Chapter 242: The Secret Name

Vivian’s POV

I glanced over at Zahliver across the kitchen island and asked, "What on earth are you making for dinner?"

He grinned widely as he stirred a steaming pot on the stove. "Ribs, macaroni and cheese with mashed potatoes and gravy, a little bit of vegetable soup, and if you happen to still have room left over, ice cream for dessert."

My jaw practically hit the floor as I peeked past Joshula toward the kitchen counter. How on earth had Zahliver managed to pull all of that together without me even noticing? Various food containers and fresh ingredients were spread out everywhere did he actually plan this massive meal yesterday?

Joshula looked genuinely surprised by the spread. "You really know your way around a kitchen now."

Zahliver shrugged his broad shoulders, shooting me a quick side glance. "You kind of have to learn how to cook if you want to eat well. I certainly do not trust anyone else cooking for me after what happened when you " He suddenly stopped himself mid-sentence, freezing up completely.

My eyes went wide in surprise, already piecing together what he had almost let slip. Joshula’s polite smile stayed in place, but there was something very tight and strained about it.

Trying desperately to steer the conversation away from the heavy tension filling the room, I blurted out, "So, what is the age difference between the two of you anyway?"

Joshula hesitated for a brief second, then answered slowly, "He is... well, he was four years older than me."

I flinched internally, realizing almost instantly that maybe that had not been the best question to ask right now.

My wolf muttered darkly in the back of my mind, Definitely time to write a official guide called ’How to Talk to Your Revived Brother-in-Law Who Your Mate Accidentally Killed’.

I could clearly feel Zahliver’s silent disapproval radiating from across the room, and I mentally growled back at my wolf. Sorry, I whispered. This awkward tension is completely unbearable.

Thankfully, Zahliver finished plating the food and stood up to bring the dishes over. I stood up right along with him to fetch the extra plates and silverware from the cupboard.

"Do you need a hand with those?" Joshula asked politely, reaching out his hand to take a plate.

"Sure, thank you," I said, passing the dishes over to him. When his cold fingers accidentally brushed against mine, a strange, fleeting sensation ran straight through my body it was subtle, but deeply unsettling. My wolf and beast both perked up sharply in alarm. I quickly blamed the weird feeling on his freezing cold hands.

Joshula looked thoughtful as he tried to figure out the best place to set the plates down. I froze for a second, watching him closely, but quickly shook off the weird feeling and grabbed the drinking cups.

When everything was finally set up, I sat back down at the table.

We had a proper dining table in the house, but we rarely ever used it because it always felt like there were too many empty chairs and too much cold distance between us. Eating right here felt much better, closer, and far less formal.

Once we were all quietly eating our food, I decided to be the one to finally break the heavy silence with a simple question. I usually hated being the person who forced conversation, but Joshula looked genuinely curious about the food, and I was still feeling awkward trying to eat in front of someone totally new. Zahliver, as usual, looked calm and confident.

"So, Joshula," I began smoothly, "I could not help but notice that your eyes have a lot of green in them. Which parent did you inherit that from?"

Joshula put his fork down neatly on his plate and leaned back comfortably in his chair. I reached over to pick up my glass of juice as he replied, "I remember very little about our parents now, but I believe I inherited our mother’s eyes. Zalvius inherited "

Zahliver’s head whipped around toward us instantly, his eyes wide open and suddenly looking very anxious. His gaze was completely filled with quiet guilt.

I accidentally choked on my juice, quickly patting my chest with my hand as a violent coughing fit took over. Through my hacking cough, I shot Zahliver a fierce glare. He just sat there awkwardly, barbecue sauce smeared around his lips, grinning sheepishly at me.

Joshula’s eyes locked onto me immediately, deep concern plain on his face as he reached out a hand, half-offered to help. "Are you alright over there?" he asked gently.

I nodded quickly, forcing my lungs to steady my breath. "I am just fine," I rasped out hoarsely.

He sank slowly back into his chair, but my mind was completely stuck on what he had just said a moment ago. "Wait a minute... what did you just call him?" I asked sharply.

"Zalivus?" Joshula repeated, his dark brows knitting together in utter confusion as he glanced over toward Zahliver. Then, suddenly, a knowing grin spread wide across his face, his bright green eyes lighting up with sudden understanding.

"You actually renamed yourself, did you not?" he said, folding his arms across his chest with a chuckle.

I muttered under my breath, "Apparently, he did."

Zahliver quickly wiped his mouth clean with a paper napkin, then glanced at me nervously, his voice sounding just a bit shaky. "It is really not a big deal. I never liked my old name anyway. After carrying it for over a hundred years, I figured changing it to Zahliver was much more fitting for who I became."

He casually slid his arm behind my chair, but I could still feel a faint flicker of annoyance that he had kept this little secret from me all this time. Still, I caught the genuine worry glinting in his striking blue eyes as if he secretly feared I would be deeply hurt by his withheld secret.

"Oh yeah, sure. Is there anything else you want to confess to me tonight? Like a long-lost wife tucked away with six kids? A secret island hideout somewhere? Or maybe a pet goldfish you keep hidden down in the basement?" I teased playfully, raising a single eyebrow at him.

His facial expression suddenly shifted from nervous to completely serious before he answered quietly, "Two."

I blinked hard, completely confused. Then he let out a heavy sigh, his voice dropping low with feigned regret.

"Two kids. And the poor goldfish unfortunately died last week."

My mouth dropped wide open in pure shock, but a second later I caught the bright spark of genuine amusement dancing in his eyes. He threw his head back and laughed out loud, and I found myself playfully smacking his arm, which only seemed to make him laugh even harder at my expense.

After a few light smacks that clearly did not faze him in the slightest, I finally gave up and crossed my arms over my chest, giving him a cute pout. Ignoring the highly amused look spread across Joshula’s face, I muttered softly to myself, "Two kids, my ass..."

My wolf groaned in agreement in the back of my head. We should definitely make him sleep out on the living room couch for that last stupid joke.

I kept muttering, "...and I am going to get my own name changed too... that will be the absolute last secret he ever keeps from me. Let us see how much he likes that idea."

Zahliver’s rich laughter softened into a warm chuckle as his strong arms slid completely around my waist. "Oh, come on now, my love, I am truly sorry. Please do not change your name," he whispered softly into my ear, resting his heavy chin comfortably on the crown of my head.

I love your name very much, almost as much as I love you, he whispered gently straight through our mental bond.

That sweet gesture completely melted the last of my lingering irritation, and I relaxed fully back into his warm hold, chuckling softly. I glanced over at his brother with a wide grin. "See what crazy things I have to deal with every single day?"

Joshula nodded along, happily playing right into our banter. "Oh yes, I certainly do. It deeply amuses me that neither of you seem to care at all that the poor pet fish named Gold supposedly died last week."

All three of us exchanged mutually confused looks for a second before it finally hit us what Joshula was actually talking about.

"No, no, wait the fish’s name was not actually Gold well, I mean, technically it is a goldfish, but that was just a stupid joke. The fish is not really... actually, you know what, I will just explain the whole stupid thing later," I stammered out, realizing with a groan that I had probably just made the whole story ten times more confusing.

Desperately changing the subject before I dug my grave any deeper, I offered cheerfully, "Who wants some ice cream for dessert?"

Joshula shook his head politely, declining the offer. "No, thank you very much. The big meal was truly excellent, but I honestly do not have much of an appetite left."

I glanced down quickly at his dinner plate it was barely a third eaten. A strange thought crossed my mind in that instant. Was his sudden lack of appetite some kind of lingering side effect from his resurrection? Had I even felt hungry when I first came back from the dead? Huh. I really had no idea.