Chapter 4

• Ava's POV
• "Ten million dollars."
• The notification on my phone screen glowed like a holy scripture. My mother's inheritance. My freedom. My weapon.
• "Darling, once Lexi is Luna, ten million will be pocket change," Janice sniffed, clutching Gordon's arm like a oversized handbag. "But fine. Take it and go."
• "Oh, I'm going," I said, pocketing the phone. "But first, I have a tab to run up."
• I walked out of the Ashford Estate, the air tasting crisp and expensive. For the first time in three years, I didn't feel like the help. I felt like a hunter.
• "The Black Wolf Bar? Really?" Zoe shouted over the thumping bass, looking skeptical. "This place is a dive."
• "It's where the pack drinks," I said, sliding onto a barstool. "And tonight, I want an audience."
• Zoe, my only friend who hadn't treated me like a leper, looked at me with concern. "Ava, you're picking a fight. Cole is going to be here."
• "I'm counting on it."
• I signaled the bartender, a burly guy named Rick who usually ignored me. "Two bottles of your most expensive champagne. The vintage stuff you keep in the back for the Alpha."
• Rick snorted. "Ava, that bottle is three grand. Unless you're paying with your kidney, I suggest you order a beer."
• I didn't blink. I slapped a thick stack of cash-fresh from the bank-onto the sticky counter. "Keep the change."
• Rick's eyes bulged. He scrambled to get the bottles.
• Zoe's jaw dropped. "Girl, did you rob a bank?"
• "Better. I robbed my parents."
• Just as the cork popped, the air in the bar shifted. The temperature dropped. The crowd parted like the Red Sea.
• Cole walked in, looking like a god of war in a tailored black shirt. And hanging off his arm like a cheap accessory was Lexi.
• She was wearing a diamond necklace that caught the strobe lights-a birthday gift, no doubt. She spotted me instantly, her eyes narrowing before masking it with that sickly-sweet smile.
• "Ava!" She squealed, dragging Cole toward us. "What a coincidence! Are you spending your severance pay already?"
• Cole looked bored, his eyes sliding over me with practiced indifference. "Let's go to the VIP section, Lexi. It smells like desperation here."
• "But I want champagne!" Lexi pouted, pointing at my bottle. "And the bartender said that was the last one."
• She turned to me, batting her eyelashes. "Ava, be a sweetie and give it to me? It is my birthday weekend, after all. You've never even had champagne before. You wouldn't appreciate it."
• "Touch my bottle," I said, voice low and dangerous, "and you'll lose a finger."
• The bar went silent. Even the DJ seemed to turn the volume down.
• Lexi gasped, clutching her pearls. "Cole! She threatened me!"
• Cole stepped forward, his Alpha aura flaring, trying to suffocate me with pressure. "Watch your tone, Ava. You're speaking to your future Luna."
• He pulled out a sleek black credit card-the Alpha Heir's unlimited card-and slammed it on the counter.
• "Rick," Cole barked. "I'm buying every bottle in this bar. And I'm buying this table. Kick them out."
• Rick looked from the cash to the card, sweating. "Alpha Cole... it's a lot of stock..."
• "Do it!" Cole roared. He smirked at me, that arrogant, punchable smirk. "You have money for one bottle, Ava? Cute. I have the entire Bloodmoon treasury behind me. You can't compete."
• "Is that so?" I stood up. My heels clicked on the floorboards, echoing in the silence.
• I pulled out my checkbook. It was old-school, dramatic, and perfect for what I was about to do.
• "How much for the bar, Rick?" I asked calmly. "Not the drinks. The building. The land. The business."
• Rick choked. "What?"
• "Three hundred grand?" I guessed.
• "Five hundred!" Cole shouted, his face turning red. "I'll pay five hundred grand right now! I own this place!"
• He looked at me, triumphant. "Go home, Ava. You're out of your league."
• Lexi giggled. "Yeah, go back to scrubbing floors. You don't have that kind of money."
• I laughed. It started low and built into a cackle that made Nyx howl in my head.
• "You think this is about money, Cole? This is about value."
• I wrote a check, ripped it out, and slammed it onto the counter next to his black card.
• "One million dollars," I announced, my voice ringing clear. "For the bar. And for Rick to ban these two idiots for life."
• The crowd gasped. Lexi stopped giggling. Cole stared at the check, reading the numbers. His face went pale.
• "Where... where did you get this?" Lexi shrieked. "You stole it! You thief!"
• "It's my money," I said, leaning in until I was nose-to-nose with her. "Something you'll never have, Lexi. Because everything you own-your clothes, your jewelry, your man-is borrowed."
• I looked at Cole. He was shaking, his pride cracking.
• "You think you can buy me off?" he snarled. "You're nothing without me! Those earrings you're wearing? I bought them! That dress? I paid for it!"
• "You're right."
• I reached up and ripped the diamond studs from my ears. They were cheap, tiny things he'd given me for my eighteenth-an afterthought gift.
• "Here." I threw them at his chest. They bounced off his shirt.
• I kicked off my heels. "These too. The 'Sorry I Cheated' gift." I threw them. one hit his shoulder.
• Then I reached for the zipper of my dress.
• The crowd held its breath.
• "And this?" I pulled the zipper down a few inches, just enough to loosen it, then grabbed the champagne bottle.
• "I can buy your dignity, Lexi," I said, my voice ice cold. "But looking at you two... it seems you sold it cheap."
• I didn't throw the dress. I threw the champagne.
• Splash.
• The expensive vintage liquid hit Cole square in the face. It soaked his hair, his shirt, and splattered all over Lexi's perfect blowout.
• They stood there, dripping, sticky, and stunned into silence.
• "You're banned," I whispered, winking at Rick. "Get them out of my bar."
• I grabbed my purse, barefoot and buzzing with adrenaline. Zoe threw a coat over my shoulders, grinning like a maniac.
• As I walked to the door, stepping over the puddle of champagne and shattered ego, I turned back one last time.
• Cole was wiping the alcohol from his eyes, looking at me with a mix of fury and... fear.
• "Two weeks, Cole," I called out. "Enjoy the throne while you can."