Chapter twenty eight: forgive me freya

I couldn’t breathe as I gasp for air. It hurts, watching Freya pass through all these when I couldn't offer any assistance to her pierces through me.

The unsettled wind knocked me off my thought, I couldn't focus on anything far except her. 

Freya. 

She stood there, just a few feets away, her face filled with the kind of pain I couldn’t heal away. Her eyes, those eyes, haunted me more than the enemy did. The betrayal spinning around her, the rage, the hurt. I’d put that look in them.

Riven.

My heart diced painfully at the sight of him, foolishly standing there beside Kade. The wolf I had once nurtured into an ally, a friend like a brother__now a traitor. The man who'd helped us fight, helped us prepare for what was coming, was now helping Kade__the enemy to crumble us.

How did we get here? How'd I allowed this to happen__get to this extent?

“I told you this was how it'd to be,” Riven said, his voice empty. “Freya’s power is too dangerous__too much for her. She can’t handle it.”

I clenched my fists at my sides, trying to burry my fury not to explode , atleast not yet. My wolf growled beneath me, furiously against Riven’s statement. The flames of betrayal surged through my chest, burning __hotter than anything, only needs to quench the taste.

“She doesn’t need to control it,” I snapped, stepping forward. “She only needs to be who she is. You’ve always been weak, Riven. You’ve been too afraid of real power to see it when it’s right in front of you.”

Riven’s lips curled into a tight smile. “You really think she’s the answer to everything, don’t you?”

I didn’t even answer him. My focus shifted to Freya, the woman who had been my undoing—and my salvation. I could feel her struggle, the pull of the magic inside her, the power that she could barely hold onto. It was too much for anyone to control, but it was her power. Not Riven’s, not mine—hers. She was the only one who could wield it, but only if she could truly embrace it.

And I had failed her. 

“Freya,” I said softly, taking a step toward her. “Please. I know I’ve hurt you. But this… this isn’t the way. You’re strong. Far more stronger than this. Don’t let him, don’t let Kade manipulate you and achieve his aim.”

She turned facing me, her gaze unreadable. For a second, there was only silence between us. Her pain punch me like a physical blow, and I could see all the doubt in her eyes. The same doubt that was there when I'd rejected her, when I'd cast her aside in favor of pride.

And now, I was the desperate one.

“please, I beg of you. Don’t do it" Freya whispered, her voice low and calm.  “ no, You don’t understand. I’m not the same person you know anymore. I can’t go back to who I used to be then"

“You don't need to,” I interrupted, coming closer to her, my voice soft with emotion. “You’re more than you’ve ever been to me. More than what I ever thought of you, Freya. But I need you to know that you’re not alone. I’m here. I’ve always stayed beside you. Allow me, Let me help you. We can do this together.”

Her stare softened for a moment, but then she bent her head down in disappointment. “no, Finnick. I don’t even know if I can trust myself.”

I felt pain in my chest at the sound of those words. I had seen her grow stronger. I had watched her transform into a woman capable of far more than she realized. She was no longer the frightened girl I had once rejected. But she was still struggling to welcome that.

I closed the space between us, my hand reaching for soft palms. She didn't want to, but for my sake, to my relief, she took it. The warmth of her hand in mine made something inside me settle that instant, even if just for a moment. We were still together. 

But then I heard that. The resounding of footsteps behind me, the crushing of leaves. I spun around, my wolf instincts kicked me.  It was Kade. The smile on his face made my stomach churn.

“do you think you can stop me?” Kade sneered, his eyes gleaming with malice. “You and Freya are weak. You’re nothing compared to what I’ve built.”

I bared my teeth. “You don’t know anything about strength, Kade. All you know is power—stolen power. I’ll make you regret ever thinking you could break us.”

Kade raised his hands, a wicked grin stretching across his face. “I don’t needn't to break you, Finnick. I just need to make sure you’re out of my way.”

Before I could react, his wolves surged forward. I felt a cold shiver walk down my spine. The battle had begun.

“Freya, come back!” I screamed, pushing her behind me, though I knew she would never stay there__ not too long. Her power was too unpredictable, too strong but I had to protect her, at least for now.

I lunged forward, my claws extending, and my wolf took over, its hunger for battle surging through me. The first wolf that came at me was met with a savage swipe. I didn’t hesitate. I couldn’t afford to.

Kade’s pack wasn’t going to hold back, and neither would I.

Freya’s voice reached my hearing, sharp and panicking.

“Finnick!”

I stared back just in time to see her standing, her body gleaming with a strange, dazzling light. The magic was glittering to the surface, far stronger than things I'd seen before. I could feel the intensity of it, could sense how it threatened to tear apart everything around her.

“Freya, no!” I screamed, fear clouding my chest. “please Don’t, calm down and listen to me."

But it was too late. The magic exploded from her, vibrating and a blinding burst of energy that sent wolves running, their bodies thrown like ragdoll. The force of it pushed me off my feet, landing me crashing to the ground.

I grunted to push myself up, my breath coming in quivering. “Freya!”

She stood in the middle of the woods, her hands raised, eyes shut, her entire body sparkling  radiant light. I could barely see her, the volume of it, but I could feel the weight of the power burning within her, surfing like a storm ready to break free.

“This is not you,” I uttered, my heart aching. “Freya, don't give up please. fight it. Please.”

But her eyes snapped open, and in them was a coldness that chilled me to my core. She wasn’t the Freya I knew anymore. The magic had taken over her, carved her into something else. Not what I could describe.

“No,” I growled, horror, venom, fury filling my chest.

“Finnick,” she said, her voice sounding different and distant. “I’m no more your Freya anymore. I never was.”

I reached out for her, but the wind around her transformed, as though a barrier had shaped. I could feel it. A long invisible wall between us, separating us more than the physical space ever could.

“Freya… no! ” I screamed. my voice tearing apart. “ please Come back to me.”

But she didn’t move.

Kade’s voice cut through the chaos, his laugh resounding in the air__victorious “common finnick,It’s too late for her. She now belongs to me. And with her power, we’ll take every single thing you have.”

I turned back to him, fury burning in my chest. This wasn’t over. Not yet.

But when I stepped forward, something terrifying emerged, something that made my heart paused.

Riven unleashed into view, like an animal that crawled out of its shell, eyes dark and chaos swinging across, his expression mean. And then he did the unthinkable__unexpected.

He raised his left arm and slowly lowered it, a signal.

The wolves in Kade’s pack circled us, ready for the kill.

And I realized—too late—that Riven had chosen his side.