Chapter 59 59
Denzel’s POV
It took everything Rayon had to drag me off Tyrell. I’d done serious damage more than I meant to admit. Handing Venessa over to the Lycans had snapped something in me. He had been sleeping with my wife, likely plotting against me, and now he had dared to move against my fated mate.
That was unforgivable.
“What do you want from me, Tyrell?” I demanded. “Why would you do this?”
He didn’t answer.
I took a step toward him. Rayon moved instantly, placing himself between us. I lifted a hand, silently telling him I wouldn’t strike again. Tyrell staggered to his feet, bloodied and barely upright.
“I had to…” he gasped.
I stared at him.
“She’s a distraction,” he continued through the pain. “Ever since she arrived, you haven’t been yourself.”
The audacity of it nearly made me laugh.
“And what exactly do you mean by that?” I asked coldly.
He met my eyes. “You mistreat your wife. You defy King Fabian for her. The king isn’t pleased and we don’t know what kind of misfortune his anger can bring. He may be your father-in-law, but he is still king. His power outweighs yours. You’ve disrespected him repeatedly, and now you’re willing to provoke the Lycans as well.”
My jaw tightened.
“I knew the moment they came asking for her that you wouldn’t give her up,” Tyrell went on. “Defying Fabian is one thing. Challenging the Lycans is another. I had to hand her over. They were prepared to force their way onto our land. People would have died. Our duty is to protect our pack.”
I knew he was lying.
But the truth I hated was this his argument was sound. If the pack heard it framed that way, Tyrell would be hailed as a hero.
“You gain nothing from this, Tyrell,” I said quietly. “Because I would never have gone to war with the Lycans over Venessa. You did this to force my hand for Fabian.”
The look on his face confirmed it.
I turned and walked out of my office before I killed him.
There was no point pretending anymore. Everyone already knew I was unraveling because of Venessa. It wouldn’t take long before the truth spread.
As I left the pack house, I made a vow to myself and to my wolf. I would waste no more time. Venessa was mine. I would finally live the life the Goddess intended for me, no matter the cost.
I stepped outside and shifted, surrendering to Nigel.
We ran through the forest to the lake. I threw my head back and howled at the crescent moon.
Nigel’s pain eclipsed my own. Not knowing where she was or if she was still alive was tearing us apart. I couldn’t stop imagining her suffering… or worse.
Nigel collapsed by the water’s edge.
Tyrell had been clever. He knew I wouldn’t dare challenge the Lycans openly. That left me with only two options beg, or declare war.
And even now, I doubted Beta William would return her.
Dragging my pack into war over my mate would be selfish. I would never ask them to die for my personal loss.
I had never hated Tyrell. I’d been angry before. Disappointed. But never this.
Tonight, there was only hatred.
I prayed to the Goddess to set things right. And if she did if Venessa came back I knew exactly what I would do. To Tyrell. To Jalisa. And to Venessa.
There was no world in which I would let her leave in eight months.
There was no future where she stayed away from me again.
Eventually, I shifted back and returned to my room. Jalisa was asleep when I entered, but my presence woke her.
“Denzel,” she murmured groggily.
I winced.
I went straight to the bathroom, showered, and returned. By then, she was fully awake.
“What’s all the commotion?” she asked. “I heard you locked up the morning guards. What happened?”
She wasn’t asking what she really wanted to know.
“And you didn’t hear what I did to Tyrell?” I asked.
Her face faltered just slightly. So she had heard.
After a moment, she asked, “Why?”
I sat down, a slow smile tugging at my lips. There was no reason to keep pretending.
“You’re an evil woman, Jalisa.”
She frowned.
“You asked me to reject my mate. You schemed against her relentlessly. You tried to force me to send her away or hand her over to your father. You humiliated her. You despised her.”
My anger built steadily as I spoke.
“From the outside, it all looks reasonable. You’re my wife. I should only want you. Any woman who threatens your position would naturally become your enemy. Anyone watching would say you loved me too much to lose me.”
Her eyes softened.
“That would be the argument,” I said. “And it almost works.”
She exhaled slowly.
“But it isn’t true, is it?” I asked.
Her brow creased.
“You don’t love me,” I continued. “You don’t care about me. You don’t respect me. You’re here because of your father because pleasing him matters more than I ever will.”
Her silence encouraged me.
“You like being my wife. My Luna. You enjoy the power. The reverence. The seat at the high table. Other Lunas bow to you not because you’re a princess, but because you’re mine. Because you’ll be queen when I ascend the throne.”
Her lips parted slightly.
“You’re intoxicated by power, Jalisa. Not love. You don’t love me. You don’t care about me. And you have no respect for who I am.”
She stared at me, stunned trying to understand when, exactly, I had seen through her.