Chapter 2

Freya

I hurried out of the house, my heart racing as I desperately searched for Darren. He couldn’t know what his parents were planning—he couldn’t. The conversation I’d overheard still echoed in my head, unbelievable and horrifying. My thoughts were interrupted when I bumped into someone.

“Oh, sorry,” I began, but then I saw it was Claire.

“Are you okay?” she asked, her brows furrowed in concern. “We still have a few hours until the wedding, so you can redo your makeup if needed.” Her reassurance would have been comforting a few minutes earlier , but now it barely registered.

“Have you seen Darren?” My voice trembled with urgency, and Claire’s eyes widened in alarm. She glanced around but shook her head.

“I haven’t seen him,” she admitted.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing" I answered and darted off, leaving her behind as I weaved through the guests. It's not time to explain things.

 Some teased me, making lighthearted comments about how I couldn’t wait to get married when I asked them about Darren. I forced a tight smile but didn’t engage. My worry overshadowed their jokes. Finally, someone mentioned seeing Darren head into the pack house about half an hour ago.

Relief surged through me as I rushed to the pack house. I checked room after room, each one empty until I reached the last door. It was locked and I knocked. My knocks echoed in the quiet hallway, and after a pause, the door creaked open.

Darren stood there, shirtless, his expression unreadable. My cheeks flushed, and I quickly looked down, feeling awkward. “Can I talk to you?” Without waiting for an answer, I stepped inside, nudging him aside.

The air left my lungs when my gaze fell on the bed. Thalia, his best friend, lay there—naked.

“No,” I whispered, shaking my head as if doing so could make the scene disappear. But it didn’t. The truth was glaringly obvious in Darren’s eyes. Why had he let me in? He could’ve stopped me at the door, made an excuse—but he hadn’t. He wanted me to see this.

“You told me there was nothing between you two,” I said, my voice cracking as tears blurred my vision.

“Well,” he began, his tone was cold and dismissive.

“Well?” My voice rose, trembling with disbelief. “We’re getting married in a few hours, and I walk in on this, and all you have to say is ‘well’?” I felt myself unraveling, my heart shattering into pieces.

“Maybe because I have no desire to marry you,” he said flatly, crossing his arms. Thalia watched from the bed, unbothered, as if this was all perfectly normal.

“What?” My voice was barely a whisper, broken and raw. “Then why go through all this? Why let it get this far? Were you planning to leave me at the altar?”

He smirked, and the truth hit me like a blow to the chest. “You knew,” I said, my voice trembling with realization. “You knew all along.”

“Of course, I did.” His voice was laced with mockery. “From the moment I met you, Freya. Do you really think someone like me would be interested in a poor village girl? Do I need to remind you who I am? I’m Darren Shadow-Moon.”

His words were like daggers, each one cutting deeper. My heart felt like it was being torn apart, stomped on. I had been so blind, so in love.

“Claire warned me,” I murmured to myself, the weight of her words crashing down on me.

I swallowed hard, trying to steady my voice. “This wasn’t about us, was it? It was about the land. and your parents want my pack’s territory, You don’t know do you?” My voice cracked, the fear and betrayal making my body tremble.

“Yes,” he said simply, without hesitation. “It was always about the land. Your pack is sitting on something valuable—gold, wolfsbane, and who knows what else. And you, Freya, were the easiest way to get it.”

I stumbled back, shaking my head as tears poured down my face. “You’re destroying people’s lives—for gold? For money? These are families, Darren—children, elders. This is our home! And your father wants to force us to sell it”

Thalia laughed coldly, "Sell?" She turned to Darren, "Your parents are offering them money?"That’s so generous of them, I actually thought they were going to take it as usual.” She remarked and judging from the casual way she said it, it wasn’t the first time they’ve done something like this. 

Darren shrugged, completely unfazed. “Your pack will be gone soon. Consider it a mercy that my parents even offered money. They usually just take.”

The sound of screaming pierced the air, sharp and agonizing. I raced towards the window to find out what it was, but I only managed to take a couple of steps before Darren pulled me back, slamming me roughly against his body.

“What’s happening?” I shrieked, fighting against his hold but he didn’t budge, instead he dragged me out to the balcony, forcing me to watch the scene of my people being killed by his army from down below. 

Below us, chaos reigned. His warriors slaughtered my people—men, women, children. The ground was soaked in blood.

“No!” I screamed, thrashing against him. “Please, Darren, stop this! I’ll do whatever you want. Just stop! We will evacuate, please tell your warriors to stop, I’m begging you.” I cried, still struggling to get away from him, to help my people. I watched them run for their life, only to be killed shortly after. 

“Sorry,” he sneered. “That offer has expired.”

“Why haven’t you killed her yet?” Thalia snapped, at least now she’s wearing a bathrobe. 

“Because…” grabbing me by my hair, he shoved my head down the railing, forcing me to watch what was happening below. “I want her to watch every last one of them drop down before finishing her off, for the past month I had to pretend to love her, to enjoy her company, it was pure hell and this is my own pay back.” He answered her. 

I collapsed, sobbing, as the screams grew louder. My father, Claire, my people—they were all dying, and I couldn’t do anything. Darren shoved me to the ground, his voice was like venom as he leaned on forward and softly whispered into my ears. “I, Darren Shadow-Moon, reject you as my mate.”

The rejection tore through me like fire, sending unbearable pain coursing through my body. I writhed on the floor, gasping for breath.

When the last scream faded, he pulled me up by my hair, forcing me to face him. “You wanted to know why we’re doing this?” he sneered. “This land is worth more than you’ll ever understand. And you? You were nothing more than a pawn.”

He drove a knife into my stomach, the pain exploding through me. I barely registered his laughter as he stabbed me again and shoved me over the balcony.

I hit the ground hard, my body shattering on the impact. Through the haze of pain, I heard a faint whimper. I turned my head and saw Claire, her body broken and bloodied.

“Claire,” I whispered weakly.

Like mine, her face was covered in both blood and sweat, one of her legs was missing. 

“Claire?” I cried, trying to reach for her as I burst into another round of tears.

“Freya?” She cried back. 

“I’m going to get help okay? Hang in there…I’ll get someone to help us…and any other survival… I’ll get help.” I murmured weakly, waiting for the Shadow -Moon and their Army to drove out before crawling away from her. 

“Freya…I’m scared…” she cried weakly. 

Unable to tell if she could hear me, I muttered back. “Don’t be, I’ll be back with help, we will be okay.” I didn’t know if I was trying to convince her or myself. I crawled over bodies as I made my way to the exit and towards the main road but my strength gave out, and the world around me dimmed. As I lay there, I saw my mother’s face smiling down at me, her hand reaching out. I tried to take it, but everything faded to black.