"I don't know your face," he said. "I know every Alpha on this continent. I know every bloodline worth knowing. So who are you, and what claim do you think you have in my house?"
Jason finally looked at the King. It was the look of a man deciding how much to give away and settling on very little.
"My claim," he said, "is older than your house."
He reached into his coat and produced a single document. He didn't unfold it. He simply held it.
"My name is Jason Vayne. And the woman your son claimed in that arena—" his eyes moved back to Ava, steady and unreadable— "was never his to claim."
Ava's breath had gone somewhere she couldn't find it. Vayne. The name meant nothing to her, She looked at his face.
"You're lying," she said. Her voice came out steadier than she had any right to expect.
