Chapter 1

FREYA’S P.O.V

The world around me was a blur, my limbs ached and pain had become my silent companion, always waiting and lurking just beyond the surface. My body felt like lead and my head felt like someone was doing construction work inside of it. I couldn’t believe that this was what my life had turned to- a meaningless void of pain and sorrow.

The only reason for this pain was that my mate betrayed our mate bond to get laid with another she-wolf, and this was the third time this week. 

Some days, I wondered what they had that I didn’t that made him keep going back to them. In the earlier days of our marriage, I even tried to be more like them but it never worked.

I had been married to Alpha Jaxon for three years and things had only gotten worse from there. I was treated like trash by him and his mistresses alike. I wanted to go back so many times but a part of me thought that I could change him.

Maybe it was the initial touch and warmth he brought to me that convinced me that there had to be a kind gentleman under that hard exterior and that was why despite the pain coursing through my body, I still managed to set up a beautiful candlelit dinner. 

When I first met my mate, I thought he was the most handsome man in the world. I was arranged to be mated to another- one more cruel than I could ever imagine. He was the Alpha of my last pack and he had treated me like trash.

Jaxon arrived at the pack for a meeting but one look at him and I knew that he was my mate. He was my savior. We met in deserted hallways and those first few days were like bliss. I knew instantly that I wanted to be with him

I didn’t leave a note to tell my family where I was going, I didn’t care about them. I just wanted to be free but little did I know that I was walking into a trap. His kindness was all a facade. He waited until we had gotten married before he showed me his true side.

But I believed today was different, I had some good news that I hoped would change his affection towards me. A few days ago, I felt nauseous and I had taken myself to the doctor only to find out that I was pregnant. One thing Jaxon always wanted was an heir and if he knew I was to give him one then he would have no other choice but to love me. The thought alone was enough to keep me moving as I lit the candles and waited.

I waited for the first hour but he didn’t show and I began to worry.

“He will come, ” I tried to assure myself. “He always comes to me at night, especially on our anniversary. ”

I didn’t have my wolf yet so I could not mind link him. I decided to try calling but it went straight to voicemail. I began to worry and I had decided to go and find him myself when I felt pain in my chest like I had been punched. I knew what that pain was because I had experienced it many times before. Tears gathered in my eyes as I realized the situation at hand.

Not only was he with one of his mistresses, he chose to do it on our wedding anniversary. I couldn’t stop the tears that spilled from my eyes as sobs wracked through me. The pain never ceased and I had to drag myself over to the bed. I was used to the pain but for him to do it today of all days was downright insulting.

I tried to call him once more hoping that I was mistaken and the pain was something else. This time, he picked up and there was no mistaking another woman's voice I could hear on the other side of the call. The tears fell even harder.

“Where are you?” I choked out and he swore.

“Fk off, I’m busy,” he hung up without another word and heart wrenching sobs ran through me.

I thought I was used to his indifference and cruelty, and I thought the pain of betrayal was bearable, until today, when I truly realized I couldn't continue to lie to myself.

I trailed my hands down and wrapped them around my stomach as I thought about the child that would be brought into this. My baby did not deserve this. I had willingly walked into this life but they had not and they deserved more than a father who would disrespect their mother like this.

Despite the tears in my eyes, I grabbed the first bag I could see and began shoving things inside of it. I was not going to stay here any longer. I had tried everything possible under the sun and I could now see that there was nothing I could do to make him love me. Jaxon Eaton was incapable of love and it was about time that i saw that.

I waited until the pain ceased after an hour. I knew the guards schedule by heart seeing as I would take food to them. I knew that Jaxon would be training and the guards would be taking a rotation. Once the coast was clear, I took off from the palace. I didn’t look back once, I knew there was nothing to be missed.

I halted by the pack border though, I stared at it for much longer than necessary and cast a backwards glance towards the palace that was standing tall.

“Goodbye, Jaxon Eaton. ”

Chapter 2

JAXON’S P.O.V

I pulled out of her before nearing the climax. If there was one thing I was, it was careful. No other woman was going to bear my child, that much I was certain of. I could not remember her name, I remembered seeing her in the bar after I had gone for a drink and I took her back. She was beautiful with curves that would make any man fall to his knees, but it somehow paled in comparison to Freya’s,

I scowled at the thought of my wife and pushed all thoughts of her out of my head. It was three years ago today that we got married and that marked the worst day of my life. I did not want a wife, it was not part of my wishes but according to law, I was supposed to be married in order to take control of the throne. I was supposed to take her sister but I was given her instead. She was defective, she was an omega and yet they thought she was the best fit for me. I had been waiting by the car for her sister when she had shown up instead. it was the most insulting thing that had ever been done to me and I was determined to make sure that I paid back that disrespect in ten folds.

“Get out of my room, and bring my Beta to me,” i said to the girl and she wasted no time in rushing out.

I was putting on my shirt when the door opened. I did not need to look to know who was standing there.

“Aiden,” I called out to my Beta once I noticed him walking past. “Go and bring Freya to me.”

He looked like he was about to protest but I shot him a hard look. He didn’t agree of my treatment of her but I didn’t care. She was my subject and not his, he could complain when he became king.

“It’s late, Jaxon, don’t you think you should let the girl sleep?” he asked. “She wakes up before four a.m. every day to do chores.”

“Since when did that become any of my business?”

He let out a deep sigh. “I don’t even know why I bother anymore. She has done nothing to you. She is not-”

“Do not finish that sentence,” I snarled. “Find Freya and bring her to me now.”

He nodded and walked away. I waited in my room with my ankle crossed over my thigh for her to come. I knew it shouldn’t take more than five minutes which was why when it ran longer, I became irate. I waited two more minutes before storming out of my room only to bump into Aiden but Freya wasn’t with him.

“Where is she?” I asked. “Don’t tell me you felt pity for the girl and asked her to stay back.”

“She wasn’t there.”

It took a second for his words to register and when they did, I turned to him in confusion. “What do you mean by she wasn’t there? Did she disappear? She has to be here.”

“Her bag was gone and some of her stuff too. I think she ran away.”

I hated to admit it but my first thought was one of pride. It wasn’t easy for someone to decide to run from me. After the pride had ebbed, the anger and annoyance came. She knew who I was and yet she dared to run. I was going to find her and make her pay even if it was the last thing I did.

“Ready the spies,” I told Aiden. “We have an omega to catch.”

I thought it would be easy to find her, after all, I had hunted far more dangerous men that she could ever imagine but Freya was smart. She knew how to cover her tracks and within twenty four hours, we had lost her scent. I continued the hunt for two more days before I realized that it was fruitless but my pride wouldn’t let me stop.

It was on the fourth day when things started to get weird. I was in my office because I didn’t follow the guards out for the search when I felt an indescribable pain in the center of my chest. I had heard of that kind of pain before and it only came when one rejected their mate. I could not believe that Freya would do that.

It knocked me to my knees and I had to grip onto the edge of my table for balance. I was grateful that there was no one around to witness it but also annoyed because for the first time in my life, I needed help.

It felt like someone was repeatedly stabbing my chest with a poisoned knife. I couldn’t breathe. I didn’t know how but somehow, I managed to drag myself to my feet and my legs started to move. I didn’t know where I was going, only that I needed to find something to ease that pain. I moved purely on instinct and by the time I realized where I was headed, I cursed.

I wanted to turn back immediately but it was almost like I had lost control of my limbs. I found myself in front of the small closet that served as Freya’s bedroom. I hadn’t been there since she left and it was for good reason too. Just staring at the door seemed to bring an overwhelming sense of emotions that I didn’t want to pay attention to. She was the only person who had successfully avoided me till date and it did wonders to a man’s ego.

Regardless of how I felt, I pushed open the room. It was neatly arranged just as she always kept it but it lacked her presence. I didn’t know how to explain it but there was something about her that just stood out when she was in a room and I hated it.

It took me a while to realize that the ache in my chest had somehow stopped and I felt normal. My lip curled the more I stood in the room and I didn’t realize when I had taken my phone out of my pocket and dialed Aiden’s number.

“We haven’t found her yet,” he began but I cut him off.

“I don’t care about that,” he went silent. “Come back to the palace. I want you to tear this room down.”

“Excuse me?”

“I don’t want a single trace of her left here. Let it be as if she was never here.”

“If you’re putting so much effort into finding her then why do you want to tear the room down?”

“I don’t pay you to ask questions,” I spat. “Get it done.”

Chapter 3

FREYA’S P.O.V

FOUR YEARS LATER

I never thought I could have even a semblance of a good life but ever since I came to the human town, I have had nothing but peace. There were both wolves and humans in the town but the humans didn’t know about our existence. I tried to stay away from the wolves as much as possible and it helped that I was an omega so they couldn’t smell the wolf on me.

For four years, I had managed to avoid Jaxon. It was by sheer dumb luck and the help of the goddess because I knew the moment he started chasing from me. it was the source of some of my nightmares. I remembered hiding in the caves hoping and praying that I wouldn’t be found. I remembered the night I was almost found. I was in a cave and the Beta had walked up to me. I had prayed to the goddess that he wouldn’t notice me.

Just as he was about to go in and search, he got a call and had to leave. I ran far away from the pack then and I stumbled on my new abode. It hadn’t been easy to hide the fact that I was on the run from not one but two different people but the others did not care much. As long as I worked and paid my rent on time, nobody really cared about who I was and where I was coming from.

“Are you going to check out your things?” I heard a nasally sneer from behind me and I flushed pink when I realized that I was holding up the line at the store.

“I’m sorry,” I mumbled when I realized that it was a she-wolf that was behind me. She looked strong, like she could easily beat me in a fight without breaking a sweat.

“Stupid humans,” I heard her mutter under her breath as I hurriedly checked out my goods.

I could hear her impatiently tapping her feet behind me and mumbling words about how stupid I was and although it enraged me, I ignored her. The last thing I wanted to do was draw attention to myself in any way. I rushed out of the store as soon as I was done and got into my car. I didn’t want to give the she-wolf the opportunity to meet me and get pissed all over again. One thing I knew about wolves was that they had a bad temper.

I drove home in a flash and as soon as I was in front of my building, I let out a sigh of relief. I had so many things that I knew a single trip up the stairs would be difficult but when I caught sight of that car seat at the back of the car, I found myself stacking everything in my hands. It was a struggle to slip the key into the lock but I managed to do it.

I placed the bags on the counter haphazardly and rushed over to my room. Once I saw the small body lying spread eagle on the bed, I let out a sigh of relief. I barely had time to myself and the moment my daughter was asleep, I rushed out to get some groceries. I was terrified the entire time that she would wake up and not find me there.

I walked over to her bed side and placed a soft kiss on her forehead. She didn’t even stir and continued snoring softly.

“I love you,” I whispered knowing very well that she couldn’t hear me, “You are the best thing that has ever happened to me.”

I was simply gazing at her when my phone decided to ring. I rushed out so that she wouldn’t be disturbed by the call and one look at the caller ID and I knew my day was about to be ruined but I picked up my boss’ call anyway.

“I need you in the office now,” she said immediately not even giving me a chance to speak. “You have five minutes to be here.”

“I can’t, it is my day off so unless you are paying me overtime and you have the capacity to accommodate my daughter then I am sorry but I can’t do it.”

“Overtime? Are you serious right now, Freya? You should be lucky that you even have this job. You were under qualified when I hired you. You should be begging at my feet. How dare you? I wasn’t the one who asked you to get knocked up. It shouldn’t be any of my concern.”

“It isn’t, I keep my personal life far away from my professional but right now you are asking me to come in on my day off. You are the one who made my daughter your business. If you don’t want that then you have to call someone else.”

She started screaming on the other end of the phone and I was used to her ranting so I ignored her until I heard something that caught my attention.

“What did you say?” I asked making my boss go silent. “I need you to repeat the last thing.”

“Were you deaf or just ignoring me?”

“Please,” I added and she huffed.

“I heard rumors that a potential investor is coming. I don’t know why, he is practically a ghost. Not many people have seen him face to face. I was even doubting that he existed.”

“What is his name?”

She was shocked at my outburst. I had never spoken to her like that before and I knew that I would regret it at work tomorrow but I couldn’t bring myself to care. I wanted to make sure that I had heard the correct name. I wanted to make sure that my mind wasn’t playing tricks on me and that my worst nightmares were not coming true.

“His name is Jaxon Eaton.”