The Lycan King's Second Chance Mate: Rise of the Traitor's Daughter-Chapter 114: A Statement

Natalie~

The iron gates groaned open, their rusted hinges screeching in protest as if the land itself rejected my return. The air was thick with unease, the kind that settled deep in your bones. I felt the guards’ stares drilling into my back, their hushed footsteps echoing with restraint. They didn’t dare speak. They didn’t have to. The silence screamed louder than any insult they could throw my way.

Beside me, Jacob moved with effortless dominance, his every step a quiet declaration of power. He didn’t need to puff out his chest or bare his teeth—the air bent around him in silent submission. I wasn’t afraid. Not anymore. The world had taken everything from me, and now? Now, I was here to take it all back.

I reached through the mind link, amusement curling in my voice. "Tell me, Jacob, why didn’t we just teleport straight into Darius’s home? Would’ve saved us all the theatrics."

His smirk practically dripped through the link. "Where’s the fun in that, sweetheart? This isn’t just a visit. It’s a statement. You don’t just return—you make damn sure they never forget it."

A slow grin spread across my face. "Damn, I love you for that."

Jacob’s quiet chuckle hummed through my mind, a dark lullaby against the rising tension.

As we walked deeper into the territory, a crowd began to form around us, the pack’s eyes clung to us like vultures circling a corpse. Their hatred pressed against my skin, but it only fueled the fire in my chest. I wasn’t the same girl they had cast out, broken and humiliated. I had been reforged in the ashes of that betrayal. Stronger. Sharper. Unshakable.

Murmurs slithered through the growing crowd, sharp as blades.

"What the hell is she doing back?"

"She was banished. The nerve of her—"

Jasmine snarled in my mind, her rage like a storm tearing through me. "Let them bark, Mara. Soon, they’ll be begging for mercy."

I let their venom roll off me like rain. Their disgust? Their outrage? It was fuel. Let them loathe me—I was about to give them a reason to.

Then, another voice, dripping with spite:

"She’s shameless. Thinks she can just walk back in after what she’s done?"

Jasmine’s growl was pure fire. "Shameless? Oh, these fools have no idea. We’re just getting started."

I smirked. "Damn right, we are."

Jacob didn’t react to their whispers. He didn’t need to. His presence alone commanded the space, and with every step he took beside me, the crowd parted like the Red Sea. They didn’t know him but their instincts told them he was dangerous.

We kept walking, Jacob’s strides unhurried, my steps a little lighter with each second. Soon enough, we reached the Alpha’s residence, the same large, imposing mansion that stood at the heart of the pack’s territory. There, outside the grand house, stood Darius. His tall figure was surrounded by a small group of enforcers, all of them listening intently as he barked orders at them.

And then, as if the very universe had aligned, his gaze fell upon us.

For a moment, time seemed to stop.

Darius’s eyes widened. His jaw tightened. But he quickly masked it with that cool, impassive expression I remembered so well. The years had done nothing to change his arrogance or his ability to hide his emotions behind a mask of calm. Still, his nostrils flared, and I could see the flicker of recognition in his gaze.

A ripple of unease passed through the enforcers. They could feel it too. They parted in an instant, creating a path for Darius to approach us.

"Nat..." Darius’s voice was cold, but the undercurrent of something else—something deeper—was unmistakable. Happiness? It flickered in his eyes for a fraction of a second, but he quickly crushed it down.

"You’re back," he said, the words dripping with something I couldn’t quite place. It wasn’t joy, but there was a flicker of something else there—something he didn’t want to show. Regret? Anger?

I raised an eyebrow, the smile never leaving my face. "Did you miss me, Darius?" I said, letting the words hang in the air. My voice was soft, but it carried the weight of everything I had endured. Everything he had taken from me. "I can see you’ve been keeping busy."

Darius’s gaze flickered to Jacob, taking in the strange man at my side. His expression darkened as he took in the sight of Jacob’s confident, effortless stance. "And who might you be?" he asked, his tone sharper now, though the tightness in his jaw betrayed his unease.

Jacob’s response was as cool as ever. "I’m a friend of Natalie’s," he said, his voice smooth but carrying an edge of authority that made even the guards standing around us straighten their backs in respect. "And I’ve come with a proposition for you, Alpha."

The crowd behind us shifted, the murmurs growing louder. Some of them were still glaring at me with disgust, but there were others who watched with a kind of reluctant curiosity, sensing that something bigger was about to unfold.

Darius’s gaze flickered over to the crowd, and with a gesture, he ordered them to disperse. "Go on, go back," he barked, his voice carrying an edge that sent the onlookers scattering even though they didn’t want to. "I’ll explain everything later."

As the crowd slowly melted away, I couldn’t help but smile wider. This was it. The beginning of the end for Darius.

Jacob’s arm brushed against mine, the subtle movement a reminder that I wasn’t alone in this. Not anymore.

Darius turned his attention from the retreating crowd back to us, his nostrils flared, and I saw his eyes snap to me. A slow realization dawned in his eyes. His gaze dropped to my neck, lingering for a moment too long before snapping back up to my face.

He frowned, taking a few steps forward. "Wait..." His voice dropped into a low growl, his eyes searching me intently, like he was seeing me for the first time. "Where... where’s my mark?"

I saw the shock in his eyes. The fury that ignited within him as he grasped the meaning of what he was seeing—or rather, what he wasn’t seeing. His mark—the one he had forced on me years ago—was gone.

And the realization hit him really hard as his jaws clenched. His eyes flashed with a mix of anger, confusion, something darker and twisted in them. But instead of lashing out, he took a deep breath, controlled himself, and nodded stiffly.

"You carry another man’s scent..." he muttered, though I could see the fury bubbling beneath his calm. "I’m happy for you. Come with me." His voice was low, dangerous. "Let’s talk inside." freeweɓnovel.cøm

Darius gestured for us to follow him, and we did. But every step I took felt like a victory, and as we crossed the threshold of the house, I knew there was no turning back.