Chapter 7

Ava's POV

The world smelled of leather, sandalwood, and raw power.

I was sitting on the hood of a sleek black SUV parked deep in the shadows of the forest road. My arm was stinging, but the pain felt distant, numbed by the sheer intensity of the man standing between my knees.

King Kaelen.

He held my injured arm with terrifying gentleness. He wasn't using magic; he was using a first-aid kit, his large, calloused hands cleaning the rogue's claw marks with precision.

"He left you," Kaelen said. It wasn't a question. It was a verdict.

"He chose her," I corrected, watching the antiseptic bubble on my skin. "He always chooses her."

Kaelen's jaw tightened. He wrapped a sterile bandage around my forearm, his touch lingering on my skin. The heat from his fingers seeped into my bones, making my wolf, Nyx, purr in a way she never had for Cole.

"If I were your Alpha," Kaelen murmured, his ice-blue eyes locking onto mine, "I would burn the world before I let a scratch mar your skin."

My breath hitched. The air between us crackled, thick with a tension that felt dangerous and inevitable.

"Why are you here, Kaelen?" I whispered. "Why me?"

He finished the bandage, securing it with a silver clip. "Because, Ava. You are the only thing in this pack worth saving."

He leaned in, his lips brushing my ear. "Come with me. Now. Leave this trash behind."

I wanted to. God, I wanted to jump in his car and never look back. But then my phone buzzed in my pocket.

Gordon (Dad): [Don't forget. Mom's birthday memorial is tonight. You need to sign the inheritance transfer papers. Be there, or the deal is off.]

The money. My mother's jewelry. The last pieces of my dignity.

I pulled back from Kaelen, steeling myself. "I can't. Not yet. I have to go back. I need to get my money and my mother's things. Then... then I'm yours."

Kaelen studied me for a long moment, then nodded. "One night. But take this."

He pressed a small, black device into my hand. A panic button.

"If they touch you," he promised, his voice dark, "press it. And I will level the Ashford Estate."

I walked into the Pack House twenty minutes later, my arm in a sling, my face pale but composed.

I barely made it to the stairs before a door slammed open.

"Where the hell have you been?!"

Cole stormed down the hallway, still smelling of the forest and Lexi's cheap perfume. He looked frantic, but not for me. He looked... annoyed.

"I was getting patched up," I said coldly, lifting my bandaged arm. "Since you were too busy playing hero to your mistress to check if your Mate was bleeding out."

"Don't start with that drama," Cole barked, grabbing my uninjured shoulder. "You're fine! You walked away, didn't you?"

"I almost died, Cole!"

"You're exaggerating! Lexi was traumatized! She's fragile!" He loomed over me, using his Alpha voice to try and cow me into submission. "You ran away, Ava. You abandoned a pack member during an attack. That is cowardice."

I stared at him. The gaslighting was so blatant it was almost impressive.

"I abandoned her?" I laughed, a hollow sound. "You tackled a wolf off her while another one was ripping my arm open. You didn't even look back."

"Because I knew you could handle it!" Cole shouted, his face turning red. "You're the Beta's daughter! You're supposed to be strong! Lexi needs protection. You don't!"

"You're right," I said softly. "I don't need protection. Not from you."

Cole blinked, thrown off by my sudden calm. "Good. Then stop whining. Get changed. We're going to your parents' house for the memorial dinner. And fix your attitude. Lexi is still shaken up, and I expect you to be nice to her."

"Nice?" I smiled, touching the bandage Kaelen had wrapped. "Oh, don't worry, Cole. I'm going to be unforgettable."