Chapter 47 47
Denzel’s POV
I held Venessa for a while as she cried against my chest. I could feel the shift in her relief pouring out of her in waves. Whatever she had been carrying, it had weighed heavily on her, and I was grateful that the burden had finally been lifted.
I respected her more than she would ever know.
She had possessed information that could have destroyed Jalisa, yet she had kept it to herself. She wasn’t the type to fight dirty or strike from the shadows. Perhaps that was why she had wanted to leave to escape a situation where doing the right thing cost her everything.
I could only imagine what she endured daily, watching Jalisa and Tyrell together while carrying that truth alone. The realization made my chest tighten.
I had failed her.
Venessa was my mate, yet I had brought her into my home as a servant. She served everyone including Jalisa. She knew Jalisa was unfaithful, yet she watched her occupy the place that should have belonged to her. The mental strain of that alone would have broken most people. That Venessa endured it with quiet dignity was something I had to commend.
I swore to myself that I would make it right once we returned home.
I wanted a future with her. I wanted a life with her. I didn’t care what it would cost me I was willing to pay whatever price necessary to keep Venessa in my life.
Eventually, she returned to her room.
I wanted her to stay. The urge to keep her with me to touch her, to claim her burned fiercely, but I forced myself to wait. I needed to end things properly with Jalisa before I accepted my mate. It was the only honorable path forward.
If I crossed that line now, I would be no better than Jalisa.
As I sat alone, memories resurfaced every moment I had sensed something was wrong and dismissed it. Every instinct I had silenced.
I should have trusted myself.
How had I been so blind?
The signs had been there all along, and I had chosen to ignore them.
Confirming what Venessa had seen was disturbing, but I was grateful for the truth. She had unknowingly given me an opening a way out of the bind I was trapped in with Jalisa and her father. I already knew King Fabian had been involved in the attack on Keon. With Jalisa removed from my life, my pack would finally be safe.
I was deeply grateful that Venessa had acted to protect me by confiding in Rayon.
Shame settled heavily over me when I remembered the day Venessa arrived. I had intended to reject her publicly to humiliate my own mate for Jalisa’s sake. I had nearly destroyed the one person who genuinely cared for me, all in the name of loyalty to the wrong woman.
There was so much I needed to fix when we returned home.
Setting up Jalisa and Tyrell was one of them.
And I already knew exactly how to do it.
Unlike Venessa, I didn’t need to hide in corners and wait for mistakes.
I intended to force them into making one.
Confronting Tyrell outright would be foolish. Accusing him of sleeping with my wife would only put me at risk they would panic, strategize, and strike first. No, I needed proof. I needed to catch them together and banish them both from the pack.
If I caught them in bed, the divorce would be effortless.
We left the Bear Kingdom early the next morning and arrived at Blood Moon Pack late in the morning. Jalisa and Tyrell were already waiting for us.
I noticed the flicker of disappointment on Tyrell’s face the moment he saw Venessa.
“Is the deal off?” he asked.
I didn’t answer. I walked straight past him and headed for my office. Pretending to tolerate him was already testing my restraint. I silently prayed to the Goddess for the patience to keep the act up until I had what I needed.
Nigel was struggling as well.
It wasn’t because we cared for Jalisa it was because Tyrell was his closest friend. My Beta. The man I was meant to rely on. Tyrell had been closest to me, and yet his betrayal was the deepest. He had coveted my wife and taken her.
If he could desire my mate, what would stop him from desiring my life?
I needed to act quickly. Tyrell was not just a traitor he was dangerous.
I heard his footsteps behind me, Jalisa following closely. Nigel was barely containing his rage; he wanted to kill them both. I had to keep him under control.
Inside my office, I took my seat behind the desk just as Tyrell, Rayon, and Jalisa entered. I sighed, frustration weighing heavily on me.
Jalisa walked straight toward me and pressed a kiss to my lips.
I recoiled inwardly.
I could smell Tyrell on her. And now, for the first time, I understood why.
“Welcome home,” she said sweetly. “I was worried something had happened to you.”
The words made my skin crawl. Now that I knew what she was doing behind my back, her concern sounded grotesque.
Of course she would want something to happen to me.
That way, she could be with her lover without consequences.
“Did they reject the gifts?” Tyrell asked casually.
Jalisa settled onto my lap, her intention clear. She was trying to arouse me unbothered by the fact that I had just arrived.
I allowed her to sit there.
But there was no chance I would touch her again.
Never again.