Chapter 004

Ava’s Pov

“Silence!” The voice of Councilman John boomed across the room. Chaos had erupted in the council chamber, and everyone was desperate to diffuse the situation in any way they could. Everyone had come to testify against me.

My mother, my sister Betty, even the maids in the house claimed they had seen me sneaking around with wolfsbane. “I have always tried to raise my daughter with love…” My mother began, fake tears rolling down her cheeks as she wiped them with the back of her hand. “If I had known she would grow to hate her sister so much, even going as far as harming her and killing the heir out of jealousy… What kind of a child are you?” She shouted at me, bursting into tears that I could clearly see were fake.

Ever since the incident, I had been locked away in a cold cell for days, barely given anything to eat. No matter how many times I begged and pleaded, claiming to have nothing to do with the terrible thing that happened to my sister and her child, nobody believed me. Absolutely nobody did.

I remembered what Rob had said to me, and my anger only increased at the memory. He had confronted me, his words cruel and painful just a few days earlier, anger all over his face.

I recalled his words clearly. He had said, “I can't believe you would do this, Ava. Would you seriously go that far out of jealousy? I know I wronged you, but you did that? Seriously? How cruel can you be?”

My heart had shattered at his words that day. Tears rolled down my face as I clung to the last remnants of hope. “Rob, please… you have to believe me. I didn’t do it. I was jealous of Betty, yes, but I would never stoop so low as to poison her. You know I wouldn’t.” My voice broke, raw with desperation.

He studied me with that cold, piercing gaze, his jaw clenched so tightly it looked painful. “Do you think I am a fool, Ava?” His words came out as a low snarl. “Everyone saw how you looked at her, the hatred in your eyes every time she entered a room. And now you want me to believe this is all just a coincidence?”

I flinched, reaching out instinctively, only for him to pull back, his eyes narrowing in disgust. “You are a liar, Ava. And a coward.” His words were painful, slicing through me like a blade. “You are not even willing to own up to what you did. You would rather drag everyone down with you, won’t you? How is it even her fault that you were a barren?

I stared in shock, is this really what he thinks about me? A pathetic bitter barren? “Rob, how can you say that to me? please…” I choked, clutching my chest as the pain got worse. “I didn’t do it. You know me better than this. You know I would never hurt her like that.”

He let out a bitter laugh, shaking his head slowly. “Clearly, I don’t know you at all. The woman I thought I loved wouldn’t have betrayed me like this. The woman I loved wouldn’t be capable of this kind of cruelty.” His voice hardened, and he took a step back, looking at me as if I were a stranger. “But I suppose I was wrong about you. I was wrong about everything.”

I could feel my whole world shattering, his words slashing through me, leaving me raw and exposed. But he wasn’t done.

“For your betrayal and the disgrace you have brought upon this pack,” he continued, his voice colder than I had ever heard, “I reject you as my mate, Ava.” His eyes bored into mine, unflinching, his face like stone. “From this moment on, you are nothing to me. Nothing.”

My knees gave out, and I collapsed to the ground, his words repeating itself in my mind like a death sentence. The pain was unbearable, a hollow, aching void ripping through my chest. Even now, standing in the courtroom, the memory of that moment felt like fresh wounds, each word as brutal and merciless as the day they had been spoken.

Why couldn’t he see the truth? Why had he, of all people, turned his back on me so completely? The betrayal burned, raw and unforgiving.

“Luna Betty and Madam Ava hadn’t really gotten along. I guess that must have led her to do what she did,” I heard a maid testify against me. I wanted to speak up to defend myself, but I wasn’t allowed to. I was forced to keep quiet during the entire process.

My eyes darted to Betty, who was shedding tears I could tell were fake. But as soon as she noticed I was staring at her, and no one else was, she let out a small smile at me, and my heart shattered further.

How can anyone be this horrible? What exactly would she gain if I was thrown in jail for the rest of my life or, worse, killed? Did she plan this? Did she do this just so I could be punished? But no one would go that far. Not even Betty would go as far as harming her own child just to get rid of me. She does not hate me that much 

Or does she?

“All of the evidence points to you, Ava, as the culprit in this crime, and the council has discussed it. We would like to forward your punishment,” Councilman Jacob spoke. I looked at Rob again, but just like before, he avoided eye contact with me at all costs, not wanting to glance my way.

“For your crimes of killing the alpha's heir, although this pack doesn’t quite administer the death sentence…” He paused for a moment before saying, “but that is simply what you deserve. So Ava, for your sin, you shall be sentenced to death by wolfsbane injection. You shall die exactly the way you have killed the future alpha of this pack.”

Their words were sealed. Tears welled up in my eyes as I looked at him. Rob, who also looked at me, had a look on his face that showed he was shocked by this sentence. My heart clenched as I shook my head, muttering, “I didn’t do it…”

He didn’t say a word; instead, he averted his gaze from mine as tears rolled down my cheeks. The pain was overwhelming, each tear a reminder of my hopelessness. Is this really how I am going to die?

“May I object to that judgment, dear council…” A voice suddenly cut through the chaos, stealing everyone’s attention. Immediately, we all turned toward the source of the voice as a man calmly walked toward us, a confident look on his face and a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

Everyone appeared shocked to see him, and I couldn't understand why. He looked strikingly similar to Rob—tall with a powerful build, dark hair that fell perfectly across his forehead, and piercing blue eyes that held a depth I couldn't ignore. His chiseled jawline and confident stance made him undeniably handsome, exuding an aura of power and control. He looked perfect in every sense, as if he had stepped right out of a magazine.

I glanced toward Rob to gauge his reaction, and he was just as shocked as everyone else. The man walked closer, fixing his gaze on me with a confident expression that made my heart race. As he stood right in front of me, something about him felt familiar. My wolf stirred inside me, reacting in a way I couldn't quite explain. A small smile tugged at his lips as he looked at me, and I caught a whiff of his scent—warm and intoxicating. Where had I smelled him before?

My wolf stirred even more; being an omega, she was usually dormant, always docile. But now, something about her felt very different, strange in a way I couldn't comprehend. Why was she reacting to this stranger? Why did I feel a connection to him that I couldn’t process?

My questions were answered when my wolf whispered a word that shocked me.

“Mate…”

What? This stranger is my mate? How was that possible? I already had a mate before and he rejected me. How was it even possible to have two mates?

“As much as it would be fun to see a public elimination, I can't just let you do that to my mate,” he said, a confident smirk spreading across his face.

He knew? That I was his mate too?

As soon as he uttered those words, gasps filled the room. I was shocked too, trying to process what was happening. Who was this man, and how did he have the audacity to disrupt the council like this?

“Mate?” I heard Rob’s voice, asking just to be sure.

“Yes, brother,” the stranger answered, then added with a knowing look, “mate…”

Brother? Did he just call him brother? It was at that moment I realized who he was and why he seemed so familiar. Lycan Iris. He was none other than Rob's elder brother—the man who was supposed to be the leader of this pack before he had given up the position. He was powerful, rich, and influential, known for his strategic mind and commanding presence. Everyone respected him, and his mere existence commanded attention.

“If you don't mind, I would like to take my mate away.” He paused for a moment before turning to me. “You told me to help you get away, remember? That night. Here I am to finally fulfill my promise,” he flashed a little smile at me before adding “sorry I am a little late.”

At first, I didn't understand what he was talking about. But then it all began to make sense, and my eyes widened in surprise as images of that night flashed in my head. 

Really? This was happening in front of me, but I didn’t want to believe it. The shock I felt at that moment was indescribable.

Lycan Iris was the man from that night. I couldn't remember everything due to the effects of the alcohol, but now it hit me hard: I had slept with my ex-husband's brother???