CHAPTER 1

~Ava's POV~

Concealers.

Scarfs.

Smiles.

None of them were enough to mask the shock I still felt as I stared at the screen before me.

I saw my husband, Dylan, his hands gripping Crystal's neck in pleasure unlike the same way they always gripped mine whenever I spoke out of term. He kissed her with passion, leaving red marks on her naked back, different from the bruises he gave me, which came from his anger whenever he punched me for any slight mistake.

Quickly forcing all thoughts out and wiping away the tears that were seconds from falling, I focused on the door.

The only solution to stop this constant pain was right behind it and all I had to do was turn the knob then the door suddenly swung open just as I reached for it forcing me to collide with a wall.

I stumbled backwards, my legs giving out and I crumbled to the floor looking up to see the wall.

Then I saw him.

The answer.

His cold gray eyes stared back at me pinning me to the ground. It didn't matter how many of his pictures I had seen, I was not prepared to be physically hit with how beautiful he was.

Grayson Blackwood.

The Alpha King.

His eyes locked onto mine, and for a split second, everything stopped. The world around me faded, and all that existed was his gaze-sharp, assessing, and impossibly cold.

With the last ounce of strength I had, I bowed my head, kneeling at his feet. "Please," I rasped, my voice raw and broken. "Please, Alpha King... help me."

"Ava." I heard Dylan, my husband growl from the side, stepping towards us and I couldn't help but notice the stark difference between the two men before me.

Dylan's stare, though equally cold, burned with an intensity that made me want to shrink back. It was the kind of look that held a thousand unspoken threats, and I knew each one by heart.

Grayson Blackwood's gaze was different.

Detached, like he was observing something insignificant, something beneath his notice. I could hardly breathe under the weight of it, and yet, there was something else there too, something that made my heart stutter in my chest.

How could someone so beautiful be so utterly terrifying?

His presence was magnetic, drawing me in even as my instincts screamed at me to run. He stepped back, retreating into the hall, and I forced myself to my feet, my entire body trembling with the effort.

The eyes of every pack member in the room were on me, and I could feel the weight of their judgment like a physical force.

"What is the meaning of this?" Dylan's voice was laced with fury, but I ignored him, my eyes locked on the Alpha King.

He still hadn't looked away, his gray eyes piercing through me as if he could see every secret, every lie, every fear I had ever buried.

Dylan's voice rose, sharper, angrier. "Stop embarrassing me!"

"Who is she?"

It took me a moment to realize Alpha Grayson had spoken even though my eyes were focused solely on him. His voice was so low and silky. So alluring that it seemed to seep into my bones.

Dylan's jaw clenched, his teeth grinding together as he spat out the words. "She's my Luna."

Grayson's eyes flashed with something for a fleeting moment-interest, maybe?-but just as quickly as it appeared, it was gone, replaced by the same detached indifference. He turned to Dylan, a slight arch to his brow. "I thought you said your Luna was on a business trip."

Dylan opened his mouth to respond, but I couldn't let him take control of this situation, not now. Not when I was so close. On instinct, my gaze traveled to Crystal narrowing on the bruise on her neck.

The one she wore around the pack house proudly and there was a flicker of a taunting smile on her lips making me grind my teeth in anger.

I tore my eyes away and turned to the Alpha King, bowing my head before him. "Alpha Grayson,

forgive me for this intrusion, but this was my only option. I've been backed into a corner, and I had nowhere else to turn."

"Enough," Dylan snapped, his voice cutting through the air like a whip. "Ava, go back inside. You're making a fool of yourself."

Alpha Grayson silenced him with a single, frigid glance. "Quiet."

The command was soft, almost too soft to be threatening, but the power behind it was undeniable. Dylan fell silent immediately, his mouth snapping shut as though he'd been physically struck.

My heart pounded in my chest, a wild, uncontrollable rhythm as his gaze shifted back to me, trailing down my body with a leisurely indifference that made me feel exposed, vulnerable.

"Naked," I thought.

I felt naked under his scrutiny.

The moment passed then after what felt like an eternity, he spoke again. "Go on."

The words were simple, but the command in it was absolute. My voice wavered as I forced the words out. "I want you to end my relationship with Dylan."

One of his eyebrows lifted slightly, a silent question yet no words left his lips as he waited for me to continue. From the corner of my eye, I saw Dylan tense, his entire body coiled with barely restrained anger.

I didn't care anymore.

I was done pretending.

"I've been living in frustration," I continued, my voice gaining strength with each word. "I want a family. I want to be loved but ever since we were mated, Dylan has refused to touch me. He's denied me everything, every right I should have as his Luna." I paused, my heart racing as I prepared to drop the final bombshell. "And I have reason to believe that he's impotent."

Gasps echoed around the room fading away under the sound of Dylan's growl which erupted like a thunderclap, and I saw him move, his hand raised to strike me. I braced myself, my body tensing in anticipation of the blow.

"Touch her, and you'll lose that hand," Alpha Grayson's voice cut through the chaos, calm and cold.

The room fell deathly silent, the only sound the rapid pounding of my heart. Dylan froze, his hand hovering in the air, his face contorted with rage and humiliation.

I could barely process what had just happened, my mind reeling as Alpha Grayson's gaze returned to me. "Why do you believe your mate is impotent?"

I hesitated, my eyes flickering back to her. She was staring at me with pure, unfiltered hatred, her lips curled into a sneer and before I could find the strength to speak, Dylan's voice sliced through the thick tension like a blade despite the Alpha King's warning. "I'm not impotent," he spat out, his tone dripping with indignation, as if the mere suggestion wounded his pride.

I turned to face him fully now, "Then say it, Dylan. Say why you've refused to touch me. Say why you' ve denied me the right to carry your pup. Why-" My voice cracked, but I pressed on, my eyes boring into him, demanding answers that had been withheld for too long. "Why have you treated me like I'm nothing?"

The room was heavy with the weight of unsaid words, the air thick with expectation. I could see it in the eyes of those watching-the pack, the

council members, the Alpha King himself. They were all waiting, hanging on the precipice of a revelation that would shatter everything.

And so was I. This was it.

"It leaves me with no choice but to believe that you are-"

Dylan's voice erupted like thunder, desperate and raw, cutting me off before I could finish, "I'm not impotent because Crystal is pregnant with my pup!"