Chapter 182: A Dangerous Presence
Vivian’s POV
One second, Zaliver had been standing right at the edge of the sparring ring, and the next he was completely gone. Just vanished. The wide crowd barely had time to blink before the heavy fighters around him dropped like fragile dominoes some flung violently through the air, others left crumpled on the hard ground. When the chaotic blur of movement finally settled, he stood right where he’d started, surrounded by fallen guards like some god of war. Unscathed. Unmoved. Unshaken.
For a single heartbeat, everything went dead quiet. Then the wild cheers exploded clapping, whistling, and roaring praise. It surged all around us like a massive wave, but his sharp attention was already fixed entirely on me.
He straightened up slowly, his broad chest rising with a deep inhale, and turned directly toward me. His harsh expression softened the moment his blue eyes found mine. Meanwhile, I was trying and utterly failing not to beam like a fool. My face must’ve said it all: deeply impressed, incredibly proud, and probably glowing like a lantern in the night.
He strode straight through the crowd like the other wolves weren’t even there, coming to a stop right in front of me. His warm hands settled onto my waist with a possessive ease that still sent delicious shivers straight through me. His dark hair was a total mess, damp strands falling over his face, but even through it I caught the fierce glint of those intense blue eyes.
"Well?" he asked, his deep voice low and rough with lingering adrenaline.
I couldn’t help the broad smile tugging at my lips, not with the wild cocktail of emotions running through me some mine, some his, and some bleeding over from the still-thrumming crowd.
"One more day," I reminded him softly.
You don’t have to wait a whole day to get freaky. That’s what hands and mouths are for.
My wolf’s completely unfiltered comment hit my mind like a hard slap, and I nearly choked on my own air. Shut up! I hissed internally, my face flushing bright hot.
Zaliver’s grip on my waist tightened instantly, and he leaned in just enough to gently nip at my bottom lip before pulling away with a wicked smirk that made my heart do stupid things.
"Mmhmm. She’s got a solid point, you know," he murmured playfully.
I shoved his black shirt straight at him to distract myself and him. "Put this on and shut up."
He chuckled warmly while slipping it over his head, and I took a deep breath, desperately trying to cool my burning cheeks.
Then I noticed something impossible.
"Wait a second... You’re not even sweating! How is that even possible?" I stared up at him, completely stunned.
He just gave a small shake of his head and offered that annoyingly secretive smile of his, looking like he knew something I didn’t and loved every second of it.
Turning back toward the still-hyped crowd, he raised one heavy hand. Instant silence fell over the field. The sudden shift in energy was palpable.
"Thank you for your support," he called out, his deep voice booming with absolute Alpha command. "Now, back to your training. And help your unconscious partners off the dirt. Next time we spar, I expect at least one hit."
A few nervous laughs rippled through the large group, but heads nodded respectfully, and everyone moved quickly, as if deeply inspired by the very man who had just wiped the floor with them all.
Once again, he turned to face me, and it took a beat for my brain to catch up. Right. We hadn’t even come out here for the fighting I was still stuck replaying his insane movements in my head.
"I take back what I said earlier. You don’t need guards," I admitted.
He gave me a look that was part smug, part deeply pleased, and took my hand in his, leading me back toward the car.
"Glad you finally see reason," he said smoothly, opening the passenger door for me like a true gentleman... who just happened to be a deadly Alpha.
"I’ll need to start prepping for tonight’s flight and go over some final details for the ball," he added as I climbed inside. "Want to come along, or should I drop you off somewhere first?"
"Can I tag along?" I asked, buckling my seatbelt. "You still haven’t told me what exactly I’m supposed to be doing. I doubt my role involves just standing around looking pretty. And honestly? I don’t want to wing this whole ball thing. It feels far too important to improvise."
He rolled his eyes playfully, but I caught the slight twitch of a smile before he nodded.
Following Zaliver around turned out to be a really weird mix of exciting and incredibly dull. On the one hand, I got to shadow the most powerful wolf I knew, give actual input on real pack decisions, and feel like I really mattered. On the other... well, my brain started melting the moment we got into the weeds of member counts, complex land boundaries, and side-pack merger documents.
By the time we were back in the car heading home, the sun had dipped low in the sky, casting a warm golden hue through the windows. I’d almost drifted off to sleep when his low voice cut through the quiet hum of the engine.
He had a serious question for me, and from the cautious tone of his voice, I knew it wasn’t something he could ask lightly.
"Do you want to invite your parents to the ball?" Zaliver asked me gently.
My entire body stiffened in an instant, and my head whipped around to stare at him like he’d just suggested we hold the ball on the surface of the sun. Shock and sudden dread tangled in my chest, cold and tight. I couldn’t believe I had forgotten about them entirely with everything going on and now, the mere idea of them being at that ball? Absolutely terrifying.
Judging by the slight twitch of amusement on his lips, he caught my dramatic reaction loud and clear.
"By the look on your face, I’ll take that as a firm no," he murmured softly.
"Yeah. No. Definitely no," I breathed out, still reeling from the thought. "Thanks for the reminder, though." I rubbed my hands over my arms as if that would shake off the cold unease creeping over me. "I’d rather not have them in a room full of possessive, territorial, easily provoked wolves. They wouldn’t last five minutes without flinching or ducking their heads." I paused, grimacing slightly. "Honestly, they wouldn’t even know why they were there. Or who I really am now."