Chapter 21 A WEB OF LIES
Varkos
Kenna was already pacing when I entered her room. The moment the door shut behind me, she turned to face me, her eyes blazing with so much rage.
“So,” she snapped. “When did you start stopping me from disciplining a human slave, and you think I’m just going to pretend that nothing happened?”
I said nothing to her, but that only made it worse as a bitter, humourless laugh escaped her, the sound thundering across the room. “You’re not going to say anything right? After you grabbed my hand like I was the one out of line.” She stepped closer, her fingers hitting hard against my chest, “Since when did you start defending that bitch so much, huh?”
“I didn’t defend anyone,” I said coldly. “I was only trying to remind you of the rules in this mansion.”
Her eyes widened for a fraction of a second—a mix of shock and confusion flashing through her fury. “Oh?” Since when did rules like this start existing?” Her voice dropped to a low venomous whisper.
“Because last time I checked…it seems like she’s the only one those rules are meant for.”
“Choose your next words carefully, Kenna,” I warned, nothing funny about the tone of my voice now.
“You’ve fucked her, right?”
The words cut through the room like a blade, sharp and deliberate, thrown not just to accuse—but to force something I’ve been trying to hide all these years into the open.
“How dare you accuse me of such a thing!” I barked, my jaw tightening so hard I feared it might break. “Do you know what you’ve just done?”
Kenna stood there, folding her arms across her chest as if she was holding herself together by force alone. “You expect me to believe that?” she snapped, “When you won’t even touch me, Varkos…you won’t even make love to me—“
She leaned closer till there was no space between us, “But you won’t waste a minute to defend her?”
“Enough of this whole drama, Kenna.” I shot back coldly, “It’s not compulsory that I fuck you just because you’re engaged to me.”
Her eyes flashed. “And yet you give it freely to a slave?”
“I don’t have anything to do with her, damn it!” The words rolled out of my tongue like a dirty lie, tasting bitter even as I said them.
Kenna tilted her head slowly, her lips curving into a sly and mocking smirk all at once. “Then why did you speak to me like that in front of her like I was nothing,” Her voice cracked. “You’ve never defended anyone the way you did for her.”
For a moment silence stretched between us as we both stood face to face with each other, our eyes not looking away for even a single second. “You humiliated me, Varkos,” she continued, her voice low but dangerous, “and I don’t easily forget humiliation.”
“I didn’t humiliate you,” I replied evenly. “You’re just so stuck with the thoughts in your head about Ginne, when there’s absolutely nothing between us.”
Something raw flickered across her face—hurt, perhaps, or fear that she was losing the battle in this argument. But it disappeared as quickly, a thin smile tugging at the corner of her lips before she parted her lips to speak.”
“Fine,” she said. “Then prove it.”
“Prove that you have nothing to do with that filthy human,” she continued. “That she means absolutely nothing but trash to you.”
I already knew what was going to come from all this…nice game, Kenna. You’ve rendered me powerless.
“How do you want me to prove that to you?” I asked, meeting her gaze head-on. Kenna’s eyes flickered—just for a moment, excitement slipping through her mask before she covered it.
“You will mark me tomorrow night.” She hissed, “In front of everyone in Bleeding Rose.”
I didn’t hesitate to give her the long-awaited reply she’s been waiting for all this time. “It’s decided then, tomorrow night there will be a marking ceremony.” I continued evenly, “I’ll mark you as my mate… and as the future Luna of the Blood Moon Pack.”
“Tomorrow?” She whispered, shock rippling across her face, quickly swallowed by triumph as her smile grew wider. I could hear the sound of her heartbeat spiking, the sudden rush of victory.
“You don’t know how long I’ve waited to hear this, Varkos,” she stepped into me, hand pressing against my chest possessively. “I knew you’d eventually do the right thing.”
Before I could part my lips to speak, her lips crashed into mine, a gentle but passionate kiss that I intentionally let happen. I finally pulled apart from the kiss, meeting Kenna’s eyes which were already filled with intense desire.
“Get ready to be my Luna tomorrow night,” I whispered, then turned towards the door and left her room. The decision sat heavy in my chest—not because it was wrong, but because it was necessary.
Kenna was close… too close to finding the truth about Ginnie and me tonight. She had seen something in my reaction, in the way my hand had moved without thought, as she tried to slap Ginnie.
And Ginnie—
I shoved the echo of her voice when she told me she despised me down hard, burying it beneath the deep part of my heart that didn’t give a fuck about anything.
Nothing about her hatred for me was going to change anything about how I feel about humans…. And the marking ceremony was going to prove it.
Varkos Freaking Draven would never let himself fall in love with a human slave.
Never!
The corridor loomed ahead as I rounded the corner, my steps echoing—
And then my eyes caught her.
Ginnie.
She was moving fast, a cloak pulled tight around her shoulders like she was trying not to be seen. And she wasn’t alone, the little girl was in her arms.
Lily.
Her head rested against Ginnie’s shoulder, small fingers curled into her collar as if she belonged there, while a small bag hung from Ginnie’s hand.
“Ginnie?” I called out, my voice cutting through the corridor like a blade.“Where the hell do you think you’re going?”