After My Mate Stole My Rogue Kill, I Defied Him Chapter 06

After My Mate Stole My Rogue Kill, I Defied Him Chapter 06

Colin didn’t even wait for me to respond

He turned, his Beta sash catching the light, and extended his hand toward the front row Toward her

“Azalea,” he said, his voice carrying that false warmth he’d perfected over the past few months. “Will you do me the honor of standing by my side as the true Beta Female?’

The ballroom went silent

Azalea Stone stood frozen, her elegant gown shimmering under the chandeliers. Her eyes flicked to me-just for a second-and I saw it Hesitation Maybe even discomfort.

But then her father’s gaze found her from across the room. Alpha Marcus, watching. Waiting. The weight of pack expectation pressing down on her shoulders like a physical thing.

She stepped forward.

Her hand slipped into Colin’s, and the crowd erupted. Applause, cheers, congratulations. Mrs. Phillips was practically glowing, her hands clasped together like she’d just won the lottery.

Colin pulled Azalea close, his arm around her waist, and turned to face the crowd like they were already mated. Like I was already gone

Valkyrie laughed in my mind. Not angry. Amused.

*Now?*

“Now,” I whispered.

The room was waiting for me to break. To cry, to beg, to collapse under the weight of rejection and humiliation. I could feel their eyes on me, hungry for

the spectacle

Instead, I laughed

It started low, barely audible over the applause. A dry chuckle that caught in my throat and grew. Louder. Colder. Until the sound cut through the celebration like a blade through silk.

The applause died.

Heads turned Conversations stopped mid-sentence.

I looked up at Colin, and I let him see it. The gold bleeding into my eyes, turning them from dull brown to liquid fire. The smile on my face wasn’t sad or

broken

It was predatory

“You reject my poverty? I asked, my voice steady and amused. “That’s interesting, Colin’

He took a step back, his arm dropping from Azalea’s waist ‘Freya-‘

“You’re wearing a suit I bought I gestured at his perfectly tailored jacket, the one he’d insisted on for tonight Tom Ford Thirty two hundred dollars I paid for it with the bounty from that rogue pack in the eastern territory. Remember them? The ones you told everyone you cleared?”

Murmurs rippled through the crowd

Colin’s face went pale. “That’s not-”

“You’re standing on a stage I paid for I looked past hirm to the elaborate decorations, the crystal centerpieces, the imported champagne This entire

ceremony? Funded by the Ironclaw bounty Fifty thousand dollars The one you just claimed you earned two nights ago

The murmurs grew louder

“While you were sleeping,” I continued, my voice carrying across the silent ballroom, “I was in the mud, bleeding, fighting a three-meter rogue general with claws like knives. And when I came home, covered in rain and blood, you called me lazy.”

Colin’s mouth opened and closed. No words came out

Mrs. Phillips stepped forward, her voice shrill. “She’s lying! She’s just bitter-*

“Am I?” I looked at her, and she stopped mid-sentence. Something in my expression made her take an involuntary step back. “Tell me, Mrs Phillips How did Colin afford his training fees? His weapons? His tactical gear?”

Silence

I reached up to my neck, my fingers finding the obsidian necklace. The one that had burned my skin for three years, suppressing everything I was, everything I’d sacrificed to make this weak, ungrateful wolf feel like a man.

“You wanted a strong mate?” I asked Colin, my voice dropping to something cold and dangerous. “Be careful what you wish for.

I snapped the necklace.

The obsidian shattered in my hand, black shards falling to the platform like rain. The enchantment broke with a sound like thunder-a sonic crack that made the microphone system screech with feedback. The speakers howled, and wolves across the ballroom clapped their hands over their ears

But that was nothing compared to what came next.

My aura exploded outward.

Three years of suppressed Alpha power, compressed and concentrated and furious, hit the room like a physical force. It rolled out in waves, crushing down on every wolf in the ballroom with the weight of absolute dominance.

The Deltas at the doors dropped to their knees, their wolves forcing submission. The she-wolves who’d laughed at me gasped and stumbled, their faces going white Even Beta Harrison-standing near the front in his formal uniform-went rigid, his eyes wide with shock.

Colin staggered backward, his hand clutching his chest like he couldn’t breathe. His wolf was screaming at him, recognizing a superior predator, demanding he submit

Azalea stood frozen, her eyes locked on me, all that pity replaced with something else.

Fear And recognition

I stepped forward, and Colin fell to his knees

The mighty Beta The hero The rogue hunter

On his knees before his “wolfless” wife

I looked down at him, my eyes burning gold, my aura pressing down on his shoulders like a physical weight

“My turn,” I said softly