CHAPTER 19. I believe in you

**— DEREK.**

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“If I have feelings for that woman? No, Alpha, I didn’t even know her name!”

I half-close my eyes, slowly lowering my foot, but Mr. Raven continues to stare at me with a desperate expression.

“Please believe me... I don’t have any feelings for that woman! Besides, she’s yours, I saw your mark! I’d never dare go near her if I knew that, let alone hold any affection!”

His words bring me intense relief, to the point where my muscles relax at the same moment, and that damn cold feeling in my chest disappears.

“Believe me, Alpha... I would never accompany her if I knew who she belonged to.”

“I believe you,” I say empty words. After all, trust is something that hasn’t existed in me for a long time... something that Vita destroyed with her own hands. “She tried to seduce you, is that right?”

“Yes, she did! She called me that night while I was working, asked for a few drinks, said she’d been in jail too long and that alcohol was needed in hard times! I knew it would be dangerous to get involved with a woman who’s already been arrested, but she offered me a big tip...”

“So you were bought by a woman?” I say sarcastically and notice that his expression becomes tougher. “Is it so easy to buy your body? Just a few bucks from a former inmate?”

After all, why am I so defensive? I shouldn’t be bothered by this, by any of this — so why do I feel on the edge?

“Of course, my body isn’t for sale, and we don’t do this sort of thing at WoodBar.” He says slowly, and I can see something shining in his eyes... something I don’t like at all. “I rejected her money.”

“That’s right; you’ve been working there for a long time,” I scratch my beard.

Mr. Raven swallows hard and shakes his head, “Five years already.”

“So you were there when my sister was killed,” I ask in a hoarse voice that barely escapes through my narrow throat. Thinking and talking about it always upsets me... It’s a wound I can’t heal.

“I worked there, yes, but not that night... That was my day off.” Mr. Raven swallows with difficulty, and he lowers his head in resentment and bitterness. “Everyone at WoodBar was shocked, and it was the first and only time something like that had happened...”

“Have you met Vita before?” My eyes stay firmly on the man who hides his expression as he looks at the floor.

“She used to frequent that bar with other girls, so we’d exchanged a few glances before... But I didn’t remember her face as the culprit behind the Princess’ death...”

“So you forgotten the face of the person responsible for my sister’s murder?” I growl lowly, and Mr. Raven raises his eyes once more, still glistening with something I can’t decipher.

“Forgive me, Alpha, I didn’t recognize it. She didn’t tell me her name either, so I just gave in to the flesh!”

I feel my mouth turn bitter, and I turn away, walking away from the man who remains chained by his feet.

“Believe me... if I’d known she was the awful woman who did such barbarity to Princess, I would never have followed her, no matter what temptation she caused!”

With my back to him, I ask between my teeth, “Temptations? And how exactly did she get you to follow her into that specific room, if not for a few bucks? Maybe you don’t recognize her face, but everyone knows what happened in that exact place.”

“Yes...” He laments with a sigh. “But the room is still open to customers, and it was free that day.”

“The week of Alice’s death anniversary is sacred. You’ve worked there for the last five years, and three of them have been the same.” I pause, with the pieces slowly falling into place, sparking understanding in my head. “You didn’t know I was coming?”

“I’ve lost track of time, Alpha...” I turn around slowly, looking over my shoulder with a frown. “The room was her idea. I just followed her...”

“Really?”

“Desires overcame me. I had been overwhelmed by that woman’s beauty, totally bewitched... I don’t know what came over me... maybe she’s from a line of witches, something forbidden and hidden...”

There’s nothing like that in the Virginia family line. Even her father is nothing extraordinary. Still, I wish I could explain this surreal power over me with something as simple as that.

“That vile woman used the foulest of blows against a man of strong instincts... I was completely blindsided... believe me, my intentions were never to humiliate you, Alpha, or to trample on Princess’ memory!”

I breathe deeply, once again, with this strange feeling settling in my chest.

“Is that so? And how did she blind an experienced man like you, Mr. Raven? I’ve looked at your resume. I know all about you. You’re already in your forties; you’re not a young man, right? You have world experience, I know, since your family isn’t from here, you were born in human lands, being a hybrid. Your grandparents fled the pack with your father as a child; they were deserters during the war that unified all races and made this country what it is today.”

Mr. Raven shudders, and for the first time, I notice that he looks really bothered... It’s like all his fragility is a mask, and of course, I thought so. People tend to lower their heads in fear of my retaliation, but there was always something wrong with this man from the moment I laid eyes on him.

It’s as if he masked all his emotions... like nothing was real… everything seems just distorted and out of place. That’s why I couldn’t trust him or believe what this man said.

“But you returned to the country ten years ago... I wonder what made you return alone, without a family, a home, or a job.” I look over my shoulder, watching the man’s expression.

“A wolf must return to its roots.” Mr. Raven says darkly, almost bitterly. “I don’t agree with my grandparents’ choice. I may be a hybrid, but I’ve never fit into the human world. Loyalland is where I belong.”

“That’s for me to decide.” I face the wall again, with my back to him, and take a deep breath, putting my hands in my pockets.

“You’re right, Alpha. I screwed up, and I crossed a line I shouldn’t have. I let myself get carried away by the desire that hateful woman caused me — the things she did to me set me on fire, and I lost my mind under the touch of her soft hands.”

My breathing starts to become shorter and faster.

“She wanted to feel a man, and she touched me in the place I missed the most. The need and the desire to have a young body warming mine left me-”

“Quiet!” I shout and turn around abruptly, my eyes glowing in the intense yellow. My fangs are sticking out of my lips in this hoarse growl that escapes from the back of my throat. “Shut your mouth, or I’ll make you swallow your own tongue!”

Mr. Raven looks stunned by my reaction, and I confess... I am surprised, too.

My blood is bubbling in my veins, and I’m almost losing control of my wolf, who wants so badly to rip this guy’s throat open.

This agonizing, desperate feeling eats away at me...

Why do I feel like I could go mad when it comes to another man around my Vita?

No. That’s wrong...

I’m furious for the wrong reason.

Isn’t that what I wanted? To give this heartless bitch what she deserves, to hand her over to the worst of fates and make her taste her own poison? All this was within my reach, but I was blinded by unnecessary feelings that I should have buried with Alice.

“Did you touch her?” I ask, at last, my voice as cold as my eyes, which are slowly returning to their blue hue.

“No, Alpha... We didn’t have time.”

I grit my teeth even harder, making my jaw muscles jump at my beard.

“Lacked time, hm...”

“I swear on the honor of my name — under the Moon Goddess, she was the one who sought me out and touched me with unclean hands. I wasn’t able to do it; I never touched her.”

“That’s a shame.” I interrupt him with flames of anger burning inside me... They’re flames of self-hatred.

Those feelings... I’m going to burn them all.

“I thought I’d reward you for being so honest and returning to your home when the deserters embraced a life of shame and tried to take you away from your true origins.” I give an empty smile as my eyes meet the confused expression of the man before me. “But you are now a loyal servant who obeys your Alpha, isn’t that right?”

“Yes, Alpha! You can trust me!” Mr. Raven tries to approach me on his knees, but the chains tinkle and stop him. “Give me an order, and I’ll follow it with my eyes closed.”

"I want you to take her to that very room. I want to hear in all her words the things she wanted to do to you, and what she did to my sister... can you do that? Can you show me the true face of Vita Virginia? Can you make her confess her sin? Do that, and I'll let you go."

Now it’s time to end this joke, Vita...

Even if I’m not able to put my hands around your neck, I’ll kill these feelings that’s inside me, hidden all this time, waiting to be reborn… I’ll destroy them with you like weapon.

I’m done with it. I won’t give my heart to you to trample on anymore, Vita…

Let’s put an end to this — for once and all.