C6

===== Freya Holloway POV =====

"What do you want me to say?" I asked. I did not know how to fix this mess.

Should I say sorry for marrying Lucien? That would be a lie. My mom and his mother made this deal, not me.

Lucien took a step toward me. The room felt heavy. I took a step back. "I am not looking for trouble," I said.

Rowan grabbed his arm. "Lucien, do not be mad. It is my fault. I should not have brought it up. You two need your rest. I will go home."

"No," Lucien said. He took her hand and led her upstairs. He did not even look at me.

I went to my room and locked the door. My heart was thumping. I heard them moving around upstairs. I hated this. I just wanted to get through this month.

The next morning, I walked to the dining room. Lucien was there with his papers. Rowan was making him coffee. I sat at the far end of the table and ate my breakfast without looking up.

Aunt Eleanor’s helper, Mrs. Miller, walked by. She frowned at me. "Freya, you are the wife. You should sit next to Lucien."

I looked up. Lucien stopped reading. Our eyes locked. I felt cold all over. He hated me.

"I am done," I said, standing up fast. "Enjoy your food."

I ran out of there. I didn't want to be in their way.

I went to my room and pulled out my phone. A company had emailed me back! They wanted to see me for a job. I grabbed my bag and headed out.

The building was huge. It touched the sky. I walked in, feeling small. Everyone else was wearing suits and carrying thick folders. I had on my favorite jeans and a t-shirt. I felt like a sore thumb.

I waited for an hour. Finally, they called my name.

The man across the desk looked at my clothes and then at my empty hands. "You have no resume?"

"I have no office experience," I said, my voice steady. "But I know the language of the Northern Territory better than anyone. I lived there for a long time."

"How?" he asked.

"I had to learn," I said. "To survive."

I didn't hear a sound, but I felt a gaze on me. I looked toward the door. Rowan was walking past with a stack of files. She stopped. She heard my voice. Her face went pale as she looked inside.

"Freya?" she whispered.

"She speaks the language of the Northern Territory too," I heard Rowan whispering. She was staring right at me from the door. My blood ran cold. She knew. She was the one who watched that night, and now she knew it was me.

"Ms. Ashcroft?" a worker said to her. "The meeting starts now."

"You go on," Rowan said, her voice sharp. "I will be there in a minute."

The interviewer turned back to me, smiling. "You are hired. You have a real gift for languages. Come back tomorrow."

I beamed at him. "Thank you so much!"

I stood up and left, feeling like I could finally breathe. But as soon as I hit the hallway, Rowan stepped in my way. She walked into the interview room before I was even out of sight.

"That woman cannot be hired," I heard her snap at the interviewer. "She is not right for the pack."

"But she knows the language—"

"I said she is not hired," she growled.

I stopped. My heart dropped into my stomach. I knew who she was. She was the Alpha's girlfriend. Everyone was scared of her. I didn't wait to hear the rest. I just left. My hope was gone.

I took a cab to the old Holloway manor. I needed to talk to my father, Graham. I walked in, and there was Victoria, his new wife, lounging on the couch like she owned the place.

"Oh, look who it is," she said, looking at me with her nose in the air. She was wearing my mother's old jade bracelet. My heart hurt. That was my grandmother’s.

"I need to see Graham," I said.

"He is not here," she said, painting her nails. "And you look like a wilted flower. I bet that crippled wolf you married doesn't even look at you."

I gritted my teeth. "Is he coming back?"

She laughed. "Why bother? You are just a waste of space."

I turned to leave, and that is when I saw his car pull up. Graham stepped out. He looked at me with hate. He didn't even wait for me to say hello. "If you want your mother’s things back, you have to do something for me first."

"You promised!" I shouted. "You said if I married Lucien, you would give them back!"

"Plans change," he sneered. "I need the mining rights to the Whispering Woods. Lucien holds the keys. You get me those rights, and you get your mother’s junk."

"You are a monster," I whispered. My voice shook with anger.

"I am your father," he hissed. "Do not talk to me like that."

He walked past me like I was dirt. I stood there, feeling the cold wind on my face. He had no honor. He would never give those things back.

I walked home, my head spinning. When I got back, my phone buzzed. It was an email from the job. Sorry, you are not a good fit.

I dropped my phone on the floor. I sat in the dark and stared at the wall. My job was gone. My father was a crook. And I was trapped in a marriage to a man who didn't even know who I was. I had to find a way to get those things back, but how? I needed Lucien. I needed to get close to him, but how do you get close to a wolf who wants to bite your head off?