Chapter 3

Elara POV

The words hung in the freezing air of the grand foyer. Gavin stared up at me, his handsome face pale, his jaw slack. For a fraction of a second, I saw genuine shock in his eyes-not at the news, but at my defiance. He'd known about the pup's death for three days. His shock was reserved for the fact I dared stand against him.

Then, his Alpha ego violently reasserted itself.

A low, rumbling growl vibrated in his chest. He thought the loss of the pup had simply driven me to hysterics, that I was staging this confrontation as some pathetic bid for his attention.

"Stop this nonsense, Elara," he commanded, his voice dropping into that dark, resonant timber of the Alpha's Command.

The heavy, suffocating weight of his authority rolled toward me, designed to force any wolf in the Blackwood Pack to their knees. But as it hit me, it shattered like glass against a stone wall. My soul was completely closed off. The Mate-bond that once tethered me to him was nothing but dead, frayed ash. I didn't even flinch.

Gavin's eyes widened in confusion as his inner wolf realized his absolute control over me was gone. I didn't wait for him to process his failure. I turned my back on him, descended the sweeping staircase with measured steps, and walked straight into the dining hall.

I heard his heavy boots following me. He was angry now, but still clinging to the illusion that he was in charge.

The dining hall was cavernous and silent. At the far end of the long mahogany table sat two silver cloches. Gavin paused in the doorway, his gaze landing on the covered plates. I watched the tension leave his shoulders. A faint, arrogant smirk touched his lips. Even now, he assumed this was some omega's attempt to placate her Alpha after a tantrum.

He strode to the head of the table and sat down, looking up at me expectantly. He reached out and lifted the silver lid.

There was no food.

Resting on the pristine porcelain plate was a stack of crisp legal documents bearing the Thorne Pack seal, a heavy fountain pen, and a silver-handled magnifying glass.

Gavin's smirk vanished. His face turned a mottled, furious red. "What is the meaning of this?"

"In case you missed the fine print of your own betrayal," I said, my voice devoid of any emotion. I pushed the magnifying glass an inch closer to him.

He stood up abruptly, his chair scraping harshly against the floor. "I am not playing these games. You're grieving and unstable." He pointed a finger at me, his tone dripping with condescension. "We'll discuss this when you're thinking clearly."

He turned to leave-not because he didn't know, but because the Thorne Pack lawyers terrified him.

I didn't move to stop him. I just let my voice ring out, hollow and perfectly clear.

"'The pup is the only reason she's still here. Once the heir is born, I will formally Reject her.'"

Gavin froze mid-step.

"'Your words, Gavin," I whispered. "Not mine."

He slowly turned back to face me. A flicker of profound guilt crossed his features, but it was instantly swallowed by defensive rage. "That was private," he snarled. "You think leaking it to the press changes anything? My lawyers have already-"

I let out a dry laugh. With deliberate slowness, I pulled out my phone and slid it across the table. The screen displayed live search results-his team's desperate attempts to scrub the internet failing in real time. New articles kept popping up every minute, each more damning than the last.

All the blood drained from Gavin's face. He stared at the screen as if it were a silver blade.

His eyes glazed over with another mind-link. Not to handle the crisis-but to check if his precious Piper was still waiting at their love nest.

I watched him scramble, feeling nothing but absolute disgust.

"Just sign the damn papers, Alpha Blackwood."