Chapter 302: A Sister in All But Blood

Vivian’s POV

His sharp, witty retort immediately broke the lingering tension in the room, making both Aurora and me burst into genuine laughter. The strange, heavy storm that had been brewing between us during her vision seemed to melt away into nothing, if only for a brief moment in time. Whatever odd magical energy had been stirring, I chose to let it fade into the background for the rest of our visit. Things felt okay, grounded and peaceful. And sometimes in this crazy supernatural world, that was more than enough.

We ended up staying at the cabin much longer than planned, not leaving until well after lunch had passed. Aurora, despite her intense magic and lingering corruption, seemed remarkably stable and focused. She truly felt like herself again. Before we stepped out the front door, we promised her that we would return for another visit very soon. As Algebra and I walked across the quiet yard toward his car, I turned my head to glance back at the cabin one last time.

Aurora was standing right by the window, watching our departure with those unnervingly sharp, dark eyes. They were the kind of eyes that made you feel completely seen down to your soul, even if you did not particularly want to be observed so closely.

Witches were truly a species of their own.

"It is totally fine, her eyes used to freak me out for a long time too," Algebra said with a light chuckle as we both climbed into the front seats of the car. "It is a witch thing. Apparently, the basic human rule of ’staring at people is rude’ simply does not apply to their kind."

I snorted out loud, pulling the seatbelt across my chest and clicking it securely into place. "Oh, sure. I am positive that every single witch in existence just stares at people like they are actively trying to hypnotize them on the spot."

"I am completely serious," he insisted, starting up the car engine. "You should have seen the very first dinner I had with her family. It was so remarkably awkward. I spent the entire meal convinced I had red sauce smeared across my whole face. And don’t even get me started on Zahliver the first few times he met her, he kept having to actively remind himself that she wasn’t trying to issue an Alpha challenge to him with her staring. That whole situation was absolutely hilarious to watch."

He shook his head fondly at the old memory and ran a hand through his thick brown curls, his soft smile growing warm.

"You seem... really happy today," I said softly, tilting my head to look at him as he backed the car out of the dirt driveway.

He turned his head toward me for a brief second, his expression growing deeply sincere. "Thank you, Vivian."

I blinked in surprise. "Thank you for what?"

"For showing up today," he said quietly, his voice carrying a heavy weight. "For taking the time to talk to her like a normal person, even though you knew she has been struggling so hard lately. She may not come right out and say it to your face, but I know she has been so deeply lonely. Even before we came here to the pack house. She knows she has to heal herself first for her own safety and everyone else’s... but having you come here today, despite everything you were warned about... it meant everything to her. And it meant the world to me."

I quickly looked away toward the passenger window, feeling my eyes stinging just a little bit with sudden emotion, but I gave him a firm nod.

I understood how much he loved her. I truly did.

"And you do that kind of thing a lot for people," Algebra added, rolling his green eyes at me in mock exasperation to break the emotional heavy air.

I grinned sheepishly at him. "Yeah, I know I do. But it really means a lot to me, and to her, that we got to sit down and have a real talk today. I think... I really think it helped her."

"You still don’t quite get it," he said, his tone softening into absolute honesty. "You are the very first person she has actually spoken to since arriving here without actively trying to manipulate them or threaten them into letting her escape the cabin. Ever since she got here, it has been nothing but cold emotional walls and complete shutdowns from her. But with you today? She actually laughed out loud. She smiled genuinely. She was fully present in the moment. Thank you so much, Vivian."

When he turned his head briefly to look at me, there was such a raw, unfiltered sincerity resting in his expression that it almost completely undid my composure. His deep gratitude, the sheer weight of his emotional relief... it was a lot for me to take in all at once.

And then his brows suddenly knit together in total confusion as he looked at my face. "Wait... why are your eyes all glassy right now?"

I sniffled loudly, and then completely burst into dramatic tears. "Because that was so remarkably sweet and emotional, and you love her so much, and... I’M GETTING MARRIED!" I shrieked at the top of my lungs, pure joy and sudden wedding panic crashing together inside my chest like a massive, messy wave.

"Oh my god," Algebra muttered under his breath like a man who had just realized he was locked in a moving vehicle with a ticking emotional bomb. He slammed his foot down on the gas pedal, the car lurching forward down the road.

"I’m actually getting married! Holy hell, what is happening to my life?!" I cried out, my voice cracking on the high notes.

Ah, the exact moment when reality finally hits you like a freight train, my internal wolf snickered happily in my head.

"Shut up!" I hissed at her out loud, completely forgetting I wasn’t alone. Which instantly earned me a wide-eyed, terrified glance from Algebra behind the wheel. Great. Now I looked like the most emotionally unstable passenger in the history of the world.

I had never planned a real wedding in my entire life. What kind of flowers did I even want on the tables? Did I even like flowers to begin with? Where were we going to hold the ceremony? When was it happening? Were there going to be giant, intimidating wolves dressed up in formal tuxedos? My mind was spiraling into total madness.

Meanwhile, Algebra looked like he would rather face a whole horde of dangerous rogue wolves than spend another single second locked in this moving car with me. That hilarious thought instantly sent me into a massive fit of laughter. Not just a small chuckle, oh no... a full-blown, wheezing, breathless, can’t-function kind of laugh that had me clutching my stomach.

After a solid minute of hysterical giggling, I finally managed to calm myself down, taking deep, steadying breaths as I melted back into the leather seat. Beside me, Algebra sat as stiff as a wooden board, his hands white-knuckled on the steering wheel, probably wondering what terrible sins he had committed to end up in this nightmare scenario.

"Whew," I sighed out loud, stretching my arms above my head. "I really needed that breakdown. There was far too much crazy energy building up inside me, you know?"

"Yup," he squeaked out, his voice a full octave higher than its normal register.

"You do know that if Zahliver finds out you were severely speeding with his pregnant, newly engaged mate in the car, he will literally skin you alive, right?" I said sweetly to him after a brief beat of silence.

His green eyes widened in absolute terror, the sudden realization hitting him like a heavy brick to the face. The car tires screeched loudly against the asphalt as he slammed his foot onto the brakes, nearly giving both of us severe whiplash. He groaned out loud and clutched at his neck where the seatbelt had dug into his skin. I, of course, had braced myself against the dashboard like a seasoned champ.

"You are an absolute handful, you know that right?" he muttered with a painful wince.

I beamed proudly at him. "Yup! And you know what else?"

"What now?" he groaned, turning the key to start the car engine again, this time driving down the road much, much slower.

"You still completely adore me. Come on, admit it," I teased, playfully nudging his arm with my elbow.

He did not respond right away, keeping his eyes on the road ahead. But then his face softened into a fond expression, and his bright green eyes warmed in a way that caught me totally off guard. For a split second, I genuinely wondered if I had stepped into some weird, alternate version of reality.

"Yeah," he said smoothly, reaching his right hand over to playfully ruffle my dark hair. "I guess I really do."

"Aww "

"I mean, you are a total, complete pain in the ass," he added with a broad grin. "Your comebacks are absolutely brutal. And you gave me that terrible, horrifying nickname "

"Hey!"

" but you are honestly like one of those annoying little siblings I never asked to have, but wouldn’t mind keeping around anyway."

I narrowed my eyes at him in mock fury and bared my sharp teeth, making a loud, snapping sound with my jaw at his hand.

He did not even flinch at my threat.

"I am truly honored by your noble words," I said, letting the heavy sarcasm drip from every word.

"As I fully knew you would be, my Luna," he replied smoothly without missing a beat.

And for once in my entire life... I genuinely did not have a witty comeback ready to throw back at him.

Lucky bastard.