Elisabeth's POV
Foundation couldn't hide the marks on my throat. Silk scarves only drew more attention to the bruises. Even the brightest smile felt hollow against the devastation consuming me from within.
Nothing could mask the betrayal I witnessed moments ago through Andy's office window.
I watched my husband press Rosalyn against his desk, his hands claiming her body with a hunger he never showed me. He kissed her neck with desperate passion, leaving marks that would brand her as his. Those same hands that gripped my throat in violence whenever I dared speak against him now caressed another woman with tender worship.
The difference cut deeper than any physical blow he'd ever delivered.
I forced the tears back and focused on the door before me. Behind this barrier waited my only salvation. All I needed was the courage to turn the handle and step through.
The door flew open just as my fingers touched the knob.
I crashed into something solid and unyielding. My legs buckled beneath me and I collapsed to the floor, looking up at what I thought was a wall.
Then I saw him.
My salvation.
Steel gray eyes bore down at me with an intensity that stole my breath. No photograph could have prepared me for the raw magnetism of his presence. Every sharp angle of his face seemed carved by the gods themselves.
Jefferson Harding.
The Alpha King.
His gaze locked onto mine and the world ceased to exist. Time suspended itself as those penetrating eyes stripped away every defense I possessed. Cold calculation mixed with something darker, something that made my pulse race despite my fear.
With what little strength remained in my battered body, I dropped to my knees at his feet. "Please," I whispered, my voice shattered and desperate. "Please, Alpha King, I need your help."
"Elisabeth." Andy's growl cut through the charged silence as he stepped forward. The contrast between the two men struck me like lightning.
Andy's fury burned hot and familiar, promising retribution I knew intimately. His anger always preceded pain, and I instinctively recoiled from the threat in his eyes.
But Jefferson's coldness was different. Detached. Clinical. He studied me like a predator evaluating potential prey, yet something deeper flickered beneath that icy surface. Something that made my heart stutter against my ribs.
How could beauty be so terrifying?
His magnetic presence drew me in even as every instinct screamed warnings. When he stepped back into the hallway, I forced myself upright on trembling legs. The weight of every pack member's stare pressed down on me like a physical force.
"What is the meaning of this?" Andy's voice cracked with barely controlled rage.
I ignored him completely, keeping my focus locked on the Alpha King. Those gray eyes never wavered, boring into me as if he could read every secret carved into my soul.
"Stop embarrassing me!" Andy's voice rose to a dangerous pitch.
"Who is she?"
The question came so quietly I almost missed it. Jefferson's voice was silk wrapped around steel, seductive enough to weaken my knees. The sound seemed to vibrate through my bones.
Andy's jaw clenched visibly as he ground out his response. "She's my Luna."
Something flashed in Jefferson's eyes. Interest, perhaps. Or maybe calculation. Whatever it was vanished instantly, replaced by that same detached indifference. He turned to Andy with one perfectly arched eyebrow. "I thought you said your Luna was away on business."
Andy opened his mouth but I refused to let him control this moment. Not when I was so close to freedom. My gaze shifted to Rosalyn, narrowing on the fresh bruise decorating her throat like a badge of honor. She wore Andy's marks proudly around the pack house, her lips curving into a taunting smile that made my teeth clench.
I tore my attention back to the Alpha King and bowed deeply. "Alpha Jefferson, forgive this intrusion. This was my only option. I've been cornered with nowhere else to turn."
"Enough," Andy snapped, his voice sharp as a blade. "Elisabeth, go inside. You're making a spectacle of yourself."
Alpha Jefferson silenced him with a single glacial look. "Quiet."
The command was soft, almost gentle, but the power behind it was absolute. Andy's mouth snapped shut as if physically struck. His face flushed with humiliation and rage.
My heart hammered wildly as Jefferson's attention returned to me. His gaze traveled down my body with deliberate slowness, assessing and cataloguing. I felt exposed under his scrutiny, as if he could see through fabric and skin to the broken woman beneath.
Naked. I felt completely naked.
After an eternity, he spoke again. "Continue."
The simple word carried undeniable command. My voice wavered as I forced out the words that would change everything. "I want you to dissolve my bond with Andy."
One eyebrow lifted slightly in silent question. He waited with predatory patience as Andy tensed beside us, coiled with barely restrained violence.
I didn't care anymore. I was finished pretending this marriage held any meaning.
"I've been living in hell," I continued, strength building with each word. "I want a family. I want to be cherished. But ever since our mating ceremony, Andy has refused to touch me. He's denied me every right I should have as his Luna." I paused, gathering courage for the final blow. "I have reason to believe he's impotent."
Gasps rippled through the room as Andy's growl erupted like thunder. I saw his hand rise to strike me and braced for the familiar pain.
"Touch her and you'll lose that hand." Alpha Jefferson's voice cut through the chaos with deadly calm.
Silence fell like a curtain. Andy froze mid-swing, his face twisted with rage and humiliation. I could barely process what had just happened, my mind reeling from this unexpected protection.
Jefferson's gray eyes found mine again. "Why do you believe your mate is impotent?"
I hesitated, glancing at Rosalyn's hateful expression. Before I could gather strength to answer, Andy's pride erupted despite the Alpha King's warning.
"I'm not impotent," he spat, wounded vanity dripping from every word.
I turned to face him fully. "Then explain it, Andy. Explain why you've refused to touch me. Why you've denied me the right to carry your children. Why you've treated me like I'm worthless."
The room held its breath. Pack members, council members, and the Alpha King himself waited on the edge of revelation. Everything hung in the balance of this moment.
"It leaves me no choice but to believe you're incapable of—"
"I'm not impotent because Rosalyn is pregnant with my child!"