JAX

I pour another glass of wine and lean back in my chair, watching the flames dance across the castle ruins through Avery's scrying mirror. The sight fills me with intoxicating satisfaction—years of planning, years of patient manipulation, finally bearing fruit. The royal family's screams still echo in my mind, sweet as any melody.

"Justice served," I murmur, raising my glass to the burning stones that once held my tormentors.

Avery materializes behind me, her hands sliding over my shoulders with practiced intimacy. "My lord," she purrs, her violet eyes gleaming with shared triumph. "The attack exceeded even our projections. Knox's forces were completely unprepared."

I turn in my chair and pull her onto my lap, my hands tangling in her dark hair. "Thanks to your magical assistance," I say, my voice rough with desire and victory. "Without your illusions masking our approach, we never could have breached their defenses so easily."

Her lips curve into a wicked smile. "Watching Grace's face when she realized the poison was quite... satisfying."

The memory sends heat coursing through my veins. Twenty years I've waited to see that murderous bitch pay for what she did to my mother. Twenty years of rage, of planning, of molding myself into the weapon that would finally deliver justice.

I capture Avery's mouth in a hungry kiss, tasting triumph and dark magic on her lips. She responds with equal fervor, her body pressing against mine as passion ignites between us. The high of victory, the intoxicating rush of revenge finally fulfilled—it all blends together into pure euphoria.

One thing leads to another, and we lose ourselves in the aftermath of our success. Her nails dig into my shoulders as I claim her, every touch a celebration of what we've accomplished together. This is what power tastes like—raw, uncompromising, absolute.

Afterward, as Avery lies languidly in my arms, her fingers tracing patterns on my chest, she chuckles softly. The sound pulls me from my satisfied reverie.

"What amuses you so much?" I ask, pressing a kiss to her temple.

"Aubrey," she says, her voice dripping with disdain. "How disappointing she was on the battlefield. At the crucial moment, she turned against us completely. Chose Knox over her savior."

The words hit me like ice water, extinguishing every trace of satisfaction I'd been savoring. My muscles tense as rage floods my system, hot and vicious.

"What did you say?" My voice comes out dangerously quiet.

Avery shifts in my arms, suddenly alert to the change in my mood. "She betrayed you, Jax. When it mattered most, she fought alongside Knox instead of—"

I surge to my feet, dumping her unceremoniously from my lap. The memory crashes back with perfect, infuriating clarity—seeing Aubrey's face when she slapped my hand away, the disgust in her eyes when I offered her the chance to return to my side.

That ungrateful little bitch.

I saved her from the ruins of her family's massacre. I gave her purpose when she had nothing. I molded her from a broken, sniveling child into something magnificent, something deadly. I gave her power, direction, a reason to exist beyond wallowing in her grief.

And this is how she repays me?

"She owes me everything," I snarl, pacing to the window. "I pulled her from that burning pack house when she was thirteen years old. I could have left her to die with the rest of her pathetic family, but I chose to save her. I gave her strength, training, purpose—"

"Jax—" Avery starts, but I cut her off with a sharp gesture.

"I created her," I continue, my voice rising with fury. "Every skill she possesses, every ounce of power she wields—it all comes from me. I turned that sniveling, traumatized child into a weapon worthy of my attention. And she dares to turn against me?"

The betrayal cuts deeper than I expected. Aubrey wasn't just another pawn in my game—she was my masterpiece. The perfect blend of loyalty, skill, and devotion that I crafted with my own hands. Watching her choose Knox over me, seeing her look at me with disgust instead of gratitude...

It's unacceptable.

Avery rises from the bed, wrapping a silk robe around herself as she approaches cautiously. "Perhaps we should focus on consolidating our victory rather than—"

"No." The word comes out sharp as a blade. "She needs to understand what she's thrown away. She needs to know what true abandonment feels like."

An idea begins forming in my mind, cruel and perfect. Aubrey chose Knox over her creator, chose the kingdom over the man who gave her everything. Fine. Let her see what that choice costs her.

I move to my desk and pull out parchment and ink, my hand steady despite the rage coursing through my veins. "She wants to play the hero? She wants to stand with the righteous royal family?" I begin writing, my script precise and damning. "Then let her experience what heroes get in return."

"What are you doing?" Avery asks, her voice sharp with warning.

"Ensuring justice," I reply without looking up. "I'm going to make sure certain evidence reaches the right ears in the castle. Evidence that will prove Aubrey's been working as my spy all along."

The plan unfolds in my mind like a chess game, each move calculated for maximum devastation. Forged letters detailing her intelligence reports. Fabricated testimony from "witnesses" who saw her meeting with my agents. Financial records showing payments made to secure her loyalty.

Avery moves closer, her expression darkening. "Jax, that's incredibly risky. If you expose her as your agent, it could implicate our other operations. You're acting on impulse rather than—"

"I'm acting on necessity," I snap, continuing to write. "Aubrey needs to learn that betraying me comes with consequences."

"This could jeopardize everything we've worked for!" Avery's voice rises with genuine anger. "You're letting personal vendetta cloud your strategic judgment. We should be consolidating our position, not creating unnecessary complications."

I slam my hand down on the desk, making the inkwell rattle. "Don't presume to lecture me about strategy. I've been planning this for twenty years while you were still a child playing with parlor tricks."

The temperature in the room seems to drop as Avery's magic responds to her anger. "Those 'parlor tricks' just helped you murder the royal family and capture the kingdom's most fortified stronghold. Perhaps you should remember whose power made tonight possible."

"And perhaps you should remember who you serve," I reply, my voice deadly calm. "I don't need your permission to handle a disobedient pawn."

Avery's eyes flash with fury. "A disobedient pawn who could expose our entire network if handled carelessly. This isn't about justice, Jax—this is about wounded pride."

The accusation hangs between us like a challenge. The passionate high we shared earlier has evaporated completely, replaced by cold hostility that makes the air itself feel brittle.

"Get out," I say quietly, not bothering to look at her.

"Jax—"

"Get out before I forget how useful you've been tonight."

I hear her sharp intake of breath, feel the crackle of barely restrained magic. For a moment, I think she might actually attack me. Then footsteps cross the room, the door opens and slams shut, leaving me alone with my rage and my plans.

Perfect. I don't need her approval for this.

I return to my writing, crafting each piece of evidence with meticulous care. The letters need to sound authentically like Aubrey's voice while containing damning intelligence about the castle's defenses. The witness testimonies require enough specific detail to sound credible without being too elaborate.

By dawn, I have everything I need to destroy her.

I seal the documents in separate envelopes and summon one of my most trusted agents. "Ensure these reach Commander Asher and the castle's senior advisors," I instruct. "Make it look like they were discovered during the cleanup after our attack."

The man nods and disappears into the pre-dawn darkness.

Now comes the waiting game. Soon, Knox will learn that his precious mate has been feeding information to his enemies all along. The revelation will destroy whatever trust they've built between them, shattering the bond Aubrey chose over her loyalty to me.

I pour myself another glass of wine and settle back to wait. By evening, I'll position myself at the kingdom's borders, ready to intercept Aubrey when she's cast out. And she will be cast out.