Chapter 58 58
Venessa’s POV
“Trust me,” he said coolly, “with a wolf like that, you need a powerful man.”
The contempt in his words stung, igniting anger deep in my chest. Fate had truly cheated me this time. If I had met him whole standing in my Alpha strength I would have taught him a lesson he’d never forget. But in my current state, humility had been forced upon me like a second skin.
I dropped to my knees immediately.
“I am not worthy, Beta,” I said, lowering my head. “I could never be worthy. It is a great honor but I would be deceiving you. I am ill. That is why I was gathering herbs at the border. I only want to live the rest of my life in peace. The doctor says I have eight months left.”
It was truth woven carefully through lies.
Higher-breed wolves could sense deception especially Lycans. That was why I believed I was still breathing. He must have felt that I wasn’t lying about my wolf not being a Lycan when I pleaded. My weak, unimpressive shift had already proven part of my story.
I knew I was sending mixed signals truth tangled with falsehood but since one piece had checked out, he wouldn’t question the rest. And in the cruelest twist of fate, I truly did have less than eight months to live.
He studied me in silence.
“They say you are important to Alpha Denzel,” he said at last.
“He is kind to me, Beta,” I replied quickly, desperation bleeding through my words. “But I doubt I matter to him.”
I needed them to let me go.
“Very well, little wolf,” he said thoughtfully. “I can see you’re desperate to return to the Blood Moon Pack. But there is still the issue of our trespass onto Denzel’s land.”
I shook my head immediately.
“You did not trespass,” I said quickly. “I wandered into your territory.”
At that moment, I would have said anything. Done anything.
In another life, I had relied on my strength on being an Alpha half-breed and believed I could face anyone. Now, I had only my mind to protect me. Fate had stripped everything else away.
“Very well,” he decided. “Drop her off where she was taken. Inform the others that the search is over. Danisha’s child is missing. She was killed for nothing. It serves her right. If she had been anything like her adopted daughter, she might have lived well.”
He turned his gaze back to me.
“I’m glad you know your place,” he said calmly. “That you chose to stay beneath what you cannot have. It will keep you alive.”
Even as my enemy, he wasn’t wrong.
Reaching for Denzel had cost me my life. It was a bitter truth in my world those who reached beyond their station often paid for it with blood. That was why I had stopped reaching.
That isn’t true, Venessa, Nyla whispered gently inside me. Wanting greatness is brave. There’s nothing wrong with it. The fault lies with those who hate greatness and delight in destroying it.
I ignored her.
“If you change your mind,” he said, smiling faintly, “come find me in the Lycan Kingdom.”
Then he walked away.
Moments later, I heard a car engine roar to life. He was gone.
Tyreek drove me back to the western forest. Dawn was just breaking when we arrived, and the sight of familiar land filled me with relief. I was finally home.
It didn’t last.
The moment I crossed the border, Denzel’s men seized me. Rough hands dragged me away, throwing me into a cell without explanation. No one spoke. The walls were lined with silver thick enough to block my link entirely.
I couldn’t reach anyone.
Fear crept in fast. Had Jalisa set me up while I was gone?
Alone in the cell, memories of my past life clawed their way back to the surface. Panic followed close behind. The silence in my mind was unbearable.
When would fate give me a moment to breathe?
I wondered again why the Lycans had been hunting my mother and me. Whoever wanted us was powerful dangerously so. High enough to command others.
Could it be the king himself?
Even though fate had bound me to saving Denzel, I made myself a promise. I would uncover the truth why my mother had been hunted, why she was killed, and what crime she had committed that sealed her fate.
Eventually, exhaustion claimed me.
When I woke, I was lying on a soft, beautiful bed. I looked around slowly, recognition settling in.
I knew this room.
The scent confirmed it I was in Gamma Rayon’s quarters.
I pushed myself up carefully and scanned the space. Denzel lay asleep on the couch nearby.
Relief flooded me, so powerful it nearly brought me to tears.
I was home.
And for now back on track.