Chapter 005

Vivica’s POV

“Get the necessary documents ready,” Adrian’s voice drawled, low yet threatening. “Vivica is ascending the throne in two weeks.”

When those words left his mouth, the hallway went dead silent. My eyes widened.I tried to object, but my words came out in a helpless stutter. What was wrong with him? Was this some sort of a joke ?

“Adrian…I mean, Alpha Adria—”

“Call me Adrian,” his deep voice urged, his gaze dropping to mine.

“Isn’t this too—”

He placed a finger on my lips before I could finish. “I told you already. You aren’t the same woman you were hours ago,” he whispered.

When he turned to address pack elders, who were too stunned to speak, his face hardened.

“The meeting is over, Elders.”

“Of course,” they chorused, before walking away heavy in silence.Theo pressed his lips together and gave Adrian a curt nod before heading out himself.

“Okay, Ms. Vivica. How about I show you to your suite?”

“Mmm,” I mumbled, letting him lead the way.

We walked toward an elevator at the far left. Adrian pressed a button and the door slid open. Once inside, he punched the button for the fourth floor abd the elevator lurched upward.

“Thank you,” I muttered, averting my gaze to hide the tears threatening to spill over.

“For what?” he tilted his head toward me.

“Everything,” I said, pausing for a moment. “I don’t know where I would have gone after such an embarrassing moment at the Full Moon party.”

“It’s nothing, Vivica. I should have come for you long ago but I was—” He stopped abruptly mid-sentence, seemingly realizing he had said something he shouldn’t have.

My head shot up instantly. “You knew all along? That we were mates?”

“No. It wasn’t about our mate bond,” he said, and my shoulders slumped back to their original position. “I just wanted to get you out of that place. For your father’s sake.”

“My father? You knew him? Were you two close?” I asked in a rush, chuckling almost immediately at my own ridiculous questions. Adrian would have been only seven years old back then; how could he possibly have been acquainted with my father?

“Who didn’t know Xavier Hale? The greatest warlord to ever exist,” he said, his expression filled with a pride that suggested there was more to the story than just my father’s prowess in war.

I was going to press him for details, but I realized I was becoming far too comfortable. I swallowed my curiosity instead. Whatever the connection was, it made my heart swell with pride, and for now, that was all that mattered.

“I received my first training from him,” he said, tilting his head to peek at me. “At first, I thought Vane wanted him to kill me and that the training was just a disguise for his mission.”

I gave a small, nervous laugh. “Why would you think that?”

“Because I was too young for the things he was making me do,” he emphasized, a subtle smile growing on his face. “But it turned out it was all for my own good.”

“I’m glad you now see it that way,” I said.

The elevator dinged, slicing through our small talk. We stepped out, my eyes scanning the fourth floor, which looked even more luxurious than the ground floor.

“This feels like…heaven” I whispered, the words escaping my mouth before I could stop them.

“I’m glad you like it. It’s your home from now on,” he said. “Come on,” he gestured with a nudge of his head for me to follow.

We walked down the hallway, and a girl who looked to be in her early twenties approached us.

“Good day, Alpha.” She greeted, bowing her head lightly.

“Good day, Melissa.” Adrian replied.

Melissa walked toward the elevator, but her gaze must have dug deep into my back, because I spun around instinctively. I caught her staring just a second before she looked away.

“Give me your hand,” Adrian requested.

I offered my hand without thinking. He pressed my thumb onto the fingerprint scanner, and the smart door beeped as a green light flashed. “Finger print saved!” a digital voice echoed.

He glanced at his phone, then back at me. “Speak after the door handle blinks yellow.”

“What do I say?”

“Anything. I just need to capture your voice.”

I cleared my throat, waiting for the glow. When it pulsed yellow, I whispered, “My name is Vivica.”

Adrian gave me a lopsided grin and a sharp nod. “Correct.”

The handle turned green, and he ushered me into the most surreal apartment I had ever seen in my life. The suite was the perfect sanctuary after a hellish day—cool and quiet, like a forest clearing after a drought. Rich wood veneers lined the walls, and the light brown couches looked soft enough to sink into forever.A large flat-screen television sat in a pristine white console with the sets of light brown couches facing it. At the back was a simple yet beautiful dining area.

“Crisy, open the blinds,” Adrian said.

I started to hurry toward the cream-colored curtains, but he caught my hand and pulled me back. “Not you.”

“Oh…” I whisper, my cheeks heating up in embarrassment.

The curtains opened on their own, revealing a floor-to-ceiling window. Outside, the shadows of trees danced to the wind while the moon cast its warm glow over the water.

“I’ll ask the maid to help you settle in. I’ve got work to finish,” Adrian said.

“Okay,” I nodded.

“Ok. See you in a bit,” he said casually, before turning around and walking out of the suite.

The moment he left, I stealthily advanced toward the sofa. I was dying to know what it felt like to simply drop onto those plush cushions and snack on something delicious while binge-watching a show, the way the Red-Bone nobles always did. But I froze, my hands hanging above the soft fabric. What if I gave in? What if I accidentally sullied the couch? If Adrian realized he’d made a grave mistake by bringing me here, I didn’t have a cent to my name to replace such expensive furniture.

I eventually left the living room, carefully walking away to check out the rest of the suite. The bedroom, restroom, and walk-in closet were just as massive and opulent, with mirrors of various artistic cuts hanging in all the right places.

“open the curtains,”I whispered uncertainly, but they didn’t budge.

I cleared my throat and tried again. “Crisy, open the curtains.”

A few seconds passed before the curtains parted, exposing yet another alluring night view through the floor-to- ceiling glass window.

“This is beautiful,” I gasped, completely forgetting the turmoil I’d been through that day as I walked toward the window.

I stood there for a moment, admiring the body of water below. Everything happening was simply too beautiful to be true. From Adrian’s nurturing words to his abrupt decision to make me Luna—and now, a whole suite to myself? Back at Red-Bone, I had been given the worst of everything: food, bedding and clothes. Even healthcare had been an issue. But here, Adrian laid everything in front of me as if I were royalty. What blew my mind the most was how he stood up against his own pack members for me—a nobody.

I exhaled heavily and began to nibble on my fingernails. “You have to be careful, Vivica. This is all too good to be true.”

‘You need to relax. This might just be the Moon Goddess' way of compensating you for all the troubles you’ve been through,’ my wolf, Tisha, said.

Oh, please. Why did it take her this long to do it?

An alarm went off, startling the life out of me as it notified me of someone at the door. I rushed out of the bedroom to answer it. When I opened the door, the maid from earlier was standing at the entrance with a stony expression.

“Come in,” I said, holding the door open for her.

“It’s almost time for dinner. His majesty asked me to accompany you to the dining hall,” she said. Her tone was rigid and direct. I didn’t need a soothsayer to tell me she didn’t like me.

“The thing is…I don’t have anything to change into,” I sounded like a child who was too scared to voice an opinion.

“That has been sorted by the Alpha. I’ll help you prepare your bath before your outfit arrives.”

With that, she disappeared into the bathroom. The sound of running water echoed in the background. She emerged a few moments later and told me I could go in.

“Thank you,” I whispered before heading into the bathroom.

Once I was inside, I locked the door and stripped off my clothes one by one.

I dipped my toe into the water to ensure it wasn’t scalding before fully soaking my body in the scented liquid.As soon as I settled in, I reluctantly rested my back against the tub, fighting the urge to shut my eyes and bask in the healing experience. But I was in a new territory, surrounded by total strangers; it would have been foolish to get too comfortable.

“This feels so good,” I cooed. “So this is what comfort feels like.”

All those years of overworking myself seemed to be seeping out through my toes the longer I soaked in that warm bubble of goodness.

I was so worn out from working day and night that the only thing I wanted was to sleep. My resolve to stay awake faltered, and I gave in to the gentle touch of sleep as it lulled me out of my tensed body.

“Your clothes are on the bed. I need to go to Lady Arella,” the girl announced, her voice jerking me back to reality.

“Okay!” I said, scrambling up. “Thank you for your help!” I called out, my gratitude loud enough for her to hear.

No response came.

Arella. The name rang in my head. For the maid to drop everything else and go to her meant only one thing: she was the real boss here. That meant I needed to get on her good side if I must last.

After almost an hour in the bath—scrubbing away every trace of bad omens I must have dragged along from Red-Bone—I stepped into the cozy bedroom draped in a white towel with my hair in a wrap. The white fur rug at the vanity table squished under my feet as I sat in front of the mirror. One of the drawers contained a hair dryer; I pulled it out and ran it over my damp hair, sending wild strands of auburn hair flying in all directions.

I finished my hair and swiped a layer of gloss on my lips. I was already bolting out of the room when I realized I hadn’t used any of the perfumes spread on the dresser. I might have spent more than an hour in the shower, but the stench of hardship wouldn’t disappear overnight. The least I could do for Adrian was to look my best; that way, it wouldn’t be obvious at first glance that he made a terrible mistake.