not cruel. Just possessive. Like I was his and I’d forgotten it.
"Where are we going? Zaliver, where are you taking me?" I asked, unable to hide the fear creeping into my voice.
He didn’t answer right away. His face was unreadable, colder than I’d ever seen it, even at our worst.
Then he laughed. It was low and empty, the sound of someone teetering on the edge.
He stopped in front of an elevator and pressed the button. I heard the sound of bones cracking. His knuckles were white from clenching so hard.
"I wanted to give you space. Time. But you just threatened your place in my life," he said without looking at me. "You wanted answers? You’re about to get them. And more than you bargained for."
The elevator doors slid open. He shoved me in, not violently, but rough enough that I stumbled. He followed, looming behind me.
His smirk returned, only this time it wasn’t charming. It was feral. Vengeful. The kind of smile nightmares wore when they knew you couldn’t run.
"You won’t enjoy this," he murmured, voice dripping with warning. "But I will."
The doors slid shut. The sound echoed like a sentence sealed.
And I knew I’d crossed a line I couldn’t uncross.
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