Chapter 5

Freya’s POV

The dungeon was dank and cold. It smelled like mold. Shivering, I wrapped my arms around myself and replayed everything in my head.

It didn’t make sense. One moment she was eating pancakes. And the next she was covered in wolfbane rash.

Unless…

The realization hit me hard.

Mira framed me. She set me up. I rushed to the bars and hollered for the guards. I had to see Ethan. I had to tell him what she’d done.

  

“Shut up,” one of them snapped at me. “Alpha Ethan doesn’t want to see you. He’s with Mira at the hospital.”

“Pup killer,” the other one spat.

They looked at me with so much hatred. I stumbled backwards.

So the rumors had already spread. Rumors spread like wildfire through the Moonvalley pack. By now, everyone had probably heard. I could them, whispering, throwing out insults like daggers:

‘Have you heard? Luna Freya poisoned Mira with wolfsbane. She tried to kill the heir to the pack.’

‘She’s a disgrace. I’m ashamed to call her Luna.’

‘Alpha will have her exiled for this. She deserves everything coming to her.’

The made-up voices swirled in my head. My hands gripped the cold bars. My stomach dropped.

Ethan didn’t want to see me. No one did. I was now officially the most hated person in the pack.

They left me in the cell overnight. It was a long, cold night. I was starving and thirsty and all alone. It wasn’t until the next morning that someone came to see me.

“Enjoying your new room?”

I looked up to see Mira’s gloating face. She was standing at the bars, make-up freshly applied, hair neatly done. My hair was a rat’s nest. I was filthy and shivering.

“Where’s Ethan?” I said, scrambling to my feet.

“He’s having breakfast. He’s famished after staying with me all night. He didn’t leave my bedside at the hospital. Not even for a second. Luckily we got to the pack doctor just in time. They treated me. No damage done. Well…” She chuckled, low and derisive. “Not to me, anyway.”

“I know you set me up,” I said.

“Yes, I did.” She laughed.

“So you admit it?” I asked.

“To you, yes. But not to anyone else. Obviously. I slipped dandelion leaves onto my pancakes when you weren’t looking. I’m highly allergic. I knew Nora would bring me the ointment. I laced it myself with wolfbane. It was the perfect setup.” 

“Why are you doing this?” The scent of her expensive perfume wafted through the air. It was a reprieve from the thick scent of mildew and my own pungent body odor. 

“Because I can,” she shrugged. “Because you’re not worthy of Luna. Because I love Ethan. Because it’s fun. Shall I go on?”

“You won’t get away with this,” I shot her daggers with my eyes.

“I already have. The whole pack’s talking about it. They want you exiled.” She examined her nails. “I told Ethan that seems a bit harsh.” She brought her eyes to mine. “But who am I to argue with the pack?”

“I’ll tell Ethan the truth. I’ll tell him…”

“Go ahead,” she smiled. “He won’t believe you. I’m carrying his precious baby. Remember? The heir to the pack. The heir that he believes you tried to kill.”

“Mira?” Ethan’s voice echoed down the hallway. 

“There he is now. Go ahead. Tell him the truth. Let’s see who he believes. It’ll be fun.” She winked at me and cast me one last smug smile before she turned to Ethan. 

“I’m here, darling.”

“Mira,” Ethan said, half out of breath. “What are you doing down here? Come now. You’ll catch a chill.”

Tears sprung to her eyes. “I had to see Freya. I had to know why she did this. Why would anyone try to harm an innocent baby? Why does she hate me so much?”

She was a damn good actress. I had to give her that. Tears streamed down her rosy cheeks. I pleaded with Ethan to believe me. But he bought Mira’s little act, hook, line, and sinker.

“I’m deeply disappointed in you, Freya. Clearly you’re not the she-wolf I thought you were.” His face was serious, his tone stern. 

“I didn’t do it. Please. You have to-”

“Nora!” Ethan called. Nora’s footsteps echoed down the corridor as she approached the cell. "Tell Freya what you told me!”

Nora’s cheeks burned red. She wouldn’t look me in the eye. I rushed to the bars and gripped them. My stomach sank. A sense of foreboding washed over me.

“Luna ordered me to lace the ointment with wolfsbane.” Nora’s voice was barely above a whisper.

“What?” I gasped. My own maid had betrayed me. I couldn’t believe it. “Nora, look at me,” I pleaded. “Tell them the truth, Nora. Please.”

But Nora wouldn’t look at me. She wrung her hands, her head hung low.

“Thank you, Nora. You’re dismissed.” Ethan ordered.

Nora scurried away. She was lying and she knew I knew it.

“That isn’t true, Ethan,” I started. But he cut me off.

“Enough,” he hollered. I recoiled. “Enough lies, Freya. You will give a public apology to Mira. And you will accept your punishment.”

My blood ran cold. This wasn’t happening. It couldn’t be. I’d done nothing wrong.

“And if I don’t?” I asked.

“Then I will reject you as my mate and banish you from the pack!”

His words were the final nail in the coffin. They cut through my heart like a knife. He believed her. Not me. He was never going to believe me. He thought I was actually capable of something like this. 

Heartbroken, I looked him square in the eyes.

“Go on then. Break the bond.”

He flinched. He was never expecting that.

“You don’t want me to do that. Without the pack, you’re just a helpless Omega. You’ll die at the hands of rogues, Freya. Apologize. Accept your punishment. Breaking the bond is practically a death sentence for you. You’ll regret it!”

Mira smiled triumphantly. Her smile made me sick to my stomach.

I lifted my chin. “The only thing I regret is marrying you. So like I said. Break. The. Bond.”

My words pushed Ethan over the edge. His face twisted with rage.

“I, Alpha of the Moonvalley Pack, reject you, Freya, as my mate and Luna!” he growled.

“I accept.” I said without hesitation.

The physical pain hit me like a bolt of lightning. My knees buckled. I couldn’t breathe. But I clung onto the bars and stopped myself from falling. I wasn’t going to let them see my pain. So even though my insides were on fire, and indescribable pain washed over me, my face was stoic.

“Leave before nightfall,” Ethan hissed. He was shocked that I was enduring the pain. Waves of agony ripped through me. I held his gaze.

“I will,” I replied as he motioned for the guards to open my cell.

He grabbed Mira’s hand and stormed off.  

‘This pack doesn’t deserve you,’ my wolf said. ‘It’s time to leave.’

Nodding, I reached into my pocket. I slipped the Silvermoon’s ring onto my finger. Instantly, my dormant power rekindled. The mindlink to my father opened.

“Freya, my little wolf, is that you? What’s wrong?!”

My father’s voice through the mindlink was anxious. But hearing his voice flooded me with relief.

I finally broke down in tears. Still clutching the bars to steady myself, I told him:

“Father…I want to come home.”