Fever Dreams and Old Flames

(Freya's POV)

Aaron’s sharp reprimand hung heavy in the air of his office. The stares of the nearby pack members—especially Caroline’s sympathetic gaze—seared into my skin like fire. My fists clenched at my sides, desperate to keep my anger and humiliation from showing.

“Why are you here if you’re sick?” Aaron barked, his voice cutting through me without mercy. “Luna or not, you have no excuse to neglect your health. How can you attend to pack matters when you can’t even attend to yourself?”

The incredulous scoffs of the other wolves in the room made the blood pound in my ears. Caroline’s soft gasp reached me next, her tone effortlessly kind as she interjected. “Aaron, that’s—”

“Enough, Caroline,” Aaron growled, and my shaky hand instinctively gripped the back of a chair for balance. “Freya knows better.”

I swallowed hard, the lump in my throat lodge-like a stone. The pregnancy had robbed me of my focus and strength today. And now my Luna status, my title, my pride—all of it felt like it was slipping away with every accusing glare Aaron sent my way. I couldn’t bear to stay a moment longer.

Careful not to let my voice crack, I managed to speak. “Pardon me, Alpha. I remembered some urgent tasks in my office. I’ll… excuse myself now.”

Turning abruptly, I moved toward the door. Caroline, ever the caring presence, spoke again in my defense. Her voice was soft, warm, and so full of concern it made my stomach knot in jealousy. “Aaron, you shouldn’t be so harsh.”

I froze at the doorway, my fingers trembling on the handle as I heard Aaron snort. “Harsh?” The word dripped with sarcasm. “The former princess of the Snowblade pack isn’t made of glass, Caroline. She can endure more than you think.”

Pity. That’s all I saw in their eyes. And worse, he made me feel like a broken relic. The once-proud Luna now overstayed her welcome, standing as a shadow of the mate he never wanted.

That was all I could take. I pushed the door open and walked quickly, ignoring the pulsing ache in my temples and the tightening in my chest.

---

By the time I reached my office, my knees felt weak, and my thoughts spun. My fingers trembled as I leaned against my desk, my head pounding.

“Luna, you’re burning up!” Sarah Cooper’s voice startled me. She rushed to my side, her face pale with worry. “Please, please, let me call someone. You need to rest.”

I waved her off, my voice hoarse. “I’ll stay here. I just need a few minutes…”

She hesitated, wringing her hands nervously. I appreciated her concern, but I couldn’t bear the thought of anyone reporting this back to Aaron. I wanted to avoid another scolding or more piercing looks from the pack.

I lowered my head onto the desk, fighting the fever’s pull, and let it win.

---

In my fevered dream, I was young again, a hopeful eighteen-year-old. The corridors of the old pack house stretched endlessly in the moonlight as I crept toward the training room. My hands gripped the folded letter I'd written—a confession of my feelings for Aaron.

Just as I approached the door, voices stopped me.

“She saved my life, Marcus,” Aaron was saying, his voice filled with admiration. “Do you understand what that means to me? I’ll always owe Caroline.”

Marcus laughed lightly. “You’re hopeless, Aaron. Everyone knows you’d go to the ends of the earth for her, even if she doesn’t want to be your Luna.”

A bitter pang struck me as I hesitated by the door.

“Freya?” someone asked. My ears perked up at my name.

Aaron’s laugh followed, soft but dismissive. “Freya is like my little sister. She’s sweet, sure, but… that’s it. I’ll protect her because it’s my duty as Alpha. But Caroline will always have a place in my heart that no one can replace.”

My heart cracked, the words cutting through me like a blade.

The dream shifted, and I wasn’t eighteen anymore. Darkness wrapped around me as Aaron’s glowing golden eyes pinned me in place. His clawed hand gripped my chin harshly, his voice a cold command.

“Get rid of it,” he snarled. “This cub is proof of nothing but manipulation. Do you think I’ll fall for a trap like this?”

The words sent my wolf, Bella, howling inside me in abject anguish. I tried to speak, to argue, but Caroline appeared at Aaron’s side, her stunning face emotionless.

“She’s just trying to trap you, Aaron. You know that,” she said coldly, tilting her head in mock pity.

“No!” I cried out, my own voice ripping through the nightmare.

---

I woke with a start. My body jerked forward as my lungs pulled in deep, ragged breaths. The nightmare still clawed at the edges of my mind. My skin was damp with sweat, my resolve shaken.

"She’s awake," said a voice that made me sit straighter.

It was Caroline. I turned my head and blinked, realizing I wasn’t in my office. The soft seats of Aaron’s car surrounded me. Caroline sat primly in the passenger seat, her expression a mask of delicate concern.

“How are you feeling, Freya?” she asked. Her tone was so unbearably perfect, like sugar on poison.

Aaron’s voice interrupted any attempt I would’ve made to respond. “You’re going to the hospital.”

“No,” I croaked, shaking my head weakly. My voice was hoarse, but I forced myself to sit taller. The fever might have drained my body, but I couldn’t give in to this demand. The hospital could ruin everything.

“Freya,” Caroline’s voice softened as she turned to look at me. “You really shouldn’t push yourself like this. Yesterday’s rain probably wasn’t a good idea.”

I bristled at her words. Did she know about the taunts, the humiliation, the prank? No, she only knew what Aaron had likely told her. But still, her mention of it felt like a twisted reminder of my current position: trapped, out of place, and alone.

“Leave it,” Aaron interrupted curtly. His hands gripped the wheel tighter as his eyes flicked briefly to me in the rearview mirror. “Freya, we’ll go to the hospital, get you checked, and then you’ll be confined to the pack house. No office. No work. Understood?”

“Take me home,” I murmured, my voice breaking. I refused to enter the hospital. Not now.

Aaron growled low, a frustrated sound that made my wolf stir uneasily. “You’re being reckless. You can barely sit up! Stop being stubborn.”

But I was too exhausted for his anger to weaken me as it normally would. I met his fierce gaze in the mirror with the last shred of defiance I could muster. “I said no. I know my body. Take. Me. Home.”

He growled again, louder this time, but before he could speak further, our mate bond sparked. His voice entered my head suddenly, surprising me.

"Freya." His mental tone was calmer, his Alpha command dialing back as he tried a softer approach. “Stop fighting me on this.”

The mind link was rare for him to use with me, even though mate bonds made it natural. And on any other day, maybe I would’ve felt a flicker of joy knowing he cared enough to speak that way. But not today.

Today I saw the fleeting looks he gave Caroline, filled with an intimacy we would never share. I remembered the nightmare’s vivid images of cold hands and accusing words. And I knew that no matter what he said now, his actions would never match.

“I want to go home,” I repeated in my mind, shutting down the link before he could argue further.

Caroline’s feigned concern and Aaron’s rare softness only deepened the ache in me. Home was no comfort either, but it was the only place where I could curl up and hide from it all.