Chapter 2

Freya’s POV

“You’ve no right to reject me!”

Leo spun around so fast my chest jumped.

Alphas are ego incarnate, and Leo was at the very top of that food chain.

He had spent his life being chased, and now the woman he had treated like trash for three years was standing in front of him, daring to take control. He couldn’t process it.

“Do you have any idea what I could do to you right now?”

“You actually want a divorce? I am your Alpha! I should be the one rejecting you, not the other way around!”

“I’m tired, Leo. You made your choice. It’s been clear for a long time, and I refuse to let you make me the villain for finally accepting it.”

Leo stepped back, his eyes wide, disbelief written across his face

“Wow…”

“I get it,” he continued, his voice dripping with contempt. “This is a performance to get my attention, right? Well, congratulations. You got it… and now you disgust me even more.”

I drew a steady breath, forcing my heart to stop shaking.

I had one final declaration left, one sentence that would sever every thread tying me to him.

“I, Freya Cowell, reject you, Alpha—”

The witch, Caroline, cut in before I could finish.

“How long are you going to keep up this sad little act?”

“Excuse me? This is none of your business!” I snapped.

“Oh, it is. You’re in my house. Everyone knows the only reason you’re still here is because your pack needs Ironveil’s protection. Especially now that your useless father got himself killed.”

My chest tightened.

Three months ago, my father had gone to the eastern border to investigate rogue activity and never returned.

Every day since then, I had clung to the hope that he was still alive.

“You have no right to talk about my father like that,” I said through gritted teeth.

Caroline smirked. “And if I do? What are you going to do about it? Face it, he’s dead. Probably eaten by rogues, and—”

I didn’t let her finish.

My hand moved before the thought fully formed.

The slap cracked through the room as Caroline’s head snapped sideways.

She touched her cheek slowly, like she was confirming it had actually happened.

When she looked back at me, the shock in her eyes had already turned into something vicious.

She moved faster than I expected. I caught her wrist, but not before her nails raked across my jaw, tearing my skin.

Pain burned across my face.

I twisted her arm and stepped into her space, staring straight into her eyes.

“Say his name again,” I said quietly. “I dare you.”

“Let go of me…Leo! Leo, she’s going to hurt the baby!”

Leo crossed the room in three long strides.

He grabbed my arm and yanked me back, putting himself between us.

“Are you out of your mind? She’s pregnant!”

“She clawed my face!”

“I don’t care what she did! You do not put your hands on her. Do you understand me? Not ever!”

He turned to Caroline immediately. His voice dropped, his hands cupping her face as he examined the red mark on her cheek.

“Are you okay? The baby…”

“I’m fine. I just… she scared me, Leo. I didn’t expect…”

“Go lie down. I’ll handle this.”

Caroline pressed a hand to her cheek, shot me one last look, and walked out.

Leo turned back to me.

“Honestly, Freya, it’s been my wish for a long time for you to leave, and I won’t pretend otherwise.

“But it will happen on my terms and on my timeline.”

“So you keep starving me of your time and attention while you’re obviously in love with another woman?”

“The Alpha Council General Election is eleven weeks away, and you know I’m running for High Alpha of the Eastern Territory.”

“What does that have to do with me?”

“Don’t play dumb with me, Freya! A divorce scandal in the middle of a campaign will hand my rivals exactly the ammunition they need to paint me as unstable. I will not let that happen because you decided to act like a child.”

I stared at him, because I honestly couldn’t believe I had fallen in love with someone like him.

“So here’s the plan,” he continued. “You’ll remain in the pack house for twelve weeks and do what you’ve always done. After I win, I’ll pay you off for your time, and then you can leave.”

For a moment, I couldn’t even process what I had just heard.

“You want to pay me off,” I said slowly.

“Like I’m a contractor. So the last three years mean nothing to you?”

“I’m offering you a clean exit with financial security. Most people would consider that generous.”

“Most people,” I replied quietly, “haven’t spent three years quietly keeping your campaign alive while you took the credit.”

I had graduated top of my class from Crestfall University with a First in Law and Political Governance.

The week after graduation, I turned down a six-figure offer from one of the most powerful inter-pack legal firms in the region because I had married Leo Cowell and believed in what we could build together.

What I built instead was his empire without a single credit to my name.

During his last election campaign, his campaign manager told me I had a ninety-nine percent approval rating among the allied Luna Council.

The highest of any Luna in the Eastern Territory.

That number was the reason Leo was the front-runner for this second tenure.

“I’ve been the silent architect of your political career for three years,” I said.

“While you were busy resenting me and having an affair with your so-called sister. So yes, go ahead and pay me for my time and effort. I’d really like to see what number you put on it, because I know my worth.”

Leo was about to speak when his wrist vibrated with the soft pulse of a mind link.

“I’m on my way. Tell the driver to bring the car around.”

He dropped his hand and looked at me with open disgust.

“You can bark all you want, Freya. There’s nothing you can do. My decision is final.”

He straightened his jacket, picked up his phone from the coffee table, and walked out of the room.

I picked up my bag from the floor where it had fallen during the struggle with Caroline and walked out, struggling to hold back my tears.

I made it back to the Luna suite before I fell apart.

I slid down the back of the door and sat on the floor.

It was moments like this that I needed my wolf but she had gone silent on my wedding night.

I cried till my lungs hurt and I couldn't breathe until exhaustion took over and I slept off.

That night, she came to me in the dream.

I dropped to my knees and she pressed her head against my chest, and for a moment neither of us said anything at all.

"What happened to you?" I asked.

My voice broke on the question I had been carrying for three years.

"Where did you go? Why did you leave me?”

I didn't leave. I was silenced. Someone did this to us, Freya and they're not done."

"Who?" I whispered.

She held my gaze for one long, weighted moment.

“Time will tell”

She pressed her nose to my stomach.

"Our pup is waking me up but you have to be ready for what comes next.”