CHAPTER 6

Vivian's POV

I kept running when I was out of the pack house. I kept running down the street. I kept running out of town and into the woods. I just kept running. I didn't have a place in mind. I just kept running.

I burst into a clearing, finding a little pond, and finally stopped. I looked around. No one was chasing me. I hadn't shifted. Running would've been easier if I had, but I needed the long-winded running to exhaust me. To exhaust my brain. I stood there panting.

Everything was quiet. Where was I? I'd never ventured this far into the forest. The pond had a small waterfall, and it looked mystical. This entire place looked otherworldly. Surely I wasn't the only person who'd found this place. I narrowed my eyes when I heard a twig snap behind me. When no more sounds followed, I continued my examination of the pond.

I could go for a quick swim. But there might be something gross in the water. Better to examine it and test that theory for a later date. I needed to remember where this place was. Right now I needed to establish this place as mine. I was already calling dibs on it. It needed a place to sit, like a log, which it oddly had already right near…

Suddenly I was on my back again. "You are literally the worst shifter in training."

And there he was again. My other tormentor. Because today just couldn't get any worse. I wasn't getting up. I was just going to lay there. I was going to lay there silently until he went away.

"Cat got your tongue, Vivid?"

I closed my eyes, spreading my arms out, as if to make a snow angel. I refused to utter a word. I wasn't entertaining his banter today. He could have his fun elsewhere. He got off on the verbal sparring, I realized. And I wasn't the one today.

"Vivid? Are you okay?"

I remained silent. I felt him kneel next to me. Then his fingers prying open my eye. I glared and swatted his hand away. "Okay! Just making sure you don't have a concussion! Why aren't you talking?"

I still didn't say a word and squeezed my eyes closed tighter. "Are you playing Sleeping Beauty now?"

I rolled my eyes behind my eyelids. How long until he got the hint? This was a pretty childish game but he could at least take the hint. "You know how the Prince wakes up Sleeping Beauty? Well, I'm no Prince but…"

Before I can wrap my mind around what he's talking about, I feel lips on mine. Soft, full lips. His lips moved slowly at first. When he sucked my lower lip between his, I felt it straight down to my core.

I always thought my first kiss would be with my mate. Not with my worst enemy, next to a magical pond in the middle of the woods after being asked by my ex-best friend to be his breeder.

Suddenly as it started, it stopped. He pulled away. "You awake now, Sleeping Beauty?"

I opened my eyes to see his usual brown eyes now darkened to almost black. "I…"

"I have an idea. Sit up and let's talk."

I did as he asked and tried not to stare at the lips that just stole my first kiss. "You hate Zeke. I hate Zeke. Zeke hates us both. Right?"

I nodded. "Right."

"What if…we fake dated?"

"What?"

"Are you sure you don't have a concussion?"

I glared. "Shut up. I mean, why would we do that?"

Chris looked down at his hands. "Rumor has already spread that Zeke wants to make you his breeder. He's been talking about it since last night. I take it he just told you before you took off to here."

"And you didn't tell me? You let me hear it from him?"

Chris studied his hands even harder. "I needed you to see for yourself just how vile that son of a bitch is. You really think you would have believed me if I told you even now?"

"I…maybe…"

"You still don't trust me. Not yet."

"You've given me no reason to trust you. Not ever."

He looked up then. "I want to see you grow to your full potential. That's all I've ever wanted. And so I had too much fun sparring with you at times and sometimes it came out as a little mean but it was just to bring out the real you. You're not a puppet. You're not Zeke's puppet. You never were."

"You destroyed Mr. Buttons."

"Oh for the love of Moon Goddess, Vivid! I was four!"

I glared. "I loved him."

"Back to the point! Nothing would really piss Zeke off more than not only you saying no to being his breeder than also making him think we're getting each other's rocks off."

"So what was with the kiss?"

Chris looked away. "We're gonna have to kiss in public sometimes to seem legit. I had to make sure you knew how."

"You could have just asked. Not pulled some Sleeping Beauty line."

"Yeah, you're right. I was just being funny. But anyways. You in?"

I looked down at my feet. What he said made a lot of sense. Of course Zeke would make my life a living hell in the meantime and I'm not sure how long the charade would go on. But having someone on my side, even for a little bit, would be kind of nice. So what the hell?

I stuck my hand out. "You got it, boyfriend."

Chris grinned, grabbing my hand to shake it. "Awesome. Now let's talk logistics. Since you're a mate-reject and you live with your parents, it makes the most sense that we move in together."

I snatched my hand back. "Wait, what?"

"Warriors date to claim. We don't date for fun, Vivid. Everyone has to think we're serious. We've known each other a long time. They wouldn't be surprised and would actually expect this of us and be more surprised if we didn't."

"It's a tradition since when there were wars all the time and warriors had to settle down and claim and breed quickly. Now warriors are taught to be serious and never fraternize."

"What's gonna happen when we break up?"

"We'll just say you initiated the break up. You can't force a she-wolf to take a warrior's mark."

"Got it. So we move in together. Where?"

"I have an apartment on Old Ridge St already. We'll make our home there."

"That's on the other side of town. You've been walking to my house from there every morning?"

"Yeah? What about it?"

"Nothing. So how long are we doing this?"

Chris shrugged. "I guess until he stops that stupid talk about you being his breeder or until his head explodes. We'll see which happens first."

"Got it."

"Whelp. Let's get you moved in, mate."

Ivy came forward again. 'Mate?'

'Not mate. Boyfriend. Fake boyfriend.'

'Boyfriend…could be mate one day?'

'No.'

Ivy made a sound I couldn't make out but seemed to mock me. What did she know?