Chapter 83 AN ILLUSION OF TRIUMPH
Kenna
My body stirred restlessly, refusing to sit still.
Even though I tried—but the moment I lowered myself onto the chair, it felt like something inside me snapped back up again.
My nerves were screaming too alive, like they couldn’t wait even a second longer. So I continued to pace back and forth across the room, the clicking sound of my heels striking the floor in sharp, uneven beats.
I curled and uncurled my fingers at my sides as my thoughts kept circling the same thing over and over again.
It should have been done by now. My thoughts stabbed hard.
Ginnie has the dagger, she’ll get the perfect chance. Perhaps, Varkos trusts her more than he trusts anyone, a kind of trust so dangerous that it makes him vulnerable.
It should be his end by now.
I stopped walking, catching my breath slightly.
Then, my jaw tightened at a thought.
Unless something went wrong…
No!
She wouldn’t fail. She can’t try to, not after everything I had set in motion. After all the risks I took to make this happen.
Still… the doubt crept in anyway.
What if she hesitated?
What if she couldn’t do it?
What if—
BAM!
A loud echo burst through the room as the door slammed open so hard.
I turned sharply.
My gaze shot at Ginnie stumbling in.
For a moment, I just stood there, watching her. Her hair was a mess, her body shaking as she could barely hold herself up. Tears streamed down her face, and her breathing came out in broken, uneven gasps.
Then my eyes dropped to her hand.
The dagger.
It was covered in blood.
Everything inside me went still.
Then slowly… something else took over.
A smile spread across my lips before I could stop it.
She did it.
She actually did it.
“I… I did it,” she said, her voice cracking so badly it almost didn’t sound like her.
My heart started pounding, but not from fear.
From excitement.
“I killed him.”
A strange breathless laugh built in my chest as the words sank into her.
“You did it,” I whispered, stepping closer to her, my eyes fixed on the blood staining the blade. “You actually did it.”
She nodded quickly, as she needed me to believe her.
“I stabbed him,” she said. “He didn’t even see it coming.”
Good! A sinister smile lit across my face.
That was exactly how it should have happened.
Quick…Unexpected.
For a second, I let myself feel the victory…the satisfaction. The way everything I had planned, everything I had worked for, had finally paid off.
Varkos was dead.
And just like that, everything would fall into place.
“I’m going to confess,” Ginnie said suddenly, her voice breaking again as more tears slipped down her face. “I’ll tell the whole pack what I did.”
My smile deepened.
Of course, she would.
That only made it better.
The human kills the Alpha… and then she pays for it. The perfect ending.
“But first…” she added, lifting her eyes to mine, something unreadable flickering in them. “You need to tell me where Lily is.”
There it was.
The one thing she still cared about.
I tilted my head slightly, studying her.
“You’re asking me for something now?” I said softly.
“She’s my sister,” Ginnie whispered.
I almost laughed.
That lie again.
But I didn’t push it. Not yet…When I had already won.
“You’ll get what you want,” I told her smoothly. “After I see his body.”
Her expression shifted for just a second, too quick for anyone else to notice. However, I noticed that something about this just didn’t feel right.
“You expect me to believe that you killed Varkos just like that?” I continued, my voice quieter now, sharper. “The strongest Alpha in Bleeding Rose?”
“He was vulnerable,” she said quickly. “He trusted me.”
That part was true.
He trusted her too much.
But still…
Varkos wasn’t weak.
He didn’t go down easily, not even for love.
“I want to see him,” I pressed firmly.
There was a brief pause.
Then she nodded.
“Okay.” Her words slipped out with ease.
My suspicion stirred quickly, but I pushed it down. Maybe I was overthinking it… I just needed to see it for myself.
“Take me to him,” I said.
She turns, walking out without another word.
I followed.
Even as my mind pricked that the walk felt… wrong.
The castle was too quiet…too still, like something was waiting.
Ginnie walked ahead of me, with the dagger still in her hand, the blood dark and drying against the metal. Each of her steps seemed uneven but steady.
But I kept my eyes on her the entire time, trying to understand why the unease in my chest kept growing.
We stopped outside Varkos’s room.
The door was slightly open.
My heartbeat picked up.
This was it…excitement twisting inside me I almost died of thrill. I stepped forward and pushed the door open.
What the—
No sight of a body. No trace of blood.
No sign that anything had happened.
For a second, my mind refused to process it.
Then slowly… the realization sank in.
I turned toward Ginnie, a sharp jolt of fury tightening in my chest.
“Where is he?”
She didn’t answer, only just stood there.
Staring still and silent.
“Where the hell is the damn body?!”I demanded, the tone of my voice rising.
Yet she says nothing, not even a word, rage explodes through me, and in an instant, I cross the distance between us. I grab her by the throat, slamming her back against the wall.
Her body jerked on impact, a weak gasp leaving her lips as my fingers tightened around her neck.
“You think this is a joke?” I hissed, my grip tightening. “You think you can lie to me?”
Her hands came up, trying to pull mine away, but she was too weak.
Too slow.
“Where is he?” I snapped, squeezing harder. “Where is Varkos’ body?”
Her lips parted like she was about to speak.
But no sound came out.
My control snapped completely.
“I asked you a question!” I shouted, tightening my hold until her breathing turned shallow. “Where is he?!”
Her eyes met mine, and that’s when I noticed no fear, no panic in her gaze. Just something else… that made my chest go cold.
Before I could react—
“Looking for me?”
A cold,
A familiar voice came from behind me, very, very alive. My grip on Ginnie loosened instantly as my body went stiff.
Slowly… I turn around to see Varkos standing right behind me.
Alive!