Chapter 94
There was a deep furrow between Jaredâs brows.
âVeronica didnât lie,â he said in a firm voice.
âHow can you be so sure?â Daran snorted, âWere you with her when she met the Rogue King?â
âNo. But I can tell from her face that she was telling the truth!â
âEither you are terrible at reading peopleâs facial expressions, or you are in this with them together.â
Daran took a step further, staring Jared straight in the eye.
âYour pack member committed treason. That was strike one. And now I caught you lying with them together. Strike two. Give me one good reason why I shouldnât kick you out of this alliance right now.â
Jaredâs eyes were slits of rage, âHow about you double-check what you saw first before launching an attack against me? You said that the Rogue King is a woman. But how can you be so sure with all the mask and cloak? Maybe the Rogue King is just a lankier, slimmer guy!â
âI heard her voice.â
Daran said icily.
âI heard her calling out to the rogues, asking them to retreat. And I heard the rogues call her Rogue King. Your men were lying.â
âBullshit!â Jared snapped. âDaran, I thought that you were a wise Alpha. And you would never blame an innocent person. But maybe I was wrong. Look at you now! You are petty and jealous-â
âJealous?!â Daran raised his voice.
âHell yes! You and I both know that this is entirely personal! You were going after me simply because of me and Janet-â
âEnough!â Janet snarled, cutting off their quarrel.
Daran and Jared didnât try to keep their voices down, which meant that the entire crowd just heard their conversation. And everyone around was studying Janet with curious eyes.
Janet was embarrassed.
Great. Now that entire Crimson Fortress knew that the two Alphas were fighting about her.
âThis nonsense has got to stop! Do you hear me?â Janet hissed to them in a low voice, âDo you want the others to think that there is a riot? That we are fighting among this group?â
âDaran started it,â Jared said sternly.
âYes, he started it. But simply because he had doubts. So instead of standing here and giving each other shits, why donât we go talk to Veronica and verify things with her?â
Jaredâs jaw clenched.
âI have nothing to hide,â he said grumpily. âSo sure. Letâs talk to Veronica. And find out who is lying.â
He picked up his jacket from the ground and walked away in long strides.
Daran darted an angry look at his back before turning to Janet, âI am glad that you were on my side-â
âYou DID start it,â Janet said.
Daranâs face turned dark at once
âYou want to start with me now?â
âAnd you are jealous and petty,â Janet said ruthlessly. âI can hang with whoever I want and that is none of your business. So stop acting like you have a say in my life.â
There was a storm looming in Daranâs eyes. It was such a terrifying gaze that it could easily bring a normal person down to their knees.
But not Janet. She was no normal person.
She simply gave Daran an icy look before turning on her heels and walking away.
A few moments later, they were all gathered in Veronicaâs cell.
Glen was in her cell as well.
They were both shocked to see Daran, Jared, and Janet walk in together.
âWhat is the matter?â
Glen looked around at the three of them. He seemed on edge.
âDid something happen? Did you change your mind about me and Veronica?â
Janet softened her tone and said, âRelax. We didnât change our mind. And how is Veronica doing? Did she get her voice back?â
âNoâ¦the doctor said that the damage might be permanent. So what is it that you want today?â
Jared looked at Veronica, âAlpha Daran encountered with the Rogue King today. And he said thatâ¦the Rogue King seems to be a woman.
Veronica rounded her eyes.
âIf you lied to us, better come clean before it is too late,â Daran said freezingly. Veronica frowned and waved her hands in the air hastily. She still couldnât talk, only making strange and ugly noises.
Janet handed her a pad and a pen, âSlow down. Write down what you want to say on the paper.â
Veronica grabbed the pen and wrote down one word hastily in caps:
MAN
And as though that was still not enough to prove her point, she quickly wrote down another sentence underneath that word:
He was sitting behind a curtain, only a few feet away from me. I heard HIS voice. Loud and clear.
He was sitting behind a curtain, only a few feet away from me. I heard HIS voice. Loud and clear.
Janet sighed.
Then she turned to look at Glen, âHave you met the Rogue King in person?â
Glen gulped nervously, âNo. I received his orders through Veronica. And I swear that Veronica was telling the truth! She is counting on you to get her family back. She has got no reason to lie!â
Janet shook her head helplessly.
Now it seemed that it was Veronicaâs words against Daranâs.
One was a rogue. And the other was an Alpha.
It was pretty easy to decide whom they should trust.
Yet Janetâs gut told her that Veronica was also telling the truth.
âCan you tell us anything about the man you met? Anything will do,â she asked Veronica.
Veronica frowned and thought hard about that. Then slowly, she began to write: I remember telling the Rogue King that Glen is a Gamma and he e started to laughâ¦Very joyfully⦠Then he told me in a brisk voice that I was a good girl and I fell in love with a great guy.
After a little pause, Veronica continued:
Before I met him, I thought the Rogue King was a cold and grim personâ¦But he wasnât. He sounded like a nice personâ¦even with a pleasant personalityâ¦
âHe was nice to you because he knew that he could use your boyfriend to get to us,â Daran said coldly. âIf you have nothing else to say about the Rogue King besides complementing his pleasant personality, I think I am done here.â
He turned and walked out of the room.
âJanet.â
Jared stopped Janet and said to her in a worried voice, âCan you talk to Daran? I really donât want what happened between us to affect his judgment.â
âI will try my best.â
Janet gave him a firm nod and left the room behind Daran.
Daran was heading back to his tent. Janet followed him behind his back. They didnât say a single word to each other on the whole.
way.
When they were finally back at his tent alone, Daran turned to face Janet with an expressionless face.
âDo you have anything else to say to me?â he asked, deadpan.
Janet took his coat off and placed it on the table.
âI am here to give you your coat back,â she said.
Daranâs jaw clenched, âWhy? Do you prefer his coat instead?â
âNo. You two might have forgotten that I am a strong warrior myself. I can stand in the wind without an extra coat and still wonât catch a cold.â
She walked up to him and brushed the dust from his front.
âYou must be exhausted,â she whispered.
Daran lowered his gaze and stared at the bare skin behind her neck. He remembered the impulse of wanting to sink his fangs into her neck while they were having sex.
And that impulse was coming back to him now.
His wolf was howling inside of his chest, urging him to mark the woman that he loved as his own.
âSo what have you been doing while I was gone?â he asked in a strained voice, âDid you spend the night with Jared again?â
Janet chuckled lightly, âFor your information, we simply had dinner and talked. Nothing else happened that night.â
âReally?â Daran asked hoarsely.
Jealousy was eating him alive.
He couldnât stop thinking about them even when he was on the battlefield facing the Rogue King.
âReally,â Janet confirmed.
She stood on tiptoe and kissed him on his lips.
âAnd I certainly didnât do this with himâ¦â she murmured. âSo did you miss me?â
His hot breath was on her face and his hands went around her roughly, under her clothes, against her bare skin.
âI miss you,â he said in a husky voice. âLike crazy.â