Chapter 2: Vivienne

Piper

“Viv, stop being difficult,” I say to one of my very few friends. Vivienne may not acknowledge our friendship, but she still answers my call every time I reach out.

“I’m not being difficult, Piper. You know I don’t fit in a pack.”

“You should at least give Alpha Quirin a chance, Viv. His pack is made up almost entirely of rogues,” I insist.

“Have you been there?” she asks.

“No. I told Alpha Quirin that I’d try to get you to come with me. What’s the worst that will happen, Viv? You hate it and leave? Fine. But at least give it a try.”

It’s quiet a moment.

“You can’t save everyone, Piper,” she says softly.

“Fuck that, Vivienne. I can save whoever the fuck I want and right now, getting you off the streets and into a pack is what I want.”

“You’re a fucking bitch, you know that?” she growls.

“Yeah, but I’m the bitch who calls you a friend. Do this for me, babe. Please?”

“I hate you right now.”

“You can thank me later,” I say, grinning.

She sighs. “When?”

“I’ll call Alpha Quirin and set up a weekend we can go.”

“Fine.”

“Love you too,” I say in a singsong voice, grinning.

She growls before hanging up.

“You have weird friends,” Zach says.

I shrug. “Viv isn’t good with intimacy or even being in a pack. I really do think that Alpha Quirin will be good for her. He’s not like most Alphas.”

“Yeah, he tortures people who dare to breathe funny around his family,” he says, making me laugh.

“Scared of the big, bad Alpha, Zach?” I ask, crawling across the bed toward him.

He looks at me. “If I say yes, will you still ride me like the beast you are?”

“Fuck yeah, I will,” I say.

“Then, yeah. Alpha Quirin scares the fuck out of me.”

“Then it’s a good thing I’m about to ride the fuck out of you,” I say, climbing on top of him.

Zach and I have an agreement. We’re friends, we’re fuck buddies, but if either of us ever finds our mate, we back the fuck off. But until that time, the man has a big dick, and he knows how to use it.

Of course, I know how to use it too, which is what I do until we both come hard and then collapse.

The next day, I meet up with my only other girl friend, Cyra.

“Hey, preggers. How are you feeling?” I ask her at breakfast.

“If I say I’m feeling like a fat cow, will you hold it against me?” she asks, rubbing her belly.

“Nope. You’re an Alpha female, you’re building your pack, you’re going to the Warrior Academy, and you’re growing a little pup inside you. If anything, I’m feeling inadequate,” I say.

She smiles at me. “Thanks, Pipes. I needed that today.”

“Any time, my friend. Is there anything I can do for you?”

“No. We’re headed back to the pack this weekend. Luna Yara is there to check me over. We’ll see what happens. Keep your fingers crossed!”

“Fingers, toes, arms, legs, I’ll cross everything I can for you,” I say, pulling her into a side hug. “Hey Striker, do you happen to know if Alpha Quirin is around this weekend?”

He shrugs. “I think so. You’re not applying for his Gamma position, are you?” Yorick asks.

I laugh. “No fucking way. I want the elite fighter position on Alpha squad,” I begin.

“Good luck with that,” Zach says, grinning at me. He’s probably my biggest competition for the Alpha Squad, now that Yorick has decided to go for C-Squad. Rather than making us enemies, we use the competition to push each other forward. At least during the day. At night, we burn off any residual energy left over from the day in bed.

“Then why do you want to know if Alpha Quirin is home this weekend?” Cyra asks, rubbing her stomach.

“I talked to Vivienne last night. I want to take her to visit Alpha Quirin. I really think she’d fit in with his pack, and I worry about her being on the streets alone. She says she’s not alone, but she also tells me that rogues don’t have friends. You don’t have it both ways,” I say shrugging.

“Do you have his number?” Yorick asks.

“I do. I just thought I’d see if you knew anything before I called him,” I say.

“Just call him. He likes you. He said you remind him of himself when he was younger,” Yorick says, grinning at me.

“I’ll take that as a damn compliment,” I say.

“I’m pretty sure he meant it as one,” Cyra says.

After morning classes, I go to my room and make the call.

“Alpha Quirin,” he answers, his tone sharp.

“Alpha Quirin, this is Alpha Piper,” I say.

“Piper! To what do I owe this surprise?” he asks, his tone significantly more friendly.

“I spoke to my friend, Vivienne, the rogue I told you about.”

“Yes. Has she agreed to visit?”

“Sort of. I told her I’d find a weekend when you were available.”

“How about this weekend. You said she’s on the streets, right?”

“Yes.”

“The sooner she gets off the streets, the better for her. I’m sure she’s nervous about coming into a pack situation. I’ll let the pack know she’s coming. I think she’ll be pleasantly surprised when she arrives. Talk to her and let me know when you’re coming. Will it just be the two of you?”

“Yes, Alpha. And thank you. This means a lot to me.”

“Your support of my family through everything that has been going on is thanks enough, Piper. Let me know when you finalize your plans so my mate can make arrangements for the two of you.”

“I will, Alpha, thank you.”

That night, I call Vivienne again.

“This weekend, Viv.”

“This is a bad idea, Piper.”

“It’s a great idea, Viv. Even Alpha Quirin said you need to get off the streets.”

“You know who he is, right? I asked around about him,” she says. “He’s like some vicious, deadly Alpha, Piper.”

“Yeah, I know. I’ve met him. He’s not that bad. Well, as long as you don’t threaten his pack and you sure as shit don’t want to threaten his family, Viv. But you’re a rogue, not some sort of threat to his family. Nearly his entire pack is made up of rogues, Viv. Please? Do this for me?”

“Fine,” she growls. “How the fuck am I supposed to get there?”

“Tell me where you are and I’ll pick you up after classes on Friday,” I say, grinning.

She gives me her location that is about an hour away from the Academy in the opposite direction of Alpha Quirin’s pack. I call Alpha Quirin and let him know we’ll be there Friday night.

On Friday, I say goodbye to Zach, as well as Cyra and Yorick. Then I drive to where Vivienne told me to meet her. It’s not a great part of town and when I arrive, I open my senses, letting my wolf, Fallon, determine if it’s safe.

‘She better agree to stay with Alpha Quirin,’ Fallon says in my head, not liking this area any more than I do. From across the street, I can see people moving in and out of an abandoned building.

‘Drugs,’ Fallon says, sniffing the tainted air from the building.

Down the street, there are hookers waving and whistling at cars as they drive by.

“V, honey! Stay safe,” I hear someone yell. I turn and see one of the hookers waving at my friend. She’s coming out of a rundown building that has flashing neon lights advertising that they rent rooms by the hour.

‘Do you think she’s selling her body?’ Fallon asks, her tone equally upset and disgusted.

‘She’s a rogue. They do what they have to do to get by,’ I say.

‘She didn’t have to. She could have stayed in our family’s pack,’ she says.

‘Yeah, cause that was such a great option for us,’ I remind her.

‘Dealing with our misogynistic father is better than dealing with a bunch of assholes who think women are to be used as fuck toys.’

I raise an eyebrow at my wolf. Of the two of us, she’s usually the calm, mellow one.

‘It's the truth, Piper,’ she says, still carefully watching Vivienne through my eyes as she makes her way to me.