KLAUS’S POV
The slap echoed louder than any voice in the room. Not because of the sound—but because of what it meant. I didn’t move. Couldn’t. The sting on my cheek was sharp, yes, but it was nothing compared to the silence that followed. A silence that rang deep in my soul with the weight of her eyes, her pain, her disbelief.
She looked at me like I was a monster. And for the first time, I realized I might actually be one.
“Such audacity to strike the Alpha,” Susan muttered from her seat, as if the venom in her voice wasn’t still dripping from the last thing she’d said to Gina. She smoothed her dress, feigning grace, like we hadn’t just torn a woman to shreds with our words.
I didn’t respond. I couldn’t shake the image of Gina’s face—that cracked, trembling voice, the way her whole bo
