Chapter 305: I Spy

Vivian’s POV

Aurora’s voice from earlier drifted back into my mind, her cryptic words and the eerie feeling of something dark looming just out of reach making my skin crawl. My body stiffened against his chest.

"What exactly do you mean by that, Zahliver?" I asked carefully, my voice coming out quiet but sharp with rising worry.

"Don’t worry about it, Vivian," he said, his tone sounding casually dismissive. His lips brushed my skin again as he began planting soft kisses down my neck like nothing dangerous had just been said aloud.

I turned inward, urgently seeking my wolf.

What are my options here? I asked her mentally.

She cleared her throat in my mind and replied:

A) Pretend nothing is wrong. Act like he is not blatantly hiding something huge.B) Press him hard for the truth. Demand to know what is really going on.C) Change the subject entirely. Ask about cake. Cheesecake sounds really good right now.

Damn it. Why did cheesecake actually sound so tempting in the middle of a serious moment?

"Zahliver." My voice cracked a little, but not from his distraction kisses.

"I know a great recipe for this incredible cheesecake. Creamy, slightly tangy " he started, speaking like he had not just threatened to butcher someone a single moment ago.

"Zahliver," I said again, much more slowly this time.

"Drop it, love," he said, his voice still quiet and soft, but unmistakably commanding as an Alpha.

I stood up abruptly, slipping straight out of the warmth of his strong arms to face him head-on. "It is kind of hard to ignore you talking about killing your own brother, especially when this is not the first time you have mentioned it. I need to know what is actually going on."

He did not look up at me right away. His thick dark hair fell forward, hiding his facial expression in the shadows, but I could clearly see the deep tension holding his broad posture tight. I saw the tight clenching of his fists on the mattress, and the heavy tremble in his chest as he took a breath.

I stepped closer to him, gently running my fingers through his dark hair, trying to soothe his inner storm with my physical touch. "Zahliver... please do not bottle this up inside yourself. Whatever it is, you can tell me. I am here with you. You know I am."

The bedroom was silent, cloaked in heavy shadows and thick with rising emotion. Even with him shutting down his thoughts, the mate bond between us hummed like a low drumbeat, binding our souls together. But something deep inside him had definitely shifted. That cold, distant tone. Those cryptic words. This was not just about a simple sibling rivalry it was deeper, darker, and far more dangerous.

Wasn’t he supposed to be glad that his brother had returned to the land of the living? I mean, sure, things were visibly strained between them, but to even consider killing him again?

That was not the Zahliver I knew. The male I loved moved with clear purpose and only acted when he possessed a valid reason. He did not lash out without cause.

His voice sounded low and raw when he finally spoke into the silence. "Do you... remember what I told you I did to Fate?"

My breath caught in my throat again.

Whatever came next out of his mouth, I had a strong feeling it was going to change everything between us.

I felt the blood drain completely from my face.

Oh Moon... this was worse, far worse than I had ever imagined.

"Yeah," I managed to whisper back, my voice raspy with sudden shock.

It had taken days of persistent nagging on my part before Zahliver finally told me everything that had happened the day he left. I had to wear him down bit by bit until he broke his silence. And once he actually began speaking, I almost wished I had not pushed him so hard for the story. Still, I could not bring myself to stop him once he started sharing. I never interrupted important stories. Especially not a story like this one.

Because this story twisted my insides into tight knots.

He had told me that he trapped Fate an actual god, a cosmic being I had always imagined as a distant, untouched force inside his own body. Not just locked away beneath his skin, but tortured, tormented, and driven utterly insane by the exact same cruel choices he had once inflicted on others.

And then, in that low, almost casual voice that scared me far more than any violent growl ever could, Zahliver said, "I caught his scent on the island today."

A sharp rush of cold air slid into my lungs, and suddenly my whole body felt like it had been dropped into a freezing lake. My hands had been tangled gently in his hair, but the sheer shock froze my fingers mid-movement.

"W-What "

"Along with Joshua’s scent," he added, his tone flat.

My heart stuttered in my chest. "Wait, I don’t understand "

"Neither do I," he cut in smoothly, his voice darkening into a rumble. "But I know one thing for certain."

He did not need any prompting from me to go on. He never needed permission to deliver a brutal truth like a sharp blade straight to the gut.

"My brother died a very long time ago," his voice dropped into a guttural growl, low and vicious. "Whoever is living in our home right now, walking around in his skin, is definitely not Joshua."

When he lifted his head to look at me, I instinctively flinched back. His eyes were no longer blue; they were pure, solid black bottomless voids filled with ancient rage and deep agony.

"What are you going to do about it?" I asked, my voice cracking under the crushing pressure in my throat. It felt like an invisible fist was closing around my windpipe, squeezing so tightly that I could barely get air into my chest. My stomach churned violently, as if trying to reject the heavy fear I could not push down.

But it was not just simple fear that ran through my veins it was something far more primal. Something I could not quite name or control. It pulsed in my chest like a second heartbeat, sharp and intense, a strange mixture of rapture and ruin. I could almost taste it, bittersweet and electric on my tongue.

Zahliver blinked once. When he spoke, his voice sounded unnervingly calm. Lethal.

"I will do what I do best," he said smoothly, "and remind whoever is playing this dangerous game that it begins and ends only when I say so."

With another single blink, the solid black in his eyes melted away, returning to their familiar, stormy electric blue. But I still could not move my body.

He glanced down at my trembling form, his jaw tightening up. Then, gently, he reached out his large hands and wrapped my cold fingers inside his much larger, warmer ones.

"You are shaking, love," he muttered, his voice dropping low and furious not at me, never at me, but at the situation.

I looked down at our joined hands and saw that he was right. My fingers were trembling uncontrollably, my whole body quivering like a leaf caught in a harsh storm.

"I... I didn’t even realize I was doing that..." My voice stuttered out awkwardly, and the moment I heard how weak I sounded, I regretted opening my mouth. If anything, my fear seemed to make his dark mood even worse.

"I never should have told you any of this," he gritted the words out like they were heavy stones grinding between his teeth. "I never should have had to. This should not be happening on our land. And whoever is responsible for this game..." His strong arms wrapped tightly around my waist as he stood up from the bed, pulling my body flush against his solid chest. "I will make their ending very slow. And very painful."

Being held tightly like that, feeling the crushing weight of his absolute protection and the unshakable certainty in his words, was finally enough to slow the nervous tremors wracking my frame. His familiar scent, warm and wild, wrapped around my senses and slowly calmed the raging storm inside my head.

My mind was still spinning from everything he had just revealed to me. I had never met Fate in the flesh, but if Zahliver’s past description was anything to go by... the god sounded like a cosmic bastard.

But what on earth were we supposed to do about the creature pretending to be Joshua?

I asked him directly, needing something solid to hold on to in the dark. He took a small step back, just enough to look me dead in the eyes. His intense gaze searched my face, reading my thoughts like I was made of clear glass. I was not entirely sure what he found written on my features probably a mix of fear, confusion, and maybe even a small flicker of shared madness but whatever it was, it made the corner of his lips tilt upward.

That smile...

It was completely feral. Dangerous. Playful in the absolute worst way possible. My stomach twisted sharply, drawn to him with a powerful pull I could not rationally explain. It felt as if the mate bond between us had just been yanked taut, thrumming with a dangerous new energy.

Then he looked at me and asked, "How do you feel about playing my personal version of I Spy?"

And I swear, the cold shiver that rolled all the way down my spine was not from fear at all it was from pure anticipation.