Now Zuri could see why he would be the perfect person of this role. She felt very stupid to not be able to see it sooner since the sign was there and it was very clear. It was him all along.
Declan came from Terrence family which was the same family like Gianna. Terrence family was maternal family from his mother side and Giana was basically his aunt.
Zury felt so stupid to not be suspicious of him at all since he acted very disinterested to anything that happened around him. He was very low key and didn’t engage in anything even when thing went down in River Creek pack back then.
He looked like someone who would obey an order, not someone who would give one.
That was why it shocked Zuri, but at the same time, in retrospect, all the sign was there. The sign was always there.
But they overlooked it because of how Declan carried himself.
“Yes, it’s me my sister,” Declan said with his gentle voice, as if he was recalling something in his memories.
He stood up from the throne he was sitting and then approached Zuri and Lorent, whose body was tensed.
Lorent looked at Declan warily, which confused Zuri.
Wasn’t he here for him? They were at the same side, right? But why Lorent looked like he didn’t feel comfortable with Declan?
“Don’t you want to meet with your brother? Don’t you want to greet your brother?” He stretched out his hand, waiting for Zuri to take it. He stood there, smiled, and probably this was the most intimate moment for the two of them to acknowledge each other.
In the past, Declan didn’t really bother her. He didn’t bully Zuri like Silas, or stood up for her and taught her everything like Rhett did.
He was that ignorant brother who didn’t care much about her. Sometimes Zuri wondered if Declan even knew about her existence but now, Zuri got the answer.
He always knew about her existence. He knew about her, and probably he was the one who pulled the string.
He was the one who Rhett listened to. He must be the one who ordered to do what Rhett had done to Zuri.
When Zuri was ten years old, Declan was already twenty one years old. And five years ago the head of Terrance family passed away, which meant they needed the new family head. Zuri didn’t think Silas could fill the role, knowing how reckless he was.
It did make sense now.
Declan was the mastermind behind it all. He was the one who had fabricated everything. He was the one who had planned every single detail of what happened.
Khaos always wondered who was the leader of the cult. He didn’t believe Rhett was the leader since he was too young for that role. Rhett was only two years older than Zuri when it started and a twelve years old boy wouldn’t be able to think to use his little sister for a sacrifice, but obviously a twenty one years old young man like Declan would be able to do that.
It was a meticulous plan and somehow, it suited his character best. Even Khaos overlooked this fact. Zuri was certain that Khaos had never been suspicious on Declan with the way how nonchalant he was.
“Don’t look at me like that, Zuri. Come here. I am your brother, I will not hurt you. Everything will be okay. You will be fine, I promise you. Come here.”
“I should have known this,” Zuri muttered to herself. “I have should have known that you are behind this.” Zuri looked at him with accusation and disbelief. She felt stupid and couldn’t believe that she fell into his scheme without knowing it.
However, Declan shook his head, he sighed deeply, as if he regretted how things turn out. Yet, Zuri could see he didn’t regret anything at all. He only acted like usual.
His persona all this time have been an acting and there was no way he would regret what had been done. They didn’t even close to begin with.
“Don’t look at me like that Zuri. I am sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt your feeling like this, but you need to understand there are a few things that’s hard to explain.”
“I don’t need your explanation, Declan. Seriously I didn’t even feel betrayed like you thought I am, because the truth is; I have gone so many betrayals to even feel betrayed by you. I don’t think you betrayed me because we never close. I only feel a little bit upset because I should have thought about it.”
“I am glad I don’t hurt your feeling further.”
That sounded like he was mocking her.
“Don’t worry. You don’t.” Zuri shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. “A little bit upset, that’s all. At least, I should have a suspicion about you. You have played your game very well, Declan. You play it even better than Rhett.”
Declan smile as if Zuri was praised him, which made her felt sick to her stomach. This man was even more dangerous, and she could feel it now. The leader of the cult wouldn’t be someone, who you could underestimate.
Declan wouldn’t be the leader of the cult if he was not cunning and wicked enough to play dirty. He knew how to schemes and he was good at it. He knew how to get his people, he knew how to create plans.
And by this time, he had deceived so many people with his obedience acting. What a scary man. But then this was how Zuri world worked.
She was already very tired.
Fuck this world.
Fuck everyone around her.
Fuck Khaos too for not protecting her properly.
And also fuck her inability to heal. The wound on her stomach was itchy. It had not yet healed properly and now it had festered.
“So, what are you going to do now? Are you going to complete the beauty blood?” Zuri didn’t want to beat around the bush.
This was it.
This was the end of it. Khaos was not here, and Khaos wouldn’t be here. He wouldn’t come. He wouldn’t be able to come in time, and Zuri was already tired of running away. She wanted this to be over quickly because she didn’t see the point of holding back anymore.
With that, she was ready for the completion of the beauty blood. She even wished she would die in the process, because only then her misery would stop and she could be free from all the pain and her own wretched life.
“Yes, unfortunately I have to finish the beauty blood, my sister. I am sorry for that. There is nothing we can do.” And then Declan stretched out his hand again, waiting for Zuri to take it.
But this time, Lorent interfered. He took Zuri’s hand first and pulled her back behind his body as if he was going to protect her from Declan.
This was something ridiculous for Zuri to see. It was Lauren who took her here, but he was not willing to give her to him? What was going on with him? She couldn’t understand.
“You are not going to take her anywhere.”
“Why not?” Declan tilted his head, challenged him.
“No, until I get my mate back. You will get your power, you will get what you want, but I want my mate back. I don’t care what you are going to do.”
Declan looked at Lauren with a mocking smile. “You have been hindering our progress all this year, Lorent. Don’t you think so? Just because my aunt is your mate, you used everything in your power to get her, which resulted for us to postpone our ritual. And now, you can only watch how she stuck in her delusion because you didn’t allow her to complete the beauty blood.”
Lorent hissed. “She is going to die the moment she completed the beauty blood.”
Lorent was not as young as Declan, but the king’s advisor carried himself really well. There was a reason why people respected him and the warriors had helped him to kidnap Zuri, even though Khaos was there, since their loyalty was still on Lorent.
Lorent’s role in Wolfdale kingdom was the same like Khaos.
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