Chapter 14 The Alpha’s Claim
Chapter Fourteen
The Alpha’s Claim
AVRIELLE'S POV
“Stay here, Avrielle. The dust is thick enough to choke a horse, and I don't want it ruining that dress.”
Xavier’s voice was firm but lacked the bite it usually held for his subordinates.
We were standing at the edge of the new construction site in the East Wing, the skeletal remains of what would eventually be a state-of-the-art school looming behind us. Before we had arrived here, we had stopped at the training grounds. I had watched from a distance, clutching the leather-bound ledger to my chest, as Xavier walked among the new recruits. He had moved with the lethal grace of a panther, his mere presence silencing the clatter of wooden practice swords.
When he’d returned to me, he had taken the book and scribbled names, figures, and lists of lacking necessities with a frantic, efficient energy.
Now, at the construction site, he was deep in conversation with the head contractor, pointing at blueprints and gesturing toward the uneven foundation.
I stood by a stack of lumber, smoothing the velvet of my forest green gown.
I could hear the whispers.
The workers, the passing pack members, the loiterers—they weren't even trying to be subtle.
“Is that her? The one Adrian tossed out?”
“Look at her, dressed like a princess after crawling out of the mud.”
“I heard the Alpha kept her out of pity. Look how she follows him like a lost pup.”
The gossip stung, a thousand tiny needles pricking at my skin. I tried to focus on my breathing, but the mid-morning sun was starting to beat down, and my throat felt like it was filled with sand.
I looked over at Xavier. He was engrossed, his brow furrowed as he debated the structural integrity of a load-bearing wall. I didn't want to interrupt him; he looked so focused, so in his element.
Searching the nearby street, I spotted a small vendor’s stall a few yards away selling cold water and snacks.
I’ll just be a minute, I thought.
I didn't want to bother him for something as simple as thirst. I slipped away quietly, blending into the small crowd of people moving toward the shop.
The queue was long and the air was stifling. As I stood in line, the whispers followed me. The people around me began to grumble, intentionally shifting their weight to jostle me.
“Move it, fatty,” a woman hissed, shoving her elbow into my ribs. “You're taking up enough space for three people.”
“Yeah, some of us actually have work to do, unlike some pampered omegas,” another man added.
I kept my head down, my heart racing.
Just get the water and go, I told myself.
But then, a violent shove from behind sent me stumbling forward. I lost my balance, my foot catching on a loose stone, and I collided hard with the woman in front of me.
We both went down.
I felt a sickening rip as the hem of my velvet dress caught on a crate, and the woman landed hard on her backside, letting out a piercing wail of faux agony.
“You clumsy cow!” her boyfriend roared, rushing over.
He helped her up, but before I could even find my feet or offer an apology, his hand flew through the air.
SLAP.
The force of the blow spun my head to the side. My cheek exploded in a white-hot bloom of pain, and for a second, the world went silent.
He didn't stop there.
“You think because the Alpha let you sleep in a spare room you're special?” he spat, looming over me. “You’re nothing but a used-up divorcee. A nuisance. Even your own husband couldn't stand the sight of you!”
The insults hit harder than the slap. The immunity I had tried to build up over five years of Adrian's neglect shattered in an instant.
Tears stung my eyes, blurring the angry faces of the crowd. Someone shoved me again, and I stumbled backward, my legs giving out.
I closed my eyes, bracing for the impact of the hard, dusty ground.
But the impact never came.
Strong, massive arms caught me mid-fall, pulling me back with such force that I was slammed against a chest as hard as granite.
His scent filled my senses, grounding me instantly.
I looked up through my tears and saw him.
Xavier.
His face was a mask of cold, murderous fury. His Alpha aura didn't just leak out; it exploded, a physical shockwave that brought everyone in the vicinity to their knees.
The chatter died instantly. The air grew heavy, almost impossible to breathe.
“Alpha!” the crowd gasped in unison, their heads hitting the dirt in terrified bows.
The man who had slapped me was suddenly trembling so hard his teeth were chattering. His girlfriend, who had been smirking a second ago, was now deathly pale.
Xavier let out a low, primal growl that vibrated through my own bones.
He didn't let go of me; he pulled me into a protective, possessive cuddle, his hand resting on the back of my head as if to shield me from the very sight of them.
“You had the audacity,” Xavier’s voice was a low, terrifying silk that promised death, “to touch my woman?”
“No... Alpha... please...” the boy stammered, falling to his knees and kowtowing so hard his forehead hit the stones. “I didn't know... she pushed... she—”
“Silence!” Xavier roared, the sound echoing off the buildings.
I looked up at Xavier, my hand instinctively reaching up to caress his jaw. His skin was burning, his muscles coiled like a spring.
“Xavier,” I whispered, my voice trembling. “It’s fine. Please, don't get so angry. I’m okay.”
I felt the tension in him shift.
His gaze dropped to mine, and for a heartbeat, the fire in his eyes flickered. The suffocating aura settled, though the coldness remained.
He stared at me for a long time, his thumb tracing the red mark on my cheek where I’d been hit.
“Fine?” he repeated, his voice dropping. “No, Avrielle. It is not fine.”
He turned his gaze back to the couple on the ground.
“If you want me to spare them, then I want you to punish them yourself. However you see fit.”
“I... I can't,” I muttered, shaking my head. “Just let them go, please.”
“If you don't do it,” Xavier warned, his eyes flashing with a dangerous gold, “I will. And I promise you, they won't walk away from my version of justice.”
I looked at the couple. They were looking at me with pleading, pathetic eyes.
I knew Xavier wasn't joking. He was the Alpha; he could have them buried six feet under and no one would dare ask why.
I knew I had to do it, if only to save their lives from his wrath.
I stepped forward, my legs shaky. Adrenaline began to thrum through my veins, mixing with the years of suppressed rage I had carried.
I looked at the man who had slapped me.
I looked at the woman who had insulted my body.
I am not a nuisance.
I raised my hand and delivered a sharp, stinging slap to the man’s face.
Then the woman’s.
And then I did it again.
Each strike felt like a weight lifting off my soul. I kept going until my palms were tingling and their faces were a matching shade of bruised red.
I wasn't a violent person, but in that moment, I felt alive.
I felt seen.
I stepped back, breathing hard.
Xavier stepped up behind me, a dark, proud smile touching his lips.
“Get lost,” he barked at the crowd. “All of you. Now!”
They scrambled away like rats.
Xavier turned toward the vendor, who was shaking so hard he could barely stand.
“Ice,” Xavier commanded. “And a bottle of water.”
He took the items, paying no mind to the vendor’s attempt to offer them for free; a single growl made the man take the coins.
Xavier led me to a small bench, sitting me down. He wrapped a piece of cloth around the ice and began to rub it gently over my stinging palm, then my cheek.
“How does it feel, Avrielle?” he asked softly. “To take your revenge yourself?”
I looked away, my heart still racing.
“I don't know,” I whispered. “It felt... good. Too good. It feels cruel to say that.”
“It isn't cruel to reclaim your dignity,” he said.
He uncorked the water bottle and held it to my lips, feeding me as if I were something fragile and precious. When I had had enough, he used his thumb to wipe a stray drop from my lip before capping the bottle.
“Thank you, Alpha Xavier,” I said, my voice finally steadying.
“Stop thanking me,” he grumbled, though his eyes were warm. “It is my duty to protect you. It always has been.”
I looked at him, really looked at him.
“In five years, you're the first person who actually cared. The first person who didn't see me as a burden or a nuisance. I know 'thank you' isn't enough... if there’s ever a way to repay you, I will.”
Xavier stopped.
He froze, his hand still holding the ice pack against my cheek.
He stared at me with an intensity that made the air feel like it was vibrating.
“Anything I ask for?” he breathed.
I nodded, my heart leaping into my throat.
“Anything.”
“Then be my Luna,” he muttered.
The world stopped.
I choked on the air in my lungs, coughing violently.
Xavier was immediately there, rubbing my back and offering me more water. He wiped my lips with his handkerchief, but I stepped back, my head spinning.
“Xavier... I... I was your nephew’s wife,” I stammered, my mind racing. “It hasn't even been two days since the divorce. People will talk... the scandal—”
“Ex-wife,” he corrected, his voice like iron. “That is the only word that matters. You are free of him. And I am done waiting.”
He stepped closer, his hand clasping my cheek, forcing me to meet his gaze.
“I won't lie to you, Avrielle. Ever since that night—that one night we shared—I haven't been able to think of anything else. I brought those divorce papers to release you from a man who never deserved you, but I brought them to bring you to me.”
“You... you want me?” I whispered.
“I am losing my sanity over you,” he confessed, leaning down until our foreheads touched. His scent enveloped me, a soothing drug that made me want to melt into him.
“Don't say no. I want to take it slow, I want to court you properly, but I don't know if I can survive watching you walk through this manor and not calling you mine.”
He closed his eyes, his breath hitching.
“Please, Avrielle. Be my Luna.”