Chapter 27 27
Denzel’s POV
Venessa had me completely undone.
Knowing she was aware I watched her while she touched herself made the whole thing feel dangerously intimate, almost forbidden. I enjoyed it every stolen moment and each time I left her window, I had to rein myself in, reminding my body and my wolf who I was supposed to be. I wished, more than anything, that things between us had unfolded differently. My heart had never responded to anyone the way it did to her. Not once. She was everything effortlessly perfect in ways I couldn’t escape.
I knew King Fabian wanted her. I had seen it in his eyes, felt it in the way his attention lingered. Asking me to hand her over as tribute was beneath him low and insulting. He wanted my army, my power, and now my mate. The man had made himself the bane of my existence.
As I walked back toward the packhouse, my thoughts drifted to what Venessa had said about the two people fucking in the abandoned service quarters. There had been intent behind her words I could feel it. She wasn’t reckless or impulsive. Venessa was calculated, observant. If she’d asked me to come see it for myself, then she already knew more than she was saying.
I wanted to go. Gods, I did. But with Fabian present, excusing myself would have been seen as disrespect. And disrespect was exactly the excuse that bastard was always looking for.
Denzel, send Rayon’s bitch to me.
Fabian’s voice invaded my mind, and Nigel snarled viciously in response. My jaw tightened. What was wrong with this man?
He had no restraint none at all. The idea that he aspired to be king by any means necessary made my skin crawl. He wasn’t even fit for the title he already held as Werewolf King. If he ever managed to claim the Lycan throne, he would ruin everything.
A joke. A parasite. A pain in the arse.
If my parents had seen him for what he truly was, they would never have sanctioned my marriage to Jalisa. Losing them after the marriage was a cruel twist of fate. My father, especially, would have found a way to free me no matter the cost.
We don’t do that here, Your Majesty, I linked back coldly. I can provide entertainment, but it will not be Venessa.
Final. Unyielding.
Fabian had changed since losing his mate becoming something darker, more unhinged. Venessa’s beauty carried a Lycan edge to it, sensual and rare. I understood his lust, but understanding didn’t grant permission. She was mine. Untouchable.
I retreated to my office now doubling as my bedroom and buried myself in paperwork. Anything to avoid my bed. Anything to avoid Jalisa. I couldn’t stand the thought of touching her anymore, knowing the pain it caused Venessa. Worse still, my body refused to respond to Jalisa at all. It was for the best.
A knock sounded.
Rayon’s scent reached me before I opened the door. I let him in and locked it behind him. The last thing I needed was Jalisa wandering into my space.
“That bad?” he asked, one brow lifting.
I nodded.
“She’ll feel it, Rayon,” I admitted quietly. “I don’t want to hurt her or myself. I can’t even get it up for Jalisa anymore. This is the only way.”
He nodded, understanding etched into his expression. “I respect that. But you can’t keep living like this.”
He sat on the couch as I took the chair behind my desk.
“I know she’s pregnant,” he continued, “but you have to follow your heart, Alpha. You don’t owe anyone your misery. Staying trapped like this isn’t good for you or the pack.”
“If I move to divorce Jalisa,” I said, “I lose half of everything my parents built. It weakens the pack and leaves me vulnerable. Fabian would strike without hesitation. I won’t let people die because I chose love over responsibility. That would be selfish.”
Rayon exhaled slowly. “Let me dig into the laws. There has to be a loophole. And if there isn’t, we take it to King Jamar. Sick or not, he’s still our king. He can subdue Fabian.”
The plan was solid but dangerous. Fabian was itching for war, and the Lycan King’s illness made the political balance fragile. Forcing his hand now could ignite something catastrophic.
“You really think there’s a way out?” I asked.
“I can’t promise,” Rayon said honestly. “But if things explode, know this I’m with you. As commander of your military, I’ll make sure the pack stands with you.”
I nodded slowly.
“I never imagined going to war for love was even an option,” I muttered.
Rayon smiled faintly. “Love is everything, Denzel. It’s the foundation of society. And the people feel it too you saw it. No one celebrated Jalisa’s pregnancy.”
Neither had I.