Chapter 109 109
Venessa’s POV
The player stared at me with unrestrained fury burning in his eyes, and for a fleeting moment, fear brushed against my spine. Instead of recoiling, my lips curved upward slow, deliberate into a smile that did not feel like my own.
“I have made my move, Eshera,” I heard myself say, my voice unfamiliar, layered with power that did not belong to me. “It is time for you to make yours.”
His glare darkened, rage sharpening his features.
“You are not allowed to cheat, Atabey,” he snapped but the voice that came from him was unmistakably female.
I shook my head calmly.
“Who said I was cheating?” she replied through me. “I am merely doing what you have always done. I simply aided my champion.”
Her words echoed in my mind, and confusion stirred until understanding began to surface.
I was seeing through Atabey’s eyes.
And the one standing opposite us was Eshera.
“That was your essence, Atabey,” Eshera said coldly. “Killing my team with divine power was never part of the agreement.”
The world shifted.
The moment the rogues attacked us on our journey to the Lycan Kingdom replayed before my eyes but this time, I saw it from above, from beyond myself. I saw me as I truly was then: a white Lycan wolf, radiant, blinding light pouring from my body. Any rogue that touched that light was erased instantly.
“What do you have to say for yourself?” Eshera demanded.
Atabey laughed a sound rich with defiance.
“And what about the magic you give them?” she countered. “The power you gifted your champion, power he passes down to his followers? We were meant to have one champion each, yet every member of your faction is a champion because you keep replicating yourself. I had to ensure my champion was equipped to survive this.”
Understanding dawned slowly, painfully.
“You chose the wrong representative,” Eshera said venomously. “And you cheated death in the process. He is already on her trail. When this ends and I win you will pay dearly for your crimes.”
And then she was gone.
The scene dissolved, and I found myself standing in a small office. A woman sat behind a desk, calm and composed yet she looked exactly like me.
“I will explain what is happening, Venessa,” she said gently. “Because you deserve to know. And because I am counting on you.”
Relief washed over me so intensely it nearly brought me to my knees. I was tired so tired of moving blindly through forces I didn’t understand.
“Eshera became interested in my children,” Atabey continued, her voice steady. “She wanted to rule them. So she began by aligning herself with a Lycan alpha named Tremaine the illegitimate son of your grandfather. A child no one acknowledged. He grew up without a pack, shunned, hardened by rejection.”
She paused, watching me closely.
“Around that time, Eshera attempted to steal my children. She needed a champion. When she challenged me for your world, I had no choice but to accept. We agreed to play by the rules.”
Her gaze darkened.
“This is not the first game, Venessa. This is a rematch.”
My breath caught.
“In the first round, your mother was my champion. She was fated to the Lycan King. My hope was to unite the weres and the Lycans through their bond but Eshera stole the King’s father’s heart and shattered my plan. While she groomed her champion, she cheated stealing hearts, bending loyalty ensuring my champion would fail.”
“When the King’s father died, Eshera took control of Rochelle. I protected your mother as best I could, but I was bound by the rules.”
Her voice tightened.
“What I did not know was that Eshera had already abandoned them.”
“When your mother was killed, Denzel became my champion. The game could not end until war broke out between my children and hers and a victor emerged. I ordained Denzel to lead my people.”
“She responded by corrupting Fabian. She planted greed in his heart, and through it, he turned against Denzel. One by one, he eliminated those loyal to him. Then he manipulated his daughter forcing her, unknowingly, to draw Denzel toward Eshera’s side.”
“All the while, Eshera was grooming her true champion expanding her following through seduction, greed, and lies.”
“She ensured Denzel was killed. You were beheaded for his death. And Tyrell became my next champion.”
“He was cruel but Jalisa and Tyrell were perceptive. They sensed something was wrong. They questioned why Fabian ignored the real danger the growing Silver Forest bandit clan that answered to no one.”
“At that point, Fabian had outlived his usefulness. Still, Eshera tolerated him until your father died.”
Atabey exhaled slowly.
“That was when I knew I had lost. But the game had to be played to the end.”
“Fabian killed Tyrell and Jalisa. My champion became King Donovan.”
“They went to war. Eshera forced Fabian to fight Donovan, turning my children against each other until they canceled one another out. Fabian won but at the cost of his entire army.”
“In that moment, he became my champion. He was the only Alpha still tethered to me.”
“And then Eshera struck.”
“She unleashed the Silver Forest clan. She won. That is how she claimed your world.”
Silence pressed in.
“I lost,” Atabey said quietly. “And I was ordered to surrender your world to her.”
“But other gods were watching. They saw how she cheated. They allowed me one wish.”
Her eyes locked onto mine.
“I wished for a rematch.”
“To save my children. To reclaim my world.”
“Because my power was weakened by defeat, I could only reset time to a single point far enough back to give you agency, but not enough to alter everything. I remembered everything. I knew how she would win.”
“The path was fixed. Only the champions could act differently.”
“So I chose you.”
Pain flickered across her face.
“But you were damned branded an instrument of murder for poisoning the victim.”
Her voice dropped.
“Eshera knew I would ask for a rematch. She anticipated I might choose the Lycan Princess the rightful heir as my champion.”
“So she forced your hand.”
“She made you commit a crime that would disqualify your soul from participating in the rematch at all.”
And in that moment, I understood.
This was never just a war.
It was a game.
And I was the piece both goddesses were fighting over.