Chapter 4

Freya's POV

In the afternoon, Eric brought Ella back home.

The maids and witches who had received the orders all had subtle looks on their faces. Their gazes constantly shifted between the calm me, the smug Ella, and the gloomy-faced Eric.

During dinner, he acted like he was throwing a tantrum. He continuously served food to Ella, regardless of whether she liked it or not.

The food on Ella's plate quickly piled up like a small hill.

"That's enough. I can't eat anymore," Ella coyly refused as she pressed herself against him.

I calmly lowered my head and ate my food. I didn't even bat an eyelid.

Eric's mood seemed to grow even heavier.

Layla sneered. "He's like a wolf whose tail got stepped on."

I knew very well that it was best to act as I had before—crying, being sad, and not eating. That way, Eric wouldn't become suspicious.

If he sensed that I was determined to leave or even realized I was with pup, he would surely go mad trying to stop me.

But how could anyone possibly pretend to love someone they don't love?

Suddenly, a loud bang interrupted my thoughts.

I looked up blankly at Eric across the table. Why was his expression even angrier?

Besides, Ella was still clinging to him. "Eric, you're taking such good care of me. Freya's going to get angry. She hasn't eaten much."

Eric's icy tone sounded a little aggrieved as he said, "Why would she be angry? It looks to me like all she cares about now is the food."

It was only then I noticed his plate was almost empty.

Before, with every meal, I would serve him food and urge him with a smile to eat more. Now, all I did was slowly swallow my food and remark, "Don't talk while eating."

Eric was so angry that he threw his fork down, kicked his chair away, and stormed off.

Ella put down her utensils with an unpleasant expression. "Freya, you did that on purpose, didn't you?"

With no one else around, she dropped the act.

I blinked and smiled. "What?"

She gritted her teeth. "I really thought you could endure anything, that you'd rather raise someone else's pup than leave.

"You're really something, aren't you? Acting like you don't care, all just to get Eric's attention!"

I didn't respond to her. Instead, I lowered my gaze to pick at the food on my plate.

"Don't get so angry while you're with pup. What if the pup is born deformed?" I retorted.

Ella trembled with rage. It was as if she were fighting the urge to shift. Her voice became shrill as she yelled, "It's just the two of us here! Who are you putting on an act for? You just want to act magnanimously so that Eric thinks you're understanding and feels guilty toward you!

"You're actually terrified that after my pup is born, Eric will actually become my mate and expel you from the pack, right? That's too bad! Even if he lets you stay, it's only out of compensation, not love! You, a lowly Omega, are so pathetic—stubbornly clinging to a werewolf who doesn't love you!"

I looked down at the plate, now cracked from my grip.

After my bloodline awakened, my strength became a bit hard to control when I was emotionally charged.

Ella was smug and kept spilling everything. Then, one sentence suddenly caught my attention.

"Actually, I'm seven months along. I was already with pup before the night of the love potion. The pup isn't Eric's. Still, the pack needs an heir. He won't say it, but he's very anxious. That night… I was just going with the flow," she said with a gleeful chuckle.

Layla let out an excited shriek. "Oh, my God! Eric got played!"

I was also staring at Ella in shock. She covered her mouth in frustration and glared at me.

"What are you looking at? Even if you tell him, he won't believe you!"

As she spoke, she pulled out a thin stalk of wolfsbane from her pocket and swallowed it in one gulp!

"I'll show you right now who Eric really trusts more!"

I was so stunned that my mind went blank for several seconds before I could react.

Ella had already collapsed on the floor and was moaning in pain. "It hurts… My pup… The pup…"

She covered her stomach with both hands as the blood flowing from her lower body stained her skirt red.

Eric, smelling the blood, rushed over. His expression shifted drastically as he shouted, "Ella!"

He hurriedly gathered Ella into his arms and roared at me, "What did you do?"

"Nothing! It was her—"

Ella's cries interrupted my defense. "Eric, thank goodness you didn't eat tonight's dinner! There was wolfsbane in it!"

She sobbed loudly, "I knew Freya still resented me, but she even wants to get rid of my pup…"

Eric's gaze toward me was incredibly complex—shock, disappointment, doubt… In the end, he settled on disappointed anger.

"Freya, since when did you become so vicious?" he asked flatly.

He picked Ella up and approached me. For the first time, he directed his Alpha aura at me.

Almost instantly, I couldn't breathe.

"You know very well what the punishment is for intentionally harming a pack member with wolfsbane," he said.

It was 30 lashes with the thorn whip, carried out in front of the entire pack after being stripped of clothing.

Even the pup in my womb sensed Eric's anger and kicked uneasily.

"Lock Freya in the interrogation room. If anything happens to the pup, I will carry out the punishment myself without any leniency!"

After giving the order, he quickly carried Ella away. I was dragged and thrown into the dim basement, with my whole body trembling.

"Hey, are you okay?" Layla asked quietly, her tone worried.

It took me a long time to recover. I pushed myself up to stand and wiped the sweat from my face.

"I'm fine," I replied.

Suddenly, an Elder's call came through.

"Ms. Gardner, the inheritance from your parents has been sorted and fully transferred to your personal account. Additionally, we have finally deciphered the last encrypted line of their will to you.

"'The North welcomes its Queen back.'"

I laughed, and a feeling of pure relief washed over me. I drank the potion to remove the temporary mark, and when I spoke again, my tone was relaxed.

"Thank you. I will depart immediately."