Chapter 1

*Freyah*

“Oliver is coming home today!” I was buzzing with excitement as I burst through my brother’s door, not caring that him and his mate, Ally, seemed to have been having a moment.

They flinched away from each other as I plopped myself into their bed, ignoring their flushed cheeks and ruffled hair.

My brother was the Alpha of our pack, The Primal Pack, which was the strongest in the country. Though he was a year younger than me, he and his mate were my two closest friends since Oliver and Liam left for the Alpha Training Academy all those years ago.

Though I interrupted their moment, they both beamed at me.

“You’re excited,” Ally said as she brushed a piece of my dark hair away from my face. “I can’t wait to meet him.”

“You’re going to love him,” I sighed as I allowed the good memories of Oliver to swamp me.

Oliver and I had been close since we were able to walk. Our parents were the former Alpha and Beta of our pack, so we practically grew up together. But I was sure that he was my mate.

We had been inseparable as kids up until we were teenagers when he left. I fell in love with him before I even knew what love was, and I knew he felt the same—if not more. Our parents and everyone around us were convinced we were mates. Oliver had always been so protective of me and he hated when any other male came close to me, especially Liam, who was also my best friend.

Oliver and I made a promise before he left for the Alpha Training Academy. He was fifteen when he left, just one year before he got his wolf to know for sure that I was his mate. But we promised that once he was back, whether we were fated mates or not, we would have each other.

And today was that day.

“Careful, Freyah,” my brother, Jullian teased as he shuffled from the bed. His smirk told me he was poking fun at me, but something in his eyes held seriousness. “A lot has changed over the years. You both have changed. Just don’t get too excited until he actually gets here.”

I waved him off. “I know we’ve changed, but my love is the same. I have no doubt that his is too.”

Jullian pecked his mate on the lips before kissing my head. “I’m just trying to protect you. But I’m excited too. I miss him.”

I rolled my eyes at my brother. Though he was younger, he was always so protective of me. All my life I had three overprotective males breathing over my shoulder—Jullian, Oliver and Liam. I loved them all, but sometimes it got too much.

“My forever protector,” I drawled sarcastically as he chuckled and left. Ally stared longingly after him, and I couldn’t wait to have that same encounter with Oliver.

Jullian only found Ally a year ago when he took over as Alpha, so she didn’t know Oliver or Liam. But I had been talking about them nonstop, especially Oliver. So, she was up to par.

Six years ago, Oliver and Liam left for Alpha Training Academy. Oliver was originally the Beta wolf’s son of our pack, who would have taken over as Jullian’s Beta. But our pack was the head of the Seven Pack Alliance—an alliance my dad and six other Alphas, including my uncles, made two decades ago. The seven packs were unmatched throughout the world because of this alliance, but one of the packs, Moonlight Pack, had no Alpha except my dad all these years.

So, since Oliver always showed the strength and resilience of an Alpha, my dad decided to send him to the academy to take over Moonlight Pack. He was coming back no longer a Beta, but an Alpha—my alpha.

Liam was the rightful Alpha of our neighbouring pack, Lightwater Pack. His dad died before he was born, so he didn’t get the training he needed to rule. My cousin, Daniel, ran the pack now until Liam returned, and I couldn’t wait to see him too.

There was no means of communication outside of the academy. It was like the military and initially, it was torture for me not being able to talk to them.

But now they were coming home, and I couldn’t wait to see them. Especially Oliver.

“He’s here!” I heard Jullian call from downstairs, just as I heard a car pulling into the driveway. I almost fell from the bed with excitement as I rushed to the mirror, ensuring I still looked presentable before dashing down the stairs.

I tripped over the last one as the door swung open, pushing past my brother as I threw myself at Oliver.

He dropped the bags he was holding, and I ignored the pink ones as my feet wrapped around him.

And that’s when I felt it click into place. Our mate bond.

He was my mate.

I knew it!

My heart swelled with joy as my wolf howled inside me, shaking her fur and pouncing in my head. Tears pricked my eyes at the joy I felt, until I realised something strange.

He didn’t hug me back.

Slowly, I climbed from him and stepped back, taking my time to look at his face. My breath caught. He. Was. Gorgeous.

The Oliver that left was a teenager—still a child. But the Oliver looking at me now was all man.

His dusty, brown hair was shorter than I remembered, but it brought out his sharp jawbones and olive skin even more. His green eyes bore into me with such intensity that my insides turned to jelly. He now sported a piercing in his left ear, too, and a tattoo on his right arm. And gosh, those biceps. When did he get so… buff?

He was a masterpiece standing in front of me, and I wanted to hug him forever and kiss him until I couldn’t breathe anymore.

I shivered as his eyes swept over my body before landing on my face again, and for an instant, they softened. But it didn’t last for long. They were sharp again—unyielding any emotion or sign that he was excited to see me too.

That’s when I really noticed the bags he was holding. Those were definitely not his bags. I then caught a scent that was unfamiliar—oddly wolf but also didn’t smell like any wolf I’ve ever encountered.

And that’s when she stepped into view. A tiny woman with wavy black hair and striking blue eyes came into view. In a lot of ways, she reminded me of myself.

Our hair colour was the same, although hers was wavy and mine was straight, and her blue eyes were slightly darker than mine. She was about an inch taller than me and a tad slimmer, but then I saw it, and my heart broke.

Her hand was resting on her stomach—on her extended stomach, I might add. And the slow, sinister grin that pulled on her face was enough to confirm my fears.

I stumbled back, as if someone had punched me and I met Oliver’s eyes again. Jullian’s arms wrapped around me to keep me from falling as my mate took a step forward.

“Freyah…” his voice pierced me. It was so familiar, yet so different, and I hated that even in heartbreak, his voice affected me. “This is Symphony. She… she’s pregnant with my child and so I’m taking her as my chosen mate.”

That’s when the tears finally came, as quiet footsteps came down the stairs. Ally had joined to witness this, as I sank deeper into Jullian, a sob breaking from my lips.

“No,” I cried, and I didn’t even recognize my voice. “No, Oliver… You… you promised!”

His chest rose and fell as a flicker of emotion crossed his face, but it was gone before I could even grasp it.

“We were kids,” he bit out. “It means nothing because I’m rejecting you.”

“Oliver,” my brother growled, his nostalgia for his friendship with Oliver now gone and faded in comparison to his undying will to protect me. And right now, Jullian could tell that Oliver was tearing me apart. He was ruining me.

“Oliver, please,” I cried, my vision getting blurry from tears. “Don’t do this.”

I heard the woman snicker, but I ignored her. But then he did it, and my entire world crumbled.

“I, Oliver James of Primal Pack, reject you—”

“—NO!” I cried, and it felt like my heart was being ripped from my chest.

“—Freyah Dalton of…” He took a breath. “…of Primal Pack.”

And then it happened. I felt the bond that had just clicked into place break and shatter into a million pieces; or maybe it was my heart. I wasn’t sure.

It felt as if he had taken a silver dagger dipped in acid and wolfsbane and pierced me through the heart.

My knees gave out as my brother tried to comfort me, but there was nothing he could do at that moment as the sobs wracked my body, until I felt like I couldn’t breathe.

I really couldn’t breathe, so I wrenched myself from my brother’s arms and pushed passed Oliver and Symphony through the front door. I could have sworn I saw his hand move as if he was trying to grab me, but I ran and ran until I was in the forest, where I shifted into my large white wolf, and ran to our neighbouring pack.

This time, it would be forever.

Chapter 2

*Freyah*

I didn’t notice how fast I was running until I arrived at Lightwater Pack borders.

My feet thudded on the grass-covered ground as my wolf swerved through threes easily. She was devastated. My wolf was the instinctual part of me, and she didn't understand why our mate rejected us.

All she wanted to do was go back and rip the head from that woman’s body for taking our mate, but I willed her to go farther away from them. Killing Symphony would solve nothing. If anything, it would probably make Oliver hate me more.

My strides slowed as I neared the border.

The scent of pine and earth surrounded me as I ventured deeper into Lightwater territory, guided by an instinctual pull that led me to the heart of the pack.

The sounds of laughter and conversation filtered through the trees, a stark contrast to the turmoil raging within me.

As usual, I mindlinked my cousin, Daniel, telling him that I was coming in so his border patrol wouldn’t be alarmed.

Despite the pain in my chest from the rejection, and being shifted into my wolf heightening everything, a tiny part of me was glad that I had Liam to run to.

I would see him again for the first time after six years. And though I wished it was different, I just needed somewhere to go—someone to go to, and I couldn't stay in that house with Oliver and his pregnant new girlfriend.

I needed to get out.

Within minutes I was at the Alpha house that was so familiar to me. I spent most of my childhood in both packs.

I ran to the shifting shack and got myself some clothes, before heading for the back door. The tears came again, this time harder than they had before I ran away, just as the back door swung open and Liam rushed out.

I took in a breath.

Just like Oliver, Liam had... matured. His dark ruffled hair was the same, but his features had hardened. He wasn't the same either. He’s grown even more handsome, although he still didn't come close to Oliver.

Another sob broke from my lips at the thought of my ex-mate, and Liam engulfed me in his strong arms as soon as he was in front of me.

“Hey, hey what’s wrong?” he asked, though I could tell that he already knew. Liam was with Oliver at the academy, and though they hated each other, I’m sure they were aware of each other’s actions.

Still, I pulled away and wiped my eyes as I gazed up at him.

“He hurt me, Liam. He rejected me.” Something dark flashed in Liam’s eyes as he hugged me again. It was that same protectiveness that he’d had when we were teenagers, but now it was more intense.

“I’m going to kill him. Shit, I knew it,” he cursed. “I’m going to kill him for hurting you.”

I shook my head against his chest as I sniffled, trying to get a reign on my emotions.

“No,” I mumbled. “Just let it be. But I don't want to go back, Liam. Don't make me go back.”

He held me a little away from himself as he looked into my eyes. His brown eyes were as warm as I remembered. A lot of things about him were like I remembered. But I could feel the difference in his strength, just like I had with Oliver.

He was all Alpha now—all man.

“As long as I am alpha of this pack, Freyah, you don't have to go back. You can stay here with me forever if you want to. Besides, I know it's still fresh for you but since Oliver rejected you then...”

He allowed his words to trail, probably not wanting to make me cry again. But I knew what he meant.

Our parents arranged that Liam and I would get married if Oliver and I weren't mates or didn't end up together. They did this to ensure the power remained in the Seven Pack Alliance. It hadn't occurred to me on the run here, and now that he mentioned it, I wasn't sure how to feel.

All my life, I’ve been so sure that it would be Oliver. Even if we weren't mates, I wanted it to be Oliver.

But now it was just Liam, and though my heart was no longer in my chest, I was content with it. Liam was always my best friend. He was always so kind and gentle. But I wasn't ready, and he knew it.

“For now,” he mumbled, wiping the tears from my face. “You can get settled in your room. Get some rest.”

I hugged him again, though it barely helped the void in my chest. But he was right about the exhaustion. I had barely slept last night; too excited about Oliver. And now, after being rejected and running all the way here, I was just a step away from falling over.

“I missed you, Liam,” I admitted softly as he swept me into his arms and started bringing me up the stairs.

My cousin, Daniel, came into view. His eyes widened as he saw my teary state.

“What’s wrong with her?” he asked urgently, but Liam ignored him, and I didn't have the strength to say anything else.

“I missed you more. Every day,” he whispered as I started nodding off. “But for now, sleep, Freyah. We will talk later or tomorrow.”

The hollowness in my chest ached, thinking how different today started and how it was ending. The man I’ve been in love with since I was a child rejected me—his mate.

I tried not to think about his pregnant girlfriend. The word made me shiver. Had he forgotten about me so easily at the academy, that he managed to get someone pregnant? Or was it a mistake? Did he miss me and slept with someone who looked like me?

The thought made me shiver.

But it didn't matter now. He was no longer mine to pine after. He was no longer mine to love.

And though I had a feeling that my brother would drag me back home kicking and screaming, I was determined that I was done with Oliver James.

Yet, I knew that a day would come, when I would have to face him again.

Chapter 3

*Freyah*

Five months.

It had been five treacherous months since my heart was ripped from my chest and thrown into the fire.

Oliver had rejected me, and though every day it got a little bit better; it only took one moment of weakness for me to go back to square one.

And I was sick of it.

Too long have I pined after him, wished that he would come for me and reclaim me as his. It took me three months for me to realise that this wasn't going to happen, and I was sick of being his puppet.

He might have been living his best life right now with that woman, and I had barely moved on.

“Hey, are you up for a walk today?” I lifted my head from my embroidery—a habit that I picked up that strangely soothed me and quieted my focused mind—to see Liam standing at my bedroom door, looking as handsome as ever.

Liam. He had been a dream come true. We hadn't done anything romantic or made a move to secure our bond, but he had been my rock these past five months.

I could see at times that he wanted to initiate something, but he was patient, and remained kind to me throughout it all. Even better, he made me feel like my fifteen-year-old self again, with no care in the world.

But I hadn't been treating him fairly. Usually, when he suggested that we do something like go for a run or walk, I’d shut him down. But today I would be different. I made up my mind to forget about Oliver, and that’s what I was going to do.

“Yes,” I said, resting my cloth aside as I grabbed a coat.

I could see that I surprised Liam. He hadn't expected me to say yes, which both amused me and made me feel guilty.

He had been trying with me. It was time I started to try with him too.

He looped his arm through mine as he led me down the stairs.

“So, I’ve been thinking about what to do for your birthday next week,” he said, and I stiffened. That’s right. I was turning twenty next week.

I had almost forgotten.

“I know it's been a while since you’ve seen them, so I was hoping we could invite Jullian and Ally to--”

His words were cut off by evident arguing in the kitchen. It was Daniel and another male, and my heart slammed against my chest as Liam went into Alpha mode and dashed through the house. I was right on his trail.

“Where is she, Daniel? I won't ask you again.”

I stiffened, and my first instinct was to run as I froze at the entrance of the kitchen doorway.

No.

No. No. No.

This wasn't right. This couldn't be happening. Not when I was FINALLY getting over him.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Liam seethed as he entered the kitchen. I was still frozen at the door, refusing to go in. Liam sounded angry, and I understood why.

He had witnessed firsthand the hurt Oliver caused me these past months. And now, Oliver was here, demanding my presence as if he owned me.

I started to move away as his scent finally engulfed me, and my wolf, who had barely moved since the rejection, howled to life.

Tears pricked my eyes as I slammed against a table, hitting over a vase.

Footsteps started moving towards me, but no one emerged.

“Oh, hell no!” Liam growled. “You are not going anywhere near her. You need to get the hell off my pack lands.”

Daniel was silent. He and Oliver had always been the closest growing up, despite the two different packs. But I knew he was on my side. He was livid when he found out what Oliver had done.

“Get the hell out of my way, Liam. She needs to come home,” Oliver growled, and a hiccup escaped my lips. There was more shuffling, until I heard something like a punch.

“I said,” Liam’s voice was low and growly. “Get. The. Hell. Out. Of. My. Pack.” He bit through each word, and right then, my instincts were telling me to run. I needed to get out of here.

But instead, I found myself moving towards the kitchen, as if I just needed to see him—just once.

I knew my entire world would crumble all over again, but there was no stopping my feet.

“Liam,” I said as I emerged into the kitchen, and just then, my eyes met Oliver’s green ones.

My breath hitched as I took him in for the first time in five months. He looked just as irresistible as the last time I saw him, but now—now he looked a little rougher around the edges, like he had endured hell and back.

Yet, he still managed to look nothing less than perfection.

His hand was raised, as if he was about to punch Liam, too, but then his eyes fell on me.

I knew I didn't look my best. I’d lost a lot of weight over the months. Yet, Oliver looked at me as if I was the most beautiful thing in the world.

Where was this when he just got home from the academy? Where was this longing that he was looking at me with now? Where was this familiarity, and a glimpse into the Oliver I knew all along?

I suddenly felt angry, my blood boiling at his audacity. My wolf didn't fight me either as I said, “You need to leave.”

I hadn't intended for my voice to sound so... broken. But he heard it just the same.

He took a step towards me, but Liam held out a hand and stopped him.

“Freyah...” My name sounded so strange on his lips, unlike the last time when it was full of so much hostility. “You need to come home. Jullian demands it.”

I scoffed. “Well, tell Jullian he can come fetch me himself, because there's no way in hell I am going anywhere with you.”

The walls I’d managed to slowly build over the months were washed away by a dam of tears behind my heart. But I refused to cry in front of Oliver again. I refused to look weak, even if I was tearing up inside.

The bond between us was dead, but I could still feel the essence of it thrumming at my mind.

“We need to talk,” he added softly, still trying to get to me. But Liam was an unmoving wall.

Liam looked over his shoulder and met my eyes briefly. “Go to our room. I’ll be up in a second.”

Our room?

“Our room?” Oliver echoed my thoughts as his face scrunched into confusion, before his green eyes burnt with anger. “What the fuck do you mean by ‘our room’?”

“None of your damn business, Oliver,” Liam bit out. “Now I won't tell you again. Get off of my property before I kill you. For Freyah’s and Daniel’s sake, I hadn't snapped your neck yet because I know you all were close. But I am running out of patience.”

Oliver’s eyes grew dangerously dark as he looked away from me towards Liam. “I’d like to see you try,” Oliver growled. “Just remember what happened the last time you challenged me.”

Liam visibly stiffened, and I figured that it was something that happened at the academy. But I didn't care. And I didn't care that Liam made that ‘Our room’ comment only to piss Oliver off, either.

I just didn't want to see him any longer.

“Hey man, come on,” Daniel finally said. He was evidently pissed, too. But I could see that his bond with Oliver was eating away at his anger. “Look, I told you that she wouldn't leave with you, okay? Just... Just give me a day and I’ll bring her back personally.”

Both Liam and Oliver growled, none evidently liking this plan. Liam didn't want me to leave, and Oliver was determined not to leave without me.

“Why does my brother even want me to come back anyway? If he missed me, he would have come visit,” I said, hating the pain in my voice. It was unfair of me, since I was the one who refused any visitors from home, even Ally.

I was terrified that they would try to get me to come home. And now, he was doing it.

“He didn't say,” Oliver gritted out. “But I agree. You need to come home.”

“Why?” I snapped. “So I can watch you and your girlfriend raise your precious little baby?” He flinched, and I was glad I hit a nerve. “Look, Oliver, you’re going to go back home and you’re going to tell my brother that I will come home when I’m good and ready. Now leave me the hell alone.”

I then ran to my room, completely out of the mood to go for a walk again and dropped into my bed as the pain came back just like it was five months ago.

I had no idea seeing Oliver would be so much, but it felt like it was just yesterday since he broke my heart.

I didn't know why my brother wanted me home, but if he did, there was a good reason. So, as much as I hated the idea, I guess I was going home.

Chapter 4

*Oliver*

I saw her.

I saw Freyah again for the first time in five months, and it was complete torture.

Since the day I rejected her and watched as she ran away from me, I’ve never forgotten her face. That look of anguish, feeling the pain that she felt, it ruined me every day.

But then I saw her again at Lightwater Pack, and I saw light for the first time in five months.

She was beautiful, just as I remembered, but somehow even more than when we were kids. Her silky, black hair was almost to her waist now, and all I could think about was running my fingers through it.

She was thinner than when I had just gotten home, so much more than I would have liked, yet she was still so beautiful. I wanted to get lost in the ocean of her blue eyes, and gosh her lips... Those lips made me want to do things to her.

But I couldn’t, because I rejected her and took Symphony as my chosen mate.

It had been my fault that she was pregnant. I remember the night vividly.

I was drunk with some friends, after finally receiving my touch of the Alpha at the academy. I was stronger than I ever was. I was faster and even my thoughts were quicker. I was officially an Alpha, and I wanted to celebrate.

All I wanted to do then was call Freyah and tell her all about it. I’d been dying to talk to her for six years. But my friends and I got so drunk, and then I saw Symphony. The black hair and blue eyes tricked me.

I knew it wasn’t Freyah. Gosh, even drunk, I could have never mistaken another woman for her, but I still danced with Symphony, and I didn’t remember what happened after that.

One month later when it was finally time to go home—when I would see Freyah, Symphony showed up at my dorm room, telling me she was pregnant.

I didn’t say a single word to her or Liam the entire way home. Liam travelled with us, since his pack was right next to us and we were all a part of the Seve Pack Alliance, but he was fuming, and I understood why. He knew Freyah would have been really hurt by this, and he wasn’t wrong.

I still had nightmares of her face when I rejected her. I still wake up at night from the pain of rejecting her, or watching her run away. But I had to do it.

As an Alpha, I had to do what was right, even if it meant punishing myself. It was my own stupidity that brought me into this. I just wished I didn’t have to punish Freyah too.

I slammed the door shut as I marched inside the house where I spent my entire childhood. I was supposed to move to Moonlight Pack soon since I was now officially the Alpha, but I was waiting until Symphony had the baby.

That was the excuse I told myself just to stick around a little longer, just in case Freyah come home. Sometimes, I still got a whiff of Freyah’s scent around the house, and perhaps it was the reason I hadn’t lost my mind yet. Her scent soothed my wolf because he was pissed at me.

I hadn’t shifted since Freyah was gone. My wolf wouldn’t even talk to me.

“And where the hell have you been?”

I growled at the voice that met me at the bottom of the staircase. Symphony had spent most of her time here alone in her room, sometimes coming to demand that I slept with her, but I couldn’t. I wouldn’t.

“None of your damn business,” I hissed as I shrugged off my jacket and threw it on the couch next to Ally who was watching TV, seemingly uncaring that I was gone for hours.

“You went to see her, didn’t you? You went to try and get her back!” Symphony accused. Her eyes were blazing, yet there was something else in them.

Hope? She wanted Freyah to come back? It seemed so, though I could see that it wasn’t for a good reason.

Probably to rub her pregnant belly in my ex-mate’s face. Probably she wanted to punish Freyah for my coldness towards her.

“And what If I was?” I asked, slowing my strides to meet her dark blue eyes that held nothing but jealousy.

“I am your Luna!” she shouted. “You should respect me. I am the mother of your child!”

My eyes dropped to her much larger stomach. Sometimes, my heart grew cheery at seeing it, yet I couldn’t seem to connect with my unborn child, which I found odd. My dad would always tell me stories about how he knew me even before I was born—how we were connected since then.

Yet, every time I tried to touch my child in Symphony’s belly, I was met with a coldness. I felt the fatherly pull towards it, and I knew he was in there. But there was no natural pull as I expected, and Symphony knew it too.

Maybe it was because she wasn’t my true mate. Maybe it was because it was the reason why I couldn’t be with my true mate.

I knew I would love the child with my life, but as for now, I barely felt anything. Then again, nowadays I barely feel at all.

“You’re not my Luna yet,” I said dismissively, and she got even angrier.

“Wait, you went to see Freyah?” Ally asked, finally seeming to forget about the movie she was watching. “She’s coming home?” Her blue eyes sparkled with hope.

“I don’t know,” I admitted, and hated when her face fell.

Ally was the only one here whom I really spoke to. She wasn’t too fond of me either after what I did to Freyah, but she was pleasant. I didn’t know her before I left for the academy, but I knew she was a perfect match for Jullian.

Speaking of the young alpha.

Jullian entered the room, sweeping his mate away from me as if I would hurt her and glaring at me. We were inseparable as kids. Now he hated me. He blamed me for Freyah’s leaving and refusing visitors. And he wasn’t wrong.

“Who the fuck gave you permission to go for Freyah?” he asked, not caring for formalities.

I growled, the new Alpha energy in me rising. My wolf didn’t like being talked down to.

“I didn’t need permission. I am not your beta. I am your equal,” I said.

Jullian’s cold eyes were unwavering. He had the same blue eyes as Freyah, yet full of so much icy coldness that I never recognized my ex-mate in them.

“I got a call from Liam. He wasn’t happy that I sent you to fetch Freyah. And I didn’t. You somehow heard me telling Jared that I needed Freyah home and took matters into your own hands. You had no right. Liam said she was getting better. Now she seems worse.”

A pang of guilt rose in my chest as he said that, but I didn’t make my face waiver.

I did hear him and Jared, his beta, talking yesterday about bringing Freyah home, and I sort of lost it. I didn’t think how hard it would be for her to see me again.

Yet, the newfound anger that rose in my chest was surprising.

“She shouldn’t be there with Liam anyway. She’s mine.”

Jullian’s eyes widened as he laughed humourlessly. “She’s yours now huh? When she’s finally moving on with someone else who will marry her and treat her right, now she’s yours?”

My body shook with anger as I avoided Symphony’s sobs after declaring Freyah mine. My mind was clouded by images of seeing her hide behind Liam, and hearing him tell her to go to their room.

THEIR room.

Did he touch her? Did he kiss her? I’ll fucking kill him.

“You do know that they will get married when she’s better right? The Seven Pack Alliance has it written in stone that she’s supposed to marry him if you weren’t her mate.”

Jullian’s taunting I could bear. I still saw glimpses of my old friend in him sometimes. And the fact that he hadn’t insisted that I leave now and go to Moonlight Pack tells me that he does too. He was just angry about Freyah.

But what I couldn’t bear was the thought of seeing Freyah with Liam—the man who has fought me all my life for her. Liam had hated me because he was in love with Freyah and she was in love with me.

Now, I led her right into his arms.

“She’s coming home,” was my only reply, not being able to think about their marriage. “I know she is.”

I heard Symphony’s feet rushing up the stairs, and I didn’t even turn to watch her go as a new scent entered.

Jared came and stood between us, and it was then that I realised just how close Jullian was to me, our wolves evidently challenging each other. Ally was a few feet behind, watching intently.

“Alphas,” Jared said. “There was reported activity at the pack border,” he said.

Jullian finally tore his eyes away from me for a moment to look at Jared.

“What kind of movement?”

Jared glanced at me. “It was shortly after Alpha Oliver crossed. About a ten ago.”

That meant whoever it is was probably deep within the pack borders already. I didn’t bother coming straight home after I left Lightwater’s alpha house. I spent about two hours walking around the pack. I needed the walk to clear my head.

“Find out who it is and bring them in for questioning,” I said, and Jullian nodded in agreement.

Jared bowed slightly to each of us before heading for the door. But by the time he opened the door, that familiar scent washed me again, and I was stunned into silence as I saw her for the second time in one day.

Freyah.