Marked Twice by the Alpha King Chapter 28

**Ava's POV**

The medal felt cold against my palm as I stood on the podium, applause crashing around me like waves against a cliff. My fingers traced the engraved wolf emblem—this wasn't just a shiny trinket, but my ticket into other packs' archives and my shot at saving Dad's neck. Literally.

Spotlights burned hot overhead as my eyes wandered to the judges' table. Blake sat there like a storm contained in human form, those gray eyes giving away nothing. For one stupid heartbeat, I caught myself hoping he might look proud, before reality slapped me back to my senses. To him, I was just Lucas's combat teacher—a hired hand, nothing more.

The Director's voice boomed through the marble hall: "This young warrior hasn't just shown us fancy footwork, but true wolf spirit. She's living proof that what makes a warrior isn't blue blood or fancy connections, but guts and brains."

He carefully danced around the elephant in the room—my father rotting in a cell with "traitor" stamped across his name. Everyone in this hall knew what this medal meant to me: a golden key to information that could save Dad's life.

"Congratulations, Ava," the Director smiled, his ceremonial robes catching the light. "Care to say a few words?"

My throat tightened as I nodded. "Thank you, I'd like to—"

"Enough! Ava Rivers is a fraud!"

The voice cut through the hall like a silver blade. I spun around, stomach dropping like I'd missed a step on a staircase. Serena stood beside her chair, golden hair gleaming under the chandeliers, those ice-blue eyes practically glowing with hatred I knew all too well. The crowd erupted into a hornet's nest of whispers and shocked faces.

The Director's smile vanished. "What exactly are you implying?"

Serena lifted her chin, lips curled into a sneer. "She doesn't deserve that medal or those privileges! She cheated during her final assessment!"

My body went rigid, memories crashing back of being thirteen and having Serena announce to everyone at training camp that I couldn't read the combat scrolls because I was "too stupid." History repeating itself in the worst possible way.

Heels clicking against marble, Serena strode toward me, something clutched in her manicured hand—a moonstone, its silvery surface catching light as she moved. Each step she took sent fresh waves of burning pain through my mark.

"I have proof," she announced, triumph dripping from every word. "She used Blood Moon Dust—illegal performance enhancer—during her assessment."

The crowd sucked in a collective breath. Senior judges straightened in their chairs, eyes flashing wolf-gold. Blake's shoulders tensed like he was bracing for impact.

"Moonstone doesn't lie," Serena purred, holding the stone toward me.

As it neared, the stone's color shifted like a mood ring from silver to crimson, pulsing with bloody light. Gasps rippled through the crowd like wind through tall grass.

"Clear as day," Serena's voice dripped with satisfaction. "And here's the kicker—" she pivoted toward the judges, eyes lingering on Blake, "—this exact forbidden magic is William's specialty. Everyone knows he used it when he betrayed and killed the former Alpha. Like father, like daughter—trying to sneak into other packs' secrets!"

My insides turned to ice. Blood Moon what? I'd never even heard of the stuff. Dad's name being dragged through the mud made my chest ache like I'd been kicked by a horse. My eyes found Blake automatically, his face dark as a thundercloud, nostrils flaring slightly as he scented the air.

"That's bullshit!" Ella jumped up, fists clenched. "Ava never needed to cheat a day in her life!"

"Silence." An elderly judge with white-streaked hair approached me slowly. He took a deep breath, his brow furrowing as he nodded to the Director. "There is... something."

My stomach dropped to my boots. This couldn't be happening. I'd never touched any enhancers in my life, didn't even know what this dust crap was! Yet here I stood, being convicted by a rock changing colors.

"I've never used any enhancer," I finally managed, my voice steadier than my insides. "I don't know what Blood Moon Dust is, and I'd never spit on warrior honor like that."

Adrian jumped to his feet from the third row. "This is crazy! Everyone knows Ava earned every point through blood and sweat!"

Judges huddled together, whispering furiously while the hall buzzed like an overturned beehive.

The Director raised his hands for quiet. "We need to investigate these claims properly. Both of you, follow me to my office. We'll handle this privately."

Just as I stepped down from the podium, Blake's voice rolled through the hall like distant thunder: "I'll be joining this investigation."

The room went dead silent. The Alpha King personally stepping into a cheating case? Unheard of.

A flicker of uncertainty crossed Serena's face before her mask of confidence slipped back into place. "Perfect. Truth holds up under any light."

I studied Blake, trying to read his intentions. Good sign? Bad? He rose to his feet with that effortless power that made other wolves instinctively step back. The golden threads in my mark suddenly warmed, pushing against the burning pain like sunshine fighting through storm clouds.

Following the Director through the parting crowd, my brain kicked into overdrive. The timing stank worse than wet wolf—accused of cheating exactly when I needed those privileges to save Dad? No way this was random chance.

I flashed back to Serena's smug little smile after the competition—she'd known this was coming. But how did she get this dust stuff on me? And why was the moonstone reacting like I'd bathed in the stuff?

Near the exit, movement caught my eye—a figure in the shadows exchanging a lightning-fast glance with Serena. The Shadow Creek emblem glinted on their jacket, and though I couldn't make out their face, something about that silhouette set every instinct on high alert.

Jackson.

As we filed out, I caught Blake and Tyler trading a look that lasted half a heartbeat. Tyler gave an almost imperceptible nod before melting toward the opposite exit. Whatever silent conversation they'd just had, it wasn't in the program. Blake maintained his poker face, but something flickered in his eyes—not anger or disappointment, but something calculating, strategic.

Walking the long corridor to the Director's office, possibilities swirled through my head like autumn leaves. The setup was too perfect, too well-timed. And Blake's involvement—was the Alpha King here to help or hammer the final nail in my family's coffin?

One thing was crystal clear—Serena and Jackson had just fired the first shot. But this battle was far from over, and I wasn't about to roll over and show my throat to anyone.