Chapter 103 103
Venessa’s POV
I was still reeling from how my father had revealed the truth and even more from how everyone had taken it. The weight of it lingered in the air long after the words were spoken. My thoughts drifted, unbidden, to Rochelle. Treason carried only one sentence: death.
Would my father choose exile, as they had done with my mother? Or would he follow the law to the letter this time? The uncertainty gnawed at me. I wanted to savor the moment wanted to feel triumphant but I couldn’t. Still, there was a quiet sense of gratitude in my chest. At the very least, my mother would finally receive the justice she had been denied in this life.
My father asked Denzel and me to accompany him to his lounge. He didn’t want me out of his sight, and I understood why. Truthfully, I would have done the same if I were in his place. The way he hovered, the subtle tension in his posture, told me he would have preferred we never left at all. But we couldn’t stay.
Time was slipping through my fingers. The vision hadn’t changed. I still saw it the massacre, the bloodshed, the bandit clan emerging victorious. There was too much left undone, and the clock refused to slow.
We entered the lounge and settled onto the loveseat. Denzel pulled me close without hesitation, and I let myself melt into his arms. As his embrace closed around me, a quiet ache settled in my chest. Why hadn’t it always been like this?
Yes, I had made different choices this time choices that led us here but if those choices mattered so much, why hadn’t the goddess intervened back then? Why wait until now, when it was already too late for so many?
It’s not fair, Venessa, Nyla said softly, and I felt the echo of her pain as if it were my own.
She wasn’t wrong. I was cradled in the arms of my husband my destined mate and I had found my father, the Lycan King himself. On the surface, everything looked like it was finally falling into place. And yet, we were running out of time.
Honestly, Nyla continued, it feels like we’re being offered up for the greater good. Everyone died in the past life. Why are we the only ones racing against the clock now? If that’s the case, then everyone who died should be on a clock too.
Her argument held weight, but I shook my head slowly. If I allowed myself to think that way, then Denzel would be on that clock as well and I couldn’t bear that thought. I needed him to live. For both of us. To raise our children. To be happy.
“No,” I said firmly. “We can’t think like that, Nyla. Sometimes… one sacrifice is worth it if it means everyone else gets to live. One death to save all is a fair price.”
As the words left my mouth, conviction surged through me so strong it felt physical. Something rushed through my veins, sharp and electric. The fine hairs along my skin stood on end, goosebumps breaking out across my arms. It felt as though something slipped inside me, settled deep within my core. I didn’t know if it was real or imagined but after everything I’d been through lately, I couldn’t rule anything out.
“Darling,” Denzel murmured against my ear, his voice low with concern, “are you alright?”
Nyla purred at the sound, thoroughly pleased. I thought she might have grown tired of all the affection by now, but she hadn’t. She never did. Always eager to give, to receive.
“I’m fine,” I replied softly, even as Denzel leaned in to press a kiss to my neck.
At that moment, my father entered the lounge alongside Elder Craig. The elder’s gaze immediately found me, his expression filled with unmistakable admiration.
“I must say, sire,” he said warmly, “your daughter is truly a beauty.”
My father laughed at that, clearly pleased, though the sound made Denzel emit a low growl beside me.
“You’re a fortunate man, Denzel,” Elder Craig continued. “I hear the two of you are fated.”
Denzel nodded once, his hold on me tightening just slightly.
“You are blessed,” the elder went on, a teasing note entering his voice. “Jalisa never stood a chance against a Lycan beauty with Morrison blood in her veins.”
We laughed politely, though the humor felt thin.
“I am eager to serve you and your husband, Princess,” he said solemnly. “And when your time to rule comes, our children will serve you both as well. You will have our loyalty always.”
With that, he bowed his head and excused himself.
My father watched him go. Once Elder Craig was out of sight, his attention shifted fully to Denzel and me.
“I hope the two of you aren’t leaving tomorrow,” he said. “Her coronation is scheduled for Sunday.”
I turned to Denzel immediately, silently urging him to speak. Sunday was still a week away.
“We do have other matters to attend to, sire,” Denzel replied carefully. “Perhaps we could leave and return by Friday.”
My father’s displeasure was evident.
“I understand she is your wife, Denzel, and I don’t wish to interfere,” he said after a pause. “But I would like to request that she spend the weekends here with me. I want the chance to know my daughter and for her to know the people she will one day rule.”
Denzel let out a quiet sigh.
“I’ll see what I can do,” he said, clearly unwilling to refuse him outright.
“There is something I need to discuss with both of you,” my father added, his tone turning grave. “Since our return, we haven’t had time together and we haven’t spoken about the bandit attack.”
I had been waiting for this. I was surprised he hadn’t brought it up sooner. Something extraordinary had saved our lives that day I knew it as surely as I knew my own name. But how was I supposed to explain it without revealing the truth about myself?
We’ll find a way, Nyla said calmly. Just stay composed when you speak to him.
“That’s not exactly a solution,” I muttered back. “Why don’t you explain it for me, Nyla?”
Silence.
Typical. She vanished the moment things became difficult.
“What would you like to know?” Denzel asked politely, breaking the tension.
My father stared at him, disbelief etched across his features.
“You saw it, Denz,” he said quietly. “A white light burst from Venessa destroying everything it touched, sparing only us. It killed everyone else. I’m grateful for it. Without that light, I would be dead. But what happened was unheard of. Unnatural.”
His gaze softened as it returned to me.
“She is my daughter,” he said gently. “And I deserve to know.”