Chapter 86 The Price Of Trust
Varkos
The second I slid my eyes open, darkness was the first thing that greeted me, pressing in from every side, like I had been buried beneath something I couldn’t fight my way out of.
For a moment, my mind goes blank, lost somewhere between pain and confusion as I struggle to catch up with reality.
Then an agonizing pain hit me, spreading through my body in sharp, burning waves, dragging a low groan from my chest as my eyes forced themselves open.
Ginnie!
My body reacts before my mind can fully process it. I try to push myself up, but the movement sends a violent surge of pain through my chest, forcing the air out of my lungs. I clenched my teeth, breathing hard as I forced myself to stay conscious.
Then my eyes snapped down, noticing the blood, soaking through my clothes, still flowing steadily from the wound in my side. The arrow was gone now but the damage remained.
The wolfsbane had done its job, because I could feel it spreading through me, dulling my strength, weakening every instinct that usually kept me standing.
Slowly, I lifted my head and took in my surroundings. The room was small and closed off, built of cold stone with no windows, no clear way out. It didn’t feel like a place meant to hold someone temporarily. It felt permanent.
And then—
My eyes landed on her.
Kenna stood a few steps away, completely at ease, as though she had been waiting for me to wake up. There was no tension or fear in her posture.
“Awake already?” she asked, her voice calm, almost amused.
My hands curled into fists despite the pain it caused. “Where is she?” My voice came out rough, but steady. “Where is Ginnie?!”
She didn’t answer right away; instead, her smile deepened slightly, as if she were enjoying this more than she should.
“You don’t get to ask me questions.”
“Where the hell is Ginnie!”
Kenna doesn’t flinch at the tone of my voice, if anything she is still relaxed. “Whether she’s alive or not… whether she’s screaming or perfectly quiet… that’s not your concern anymore.”
The words hit harder than they should have, my jaws clenched tightly as I forced myself to stay focused. “And Lily?” I asked, my voice dropping lower. “Where is my daughter?”
“You’re in no position to make demands, Varkos.”
Kenna tilts her head, studying me like I was something she had already figured out. But then—
Before I could open my mouth to respond to her, the sound of a creak came from the door, sliding open behind her. I turned my head slightly, ignoring the way it pulled at my wound to see a huge figure towering behind her.
A man steps inside in gentle motion, everything about him controlled, deliberate. He was tall, with a solid build, the kind of presence that filled the space without effort. His eyes were sharp, calculating, and I could feel them dripping with utter disgust the moment they landed on me.
The smile on Kenna’s face before changed the moment she saw him, softening, becoming something warmer, and real in a way it had never been with me.
Before I can realize anything, Kenna moves towards the man without hesitation, closing the distance like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Then she kissed him.
Her mouth claimed his in a bruising, hungry clash, their lips parting instantly, tongues sliding deep and wet. She moaned into him, low and filthy, grinding her hips against his thigh while her nails raked down his chest.
“Fuck, I’ve missed kissing you this hard,” she purred against his lips. “I knew you’d always have my back, baby.”
A guttural glow tears out of the man, his hand fisting her hair. “Keep talking like that and I’ll fuck that greedy mouth until you choke on every inch, slut.”
I just sat there, watching them in silence, my jaw tightening as the truth settled heavily in my chest. Then, she pulls away suddenly, a soft laughter tearing out of her as she turns back to me.
“Did you really think I loved you?” she asked.
The question hung in the air, but I didn’t answer.
“This,” she continued, gesturing toward the man beside her, “is the man I love. Meet Cassian,” she added, like the name alone should mean something.
“The only thing I ever wanted from you,” Kenna went on, her tone smooth and almost casual, “was your power, your position, and your wealth.”
There was no hesitation in her voice, no guilt—just cold and clear truth.
“You were useful,” she finished simply.
I held her gaze, unmoved. “And now?”
“Now I have what I need.”
The Alpha’s seal.
Of course.
Everything she had done had led to this.
“You think that makes you powerful?” I asked quietly.
“I don’t think, Varkos. I know.”
I exhaled slowly, forcing my thoughts back to the only thing that mattered. “Your stupid affair doesn’t matter to me. Where is Ginnie?”
“Here we go again!” Kenna sighed, like I was becoming repetitive. “Still asking about them, it’s almost admirable, really. The way you still care.”
“If you even dare touch them—”
“What?” she cut in, her voice suddenly sharp. “What will you do?”
She stepped closer, her heels echoing softly against the floor as she stopped just a few feet away from me. “This is how it ends for you, Varkos.” She says, “I’ll have taken everything that was yours… and now, I will take your life.”
“Leave Ginnie and Lily out of your sick games, Kenna.”
Her lips curved faintly, and then she opened her mouth to speak. “They’re going to die too.”
Something inside me snaps completely.
“Leave them out of this!”I growled, the anger in my voice breaking through my control. “They have nothing to do with this.”
The words had barely left my mouth when the room went still, then, a voice broke through the silence, calm but cutting.
“They have nothing to do with this?”
Kenna turned slightly, and for the first time, her composure changed—just a little as footsteps echoed behind her, slow and steady, coming from the far end of the room.
I turned my head, ignoring the pain as it flared again.
And then I saw her.
For a moment, my mind refused to accept it. It didn’t fit, nor did it make sense. But as she stepped into the light, there was no denying it anymore.
“Miss… Maria?” The name rushed out of me before I could stop it.
She stood in front of me now, completely different. With no softness in her expression, no trace of the woman I thought I knew.