Two days.
That was how long I stayed locked inside my den, packing my things in silence and preparing to leave the Silverfang Pack for good.
I ate almost nothing. I barely slept. My chest didn’t ache anymore. I was simply numb, as if my wolf had curled into a cold corner inside me and refused to move.
A knock came.
“Freya?” Gwyneth’s sweet voice floated through the door, fake as always.
When I didn’t answer, the door opened anyway. Gwyneth stepped inside like the Alpha’s house belonged to her alone.
“Sister, I know you’ve been … going through things. But it’s my birthday, and all the pack members are asking where you are. You need to come greet everyone. Even if Father is angry with you… you’re still his daughter.”
I stayed silent and kept folding clothes.
“Freya, please? I’m just trying to keep our pack peaceful.”
Then another voice followed. Deeper. Colder. His.
“Where are you going? Why can’t you act normal for once—”
“You are my warrior, not my Alpha. Don’t forget your place.”
My words cut through the air like claws, and Gareth stopped, his expression empty and unreadable.
I hadn’t seen him since the night he sold my legacy, the night he humiliated me in front of the whole pack. The night the male who had once been my fated mate treated me worse than a rogue.
“Lady Freya, you have everything,” he finally said, tone formal.
“The Silverfang Pack has a tremendous legacy. You don’t need to fight with your sister or torment her. The least you can do is show up for one night. Just behave.”
I laughed, sharp, bitter, and painful.
Behave.
Gwyneth sniffed softly, pretending to be innocent.
“Gareth, you’re my sister’s warrior and friend. Please help me. I only want Freya to come downstairs. Everyone is talking…”
I turned away.
If I looked at either of them any longer, I would tear the whole room apart.
“Fine. Get out. I’ll be there.”
My voice sounded dull, hollow. Because the only thing worse than breaking… was letting them see it.
The ballroom glittered in soft pink and gold, the walls covered in roses and glowing candles. Pack members laughed and chatted, the air thick with sweet perfume and wolf scents. Then I heard him.
My father.
Laughing loudly among high‑ranking Alphas and Betas.
“So, the Grey Wind Pack’s Alpha himself chased after my Gwyneth!” he boasted.
“Gareth, of all wolves. I always knew my daughter was special!”
Someone asked about me.
He didn’t hesitate.
“Freya?” he scoffed.
“A troublesome pup. Not like Gwyneth. She brings honor to the pack. Freya only brings problems and wants attention.”
I froze behind a marble column, hidden but listening. His words sliced through me like claws. Then Gwyneth’s voice rang out through the hall.
“Everyone!” she called sweetly.
“Before we cut the cake, I want to say something!”
The crowd gathered like pups chasing a treat.
She smiled beautifully, her eyes sweeping the room until they landed on me. She lifted her hand, inviting me forward like I was part of her little show.
“I know things have been… tense,” she said softly.
“But I want you all to know that my sister and I have made peace.”
I blinked.
She turned to me with fake sadness.
“I’m sorry for making you angry and jealous, sister. I never tried to compete with you. No matter how much you hate me… I always looked up to you. We are pack.”
The crowd murmured in admiration.
She turned back to the giant cake and cut it gracefully.
“To my sister,” she said. “May she one day find peace and purpose.”
Then she stepped closer and held the first bite toward me.
I didn’t take it.
Her whisper hit me like poison.
“The last thing you’ll ever taste as a Silverfang Pack’s member, bitch. First your mother died, and now it’s your turn to follow her. Father isn’t yours. Your ex‑fiancé wants me. Even your fated mate, your precious warrior, chooses me over you.”
My vision burned red. I turned away, refusing to let her see me break. But then my dress jerked sharply.
Cold air hit my back. Gasps filled the hall. The silk slid down my body in a cruel wave, leaving my breasts exposed. I grabbed the fabric too late.
People shouted. Wolves whistled. Voices hissed in shock. My hands shook as I tried to pull the dress up, but the clasp had been cut. Clean. Deliberate.
I knelt on the ground, tears stinging my eyes.
Behind me, Gwyneth gasped dramatically.
“Oh no, sister!” she cried. “Why would you do that? Again? Freya… is this for attention?”
The crowd turned toward me with disgust, pity, and hunger.
And then … he moved.
Gareth. From across the room, his gaze locked on me—cold, distant, Alpha‑hard. He didn’t shield me.
Didn’t growl. Didn’t protect the wolf who once carried his mark.
He shrugged off his jacket and dropped it. At my feet. Not on my shoulders. Not around me. As if he wanted to say, ‘Cover yourself. You shame us.’
I grabbed it with shaking hands and pulled it around me as I stood on trembling legs.
Gareth guided me toward the exit, his grip firm on my elbow.
No comfort. No warmth. Just the cold duty of a warrior escorting a disgraceful wolf.
In the bathroom, I shut the door fast and slid down the wall. The cold marble bit into my bare skin as I clutched his jacket to my chest. My breaths came in broken gasps. Shame crawled up my spine like fire. Tears fell hot and fast.
Outside, I heard Gwyneth’s fake cry.
“W‑Why would my sister do this?!”
Gareth’s voice followed, sharp and cold.
“The way she acts… like stripping in front of the whole pack means nothing. It’s something an innocent wolf like you will never understand, Lady Gwyneth.”
Then came the words that shattered me.
“I can’t believe a woman could act with so little respect for herself,” Gareth said. “Who undresses like that? For attention? Sympathy? A moment of praise?”
I stared at the floor.
“She’s always been an attention seeker,” he continued.
“Framing you. Acting like a… prostitute. Tonight proved it. No wolf with dignity would do something like that.”
The words were bullets.
One. After. Another.
He truly believed I wanted this. That I chose to be exposed like prey before a pack of hungry wolves. I once loved him more than the moon. I once believed the mate bond meant something. Now, I saw the truth.
Loving him had been the biggest mistake of my life.
