Chapter 3

Stripping me of my duties didn't give Kian the satisfaction he expected.

For the next few days, he was like a man possessed. Calling my phone. Sending texts. Over and over.

"Freya, pick up."

"Haven't you been dramatic long enough?"

"Just come back. I'll restore your titles. I won't let Isolde touch your things again."

By the end, he'd even swallowed his Alpha pride. His tone was almost begging.

"Freya, I can't stand this goddamn silence. Please. Just answer me."

I floated behind him, watching this pathetic, too-late display. I felt nothing.

"Honey, what are you looking at?"

Isolde walked in. She carried a cup of hot black coffee. Her cheeks were flushed, her steps light. Her voice was sickly sweet.

Kian flinched like a thief caught in the act. He slammed his phone face down on the table.

He turned to give her a half-hearted hug, but his eyes froze on her neck.

His pupils shrank. "Is that the Luna Stone? Why do you have it?"

I looked down at my own empty, transparent chest.

That necklace was his mother's. Passed down only to the true Luna of the pack.

I always wore it. Never took it off.

Until I was torn apart in the lake house.

Isolde's eyes darted around in a brief, visible panic.

She clutched the necklace. "Oh? What a coincidence…" she stammered. "I saw it at a black-market auction… I just loved it so I bought it."

Kian stared at the necklace, his brow furrowed into a knot.

"There can't be two moonstones exactly like that in the world," he said, his voice low. For the first time, his eyes held a cold, assessing gaze.

Isolde quickly grabbed his arm, her eyes instantly welling up again. "Darling, are you accusing me of stealing from Freya? I'm a dying woman, what do I need a necklace for! Mom and Dad are waiting for us at dinner, let's go."

Kian's expression flickered. He finally just rubbed his temples, tired. He didn't push it.

But me? I felt a chill pierce through my very soul.

My death was no accident. Why would a Rogue give my necklace to Isolde?

That evening, Kian and my parents had dinner at the Pack House.

"Isolde doesn't have much time left. Let her eat well while she can," my mother said, placing the tenderest cut of steak on Isolde's plate.

Just then, the front door burst open.

Kian shot to his feet, a flash of wild joy in his eyes. "Freya!"

But the person storming in was Zara. A whirlwind of red hair.

My best friend. My ride-or-die.

She was weak as a child, an outcast. I was the one who shared my resources with her, who fought for her.

Now, she was the strongest Beta in the neighboring Blood Moon Pack.

"Where is Freya?!" Zara’s eyes were bloodshot. Her voice was ice.

Isolde shrieked and hid behind Kian. "Zara, are you crazy? This is the Alpha's private residence!"

Kian ignored Isolde. He rushed toward Zara. "You've seen Freya? She's with you, right?"

His casual assumption infuriated Zara.

The next second, she moved like a lioness.

A sharp CRACK echoed through the room.

She'd slapped him. Hard.

Across the face.

The room went dead silent.

A Beta, slapping an Alpha. In public. It was a direct challenge to his authority. A death sentence by pack law.

But my parents were too scared to even breathe.

Kian’s head was turned to the side, a red mark already swelling on his cheek. He didn’t fight back. His wolf was whining low in his chest, a sound of deep unease.

"You disgusting pieces of trash!" Zara was shaking with rage. She pointed at each of them. "Kian, you betrayed your fated Mate. You let this two-faced bitch move into her house! And you—"

She spun on my parents. "What is your daughter to you? A stepping stone? She's been gone for a month! Did you even look for her for a single day?!"

"Zara! Tell me where she is!" Kian pleaded, his eyes wild and red.

"Shut up! You don't deserve to say her name!" Zara laughed, a cold, sharp sound. She pulled a bone-handled dagger from her belt, carved with ancient runes, and slammed it into the dining table. "Listen to me. If anything has happened to Freya, I will unite Blood Moon with anyone who wants a piece of you, and we will go to war. I will make you pay in blood!"

With that, she ripped the dagger from the table and stormed out, slamming the door behind her.

Silence.

That slap seemed to have finally woken Kian up.

He collapsed into a chair, his face ashen. The fear he'd been suppressing finally exploded.

"Something's wrong…" he muttered. He looked up at my parents, his voice trembling uncontrollably. "Freya has never been out of contact this long. Even with the bond blocked, there should have been something… What if… what if something really happened to her?"

My parents' faces went white. They couldn't meet his eyes.

My mother started shaking. "No… it can't be… She's so strong. She must just be hiding, angry with us. In a few days… she'll come home. We'll make it up to her…"

They were still dreaming.

Hoping I’d come home. Hoping a few empty apologies could erase the fatal wounds they’d inflicted.

Too bad. They would never get that day.

I didn't need them to make anything up to me. I was already rotting away in the lake house, the stench of Wolfsbane thick in the air.

The next morning, before the fog had even lifted, a shrill ring shattered the silence.

It was his Head Tracker.

Kian snatched the phone, his voice shaking. "Did you find Freya?!"

On the other end, the captain's voice was heavy. Strained with horror.

"Alpha… we found a woman's body in the basement of the north lake house. There's a high concentration of Wolfsbane at the scene. She was mauled by Rogues… badly. She's been dead for over a month. Sir… you need to come identify her. Immediately."