Chapter 67 67
Denzel’s POV
The sitting council ruled that Jalisa’s lands would remain with me payment for her betrayal. She did not argue. Not once.
By the end of the hearing, she already knew she would not be returning to her father’s home. King Fabian could not even look at her. The disappointment in his eyes was absolute.
The weight of Jalisa’s confession followed me all the way back to the Blood Moon Pack. The journey was long. Silent. Suffocating. My thoughts spiraled without restraint.
How had they managed it?
Every time I had touched Jalisa every time I had shared a bed with her Tyrell would have felt it. Bonded wolves always did. So why hadn’t he said anything? Why hadn’t he stopped it?
I felt used. Played. Manipulated.
“I still can’t believe it,” Rayon said quietly beside me.
I didn’t answer. I couldn’t. The shock had hollowed me out, leaving no room for words.
We arrived with Jalisa’s car trailing behind us. She stepped out, shaking, tears streaking her face as she passed me. Pack members watched from every corner of the settlement. They all knew we had gone for a divorce hearing but none of them knew the truth.
They didn’t know she had betrayed me with my Beta.
I didn’t follow her to the pack house.
I had nothing to say to her.
But I had everything to say to the man who had once been my brother.
I went straight to the cells.
I went to Tyrell.
“Alpha, you need to calm down,” Rayon warned, but calm had left me a long time ago.
Three years.
Three years of lies.
They had both been adults when they met. They had known. All this time.
Tyrell looked up when I entered his cell eyes red, face wet with tears.
“Denzel”
I punched him before he could finish my name.
I dragged him out and started hitting him, every blow fueled by betrayal and rage. Rayon grabbed me, restraining me before I could finish what I’d started.
“Get a grip,” he said firmly. “It’s over.”
“No,” I snarled, gripping Tyrell by the collar. “It’s not.”
I slammed him back against the bars. “Give me one reason I shouldn’t kill you.”
He didn’t answer.
“Your mate,” I said coldly.
His eyes widened.
“She said it. In front of everyone. Her father. The council. How long, Tyrell?”
He bowed his head.
“Answer me!” My voice broke.
This was the deepest cut of all. He had been my best friend. My Beta. The one I trusted above everyone else.
Had Venessa not come into my life, I would have remained their fool until they succeeded in killing me and taking everything I owned.
And he had tried to remove my mate.
Because in his twisted logic, I didn’t need her. Not if they planned to take my place.
That was the truth.
It wasn’t love that kept them silent. It was ambition.
“I wanted to tell you,” Tyrell rasped. “But”
I hit him again.
“Then why didn’t you?” I roared. “Why didn’t you?”
“Please stop!” Jalisa cried.
Nigel surged with fury inside me. I wanted them both dead. I didn’t care anymore.
I turned. Jalisa stood at the entrance, shaking, tears streaming down her face. Her gaze was locked on Tyrell not me.
“Please, Denzel,” she begged. “We’ll leave. Just don’t kill him.”
I laughed sharp and bitter.
“So his life matters?” I demanded. “What about mine? You conspired to kill me.”
Her face drained of color.
I struck Tyrell again. She screamed.
She fell to her knees. “Please. Please don’t kill him.”
Her sobs meant nothing to me.
I kept hitting him.
“Alpha,” Rayon said urgently. “Please. Take this inside. You’re free now. They can’t hurt you anymore.”
I owed Rayon respect. He had proven his loyalty when it mattered.
With effort, I released Tyrell.
“Bring them to the lounge,” I ordered.
Jalisa rushed to Tyrell’s side. I walked away without a word.
By then, the guards would have spread the news. Whispers would already be moving through the Pack.
I didn’t look at anyone.
Though I hadn’t cheated, shame burned through me all the same. Shame at being deceived. At being manipulated. At being made a fool.
As I walked away, I made a vow to myself: never again.
They had nearly succeeded. Greed not love had kept them silent.
Tyrell’s devotion sickened me.
He had stayed quiet while I slept with his mate night after night.
I felt filthy.
If someone had touched Venessa, I would have burned the world to get her back. Tyrell wasn’t brave.
He was weak.
I didn’t want their excuses but I needed closure.
I poured myself a drink in the lounge, hands steady despite the storm inside me. I thanked the Goddess for keeping Venessa tethered to me, even after she rejected me and I foolishly accepted it.
I needed her more than she knew.
Rayon entered with Jalisa and Tyrell.
Jalisa looked ruined. Tyrell wouldn’t lift his head.
“Kneel,” Nigel growled.
They dropped to their knees immediately.
I stood and began to pace.
“Three years,” I said quietly. “You knew I never wanted her, Tyrell. You knew the marriage was political. Why didn’t you say anything?”
Silence.
I grabbed his throat.
“If you don’t start talking, I’ll kill you both. And no one will call it a crime.”
His head dropped.
“Four weeks before the wedding,” Jalisa sobbed, “I told my father I’d found my mate. I hoped he’d release me from the contract.”
She looked broken.
“He was furious.”