Page 40 of Rebel for Claws
"I will. I promise." Vivian's voice broke slightly. "Stay safe. I'll contact you when I have a plan."
The connection ended, leaving them in heavy silence. Alaric watched his mate stand frozen at his desk, her entire bodyradiating lethal intent. When she finally turned to face him, her eyes blazed with the kind of fury that could level mountains.
"They're hunting all of my kind now," she said, her voice deadly calm. "Every magical shifter in the territory."
"I heard." He moved toward her, his own rage building like a storm. "This escalates everything."
"It does more than escalate it." Her hands clenched into fists at her sides. "It makes this personal for every shifter with even a drop of magical blood. Thorne just declared war on anyone who threatens his power."
"Which means we need a comprehensive strategy?—"
"No." The word cut through the air like a blade. "We need to end this now, before more people die. I'm going straight for Thorne."
Alaric felt his Alpha authority surge, clashing against her determination like opposing forces. "That's suicide, Vivian. You walk into a direct confrontation with him, and you won't walk out alive."
"Then what do you suggest?" She whirled to face him fully, her eyes blazing with desperate fury. "That we sit here planning while he systematically murders everyone like me? While my people—our people—are hunted down like animals?"
"I suggest we cut off his resources first," Alaric growled, his own temper fraying. "His human operatives, his funding, his allies. We dismantle his network before we go for the man himself."
"People are dying right now!" Her voice rose, cracking with emotion. "Every minute we spend on strategy is another minute Thorne has to kill innocent shifters."
"And every minute you spend charging blindly into danger is another minute closer to losing you!" The words exploded from him, raw with fear and fury. "You think I can just stand by and watch my mate walk into certain death?"
The admission hung between them, electric with tension and unspoken emotion. Vivian's eyes widened, and he saw the exact moment she registered the depth of his terror at losing her.
"I can't afford to lose my people," she said quietly, but her voice carried steel. "I can't have more blood on Thorne's hands because I was too cautious to act."
"And I can't afford to lose you." He stepped closer, his grey eyes shifting to gold with the burning intensity of his emotion. "You're not just a rebel leader anymore, Vivian. You're my mate, my partner, my future. What happens to you happens to me."
The raw vulnerability in his confession seemed to shake her resolve, but her jaw remained set with stubborn determination.
"Then help me find a way to stop him that doesn't involve watching from the sidelines while more people die."
SEVENTEEN
VIVIAN
You're my mate, my partner, my future.The words echoed in Vivian's mind, each syllable carrying the weight of promises she wasn't sure either of them could keep anymore. Her heart hammered against her ribs as she watched this powerful Alpha—this man who commanded respect from every wolf shifter in the territory—lay himself bare before her.
But even as warmth flooded her chest at Alaric's declaration, her jaw remained set with stubborn determination. People were being actively hunted now. Her people. And every moment they spent debating strategy was another moment Thorne's operatives had to hunt down innocent magical shifters.
The sudden shrill ring of Alaric's cell phone cut through the tension like a knife. He cursed under his breath, his hand moving to the device in his pocket with obvious reluctance. His charcoal henley stretched across his broad chest as he moved, and Vivian was momentarily distracted by the way the fabric clung to his muscled frame.
"It's Lena," he said, glancing at the screen with a frown. "She never calls unless it's urgent."
Without hesitation, he put the phone on speaker and set it on his oak desk. "Lena, what's wrong?"
"Alaric, thank God." Lena's voice crackled through the speaker, tight with anxiety and barely controlled panic. "I need to speak with you and Vivian immediately. It's about the secondary prophecy."
Vivian felt ice form in her veins. She moved closer to Alaric, her hand brushing against his arm as she leaned toward the phone. The contact sent sparks through her system, but she forced herself to focus on Lena's frazzled tone.
"We're both here, Lena," Vivian said. "What did you find?"
"I've been researching more deeply into the text we discovered—the one about the mating of a Silvercrest Alpha with the human magical lineage creating unprecedented power." Lena's words tumbled over each other in her haste. "I had a vision last night, and it wasn't... it wasn't as peaceful as we assumed it would be."
Alaric's entire body went rigid beside Vivian, his muscles coiling with tension. She could see the Alpha authority radiating from him like heat waves, his natural commanding presence asserting itself even in the face of unwelcome news.
"What kind of vision?" he demanded, his voice dropping to that dangerous tone.
