"If he hadn't thrust himself where he didn't belong, Kael and I would have completed our mating bond years ago. He traded his worthless existence to chain Kael to you—to force him into a guilt-bound mating, to torment his wolf's conscience for eternity!"
Crack.
I was on my feet before conscious thought caught up, my palm connecting with her face hard enough to snap her head sideways.
Raven clutched her cheek, eyes wide with disbelief. "You struck me?"
I backhanded her across the other cheek.
"You're damn right I did."
"Raven, five years ago you killed my sire. Now you stand here in my den and spit on his memory." I advanced toward her, feeling my wolf surge against my skin. "Did you truly believe pack law couldn't touch you?"
Hatred flickered in her pale eyes. "Nothing happened to me five years ago at the Tribunal. What can anyone do now? Kael will protect me. He would never allow me to face iron-bound confinement."
Then—like a wolf shifting between forms—her expression crumbled completely. Tears welled up as she dropped to her knees at my feet, baring her throat in false submission.
"Heir Ashvale, it's all my fault. I should never have fallen in love with Kael."