Chapter 111 111
Denzel’s POV
I woke to the unsettling chill of her body beside me.
Panic gripped me instantly sharp and suffocating but I forced myself to breathe. This had happened before. The last time she encountered the goddess, she’d gone cold too. Remembering that kept me from breaking apart. I told myself to wait. To trust. To give it time.
I stayed in bed a while longer before heading into the bathroom to prepare for the day.
And though I never let anyone see it, I cried.
If I hadn’t been so blind. So loyal to the wrong things. None of this would have happened. I should have accepted my fated mate when she came to me. I should have protected Venessa from Jalisa from the very beginning. Instead, I failed her and led us straight into this nightmare.
I already knew Jamar wouldn’t handle it well when the time came for Venessa to leave this world. I wouldn’t either. No matter how grateful I was for the surrogacy, it would never replace the life I wanted the journey I wanted with her.
Under the pounding spray of the shower, I pressed my forehead to the cold tiles and wept.
“Please,” I whispered, my voice breaking. “Just let her stay with me. I’m begging you. I’ll never ask for anything else. Let Venessa live a full life at my side. Please.”
I didn’t know if anyone was listening but I prayed anyway.
Footsteps reached me through the sound of rushing water. I scrubbed my face quickly, letting the shower wash away the evidence of my tears.
Venessa stepped in behind me, wrapping her arms around my waist. She pressed a soft kiss to my back. I turned, forcing a smile into place.
She was already carrying more than enough. I wouldn’t burden her with my pain.
My wife had too big a heart. My suffering would only distract her and she needed her strength for what was coming.
I brushed my fingers through her hair, watching her smile as the water cascaded over her skin.
“Princess,” I murmured.
She blushed.
“I didn’t know you’d wake up,” I said. “You were out cold.”
“The goddess kept her promise,” she replied softly.
Relief stirred in me. Answers. Direction. Maybe hope.
Then her eyes shifted glowing gold.
I stepped back instinctively.
Venessa’s wolf eyes were dark. Not gold.
She giggled at my reaction.
“Relax, darling. That’s Atabey saying hello. Nyla and I well, we’re the same now.”
I frowned, confusion settling in.
“Let’s finish up,” she continued gently. “I’ll explain everything. Atabey knows we’ll need help for what’s coming and she’s giving it.”
I wanted to relax. Truly. But then her eyes flashed black, and the tension in my chest eased.
“Mate,” Nyla’s voice echoed.
Nigel calmed instantly.
I understood the hesitation I felt it too. Even knowing it was still Venessa, it felt strange. Wrong, somehow. I would never betray my mate.
I pulled her close, kissed her deeply, grateful beyond words that she was awake. Alive.
Need surged through me raw and instinctive. I lifted her, pressing her back against the cool tiles, and joined us in one fluid motion. Nigel took over completely, unleashing the animal inside me. I buried my face in her neck and bit down, reclaiming her as mine.
“Mate,” I growled as release overtook us both.
When it was over, I lowered her carefully. We cleaned up in silence beneath the falling water.
We dressed quickly. I knew the moment we stepped outside, the demands of the pack would crash down on us. If I wanted answers, now was the time.
“I think you should tell me everything Atabey showed you before we leave,” I said. “The pack is still in chaos. I can’t ignore them.”
She nodded and sat.
“It’s… a lot,” she admitted.
I listened to everything.
By the time she finished, my emotions were tangled beyond reason but anger burned the brightest.
“How can they gamble with our lives like this?” I growled. “Calling us champions. Talking about rematches. Like this is some game.”
“It isn’t a game when lives are at stake, Denz,” she said quietly.
I scoffed bitterly. “Tell that to Atabey and Eshera. They seem to be enjoying themselves.”
Her eyes turned gold again.
“Atabey would never gamble with her children’s lives,” she said firmly. “If we fail, she falls too. Her existence depends on this win. We cannot let Eshera take over this world. It would be vile. Corrupt.”
I laughed hollowly.
“With everyone dead except the Silver Forest clan, what difference would it make?”
Her golden gaze didn’t waver.
“It would matter,” she said, voice trembling. “Even if lives are lost, shifters will remain. What happens to them? I never wanted this for my children. I protected them as long as I could until Eshera began corrupting them. I had no choice but to fight back. Please… I need your help.”
Tears spilled down her cheeks.
I knew then I wasn’t speaking to Venessa.
I was speaking to the goddess.
“Then let me keep my wife,” I said quietly. “That’s all I ask. Let me keep my mate. Let us have children. Let us grow old together. Life won’t be worth living without her.”
She stared at me in silence, golden eyes shining with unshed tears tears that soon fell freely.
I realized then that I had spoken the exact words Venessa herself had once said.
I lowered my head, helpless.
There was nothing more I could do.
I turned and left the room before my grief could break me apart.
And as I walked away, I fought the tears with everything I had left.