Ava POV:
The air in the attic was thick with the scent of ozone and impending violence. That was the smell of an Alpha losing control.
Harrison stood over me, his chest heaving, his eyes flashing that dangerous amber.
"I said, silence!"
The Alpha Command slammed into me like a physical weight. It wrapped around my throat, choking off my words. My vocal cords paralyzed. I tried to scream that Brooke was faking it, that she had attacked me, but only a strangled whimper came out.
"My heir," Harrison growled, kneeling beside Brooke.
Brooke was putting on the performance of a lifetime. She clutched her flat stomach, tears streaming down her face, wailing about cramping and spotting.
"She tried to kill him, Harry! She's jealous! She's crazy!" Brooke sobbed, burying her face in his neck.
Harrison looked at me. There was no love in his eyes. Only disgust.
"Enforcers!" he bellowed, his voice carrying through the entire Pack House.
Minutes later, heavy boots thundered up the stairs. Three large men in tactical gear burst into the attic. They wore the insignia of the Pack Enforcers, but I knew them. They were Harrison's drinking buddies.
"Take her," Harrison ordered, pointing at me. "She attacked the future Luna. She is a threat to the Pack."
Two of them grabbed my arms. They didn't hold back. Their fingers dug into my bruised flesh, dragging me up.
I fought against the Command, my will battling his dominance.
Let. Me. Speak.
I bit my tongue until I tasted copper. The sharp pain broke the hold just enough.
"Check... the... cameras," I rasped, my voice sounding like gravel.
Harrison paused. He looked at the security node in the corner of the room.
"The system is down," one of the Enforcers said quickly. "Magic crystal malfunction. The recording loop was wiped an hour ago."
Of course it was.
"Convenient," I spat, gaining a little more control over my voice. "You erased it."
"Take her to the holding cells," Harrison said, turning his back on me to lift Brooke into his arms bridal style.
"I am calling the Council!" I screamed. "You can't do this without a trial! I am a free wolf!"
Harrison stopped at the door. He didn't turn around. "You are a Pack member under my jurisdiction. And you just attempted regicide."
They dragged me down the stairs. I kicked and thrashed, but I was an Omega against Warrior-class wolves. They threw me into a cell in the basement-a damp, silver-lined cage usually reserved for Rogues.
I sat in the corner, shivering. The silver in the bars made my skin itch and my healing stall. The wound on my head from Brooke's paperweight throbbed.
Hours later, the heavy metal door creaked open.
Harrison walked in. He wasn't holding food. He held a stack of papers.
He set them on the floor and slid them through the bars.
"Sign it," he said, his voice stiff.
I looked at the document. Confession of Guilt. Voluntary Exile.
"You want me to admit to attacking a pregnant woman?" I asked, my voice trembling with rage. "I won't do it."
"Brooke and the baby are in distress," Harrison said, his face a mask of cold duty. "The stress of a trial would be too much for her. If you sign this, I will exile you. You live. You leave. If you don't..."
"If I don't?"
"Then I execute you for treason under Pack Law," he said. "The Council will back me. I have witnesses."
"You have liars," I spat. "You deleted the footage."
"I did what I had to do to protect the reputation of the Pack," he replied, not denying it. "If the Council saw a fight between my... companion and the Seer, they would deem my house unstable."
"Your companion?" I stood up, ignoring the dizziness. "I am not your companion, Harrison. According to your own lawyer, I'm not your Mate. I'm not your Luna. I'm just a tenant you're illegally detaining."
"Stop it, Ava." He ran a hand through his hair. "Sign the papers. It's the only mercy I can offer you."
"Mercy?" I laughed, a harsh sound. "You call this mercy? You're erasing me to make room for her."
I picked up the papers.
"Here is my answer," I said.
I tore the document in half. Then in half again. I threw the confetti at his face.
Harrison froze. His eyes went black. His wolf was surfacing, insulted beyond measure.
"You ungrateful-"
Beep. Beep. Beep.
My hidden emergency comms-a tiny device Dustin had implanted in my molar years ago-vibrated against my jawbone.
Ava, Dustin's voice echoed directly in my inner ear via bone conduction. The military transport is en route. But I'm picking up a massive energy spike at Dad's old lab. The defense array is failing. If it breaks, the Rogues will overrun the border before we can get you. You need to fix it. Now.
I looked at Harrison, who was trembling with rage.
"I want a lawyer," I said calmly. "Or I want a trial by combat."
Harrison laughed, a cruel, barking sound. "You? Combat? You can't even shift."
"Try me," I whispered.
