Chapter 15
My voice broke before I even realized I was speaking. My wrists were still sore from Alpha Darius’s clutch, the skin raw and burning where he’d gripped me like I was his property. But the moment my eyes met Rivers-dark, primal, mine-my legs moved on their own.
I launched myself into his arms
The storm I’d been holding back all my life finally calmed as I collided with his solid chest. A low growl rumbled from his throat, one that vibrated through me like a vow whispered in the language of wolves.
Tim here,” he murmured into my hair, his voice deep and steady like the earth itself. “No one can faunt you now, Avelyn
That was all I needed to hear
For twenty-five years, I had walked this world as the invisible daughter, the neglected she-wolf of a power-hungry bloodline. But now, I have someone who saw me. Who heard me. Who would tear the world apart if I so much whimpered
My mate. My future Albha.
On the floor, Darius was a mess of blood and broken bone, his leg twisted beneath him, tom open by silver. He was barely conscious, his growls replaced by wet, pitiful gasps. Blood soaked through the carpet, and yet none of them moved to help him.
It was only then that Robert and Myra realized exactly who they were dealing with
“Aloha Piven… Robert’s voice cracked, and all his arrogant posturing drained from him in an instant. “You and Avelyn… What is this?”
Even be an Alpha, hardened by politics and battle-took an involuntary step back.
Because Riven wasn’t just another Alpha. He was the storm cloaked in flesh, a blood-bom predator raised in the wild, unshackled by council laws. An Ashton by birth. A relic of ancient
He stepped forward, keeping me shielded behind him. His eyes swept the room, glowing faintly gold-Alpha dominance bleeding into every corner, into every lung that dared breathe in his
“Avelyn is my fiancée, he announced, his voice laced with deadly calm. “She came here today in good faith, to visit the family she was born into. I was gone for less than an hour… and in that fime, this is what you did to her
I could feel his fury-controlled, simmering beneath the surface like a wolf chained only by
So tell me, Alpha Robert Riven continued, voice like winter steel. “Should I hold the Moonveil Pack responsible for this, or the Nightbane?”
Before anyone could speak, he raised his boot-and slammed it down on Alpha Darius’s exposed, mangled leg
A scream ripped through the air, a sound that made even the guards flinch. Darius howled in
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agony, writhing like a dying animal on the floor.
“M-Mercy-Alpha Riven-please!” he choked out.
I winced and tugged gently at Riven’s arm. “He’s not worth it,” I whispered. “Don’t stain yoursel with blood that doesn’t deserve you.”
Riven’s chest rose and fell, and then he let out a quiet growl of agreement. “Mm.”
He stepped off Darius and looked down at him like he was something rotting beneath his boot.
From across the room, Lexie-still perfectly composed despite her crumbling pride-watched in
silence.
She had tried to claw her way into my place, and now the truth stung sharper than a bite. I hadn’t just survived-I had found someone ten times more powerful than what she’d stolen.
Jealousy dripped from her like venom.
“Alpha Riven,” she said smoothly, “I’m guessing you don’t know my sister as well as you think She’s always been obsessed with Alpha Darius-since we were pups. Don’t you wonder if she’s with you just to make him jealous?”
Riven’s eyes narrowed. His power flared outward again, silencing half the room with sheer force.
But Lexie wasn’t done. “Mom. Dad. You know I’m not lying. She was in love with him. Tell him!”
Myra hesitated. Then nodded. “It’s true… Avelyn did have feelings for Alpha Darius. When she
was younger.”
A muscle in Riven’s jaw flexed.
Lexie’s voice sweetened, but I could hear the dagger behind it. “Avelyn, I know you’re upset with me… but that doesn’t mean you should toy with another man’s emotions.” She turned back tc him, offering a mock blow of submission.
“Alpha Riven, please don’t take it to heart. For the Moonveil’s sake.”
“Avelyn!” My father, Robert barked, snapping back into his usual tone. “Apologize to Alpha River this instant! You want to drag our entire family into ruin over your spite?”
I said nothing at first.
Then Riven looked at me. Only me.
“So… this is your family.”
I swallowed the weight in my throat, keeping my eyes steady. “Yes,” I said quietly.
“This is the home I was raised in. Cold. Condescending. Unloving. Even now, after everything… they see me as a burden. A failure.”
My parents blinked, stunned silent. Because they knew it was true.
My mother’s lip trembled. “Avelyn, we…”
But I cut her off.
“Save it. You had twenty-five years. You choose Lexie-every single time. I’m not the lost daughter anymore.”
Riven stepped closer, his voice laced with authority. “You disrespected my mate. You laid hands on her. And you questioned her loyalty in front of me.”
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He let the words sink in.
“If you were anyone else, Alpha Robert, you’d already be bleeding on the floor beside that sorry mutt.”
Robert flinched. Even Lexie went pale.
Then Riven took my hand in his, and held it up for all of them to see-the red burn still etched into my skin.
“From this moment forward, Avelyn is under my protection,” he declared. “She no longer answers to the moonveils or Nightbanes. She answers only to the blood of the Ashtons.”
The air rippled with dominance.
A surge of heat spread through me. My wolf stirred inside-awakening fully for the first time in
years.
