Defying the Lycan King (Kira and Derek) novel Chapter 209

Chapter 209: The Rise of the Nexus

Kai stepped forward. "But Derek, I already told you the reason she went to meet—"

"Stay the fuck out of this, Kai, before I have you charged with treason!" Derek snapped, his furious eyes darting to his cousin like two loaded pistols. "Or do you imagine I didn’t know that you smuggled your pathetic little lover out of Dravengard at the very height of all this? Right under my nose?"

Kai stared at him, bewildered, and struck silent with disbelief.

"Derek," Kira called, her voice cracking. "I only went to see Lydia to get information about my mother. That’s all. I swear it to you."

Derek’s eyes snapped back to her. He raised one brow.

"And drugging my entire security detail to do it?"

Kira’s stomach flipped. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She looked completely caught out, her silence speaking volumes to everyone in the room.

"And your wedding ring," Derek went on, his voice dropping to something colder, "with the little listening chip tucked inside it. The one feeding everything we discussed straight back to your father."

"What?" Nana whispered, her head snapping toward Derek. "What is going on here? What on earth is all this?"

Kira’s brows pulled together. "My wedding ring?"

"The very one you so conveniently slipped off your finger before you left," Derek said. "Remember? So that I would carry it right into my war council and hand your camp everything they needed to set their trap."

Kira started to fire back, to tell him she had no idea what he was talking about. But the words died in her throat as a memory surfaced, sudden and sickening.

That day, at the restaurant with Lydia. The woman had reached across the table, covering Kira’s hand with her own, holding it there a moment longer. And Kira recalled that she hadn’t pulled her hand away, thinking it was just a strange gesture of maternal affection. That must be exactly when Lydia had attached whatever chip he was talking about.

"Goddess," Kira whispered, her voice breaking as the horrifying realisation washed over her. Her hands began to tremble violently, and she rubbed them over her face, trying to block out the sheer stupidity of her past self. "Oh, goddess."

Derek watched her intently, taking her sudden panic as a complete confession of guilt.

She lowered her hands and turned to him. "Trust me, Derek, I—"

"Trust you?" Derek spat. "I would sooner put my hand in a meat grinder than trust a single word that comes out of anything born in Moonfang."

The world felt like it was tilting on its axis as Kira saw the unfiltered hate burning in his eyes. She felt her heart tear completely apart, an invisible knot choking her throat until she could barely breathe.

"You don’t mean that," she whispered, her voice small, desperately clinging to any shred of the man who had held her in the dark. "Derek, you don’t mean that."

"You must be truly delusional," Derek said, stalking toward her, "if you think any of this is a joke." His voice dropped low and vicious. "Did you honestly believe I loved you? You? A weak, wolfless little runt?"

Kira gasped aloud as hot, stinging tears finally welled in her eyes and spilled down her cheeks. And without warning, Rolf’s cruel words came flooding back to torture her mind, echoing in perfect harmony with the king’s insults.

But here’s the truth. You’re not capable of being loved. No one loves you, and no one ever will. You’re weak. You’re pathetic. You’re a runt.

Hearing the same old nightmare from the man she loved was too much.

"Derek, that’s enough! Stop this madness this instant!" Nana stepped forward.

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