CHAPTER 9

Chapter 9

Kian's POV

I woke up coughing blood again. The third time this week.

Vivian stood in the doorway of my bedroom, her arms crossed. "The pack doctor says you need to stop thinking about her."

"Get out," I growled.

"Kian…"

"I said get out!" I threw a pillow at the door. She dodged it and left, slamming the door behind her.

I reached for the journal on my nightstand. Violet's journal. The one she'd left behind with all those entries about times I chose Vivian over her.

Entry #47: Today was my birthday. Kian took Vivian to the coast for the weekend. He texted "happy birthday" at 11:58 PM.

Entry #63: I had surgery today. Kian was supposed to pick me up from the hospital. He called three hours later saying Vivian needed help moving furniture.

Entry #81: It's Christmas. Kian spent it with Vivian's family. Again.

I read them over and over, my hands shaking. Each entry was a knife in my chest, but I couldn't stop reading.

How had I been so blind?

No. Not blind. I knew exactly what I was doing. I just didn't care.

And now she was gone.

My phone buzzed with a report from Jesse. I opened it and felt my blood boil.

Damian's pack numbers were up twenty percent. New families were requesting transfers to his territory. Business partnerships were flooding in. Meanwhile, my own pack members were requesting transfers OUT.

The report included photos from some social media post. Damian's packhouse, gleaming and full of life. Pack members smiling during training sessions. And there, in one corner of a photo, I saw her.

Violet.

She was laughing at something someone said. Actually laughing. Her prosthetic arm visible but she didn't seem to care. She looked... happy.

Something twisted in my gut. Not guilt. Not regret.

Rage.

How dare she look happy? How dare she leave me and just move on like our six years meant nothing? How dare she choose HIM?

I threw my phone against the wall, watching it shatter.

She was mine first. Mine.

A knock on my door interrupted my thoughts. "What?" I snarled.

Vivian walked in without permission, her face tight with anger. "We need to talk."

"Not now, Vivian."

"Yes, now!" She moved closer, her eyes flashing. "Do you know what I just heard? Pack members are calling me a homewrecker. They're saying I stole you from Violet. ME!"

I barely looked at her. "What do you want me to do about it?"

"I want you to stop moping around like some lovesick puppy!" She grabbed the journal from my hands and threw it across the room. "She left you, Kian. She chose your brother over you. And you're sitting here reading her pathetic diary?"

"Get out."

"No." Vivian's voice turned cold. "You need to hear this. Your pack is falling apart. Your father is questioning your ability to lead. And all because you can't let go of some woman who never appreciated you anyway."

I stood up slowly. "Careful, Vivian."

"Or what?" She stepped closer, fearless. "You'll push me away too? Go ahead. Then you'll have nobody."

I grabbed her arm, not gently. "I said get out."

She yanked free, her chest heaving. For a moment, we just stared at each other. Then her expression changed. Softened. Calculated.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm just worried about you. About us." She touched my face. "But Kian, you need to do something. You can't let Damian win like this."

"What are you talking about?"

"He took your mate. He's destroying your reputation. He's turning everyone against you." Her fingers traced my jaw. "If you truly cared about what we have, you'd get her back."

I frowned. "Get her back?"

"Make her see what she lost. Make her regret choosing him." Vivian's eyes gleamed. "Make her suffer the way she's made you suffer."

Something dark stirred in my chest. "She severed the bond. She's not mine anymore."

"So take her back anyway." Vivian smiled slowly. "Show her that nobody leaves you. Show Damian that he can't just steal what's yours. Show everyone that you're still the Alpha they should fear."

I stared at her, my mind racing. "You want me to go after her?"

"I want you to remind her who she belonged to first." Vivian moved closer. "Besides, once you humiliate her in front of Damian's entire pack, she'll be broken. And broken things are so much easier to control."

"Why would you want me to chase after another woman?"

Vivian laughed, cold and sharp. "Because I want her to hurt, Kian. I want her to know that leaving you was the worst mistake of her pathetic life. And when you're done destroying her, you'll come back to me and we'll finally have peace."

She kissed me then, hard and possessive. When she pulled away, her eyes were bright with malice.

"Think about it. But don't think too long. I heard through the grapevine that Damian's planning their mating ceremony soon." She walked to the door, then paused. "Tick tock, Alpha."

She left, and I stood there in the silence, her words echoing in my mind.

Make her suffer.

Vivian walked through the cabin, the special cabin where Kian had let her stay. The cabin that was supposed to be his and Violet's.

She pulled out her phone and dialed a number she'd been saving for the right moment.

"Hello?" A smooth male voice answered.

"It's Vivian. I have a job for you."

"I'm listening."

"There's a mating ceremony happening in Damian's territory in two weeks. I need someone on the inside. Someone who can feed me information. Someone who can... make things interesting."

A pause. "What kind of interesting?"

Vivian smiled, looking at the destroyed remains of Violet's belongings scattered around her feet. "The kind that ruins everything. Can you get someone in there?"

"For the right price, I can get someone anywhere."

"Money isn't an issue. I want daily reports. Every detail about Violet and Damian. Every moment of their disgusting romance. And when the time is right..." She paused, her smile growing wider. "I want you to make sure that ceremony never happens."

"Consider it done."

Vivian hung up and laughed, the sound echoing through the empty cabin.

Violet thought she was safe in Damian's territory. Thought she could just walk away and live happily ever after.

But Vivian was going to make sure that the only thing Violet felt on her wedding day was absolute devastation.

She picked up a photo of Violet from the debris, one that Kian must have kept. Violet was smiling in it, back when she was still naive enough to believe in happy endings.

"Enjoy your happiness while it lasts," Vivian whispered to the photo. "Because I'm about to destroy everything you love. Again."

She tore the photo in half and let the pieces fall to the floor.

The game was just beginning.