Chapter 199: Reckoning
Vivian’s POV
I looked down at my arm and froze instantly. The snake band that had curled there only moments ago was completely gone. My heart skipped a heavy beat. I turned my head slightly, and there stood Zahliver right at my side, his facial expression carved in calm steel, as if nothing around us could ever touch him.
"Who the hell are you?" the alpha barked from across the room, his loud voice sharp with confusion and alarm.
Venom’s physical presence was magnetic and terrifying. Everyone in the club went completely rigid, all eyes drawn to the towering figure standing beside me. Seven feet tall, snow-white hair, and those glowing golden eyes that seemed to burn from some otherworldly fire. I did not blame the alpha for his hesitation at all he looked like he wanted to step back, but stopped himself, probably remembering he was supposed to be the dominant one in this room.
"She said no. Now hand over your weapon," Venom said.
And if his deep voice had sent a chill through me before when it had barely been a soft whisper... then hearing him now louder, clearer, but still dangerously quiet was like standing in a freezing winter storm completely barefoot and soaked. His tone was not just ice cold; it dripped with steady, absolute death.
It was deeply terrifying.
The visiting alpha blanched, but he still tried to hold on to his stupid rage. I noticed how he did not dare meet Venom’s eyes for more than a quick flicker of a second. What was he seeing on Venom’s face right now? Whatever it was, it shook him to his core.
"How dare you speak to an alpha like that, you " he paused mid-sentence, his voice catching in his throat as his mind caught up to his eyes. "What the hell are you?"
He was trying to puff his chest up, stand taller, and look bigger than he was. It was not working at all.
"Someone clearly skipped the memo about not trying to intimidate people who tower over you," my inner wolf muttered in my mind with a sharp, disapproving cluck.
Venom took another slow step forward, his towering height making every single movement far more intimidating. "I won’t ask you again," he said, his voice sounding like a coiled snake. "Hand over your weapon... or I will take it from you myself."
The foolish alpha stumbled back. One step. Two steps. His brave front cracked completely. Then he snapped.
"Fine! You want it? Here it is!" He whipped out a heavy gun, waving it around with far more panic than control. "Yeah, I’ve got a gun! What now? You going to stop me? I don’t think so! Now step aside. I want a piece of that ass on the dance floor."
My mouth dropped open in pure disgust at his crude, nasty words. Zahliver growled viciously beside me, low and lethal a sound that did not shake the floor, but made me think it easily might if he wanted it to.
The alpha smirked and aimed his weapon straight past Venom, his dark eyes landing directly on me as he winked. Gross.
Two more broad, armed men stood up right behind him. They moved like loyal packmates. Coordinated. Aggressive.
"It’s the masks," my inner wolf said, watching them with the same intense disgust I felt. "Same ugly scent. Same nasty mindset."
Despite the weapons pointed our way, I was not afraid. Not really. Zahliver and I were not exactly killable by normal means. A bullet would sting a little bit, sure, but the damage would not last. That was not what worried me right now.
It was the innocent people standing around us.
Civilians. Mortals. Fragile lives that could not afford to be caught right in the middle of an alpha power flex gone completely wrong.
Venom did not flinch at all. He did not even blink. His golden eyes remained trained on the alpha as he said once more, completely evenly, "Hand them over."
The loud click of the gun echoed like a sharp slap in the hush that had fallen over the grand room. The alpha raised his heavy pistol and pointed it straight at Venom’s chest.
"Shut your damn mouth, freak," he snarled out. "You’re all freaks. When I’m done here, they’ll all thank me. Alpha of the alphas, my ass."
And then
He pulled the trigger.
I expected Venom to dodge out of the way. Step aside. Maybe even catch the fast bullet mid-air. But he did not do any of that.
He took the bullet straight to his chest.
Loud gasps echoed around the room mine joining theirs just as I instinctively leaned forward, ready to catch him. But he did not even flinch. He stood tall and completely unmoved, like the bullet had not just torn straight into his body. Zahliver’s warm hand shot out, gripping my arm tightly to keep me in place.
My eyes darted to the alpha who had pulled the trigger. His fake confidence was crumbling fast. Even his broad men, who moments ago looked smug and sure, now exchanged nervous glances, their postures completely uneasy.
Then Venom moved.
With calm, quiet precision, he brought his hand to his chest and dug the bloody bullet out like it was a tiny thorn. Not a single sound of pain escaped his lips. He did not even look at the alpha who had just shot him. He simply held up the bloodied bullet between two fingers his middle and index and asked quietly, "Shall I return this to him, Alpha Zahliver?"
Zahliver’s voice was pure ice. "It would be impolite to keep something that isn’t ours."
The tight hand on my arm squeezed briefly a silent warning, or maybe just restraint.
Venom tilted his head slightly. "And the other two?"
"I only need one alive," Zahliver said evenly.
"Understood."
The alpha dropped his gun to the floor, absolute terror written across his face now. Heavy beads of sweat rolled down his temples as he began to back away, his jerky movements desperate and wild.
"If there are any young pups here, now would be a very good time to shield their eyes," Venom said, his voice dropping low and cold.
Before the coward could take another backward step, Venom flicked his wrist.
A sharp crack filled the heavy silence, and the arrogant alpha dropped like a stone his eyes wide and completely empty, a single bloody bullet embedded right between them.
"That’s the exact moment they knew they screwed up," my inner wolf whispered in the back of my mind, her voice dark with satisfaction.
My stomach flipped, nausea creeping in as I turned my head away from the sight.
A fast flash of white blurred past me.
By the time I blinked, two more bodies had hit the floor with a heavy thud. Gone. Just like that.
Venom reappeared right before me, his head bowed low, like a loyal soldier reporting back from war.
"Well done, Venom," Zahliver said without looking away from the carnage on the floor.
"Alpha," Venom replied with a quiet nod.
Then he turned to face me and extended his hand.
I hesitated just for a quick heartbeat, but I slipped mine into his. That familiar pulse of heavy pressure wrapped right around my forearm, warm and binding once again.
I sucked in a shaky breath and scanned the quiet room. The silence was tense, thick with sheer confusion and intense fear. Everyone was still trying to make sense of what they had just witnessed.
I certainly was not the only one thinking, What the hell just happened?
"Continue as if nothing occurred," Zahliver commanded loudly, his deep voice ringing out across the wide space.
Right. Like that was actually possible for anyone here.
Still holding my arm, Zahliver started pulling me up the grand staircase, but I barely moved my feet. Something stopped me no, someone.
A distinct scent hit me mid-step. Sharp, earthy, and laced with something... painfully familiar to my past. My heart stalled in my chest.
I knew that scent well. I had grown up surrounded by it for years. It clung to the old pack lands like thick bark to trees. Delfuo.
I yanked my hand away from Zahliver’s grip and turned around sharply.
There he was Alpha Daniel of the Delfuo Pack. He stood beside his mate, Luna Holly, looking stiff and thoroughly uncomfortable as I approached them.
At first, he shifted awkwardly on his feet, his eyes darting around, clearly unsure whether he should acknowledge me. But then he looked closely. Really looked at my face.
Instant recognition lit up his features. His eyes widened in shock. "Vivian? Vivian Grey?"
Beside him, Luna Holly gasped out loud, clutching his arm tight. The sheer disbelief on their faces would have been amusing if it were not so completely weird.
Honestly, I was more surprised that he even knew my full name. I had never spoken to him directly before. I had never even stood this close to him until right now.
"Yes. Hello, Alpha Daniel. Luna Holly," I said as casually as I could manage, though my tone came out slightly stilted. "How are you tonight?"
They just... stared back at me in total silence.
Yup. This was definitely awkward.