Chapter 41 41
Denzel’s POV
Jalisa slammed her fist against my office door just as I was preparing to sleep. The sharp, insistent sound sliced through the quiet of the house. With a tired sigh, I pushed myself to my feet and went to open it not because I wanted to see her, but because I refused to let her wake the pack members and turn this into a spectacle.
The moment I pulled the door open, regret hit me square in the chest.
She stood there in red lace lingerie, a short silk robe barely clinging to her body. My stomach twisted violently. The sight didn’t tempt me it disgusted me. The realization that Tyrell and I had been fucking the same woman for three years made my skin crawl.
I could have handled the truth if she’d been honest. If she had come to me and said she wanted Tyrell, I would have divorced her without hesitation. I would have fought to release her properly so she could be with him. But this? This betrayal sneaking behind my back while I stood here resisting my own mate bond just to stay faithful to her?
That made me a fool.
“I have needs, Denzel,” she said, her voice deliberately sultry. “You know pregnant women have… appetites.”
I cringed so hard it almost hurt. She didn’t need me to satisfy anything. She already had Tyrell more than willing to do that.
“I can’t touch you tonight, Jalisa,” I said flatly. “And I doubt I’ll be touching you anytime soon.”
Before she could respond or worse, raise her voice I stepped past her and left the office, heading straight for my bedroom. I wasn’t about to let her provoke a scene and drag half the house into our mess. I had only just learned the truth about her lies, and I was barely holding myself together.
I moved quickly, taking the stairs two at a time, cutting through the hallway and into my room.
The bathroom door closed behind me, and I locked it immediately. The shower roared to life, hot water pounding against my skin as I leaned forward, bracing myself against the tiles.
I needed to calm down.
Nigel was raging inside me, his anger sharp and violent. I was furious too so close to doing something I would regret forever.
I heard Jalisa test the bathroom door handle, then curse softly when she realized it was locked. I knew she wouldn’t leave. She’d be waiting for me in the bedroom.
“Nigel, you need to be calm,” I ordered, forcing my voice steady. “Behave.”
He growled in response.
“I want my mate,” he snarled.
I didn’t answer him. I couldn’t. Instead, I silently thanked the goddess that the rejection hadn’t gone through. If it had… I would have thrown away my true mate for nothing. For a lie.
Jalisa was vile. Wicked. She had even wanted me to humiliate Venessa drag her out in front of everyone and reject her publicly. All while she was screwing my Beta behind my back.
Where would that have left me?
The only woman who would have genuinely loved me would have been gone from my life forever.
And the more I thought about it, the clearer it became.
They planned to kill me.
There was no other explanation. That had to be why they did this. Why Tyrell pushed so hard for me to give Venessa to the Lycans he wanted her gone. Out of the way. If Venessa hadn’t been here, Rayon and I would have died from the foxglove poisoning. We would have bled out with no one to save us.
And now?
He might already be planning another poisoning. Venessa was a threat to that plan. A complication he couldn’t afford.
The bastard.
I didn’t even realize the roar tearing from my chest until it echoed off the bathroom walls. Hot water mixed with something sharp in my chest betrayal, rage, heartbreak all tangled together.
“Nigel,” I said tightly, forcing control back into my voice. “We need to calm down. They can’t know we suspect anything.”
He resisted, but I pressed harder.
“Catching them red-handed is what matters. Please.”
Finally, he relented.
Venessa had given me eight months. Eight months to prove myself. Eight months to show her why she should stay with me. I just hoped I’d expose those traitorous bastards before time ran out.
When I exited the bathroom, my suspicion was confirmed Jalisa was still awake, sitting up in bed.
“What were you doing in there?” she asked. “You roared.”
I exhaled slowly.
“The situation with the bears might spiral out of control,” I lied smoothly.
She sighed, as if burdened.
“I think they did this to provoke you,” she said. “The man they captured won’t talk.”
That stopped me cold.
I hadn’t given her that information.
So Tyrell had.
“You might not agree,” she continued, “but if they start demanding too much, we should crush them. Make it clear we’re not to be messed with.”
There it was. Her father’s influence, threading through her words.
“We don’t have the strength for that,” I replied calmly, playing along. “It would be a bloodbath. And we might not win.”
She straightened immediately.
“Tell my father. He’ll help. And the other Alphas you’re close to will support you.”
I looked at her steadily.
“And what reason would I give them for starting a war?” I asked. “That my men slaughtered bears in their sleep, they demanded reparations, and I refused so I chose violence instead?”
She didn’t answer.
“Does that sound reasonable to you, Jalisa? Do you think anyone would take me seriously?”
Silence stretched between us.
“I know this was your father’s doing,” I continued. “And the more he pulls stunts like this, the farther I’ll distance myself from him. I may be married to you, but I’m not a fool.”
I turned away and grabbed my pajamas.
“Why are you wearing a shirt?” she complained. “You never sleep with one.”
The thought of her touching me resting that treacherous, cheating body against mine made my skin crawl.
“I want to sleep like this,” I said sharply. “I don’t owe you an explanation.”
She sighed irritably.
“It’s because of that girl…”
My temper snapped.
“For the last time, Jalisa, leave her out of our conversations,” I growled. “For the goddess’ sake what do you want from me?”