Chapter 44
1300 Words
Vivian’s POV
I was in the kitchen helping Elara prepare the evening meal when Garett found me.
I knew him immediately. Of course I did.
He was the one from my first weeks in the tower. The one who bullied me . Who’d made comments about Omegas being too stupid to work in the main kitchens. Who’d watched me with cold eyes while the other servants laughed.
He’d been gone for weeks. Months, maybe. I’d heard whispers that he was on a war acquisition, some military operation on the outer territories. I’d been grateful for his absence.
Now he was back.
And he wasn’t alone. Three other warriors flanked him, their body language aggressive. Testing. They’d chosen a moment when the kitchen was relatively empty, just a few servants and Elara.
“We need to talk,” Garett said. His hand was on his sword hilt.
I felt my hands tighten on the knife I was holding.
“We have nothing to talk about,” I said. I kept my voice level. Calm. But I could feel the power stirring under my skin.
Garett smiled. Like he was pleased to see me afraid.
“On the contrary,” he said. “We have a lot to discuss. Like how you’re putting every warrior in this pack at risk. Like how the Alpha’s bonding with you is going to get us all killed.”
“Then leave,” I said. “No one’s forcing you to stay.”
“That’s exactly the problem,” Garett said. “The Alpha won’t let us leave. He’s keeping us trapped in a pack with a Solari girl who could burn us all to ash at any moment.”
He stepped closer. The same way he’d stepped close to me that first week, trying to intimidate me with his size.
“I’ve seen what you can do,” he said. “I’ve watched your training from the perimeter. You barely have control. Any second, you could lose it. And when you do..”
“When I do, what?” I asked.
“When you do, you become the reason the Solari win,” Garett said. “Because Dominic will be too busy trying to save you to actually lead the pack. Because he’s already weak. Already compromised by his feelings for you.”
The power surged.
It was immediate. Violent. Like something inside me recognized Garett as a threat and wanted to eliminate him.
Violet light exploded across my hands and the copper pots hanging on the wall behind Garett began to glow. The metal started to hum.
“Stop,” Elara said sharply. She grabbed my arm. “Vivian, stop. You need to control it.”
I tried.
I really tried.
But the rage was overwhelming. This man. This same man who’d made my first weeks in the tower miserable. Who’d treated me like I was subhuman. And now he was back, trying to turn the entire pack against me.
The pots began to smoke.
“Leave,” I said to Garett. My voice didn’t sound like my own. It sounded older. Angrier. It sounded like power incarnate. “Leave now, or I will burn you.”
Garett didn’t move.
He pulled his sword.
“Let’s see what you’ve really got,” he said.
Elara screamed.
I don’t remember moving, but suddenly the whole kitchen was ablaze with violet fire. Not touching anything. Not burning. Just existing. Pure power radiating outward from my body in waves of heat so intense that the air itself seemed to warp.
The three warriors with Garett threw themselves backward, their hands shielding their faces from the heat. One of them knocked over a pot. Another hit the wall trying to get away.
Garett stood frozen.
For a moment, I thought he would charge anyway. I thought he would actually try to kill me despite the power manifesting around us like a physical entity.
“Do it,” he said instead. His voice was steady but his hands were shaking. “Prove me right. Burn me. Prove that the Solari girl is exactly as dangerous as we all know you are.”
I wanted to.
I wanted it so badly that I could taste it. I could feel exactly how easy it would be to let the power loose. To reduce him to ash. To eliminate the problem permanently.
And he knew it. He was betting on it. He was pushing me because he believed that my rage would do what his sword couldn’t- prove his point to every warrior in this pack.
Dominic appeared in the doorway.
His presence hit the room like a physical force. The bond flared between us and suddenly the power recognized him and pulled inward, collapsing back into my body like it was being drawn into water.
The violet light extinguished in seconds.
I was left standing in the kitchen, breathing hard, while Garett stared at me with something like satisfaction in his eyes.
He’d gotten what he wanted. He’d pushed me hard enough to lose control. And now he had proof for the warriors who were wavering ,proof that I was exactly the danger they feared.
“Leave my territory,” Dominic said to Garett.His voice was absolutely calm, which somehow made it more terrifying than if he’d shouted. “Leave this kitchen. And prepare yourself for what comes next.”
Garett smiled.
It wasn’t a smile of defeat. Not a smile of fear. A smile of someone who’d just won exactly what he was playing for.
He holstered his sword slowly, taking his time. Making a show of it.
“I will, Alpha,” he said. “But we both know this isn’t over. This is just the beginning.”
He walked out, and his companions followed.
The kitchen fell silent except for the sound of my harsh breathing.
Dominic moved to me and pulled me against his chest.
“You didn’t burn him,” he said softly.
“I wanted to,” I said. “I wanted to so badly.”
“But you didn’t,” he repeated. “That’s control, Vivian. That’s you choosing not to.”
“He’s right though,” I said. “About everything. I’m dangerous. I can’t control this. One day I’m going to slip and someone’s going to die because of me.”
“Or,” Dominic said, “you’re going to master it. You’re going to understand it. And you’re going to become the strongest thing this pack has ever seen.”
He pulled back and looked at me.
“But that only happens if you believe that’s possible,” he said. “And right now, you don’t.”
Word of the incident spread through the pack by evening.
The version Garett was telling was that I’d almost killed him. That I’d lost complete control. That it took the Alpha’s presence just to keep me from burning the entire kitchen down.
The version the other servants were telling was different. That Garett had provoked me. That I’d shown restraint. That I’d only manifested power when physically threatened.
But what mattered was that Garett was now a focal point.
A warrior who’d just returned from military assignment. A warrior who spoke with authority about the threats the pack faced. A warrior who’d nearly been killed by the Alpha’s mate and lived to tell about it.
The pack was dividing further.
And I was at the center of it, knowing that everything Garett said was technically true, even if it was technically incomplete.
I was dangerous.
I couldn’t fully control the power.
And one day, someone probably would die because of me.
The only question was whether it would be the people trying to undermine Dominic or the people who were just trying to survive.
- Writer
