Chapter 46: CHAPTER 46

Dmitri's POV

The carriage swayed with the rhythm of the horses' hooves, and I kept my gaze fixed on Tessa as she spoke, watching the way her hands twisted in her lap, the way her eyes darted away and then back again, the way her voice trembled with the effort of telling a story she'd clearly never told anyone before.

I listened.

I listened to every word, and with each one, something dark and cold settled deeper into my chest.

Her mother died giving birth to her. Her father blamed her. Had blamed her every single day since she drew her first breath, as if her very existence was a crime. He had stripped her of status, reduced her to the level of an omega, poured all his affection into her twin sister while Tessa survived on scraps and cruelty.

And her sister—Thea. The white wolf I had actually paid for. The one who had awakened power and status while Tessa remained wolfless, worthless in their father's eyes. Thea had played the role of loving sister while secretly bedding the only man Tessa had ever trusted. Thea had stood by and watched as their father stripped Tessa of her identity, dyed her hair, changed her eyes, and sent her off to die in my palace.

They had used her. Discarded her. Treated her like a thing to be traded, a problem to be solved, an inconvenience to be eliminated.

My hands were fists at my sides. My jaw was clenched so tight I could feel my teeth grinding together. My beast stirred beneath my skin, a low and dangerous rumble that demanded violence, demanded blood, demanded the destruction of everyone who had ever hurt her.

But I held it back. For her. For the fragile trust she was finally, tentatively, extending to me.

I would not break this moment with rage. Not yet.

"The night before they sent me away," Tessa continued, her voice barely above a whisper, "I went to Lucien. The man I thought I loved. I was desperate—terrified. I thought if anyone could help me, it would be him. He'd promised to protect me. Promised we would be together."

She paused, and I saw the tears gathering in her eyes, the way she blinked them back with fierce determination.

"He was in bed with her. With Thea. They had been together for weeks, maybe months. He had been lying to me the whole time, telling me he loved me while he was sneaking into her chambers." She laughed bitterly, a sound that broke something in my chest. "When I walked in, she smiled at me. She said she was tired of hearing about him, so she decided to see if he was as loyal as I believed. She proved me wrong."

The control I had been maintaining fractured slightly. My claws extended, digging into my palms, drawing blood. The pain was grounding, necessary, the only thing keeping me from shifting right here in the carriage and hunting down everyone who had ever made her suffer.

"She pointed at me," Tessa continued, her voice growing softer, sadder. "She told the guards to take me. And they did. They dragged me back to my father, and he had the artist change my appearance completely. By the time I was done, I didn't even recognize myself in the mirror. I was just... a copy. A replacement. Something to be sacrificed so the valuable one could survive."

She fell silent, and I saw the weight of her story pressing down on her shoulders, the exhaustion of finally speaking the truth out loud.

I moved.

One moment I was across from her, and the next I was beside her, my hand reaching out to cup her face. She flinched slightly—an instinctive reaction, one I had earned—and I forced myself to be gentle, to be soft in a way I rarely was with anyone.

"Tessa," I said, and my voice was rough with the effort of containing my fury. "Look at me."

She lifted her gaze, and those green eyes—her real eyes, the ones I had never truly seen until today—were filled with tears.

"I'm sorry," I said, and the words came out raw, aching. "I'm so sorry for what I did to you. For how my beast forced itself on you. For the terror I caused. I have no excuse, no justification, nothing except the truth that I have been broken for a century, and I didn't know how to be anything else." I paused, swallowing hard. "You deserved better than what I gave you. You deserved gentleness, care, protection. And instead, I gave you violence."

Tessa shook her head slowly, tears spilling down her cheeks. "You've already been forgiven," she said softly. "I forgave you that morning in your chambers. When I saw you cry in your sleep, when I saw the pain you carried—I knew you weren't just a monster. You were someone who had been hurt too."

I closed my eyes, overwhelmed by the depth of her mercy. She had every right to hate me, to fear me, to want nothing to do with me. And yet, here she was, offering me grace I had done nothing to deserve.

"You have a kindness in you that I cannot understand," I admitted, opening my eyes to meet her gaze. "A capacity for forgiveness that I will spend the rest of my life trying to earn."

A flicker of surprise crossed her face, quickly replaced by something warmer.

"Your Majesty—"

"Dmitri," I corrected. "When we're alone like this, I want you to call me Dmitri."

She blinked, and I saw the faint flush that crept across her cheeks. "Dmitri," she repeated, testing the name on her tongue, and the sound of it sent a thrill through me.

I had this strange urge to kiss her. I wanted to pull her into my arms and show her exactly how much she meant to me, how deeply I was willing to protect her, how fiercely I would fight for her.

But the rage was still there, simmering beneath the surface, demanding justice. Demanding blood.

"Your father," I said, and my voice hardened slightly. "And your sister. They will face judgment."

Tessa's expression shifted, something like fear flickering in her eyes. "Dmitri, please—they're still my family. I know they hurt me, but—"

"They are not your family," I cut her off, my voice brooking no argument. "They are people who used you, betrayed you, and discarded you the moment you were no longer useful to them. They sold you like livestock. They watched you be stripped of your identity and sent to what they believed was your death. They did not care if you lived or died, Tessa. They cared only about themselves."

She opened her mouth to argue, but I continued.

"Love is not cruelty. Love is not betrayal. Love is not watching someone you claim to care about be sacrificed for your own gain." I held her gaze, willing her to understand. "What they did to you was not love. It was selfishness dressed up as pragmatism. And they will answer for it."

"But—"

"Tessa." I softened my voice, reaching out to brush a strand of hair from her face. "I understand that they are blood. I understand that some part of you still wants to protect them, to believe there is good in them, to hope they might change. But you must harden your heart to them. You must learn to see them for what they truly are. Because if you don't, they will continue to hurt you. They will continue to take from you. They will continue to use you until there is nothing left."

She was crying now, silent tears streaming down her cheeks, and I wished I could take away the pain. Wished I could erase every cruelty they had inflicted on her. But all I could do was be here, now, and promise to make it right.

"When we return from the Council," I said, my voice low and fierce, "I will deal with them. They will face judgment. They will answer for what they did to you. And I will make sure they never hurt you again."

Tessa stared at me, her green eyes wide and vulnerable. "What will you do to them?"

I was quiet for a moment, considering my answer carefully. I could not lie to her—she deserved better than that. But I also could not give her the full truth, not yet, not when she was still so fragile.

"I will give them a choice," I said finally. "They can face my judgment in the throne room, or they can face the full wrath of the Lycan King. It will not be a choice they will enjoy making."

She shivered, and I felt her small hand reach out to grip my arm. The contact was tentative, hesitant, as if she was still unsure whether I would accept her touch.

I covered her hand with mine, holding it gently. "I will not let them hurt you again," I said. "I swear it on my life, Tessa. On everything I have left. They will never hurt you again."

She was quiet for a long moment, and then, slowly, she nodded.

"Okay," she whispered. "I trust you."

The words hit me like a physical blow. After everything she had been through, after everyone who had betrayed her, she was choosing to trust me.

I pulled her into my arms, holding her against my chest, feeling the soft warmth of her body against mine. She was trembling slightly, and I stroked her hair, murmuring reassurances I wasn't sure she could hear.

"I've got you," I said. "I've got you, Tessa. No one will hurt you again. I swear it."