Chapter 105 105
Denzel’s POV
I was genuinely astonished by how Jamar received Venessa’s explanation. I had braced myself for offense, for disbelief perhaps even anger. Instead, he accepted her words without resistance.
If the incident with the Silver Forest Clan hadn’t happened if he hadn’t witnessed the impossible with his own eyes he might have questioned her sanity. He might have dismissed everything as madness or desperation. But the timing of events had aligned perfectly, as though fate itself was forcing the truth into the open. Everything was falling into place for a reason.
Still, Elder Craig’s revelation about why former Beta Ashani had attempted to assassinate his king unsettled me deeply. If those bandits truly possessed such power, then their offer would tempt anyone especially the desperate. Immortality. Immunity. Freedom from authority.
Their strength was growing, festering in the shadows, and I could already see Venessa’s vision creeping toward reality.
I didn’t know how to stop it.
Fabian wasn’t helping matters in our territory if anything, he was worsening them. And if the Silver Forest bandits chose a place to strike first, it would be there. Donovan’s decision to seal off his borders might have been framed as protection, but the truth ran deeper. The Silver Forest Clan wasn’t just a Lycan problem. Most of its members were bears not werewolves, as we had initially assumed.
Was Donovan fighting a quiet war of his own?
The imbalance gnawed at me. A clan dominated by bears, operating unchecked it didn’t sit right.
The moment we left King Jamar’s presence, I knew what I had to do. I placed a call to Alpha Keon. Like me, he was second-in-command within the bear territory. If anyone had insight into this, it would be him.
Venessa went straight to bed, though I could tell sleep would not come easily. Her eyes were distant, weighed down by what Craig had revealed. I couldn’t blame her. No one could hear such things and remain untouched.
That kind of power held by rogues was horrifying.
And seductive.
There was no way such beings bowed to no one. Shifter society didn’t work that way. There was always a dominant force someone pulling the strings, giving direction, imposing order.
If their magic severed their bond to the Moon Goddess and by extension freed them from the Lycan King’s authority then something else had taken her place.
I didn’t need a strategist to tell me who that representative was.
Tremaine.
A name whispered only twice since everything had spiraled into chaos yet heavy enough to loom over all of it.
The irony was bitter. While Rochelle schemed to dismantle the Lycan Kingdom and Fabian plotted to seize it, something far more dangerous had been growing beneath their feet.
I dialed Keon’s number. Despite the late hour, he answered, his voice thick with sleep.
“Alpha Keon speaking,” he said, clearly not bothering to check the caller ID.
“Hey, Keon. It’s Denzel Shaw,” I replied, deliberately omitting my title so he’d know this wasn’t an official call.
“Denzel,” he groaned, “why are you calling at this hour? Can it not wait till morning? I’m exhausted.”
I chuckled softly, hoping to ease his irritation.
“I’m sorry to wake you, but it can’t wait. Time isn’t on our side.”
The silence that followed told me I had his full attention.
“On our way to the Lycan Kingdom this morning, we were attacked by the Silver Forest bandit clan. We had to pass through the outlands because your territory was sealed off. I need to know why.”
He exhaled heavily.
“I’m sorry about the attack,” he said. “But we had no choice. There were unauthorized activities at the border involving Lycans. Bears began disappearing. We couldn’t risk losing more of our people, so we closed the passage.”
That confirmed it.
It hadn’t been the Lycans.
It had been the rogues.
That was the only explanation for the overwhelming number of bears during the attack. The bandits were recruiting from within the bear clans right under their leaders’ noses.
“I’m afraid your people are being recruited into the Silver Forest bandit clan,” I said carefully.
He growled.
“How dare you say that? Our people are loyal to their king.”
I nodded even though he couldn’t see me.
“They are,” I agreed. “But I’m speaking from firsthand knowledge. These Silver Forest bandits are offering long life. Immunity to silver. Freedom from the Lycan King’s authority and more.”
Silence.
The weight of it hit him just as it had hit me.
“Are you certain, Shaw?” he asked quietly.
“I wouldn’t be calling you at two in the morning if I weren’t. We were escorting the Lycan King when they attacked. They refused to die. The only way we stopped them was by beheading them. Our survival was nothing short of a miracle.”
Another pause.
“Did you say the Lycan King?” he asked. “King Jamar?”
So the news hadn’t spread yet.
“Yes,” I confirmed. “That’s why we lived.”
The joy in his voice was immediate.
“That’s incredible. Between us, I didn’t want Donovan or Fabian anywhere near that throne. How is Jamar’s health?”
I sighed softly.
“The journey did him good. He no longer has a brain disease.”
Keon laughed.
“I knew it. Your healer wife must’ve had something to do with it. Only a healer could manage something like that.”
I chuckled.
“Yes and no. He needed care, and he needed distance from the poison. He’s strong now.”
The relief in his voice was unmistakable. Clearly, the bears had been carrying their own fears.
“Then maybe we can finally breathe,” he said. “What about Queen Rochelle?”
He laughed again.
“I imagine she regrets breaking the Lycan treaty with you and me.”
That stunned me.
“She broke your treaty too?” I asked.
“That’s the main reason we sealed our borders,” he replied. “To keep people from crossing in from the Lycan Kingdom.”
The full weight of Rochelle’s recklessness hit me then.
She hadn’t just endangered her kingdom.
She had nearly plunged all of us into war.