Ava POV:
Three months. That was how long it took for the gossip to turn from shock to ridicule. In the wolf world, a rejected female was damaged goods. A rejected female who couldn't shift? She was trash.
But I wasn't hiding.
"Are you sure about this?" my cousin Leo asked, adjusting his tie. He was a Beta, strong and loyal, one of the few who looked at me with respect rather than pity.
"I am the heir to the Sterling Pack, Leo," I said, checking my reflection in the mirror. The red dress fit like a second skin, bold and unapologetic. "If I hide, they win. Tonight is the Annual Charity Auction. The Sterlings founded it. I will be there."
We walked into the ballroom of the Grand Hotel. The scent of champagne and expensive perfume hit me, layered over the musk of dozens of wolves. As soon as I entered, the chatter stopped. Heads turned. I felt their eyes-judging, mocking, curious.
Chin up, my wolf whispered. Since the wedding, she had been more active, though I still hadn't shifted. The pain of the rejection still throbbed in my chest like a phantom limb, but I used it as fuel.
Then, the air shifted. The smell of rotten peaches wafted through the room.
Liam walked in. He wore a tuxedo that cost more than my car-paid for, no doubt, with the funds my family had invested in his company. On his arm was Sarah. She wore a white dress, clearly trying to mimic the bridal look she had stolen. Her hand rested on a small, barely-there bump on her stomach.
Little Chloe skipped beside them, dressed like a princess.
They looked like the perfect family. It made me sick.
Liam spotted me. His jaw tightened, but Sarah whispered something in his ear, and he smirked. They walked straight toward me.
"Ava," Liam said, his voice loud enough to draw an audience. "I didn't think you'd show your face. Brave."
"Why wouldn't I?" I took a sip of champagne. "I didn't do anything wrong. I'm not the one who broke a sacred vow for a homewrecker."
Sarah gasped, clutching her pearls. "Liam! She's insulting our love!"
She stepped forward, releasing a wave of pheromones. It was a dominance play. Omegas were usually submissive, but as the Alpha's mate, she thought she borrowed his rank. She tried to push her aura onto me, to make me bow.
It was like a gentle breeze hitting a stone wall. I didn't flinch. I didn't even blink.
"Your pheromones smell like desperation, Sarah," I said coolly. "Save it for the bedroom. It doesn't work on me."
Liam stepped between us, his eyes flashing with Alpha red. "Watch your mouth, Ava. Sarah is the Luna of the Crescent Tech Pack now. She carries my heir. Your bitterness is upsetting her and the pup."
"Bitterness?" I laughed, a dry, humorless sound. "I'm not bitter, Liam. I'm relieved. I dodged a bullet."
"You are jealous," he sneered, leaning down to whisper in my face. "Look at you. No wolf. No mate. No future. You reek of failure. It's making my daughter uncomfortable. Leave."
"I beg your pardon?"
"I said leave," Liam commanded, putting weight into his voice. It wasn't the full Alpha Command, but it was close. "You are upsetting the atmosphere."
Chloe, taking her cue from her mother, started to wail loudly. "The bad lady is looking at me! Daddy, make her go away!"
The crowd murmured. The herd mentality was setting in. Wolves were instinctual creatures; they protected pups and pregnant females. Even if Sarah was a manipulator, biology was on her side.
"Maybe you should go, Miss Sterling," a low-ranking Gamma from a neighboring pack muttered. "The child is crying."
I looked around. These people had eaten at my table, taken my father's money, and now they looked at me like I was the villain.
Leo stepped forward, his lips peeling back to reveal his canines. A low growl rumbled in his chest. "Take a step back, Liam. You have no authority over a Sterling."
Liam laughed. "A Beta protecting a cripple. How touching."
He looked at me with pure contempt. It was the look one gave to a rogue-a wolf without a home, a creature of no value.
"You don't belong here anymore, Ava," Liam said. "This world belongs to the strong."
I stared at him. I saw the insecurity beneath his arrogance. He needed to crush me to feel big. He needed to erase me to forget that everything he had was built on my foundation.
My love for him didn't just die in that moment; it rotted.
"You're right, Liam," I said softly. The room went quiet to hear me. "The world belongs to the strong. And you have no idea what strength is."
I turned to Leo. "Let's go. The air in here is polluted."
As I walked away, I didn't feel defeated. I felt clarity. Liam thought I was weak because I was kind. He thought I was powerless because I was silent.
He was about to learn that the Sterling Pack didn't just build cities. We owned them.
