Rising From Ashes: The Assassin Bride's Comeback

Anja POV:

Caleb's face was a mask of bruised pride and disbelief. An Alpha, a lord of his house, being threatened in his own bed by the woman he considered nothing more than a docile placeholder.

His jaw tightened, and a low growl rumbled in his chest. He tried to reclaim his power the only way he knew how.

"Put down the knife, Anja," he commanded.

The words were laced with a palpable force, an invisible pressure that settled in the room. It was the Alpha's Command, a power meant to compel obedience in lesser wolves. I felt a strange thrum against my skin, a foreign energy trying to push its way into my mind. It was the body of Anja Vinson reacting.

But the core of me, the soul of an assassin from another world, remained untouched. It was like feeling a breeze against a granite wall. Useless.

I tilted my head, a slow, deliberate motion. A small, humorless smile touched my lips. "Are you barking at me?"

His eyes widened in shock. The command had never failed him before. It was the bedrock of his authority, the proof of his superiority. And I had just brushed it off like a piece of lint.

Dahlia, seeing his powerlessness, scrambled to his side, pulling at his arm. Her voice was a panicked hiss. "Caleb, she's... she's gone mad."

Her words were the spark that lit his fuse. Humiliated and enraged, Caleb swung his legs off the bed, his naked body tense with aggression. He lunged for my hand, intending to rip the letter opener from my grasp.

It was a clumsy, predictable move.

I didn't even have to think. My body moved on pure instinct. I shifted my weight, turning my wrist just so. The heavy pommel of the letter opener connected sharply with the nerve cluster on the inside of his wrist.

A choked grunt of pain escaped his lips. His arm went numb, his fingers spasming open. His attack faltered.

I didn't give him time to recover. I flowed forward, my knee driving hard into the soft flesh of his abdomen. The air rushed out of his lungs, and he doubled over, gagging.

The entire sequence took less than two seconds. To Dahlia, it must have looked like a single, impossible blur.

I pressed my advantage, stepping in close. The cold, sharp tip of the silver letter opener found the soft spot just under his jaw, pressing against the pulse fluttering in his throat.

"I don't like it when people touch my things," I whispered, my voice devoid of any emotion.

Caleb froze, his body rigid. He could feel the cold sting of the silver against his skin, a sensation instinctively repulsive to his kind. The metallic scent filled his nostrils, a primal warning of danger. For the first time in his pampered life, he felt the cold, sharp reality of his own mortality.

Dahlia let out a piercing shriek, fumbling to pull on her discarded dress.

My gaze flicked to her, cold and dismissive. "Your performance is pathetic, Dahlia. Did you really think being my father's bastard would be enough to make you an Alpha's wife?"

The words hit their mark. I had named her deepest desire and her most shameful secret in one breath.

Her face went white, the fake tears vanishing, replaced by a look of pure, unadulterated hatred.

I withdrew the letter opener, taking a step back to create a safe distance. "Now, you can get out." My tone was flat, as if I were dismissing servants.

Caleb, clutching his throat, straightened up slowly. A thin red line was already welling up on his skin. His face was a storm of fury and confusion.

He finally managed to pull his thoughts together, his arrogance reasserting itself. "Anja Vinson, you dare to harm me? This marriage is over! I will file for an annulment first thing in the morning!"

He spat the words out, convinced he was delivering the ultimate blow. An annulment would disgrace me and my family. It was the worst possible fate for a noblewoman.

Dahlia's eyes lit up with vicious glee. This was exactly what she had wanted all along.

But to their astonishment, a genuine smile spread across my face. It was the first real emotion I had shown all night, and it was one of pure, unadulterated delight.

"An annulment?" I repeated, my voice light, almost cheerful. It was as if he had just offered me a gift.

"That's wonderful," I said, my tone crisp and final.

"I suggest you do it as soon as the sun rises. The faster, the better."

Caleb just stared at me, his mouth slightly agape. His ultimate threat, his ace in the hole, was not only ineffective, it was something I actively desired.

He looked like a man who had swung a sledgehammer with all his might, only to hit a cloud of smoke. All his anger, all his threats, had just been rendered utterly ridiculous.

I watched the dawning horror and confusion on his face.

"By the way," I added, my smile turning sharp as glass. "I'll be sure to hold onto the evidence of your adultery. Good luck with the proceedings, Mr. Burke."