A Second-Chance.

Freya’s POV:

"How... how do you know all this?" I demanded, my voice trembling as I stepped closer to her, the suitcase now bulging at her feet. "And more importantly, I refuse to believe that Mason would try to kill me. That's insane! He's my mate, my husband, he wouldn't... he couldn't..."

But even as I said it, memories of his cold eyes in the office, the way he'd held me back from Selene with such force, and his threats that rang in my ears all came rushing back.

‘No, it can't be true.’ Mason had his flaws, but murder? 

Mrs. Elena's face hardened, her wrinkled hands pausing as she folded one of my silk blouses. "Alpha Mason is in on the plan, Luna. He agreed to letting you carry those babies and then... eliminating the complication you represent."

The harshness of her words caused my knees to buckle again as I sank to the floor beside the bed, clutching the comforter. "That's a lie! This is all Selene's doing, she's poisoning his mind!” 

My mind raced, replaying our wedding night under the stars, and the way his arm was always wrapped around me during pack gatherings so how could that man plot my death? 

"Luna, Freya!" Mrs. Elena knelt beside me, her calloused hands gripping my shoulders firmly, shaking me gently. "This isn't the right time to break down. Alpha Mason's mother is already on her way and she could be here any minute so you have to move now, or it'll be too late."

I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand, the salty streaks blurring my vision as I looked up at her, searching her face for any sign of deceit. She was always so steadfast, with her apron tied neatly and her bun impeccable even now in the dead of night. 

Why her? Why this sudden ally in my crumbling world? "Why are you helping me? You've served this family for years, so what's in it for you?"

She hesitated, her hazel eyes softening, before she stood and pulled me to my feet. "I want to repay my gratitude to your late mother. She... she saved me once, in ways I can't explain right now."

“You knew my mother?” I pressed. “How? She passed away when I was eight years old and that was over 14 years ago."

Mrs. Elena shook her head, glancing at the clock on the nightstand.

"It's a long story, Freya, and there's no time for it now. But you should know that the reason you're alive today is because of her. She made sacrifices and choices that protected you, even after she was gone and that's all I can say. So please, for her sake and yours, trust me and leave immediately."

Trust her? The word felt foreign after Selene's betrayal, and Mason's cruelty but what choice did I have? “I... I want to trust you, but I have nowhere to go. No pack will take me in without Mason's approval.”

"Take your car and drive it all the way to the center of the forest.” She urged, wheeling the suitcase to the door then she grabbed my coat from the hook.

"The forest?" I repeated, slipping into the coat as my mind pictured the dense, shadowy woods that bordered our territory. 

“The forest has four junctions that lead to the Southern, Western, Northern, and Eastern region respectively. But at the center of the forest, is a small village called Heighten Grounds that is known as a harbor for outcasts, and for people on the run.” 

As she explained, I stood frozen because I had only ever read about the Heighten Grounds in books and I never expected that I would be going there someday.

"When you get there, you'll find somebody waiting for you at the gate, and she will help you get settled in.” She continued, dragging me out of my thoughts. 

“And who is this 'somebody'?” I asked, reaching for the suitcase.

"Her name is Iris." Mrs. Elena replied, glancing over her shoulder as if expecting intruders. "She'll be waiting if you hurry but be careful, Freya. The road to Heighten Grounds is dangerous so you need to reach the center immediately. And remember to stay alert, and never stop for anything."

‘Dangerous?’ I thought, stuck between accepting my fate or leaving but staying meant bearing the twins only to be ‘gotten rid of’.

For the babies, I had to try. "Alright." I whispered, nodding. "I'll go. Thank you... for whatever debt you owed my mother."

“Go now.” She said, squeezing my arm. “May the Moon Goddess guide you."

Nodding, I tightened my grip on the suitcase, hurried to the garage, slid into the driver's seat of my silver sedan, drove to the gate, and without hesitation the guards opened the gates and I drove out, speeding toward the forest.

My hands gripped the wheel tightly, as my thoughts spiraled but I pushed it down, focusing on the road ahead for almost an hour until the forest began closing in with branches scraping the car like skeletal fingers until I reached a river that was too wide and wild for the car to cross. 

There was a huge storm last night so the river and occasional puddles that I had drove past made sense, but using the map on my phone, I was still yet to reach the center of the forest so I parked and hoisted the suitcase onto my head, its weight pressing down as I stepped out onto the stones protruding from the water and leaped from stone to stone, my dress soaking at the hem. 

When I finally made it to the other side, I was breathless so I set the suitcase down to catch my breath amid the towering pines. But then I suddenly heard a loud growl, followed by another. 

Scared that they were rogues, I grabbed the suitcase and ran, branches whipping my face, roots snagging my feet as the growls multiplied and footsteps thundering behind me.

‘Faster, Freya, faster!’ My wolf, Lily urged, but I slipped on a muddy incline, tumbling over a hill in a roll as leaves and dirt filled my mouth, and pain exploded as my body slammed against rocks. 

At the bottom, my head cracked hard against a jagged stone, stars bursting in my vision. Dazed, I looked up through blurring eyes and caught a glimpse of a towering man standing above me, his red eyes glowing like embers in the dark, staring down with an intensity that chilled my soul then, everything went blank.