Defying the Rogue Alpha
Chapter 65: Disappointment

Chapter 65: Disappointment

Dorian clicked his tongue, feigning disappointment. "Don’t make me do this, Ava. Just confess." His voice was smooth, persuasive, almost friendly.

Ava’s lip curled in disgust. "You’d love that, wouldn’t you?"

She spat at his feet.

Dorian sighed dramatically and wiped an imaginary tear from his eye. "And here I thought we had something special."

He picked up a knife, twirling it between his fingers, watching her closely. "It’s simple, Ava. You staged the shooting at the Induction Ceremony so you could save the Alpha, and make him so indebted to you that he’d have no choice but to make you his Luna." He stepped closer, pressing the tip of the blade under her chin, tilting her head upward. "Admit it."

Ava stared him down, her breath steady. Where was Lucas? Where the hell was he? If he really believed she had betrayed him, he should be in here confronting her with it.

Dorian arched a brow, waiting. When she remained silent, he let out a mock sigh and dropped the knife back onto the table with a clatter. "Fine. Let’s talk about proof, then."

He leaned against the chair, arms crossed. "The same card that Alpha Lucas so generously gave you is the very same card used to buy the silver bullet that nearly killed him."

Ava’s stomach dropped. She had suspected the setup, but hearing it spoken out loud, sent a cold, creeping dread through her veins.

She kept her voice even. "That card has always been in my room. Anyone could have taken it, including you to set me up."

Dorian smirked. "Oh, come on now. Why would I do that? Why would anyone do that?"

Ava narrowed her eyes. "That’s your job to figure out, isn’t it? Don’t tell me you’re completely useless."

Dorian’s smirk disappeared. His jaw ticked and his temper snapped.

With a snarl, he grabbed Ava by the collar of her shirt and yanked her off the chair, dragging her across the room. Her boots scraped against the stone floor as he hauled her toward the corner where the basin of ice-cold water waited.

Ava’s heart pounded.

"Dorian..."

He cut her off with a sharp shove, forcing her to her knees before gripping the back of her head and plunging her face into the freezing water.

The shock hit.

It was like drowning in pure winter.

Her body went rigid, her lungs screamed, her brain panicked. Cold consumed her, burning through her veins with a sharp, stabbing pain. She thrashed against his grip, but the ropes around her wrists and ankles held firm. She couldn’t move. She couldn’t breathe.

Just as the blackness started to creep into the edges of her vision, he yanked her back up.

She collapsed onto the floor, gasping, choking, sucking in huge gulps of air that seared her throat.

Dorian crouched beside her, watching with cold amusement as she struggled.

His voice was almost gentle. "The biggest part of your treason, Ava, isn’t the bullet." He brushed a wet strand of hair from her face, his fingers lingering mockingly. "It’s the fact that you murdered the Alpha’s child. His own blood. Just because you didn’t want to have his baby."

Ava’s entire body went still.

All the air in the room vanished.

That accusation...that lie...

Rage surged through her so fast, so violently, that for a moment, she forgot about the ropes.

She lunged forward, barely restrained, and spat straight into his face.

Dorian’s smile didn’t even falter.

"That alone," he murmured, wiping his cheek with the back of his hand, "will cost you your head."

Ava gritted her teeth. Her wrists burned against the restraints as she forced herself to steady her breath. To think. To not let him win.

"If I ever get out of here," she said, "I will make it my ultimate mission to see you reduced to nothing."

Dorian laughed softly. "That’s not going to happen." He leaned in, close enough that she could see the cruelty in his eyes.

"Do you know why?"

His breath was warm against her frozen skin.

"Because the Alpha is going to kill you with his own hands."

Ava’s chest tightened. She believed him.

If Lucas wasn’t here, if he wasn’t stopping this then that meant he believed them.

Her throat constricted, but she refused to let it show. Instead, she leveled Dorian with a glare so sharp it could have sliced through bone.

"You will fall so hard, Dorian," she said, voice low, unwavering, "that even the dogs will refuse to eat your bones."

Dorian’s smirk returned. He grabbed her once more, his grip tighter this time, and shoved her toward the water.

"Stop!"

The single command ripped through the room, laced with unquestionable power.

Lucas stood in the doorway.

His posture rigid, his gaze locked onto Ava.

Lucas stood tall but the fire burning in his golden eyes was unmistakable. He was barely restraining the fury that threatened to consume him whole.

Dorian, despite knowing better, dared to take a step forward, opening his mouth to protest.

Lucas cut him off instantly.

"Get her back to my quarters, Kade."

The command was absolute.

Ava barely registered it at first, her body still trembling from the ordeal. Every muscle ached, her lungs burned from nearly drowning, and her wrists throbbed where the ropes had cut into her skin.

"Alpha..."

"One more word out of you, Dorian," he snarled, "and I will have you tortured myself."

A charged silence fell over the room.

Dorian’s lips parted, then pressed into a thin line, his shoulders stiff with unspoken fury. The glare he shot Ava was filled with promises of vengeance, but she had no doubt that he wouldn’t dare disobey his Alpha.

Lucas turned on his heel and stalked out of the dungeon.

Ava exhaled, a shaky, exhausted breath.

She tilted her head slightly to look up at Kade, who was already kneeling beside her, working at the knots securing her wrists. His hands were steady, methodical, but there was a tension in his movements.

"You alright?" he asked, voice quiet.

Ava let out a breathy laugh, humorless and weak. "I’ve had better days."

The ropes loosened and fell away, leaving behind angry red marks on her skin. She flexed her fingers, testing them. They tingled painfully as blood rushed back into them, but at least nothing was broken.

Kade moved to help her stand, but she brushed him off, pushing herself up on her own unsteady feet.

Ava swayed for half a second, regaining her balance. Then, she turned to face Dorian.

His face was a storm of barely contained fury, his fists twitching as though he were dying to grab a blade and finish what he started.

Ava met his glare with a lazy, victorious smirk.

"From now on, Dorian," she said, her voice smooth and unwavering, "watch your back."

Dorian’s nostrils flared, his body practically vibrating with the effort not to lunge at her.

She let the moment linger before reaching up to push her damp hair away from her face. Every movement, every breath, was an act of defiance.

She could feel Kade’s watchful gaze, waiting for her to collapse, to ask for help.

But she wouldn’t.

Ava refused to give anyone the satisfaction of seeing her weak.

With deliberate, measured steps, she turned and walked out of the dungeon, shoulders straight, chin lifted.

Dorian’s fury burned into her back as she disappeared through the door.

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