Chapter 15
Viviane’s POV
I can’t recall my mother ever truly lecturing me. Certainly we’ve had our arguments a few times over the years, after all, what teenager gets along with their parents all the time? However this is the first time in my memory she’s been genuinely angry with me, angry enough to raise her voice.
My head is buried in my hands, a horrible ache searing through my temples as she circles the kitchen table, swaying on her feet as admonishments pour from her mouth.
“Mom, please sit down.” I implore.
“What’s the point in sitting?!” She cries, throwing her hands in the air. “We’ll probably be dead in a week.”
Caspian’s visit had not gone over well. While it had successfully distracted the future Alpha from his efforts to sniff out my identity, his announcement had opened an entirely different can of worms.
Mom held it together while he explained our meeting at the talent competition and expressed his affection for me, as well as his desire to help improve our situation. However the moment Caspian’s motorcycle was out of sight, all her easy charm and false serenity evaporated.
“We have to leave.” She announces abruptly.
“It’s my senior year.” I state evenly, “If we leave now everything we’ve worked for will be for nothing.”
“No, everything we’ve worked for will be for nothing if that wolf finds out what you are!” Her voice is so hoarse her yell sounds more like a whisper. “You know what his kind does to people like us, Viviane.”
“Don’t worry about Caspian.” I advise, far more confidently than I feel. “This is just a phase, a crush, a delusion.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that.” Mom warns, “Wolves do not speak of mates lightly, and if he is calling you his, he believes it.” She clamps her eyes shut, clutching the back of a chair with white knuckled fists. “It may even be true.”
My hands fall away from my head in a clumsy heap. “That’s not possible.” I protest. “We aren’t even the same species.”
“The Gods don’t care about that – and neither will he.” She contends stubbornly. “But he will care about the price you fetch. Do you have any idea how many mermaids I met in the farms who were sold to Damien by people calling themselves their mates?”
My chair scrapes across the floor with a strident creak as I jump to my feet. “It won’t come to that. He’s not going to find out.”
“And how do you plan on stopping him?” Mom demands. “It’s barely been two weeks but he’s already here in our home.”
“He’s also already been told, and didn’t believe it!” I realize it’s a mistake as soon as the words are out of my mouth. I slap my palm over my lips but it’s too late, my mother’s already wan skin goes deathly pale.
“What did you just say?” She hisses.
“Nerissa told him, but he didn’t believe her.” I can’t explain why I feel so defensive of Caspian all of a sudden, a few hours ago I was thinking the exact same things Mom is saying. “He took my side.”
From the moment I met my mother, I’ve known only kindness, only warmth. I’ve never seen the kind of cold fury now present in her green eyes. “Nerissa knows?”
“I–” The words won’t come. I’ve become so used to protecting my mother that I no longer know how to be honest about the threats we face.
“Viviane?” She presses harshly.
“Yes.” I admit, feeling about five years old. “She knows.”
For a moment the only sounds in the room are my mother’s heaving breaths, furious inhalations dragged into her lungs as she processes my deceit. Then, as she glares at me with more rage than I ever believed her capable of, she levies her final order: “Pack your bags.”
Free of bustling crowds and shouting vendors, the Games stadium is almost peaceful. The wide concourses are empty and still, the lingering scent of festival food heavy in the air. I’ve circled almost the entire arena, winding down staircases and crossing the competition floor in search of the qualifiers’ training area.
I don’t know why I came here. I barely know Caspian and everything currently going wrong in my life is his fault.
Two weeks ago my existence was as boring and normal as it could possibly be under the circumstances. I was one of countless teenagers simply trying to get through high school in one piece, just another face in the crowd. Now I’m being pursued by the second most powerful man in the pack, my identity is on the verge of being exposed, and unless I can figure out a way to stop it – we’re about to go on the run again.
I snuck out the moment Mom went to lie down for her afternoon nap. She wants to leave first thing in the morning, so this is my last chance to fix things.
At the same time, I don’t have the first idea what I’m going to say to Caspian. “Please come back and tell my mother it was all a joke? Please don’t let her take me away?”
He’d never agree to the first, and while I’m certain he’d do the second, neither is possible. I can’t tell him any of this – not without explaining that I’m a mermaid.
Cold reality washes over me.
This is a mistake.
I turn on my heel, going back the way I came. What was I thinking? I can’t ask for Caspian’s help, and I can’t tip him off that we’re leaving – no matter how badly I want to see him.
As I make my way toward the exit, a tall blond man rounds the corner in front of me. I only glance his way for a moment, quickly averting my eyes as he nears. “Viviane, is that you?
I do a double take, belatedly realizing the shifter is not a stranger, but one of my classmates.
“Ryan.” I greet him, too disoriented to say anything else. This time last year I might have been nervous to speak to him. We’re lab partners in science class, but we’ve never run in the same social circle. Ryan has always been one of the most popular boys at Asterion High: outgoing, friendly, smart– he seems to get along with anyone and everyone.
“Wow,” He grins, looking me up and down, “You look so different without your glasses.”
Shrugging, I take in the gym towel slung over his shoulder and sweat glistening on his arms. “Are you competing?”
“You know it.” Ryan replies easily. “I don’t think I’ll get very far, but hey – at least I can say I tried.”
“It doesn’t scare you?” I never cease to be amazed how lightly some shifters take danger. “I mean men die in the games.”
“No one’s died in years.” Ryan assures me. When I don’t reply he cocks his head to the side, scrutinizing my expression much too closely. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine,” I pretend. “just a bit out of sorts.”
“Do you want to talk about it?” Ryan’s offer is so sincere, it’s easy to understand why he’s so well-liked.
“No!” I insist, much too quickly. His brows raise skeptically and I take a steadying breath before trying again. “Sorry, I appreciate the offer, I just – can’t.”
“Well if you need a friend, I’m always here for you.” He offers kindly.
“Thank you.” It should feel strange to have such a personal conversation with a man I know so little, but Ryan has a knack for making people feel comfortable. Even now, as he opens his arms to offer me a hug, I don’t feel anxious or uncomfortable. There’s nothing salacious about his invitation.
I step into Ryan’s embrace, returning his friendly squeeze and selfishly taking the solace he provides without offering anything in return. He doesn’t seem to mind, gently holding me until I reluctantly pull away.
“You’re a good man, you know that?”
He brushes off the compliment with breezy nonchalance, “Everyone has good in them, some just find it harder to show.”
My brows knit together, I’ve met plenty of people without a single shred of goodness in them. “I’m not sure I believe that.”
“I’m sorry to hear it.” Ryan answers sincerely. “Hopefully one day you’ll meet someone who can change your mind.”
“Meeting someone new isn’t the problem.” I explain coolly. “It’s everyone I’ve already met.”
Caspian’s POV
I’m in the showers when I smell her, my wolf sitting up to attention when he realizes his mate is near. I dry off as quickly as I can, throwing on clean clothes with an eagerness I might have found embarrassing a few weeks ago.
I pick up her trail immediately, following the invisible path with long, determined strides. I can’t believe how much power my mate holds over me. I would never give anyone so much control willingly, but it isn’t a choice. Viviane has become my entire world, and there’s not a single thing I can do about it.
My heart beats faster as her scent grows stronger and I’m so distracted by my excitement that I don’t notice the second scent on the air. Then, as I round the final corner separating us my elation transforms to rage, for I do not find my world awaiting me with joyful surprise.
No, I find her in the arms of another man.
One of the other Games qualifiers, Ryan, is wrapped around my mate so tightly I fear for her air supply. Their bodies are flush, not an inch of space between them.
A thick red haze covers my vision while flames erupt in my chest, running down my arms and legs like wildfire. My wolf snarls and claws for dominance, determined to shift and tear the other man to pieces.
For once I have no interest in holding back my violent temper, no reason to restrain my wolf in public. I’m going to kill him.
