Hailee's POV
"Fredrick?" I whispered again, my voice shaking.
He didn't answer.
He just watched , like I was a puzzle he had already solved.
My heart hamred painfully against my ribs.
"Fredrick?" I called once more, louder this ti. "What… what are you doing here?"
For a split second, hope tried to rise in my chest. A foolish, desperate hope.
Maybe he's here to help .
Maybe Nathan sent him.
But that hope died the mont Fredrick finally moved.
He stepped fully into the room and closed the door behind him with a slow, deliberate click.
The sound echoed like a gunshot in my ears.
My stomach dropped.
Fredrick walked forward calmly and took the chair in front of , sitting down like this was a casual eting—not a dark room, not tied up, not a choke collar burning cold against my skin.
He lifted one hand slightly.
The n behind him moved imdiately.
My kidnappers.
They ca toward without a word.
Panic surged through .
"Wait—!" I gasped, my body tensing instinctively.
But they didn't hurt .
They cut the ropes around my wrists.
Then my ankles.
The bindings fell away, leaving my skin sore and numb.
Relief flashed through for half a second—
Until I realized what they didn't remove.
The collar.
The cold tal was still wrapped tightly around my neck.
I swallowed hard and touched it instinctively, my fingers trembling.
The mont my skin brushed it—
Pain shot through .
I hissed and jerked my hand back.
My wolf snarled weakly inside .
Trapped.
Caged.
Fredrick watched all of this silently.
Then he lifted his gaze to et mine. My throat felt dry.
"What is this?" I whispered. "Why am I here?"
He leaned back in the chair, crossing one leg over the other, completely relaxed.
"You ask questions the sa way you always have," he said mildly. "Straight to the point. No patience for gas."
My hands curled into fists at my sides.
"Where is Nathan?" I demanded.
The frown on Fredrick's face deepened slightly.
"That," he said calmly, "is not your concern."
Fear crawled up my spine.
"You drugged ," I said, my voice shaking despite my effort to stay strong. "Your n drugged ."
Fredrick nodded once, like I had stated an obvious fact.
"Yes."
"You kidnapped ."
"Yes."
"You put this on ," I whispered, my fingers hovering near the collar without touching it again.
"Yes."
My chest rose and fell quickly.
"Why?" I asked.
He studied for a long mont before answering.
"What do you think?" Fredrick said calmly. "That I would let you go after all these years?"
My heart pounded so loudly I was sure he could hear it.
"Fredrick…" I whispered. "You're scaring ."
He leaned forward slightly, elbows resting on his knees, hands clasped. His eyes never left my face.
"Ten years, Hailee," he said quietly. "Ten long years."
I stared at him, my throat tight.
"For ten years," he continued, his voice calm but heavy, "I have loved you. I watched you grow. Watched you laugh. Watched you raise your boys—and you knew."
I shook my head slowly. "I knew you cared. I knew you liked . But—"
"No," he cut in softly. "You knew I loved you."
Silence pressed in around us.
"And still," he went on, "you never chose . You smiled. You thanked . You trusted . But you never accepted ."
I swallowed. "Because I couldn't. I didn't feel that way. I tried, Fredrick… I fucking tried, but I couldn't."
His jaw tightened.
"And now," he said, bitterness creeping into his voice, "now I hear that you're mates with Nathan. Nathan."
He spat the na like poison.
"You belong to him," Fredrick continued. "The Moon gives you to him. Fate ties your soul to his. After everything I waited for."
My hands trembled at my sides.
"Fredrick, this—this isn't you," I said, forcing myself to stay calm. "What is this? Why are you doing this?"
He stood slowly.
Walked closer.
Each step made my heart race faster.
"If I can't have you," he said quietly, "then no one will."
Cold fear slid down my spine.
"You'll stay here," he continued. "With . Forever."
My stomach dropped.
"No one will know where you are," he said calmly, like he was talking about the weather. "Not Nathan. Not Peter. Not the council."
I shook my head, my panic rising.
"No seer will find you. No witch will see you. This place is sealed. Shielded. Buried under layers of old magic."
I backed up instinctively until my shoulders brushed the cold wall.
"You can't do this," I whispered. "They'll look for ."
"They won't find you," he said. "Not ever."
Tears burned my eyes.
"Fredrick," I pleaded, my voice breaking, "stop this madness. Please."
He looked at with sothing like pain… and obsession tangled together.
"I like you," I said carefully. "I care about you. But I can't love you the way you want. I never could."
His expression hardened.
"You're wrong," he said softly. "You just never gave yourself the chance."
"No," I whispered. "That's not love. That's control."
Sothing dark flickered in his eyes.
"I saved you," he snapped. "I protected you. I stood in the shadows while others failed you."
"And I'm grateful," I cried. "But gratitude is not love!"
My wolf growled weakly inside , caged by the collar.
"Please," I said, my voice shaking. "Just let go. This isn't who you are."
He shook his head slowly.
"No," he said. "It's or no one else."
I felt my knees weaken.
"You would lock away?" I whispered. "After everything we've been through?"
"Yes," he answered without hesitation. "Because if I lose you to him… I lose everything."
Tears slipped down my cheeks.
"You're hurting ," I said softly.
He flinched for a split second.
Then his face closed off again.
"This collar," he said, gesturing to my neck, "keeps your wolf silent. Keeps your power asleep. You won't hurt yourself. Or ."
I touched it again without thinking.
Pain flared instantly.
I gasped.
"You'll eat," he continued. "You'll rest. You'll heal. And eventually… you'll understand."
"I will never understand this," I said through tears.
He straightened.
"Ti changes things," he replied.
The door creaked open behind him.
Two guards stepped forward.
My heart leaped into my throat.
"Don't hurt her," Fredrick said calmly. "Just keep watch."
He turned back to one last ti. "You have to start getting used to this life, darling… you just have to."
With that, he left, and the door shut.
For a mont, I couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe this was Fredrick… he could actually do this. Could love make soone so possessed that he could do this?
I swallowed hard, looking around, searching for an escape route, but everywhere was sealed.
The door opened again not long after he left.
My body tensed instantly, every muscle tightening, my wolf pressing weakly against the cold cage around her.
But it wasn't the guards this ti.
It was still Fredrick.
He ca in alone, carrying a tray in his hands like this was normal. Like this was a ho and not a prison. Like I wasn't standing there with a choke collar around my neck, my heart pounding with fear.
"I brought you food," he said gently.
The sll hit before I could stop it—warm soup, fresh bread, fruit. My stomach twisted painfully, hunger and nausea mixing together.
I didn't move.
I didn't reach for it.
I just stared at him.
"You must be hungry," he continued, walking in fully and setting the tray on the small table near the wall. "You haven't eaten since earlier. You need your strength."
I laughed weakly, the sound cracked and broken.
"My strength?" I whispered. "You took it from ."
He ignored that.
Instead, he pulled a chair closer and sat across from , his posture relaxed. Familiar. Intimate.
Like we were sharing a quiet al.
Like we were a couple.
"Do you rember," he said softly, picking up a bowl and stirring it slowly, "the winter you were so sick?" he went on, smiling faintly. "Your illness was contagious. Everyone else was terrified of getting close, but I stayed. I brought you soup every night."
I clenched my hands at my sides.
"I sat by your bed," he continued, his voice warm, nostalgic. "You used to hold my sleeve in your sleep. You wouldn't let go."
My chest hurt.
"That doesn't an what you think it ans," I said quietly.
He looked at like I hadn't spoken.
"You were always safest with , Hailee," he said gently. "You always cald down when I was there."
"That's not true," I whispered.
He stood and walked closer, holding the bowl out toward .
"Eat," he said softly. "Please."
I shook my head.
"I won't eat if you stand that close," I said.
For a mont, sothing flickered in his eyes—annoyance, maybe—but then he stepped back slightly.
"Alright," he said calmly. "I'll sit."
He placed the bowl down again and sat back in the chair, watching .
Waiting.
The silence stretched.
My stomach betrayed with a painful twist.
He noticed.
A small, satisfied smile touched his lips.
"You see?" he murmured. "Your body still listens to ."
I swallowed hard and stepped toward the table, every movent cautious. I picked up the spoon with trembling fingers and took a small sip.
The warmth spread through despite myself.
Fredrick watched like this was a victory.
"Good," he said softly. "That's my girl."
The words made my skin crawl.
"This place," he continued casually, leaning back, "I had it prepared years ago. I always knew one day we'd need sowhere quiet. Sowhere safe."
"Safe?" I whispered bitterly.
"Yes," he said without hesitation. "From politics. From pack gas. From n like Nathan who only love you because fate told them to."
I looked at this man and realized, indeed, Fredrick was going insane.
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