Chapter 84 RAGE HELD BY LOVE
Varkos
Kenna spins round in a flash, her words stuck mid-way through her throat before they get the chance to spill.
I moved before she could breathe, my hand shot forward, gripping her by the arm, and with a force I didn’t bother to control, I flung her across the room. Her body slammed hard against the wall, the impact echoing sharply as she crumpled to the ground.
A weaker wolf would have stayed down.
But Kenna wasn’t weak.
She pushed herself up, gasping—
But I was already on her.
I grabbed her by the throat and lifted her off the ground, my fingers tightening around her neck as her feet kicked uselessly in the air.
She clawed at my wrist instantly, her eyes wide with shock, but I didn’t loosen my grip.
Not even a little.
“Where is she?” My voice came out low, deadly, barely controlled. “Where is my daughter?”
The words hung in the air like a blade.
Kenna froze.
For a second, the struggle in her body stilled, her eyes searching my face as something close to disbelief flickered across them.
“You…” she choked out, her voice strained under the pressure of my grip. “You know?”
“Yes,” I said coldly. “I know everything.”
Her expression shifted to shock as her eyes locked onto mine; it turned darker, then calculating.
“I know the entire truth, Kenna.” I continued, my grip tightening around her neck, just enough to remind her how close she was to death. “How you sent Ginnie to steal the Alpha’s seal, then you put a blade in her hand and told her to kill me.”
Kenna’s lips parted, a mixture of shame and disbelief coiling in her eyes, but no words came out.
“And yet,” I went on, my voice dropping lower, rougher, “you still failed.” With those words, a flicker of anger flashed in her eyes.
“Your plans,” I continued, leaning slightly closer, “your lies, your manipulations… all they did was show me the truth.”
My chest tightened as my gaze flickered, just for a second, toward Ginnie. Our eyes meet, and in that brief moment, I feel everything I had buried, and denied, stand between us.
“She is mine,” I said, my tone growing quieter now, but no less dangerous. “My mate...My family.”
Kenna let out a strangled laugh, ignoring my hand locked around her throat. “How touching,” she rasped. “The Great Alpha Varkos…undone by a human.”
“This is your last chance,” I growled. “Where is Lily?”
Her body trembles slightly now from the pressure, and lack of air. But she didn’t seem weak.
Still, she smiled.
“If you kill me…” she forced out, her voice barely audible, “you’ll never know.”
For just a second—
My vision darkened.
An urge surged through me so violently that my claws pushed free from my skin with a sharp, tearing sound aiming to end her right there, to rip her apart piece by piece.
I lifted my other hand slowly, my claws glinting as I brought them close to her throat.
“At least your death,” I said coldly, “will give me peace.”
For the first time—
Her eyes widened with real fear.
My claws hovered just an inch against her skin, close enough to snap with one move. One swipe… and it would be over.
“Wait—!” she screamed suddenly, her voice breaking. “I’ll take you to her!”
I didn’t stop, didn’t even hesitate.
Her words barely registered through the rage roaring in my ears.
“I know where she is!” Kenna gasped desperately, her body quivering now as panic finally took over. “I’ll take you to her, I swear!”
My claws pressed slightly into her skin.
Revealing a thin line of blood that appeared.
“I’m begging you,” she choked out. “Spare me and I’ll take you to her—”
“Varkos!”
Ginnie’s voice cut through everything with sharp, desperate measure.
I stilled.
Her voice brings me to a calm.
“Please…” Ginnie’s voice broke as she stepped closer. “Don’t kill her.”
My attention shifts, but my grip didn’t loosen.
Ginnie’s eyes were filled with tears, her entire body trembling as she looked at me.
“We need her,” she said, her voice unsteady but firm. “She knows where Lily is.”
My jaw tightened in slight fury.
“She’s lying,” I said harshly. “She’s been lying from the beginning.”
“I know,” Ginnie whispered, shaking her head. “I know she has. But what if she’s not lying about this?”
Her words hit harder than they should have.
“She’s the only lead we have,” Ginnie continued, her voice cracking. “If you kill her now… what if we lose Lily forever?”
The thought hit like a blow.
My grip faltered just a bit.
But enough.
The shuddering of a weak, desperate breath escaped Kenna as she sucked it in, her body trembling in my hold.
“Let her take us,” Ginnie pleaded softly. “Please… after that, you can do whatever you want with her.”
Silence filled the room.
But the rage inside me was still burning, demanding blood.
But beneath it—
Lily.
My daughter seemed to be the only strong force pulling me together through everything, slowly, I exhaled.
Then I lowered Kenna.
Her feet hit the ground, but she barely held herself up, coughing violently as she clutched her throat.
I didn’t step back.
I stayed right in front of her, towering over her, making sure she understood exactly how close she had come to dying.
“You don’t get another chance,” I said coldly.
She didn’t look at me or alter a word more.
She just kept coughing, trying to steady her breathing.
“Take us to her,” I continued, my voice dropping into one far more dangerous than before. “Now.”
Kenna swallowed hard, finally lifting her eyes to mine revealing the fear still stuck in them.
“Or I won’t just kill you,” I added quietly. “I’ll tear you apart slowly.”
“I… I will,” she said weakly. “I’ll take you to her.”
I leaned closer, almost clutching down my voice barely above a whisper.
“You better.”
Then I straightened, flickering my gaze briefly to Ginnie, her eyes still glued onto me, filled with fear and relief. Followed by something deeper I couldn’t fully decode.
I didn’t say anything, not trusting I would.
Instead, I turned back to Kenna.
“Move.”
She hesitated for only a second before nodding quickly and stepping toward the door.
I followed immediately.
Close enough that she would feel me behind her with every step reminding her that there was no escaping me.
Not this time…Not ever again.
Even if she thought about trying—
I’d be willing to finish what I started.