Chapter 18

RENZO'S POV

Do you think she'll ever forgive you if you kill me? I know the look in your eyes. You're a lonely child, and you want to keep her. I could give her to you freely if you let me go.

"Bullshit!" A deep growl rumbled through my chest.

Anger built inside me as I tightened my grip around my dagger, recalling my encounter with the werewolf girl's father. Those had been his last words before I drove my dagger into his neck and slit his throat.

He was such an idiot to think he could guilt-trip me into letting him go. Not after he'd interfered in my business.

I have no desire to seek her forgiveness. I'm doing her a favor by removing a pest like you from her life.

"Fucking bastard!" I spat, staring at the dagger in my hand as though the sight of it would ease my pain and rage.

I hadn't done anything wrong. I'd done what needed to be done. She didn't deserve what he had put her through. He hadn't had her best interests at heart. He'd only been using her for his own selfish gain.

No child deserved a father like that. Not her. Not me. Not anyone.

After everything I'd endured at the hands of my own father, I didn't need to ask her what she'd been through to understand the kind of suffering she'd experienced with hers.

He didn't deserve to live. He'd gotten what he deserved, and I hoped his body rotted wherever it lay. If I had the chance, I'd kill him over and over again.

"He should have helped her escape when he had the chance. He shouldn't have kidnapped her and taken her to that shithead Alpha just to buy his own freedom."

My throat bobbed as I swallowed hard.

The werewolf girl is settled in, Your Majesty. Do you need me to do anything else before heading to the boardroom?

Kyran's voice echoed through my mind.

I stopped pacing around my office, stared at the wall, and drew in a deep breath.

"Stay with her. The meeting isn't important. I want you to remain by her side until I return," I ordered before severing the mind link.

I slid the dagger into my shirt and turned my attention to the pile of files on my desk.

My shoulders rose and fell with a heavy sigh as I swept the files off the table. I'd gone through half the documents delivered to my office during my absence, and none of them contained good news.

"Just three days. Just three fucking days, and they've ruined everything I've worked so hard for."

I gripped the edge of the table with both hands, panting heavily as I struggled to control the rage threatening to consume me.

I understood that no one liked me. I understood that they were all hell-bent on ruining my reign. But they shouldn't have been able to cause this much damage in just three days.

"I need to blow off some steam," I muttered to myself.

I strode toward the nearest wall and slammed my fist into it, pouring my rage into the punch.

"I need blood."

I gasped, my body trembling as I fought to control my emotions.

I shouldn't attend the meeting in this state. I might end up killing every single one of them.

I needed to do something. Anything to regain control. Anything to take my mind off the fucked-up situation.

"I'm sorry, but you can't go in."

Whispered voices drifted in from outside my office.

My eyebrows slowly rose, and my jaw tightened as I turned toward the door.

"I won't ask you to move out of my way a second time."

I recognized the voice immediately.

It belonged to the last person I wanted to see.

My blood ran cold as I slammed my fist against the wall again.

"I'm sorry, but could you—"

A resounding slap cut the guard off.

I shut my eyes, my fists clenched at my sides as I struggled to regain control.

I couldn't afford to lose control. Not now. I needed to keep a level head so I could figure out how to set things right.

"Open the damn door before I pluck out your fucking eyeballs!"

The door swung open, and I slowly stepped away from the wall I'd been punching.

"Tell me why the hell you're avoiding me!"

Leila, the second daughter of the Blackwood family and the woman I was supposed to marry, yelled as she stormed into my office.

Her gown swept across the floor as she closed the distance between us.

Like Kyran, Leila didn't seem to care about maintaining a safe distance from me. Perhaps it was because she knew I wouldn't dare lay a finger on her.

So much for being a Blackwood.

Her family was the backbone of the royal family and the first Lycan family ever to exist.

"Why are you here?" I asked as I took a seat on the couch, deliberately ignoring her question.

I was avoiding her. That was the truth, and she knew it.

Every king had to remain on good terms with the Blackwood family. They were the ones who appointed kings, and they wielded almost as much power over the people as the king himself.

But no one had appointed me king. I'd forced my way onto the throne, and the Blackwoods had no intention of supporting my reign.

It wouldn't look good if I failed to secure their approval. And because I was the king's illegitimate son, nothing I did would ever be considered good enough by the system unless I married a Blackwood.

I didn't care what they wanted or what they did. I'd never cared about any woman, so I hadn't thought agreeing to the arranged marriage was such a bad idea.

Until recently.

They wanted me to marry Leila, make her queen, and then get rid of me.

That had been their plan all along. It had simply taken me too long to realize it.

"You can't bring me here, announce me as your fucking fiancée, and then abandon me like some tool you can toss aside when you're done with it!" Leila yelled at the top of her lungs.

Anger stirred in the pit of my stomach.

I hated being yelled at. No one did it and lived to use their mouth again.

Yet, somehow, Leila made it seem as though my authority diminished with every passing moment. She kept crossing my boundaries, and I still hadn't done anything to stop her.

"I wouldn't say you're not a tool. In fact, you are a tool, Leila."

My voice was calm, yet dangerous.

I rose from the couch and took a step toward her, forcing her to retreat slightly.

She looked anxious, though a hint of curiosity flickered in her eyes as she tried to figure out what I intended to do.

"You wanted to be queen, and I wanted your family's approval. That's all this relationship is. So stop demanding more of my attention. You mean nothing to me."

I smiled, wrapped an arm around her waist, and pushed her against the wall.

A gasp escaped her lips when her back hit the wall with a hard thud.

She swallowed nervously, staring deep into my eyes.

"Even if this is an arranged marriage, you still can't avoid me. I'm supposed to produce an heir as soon as possible. I can't make a baby on my own, so you'd better visit my quarters."

She hissed, planted her hands against my chest, and pushed me away.

Her push did nothing to move me, but I needed some distance between us, so I allowed her to have it.

"I have no desire to have a child with you. You're not my mate," I said firmly before walking back to my study.

Leila followed behind me, her soft footsteps echoing across the marble floor.

I settled into the chair behind my desk and watched her stop in front of it.

"As if you even have a mate. As if there's anyone who could put up with a vicious, broken man like you."

She smirked, planted both hands on my desk, and leaned forward to meet my gaze.

"Once you crown me queen and mark me, there'll be no mate for you other than me. My family won't allow it. So come to my quarters later. We need to make plans for our wedding."

She murmured the last words as she lifted a hand to my face and caressed my cheek.

"You shouldn't leave me hanging. My father sent word, and he's waiting for a reply."

She withdrew her hand, offered me a brief smile, and straightened.

"Glad to know that," I replied with a smirk, crossing my arms over my chest.

Leila wiggled her eyebrows and stared at me for a moment before turning her back on me.

"Good. See you tonight."

With that, she walked away from my study.

I said nothing. I simply watched her make her way toward the exit.

She hadn't even lifted a hand to open the door when it swung open from the other side, and the familiar scent of my Beta filled the air.

Leila smiled and nodded at someone outside my office, as though agreeing to something, before walking through the doorway.

I arched an eyebrow, wondering what was happening, as I watched Alfonso enter my office.

He looked flustered, and the ghost of a smile still lingered on his face as he approached me.

"Your Majesty, everyone is waiting for you in the boardroom."

"Good," I replied curtly, tilting my head to one side.

I couldn't help wondering what had passed between him and my fiancée.