Freya
Six Years Later
I arrived at the Northern Territory airport just past nine,the weight of my birthday hanging in the air like an unspoken promise. When I turned on my phone,a flood of notifications lit up my screen—birthday wishes from colleagues and friends in the tech industry where I’d built my reputation as an AI developnt pioneer.
I scrolled through the endless notifications,my heart skipping every ti a new ssage popped up—until I realized none of them were from him.
I felt my wolf stir restlessly within ,seeking connection with its mate. The bond between us had once been so strong that we could sense each other’s emotions across continents. Now it felt stretched thin,fragile as gossar.
"Happy birthday to ," I whispered,tucking my phone away as I headed for the exit.
By the ti my cab pulled up to our sprawling woodland villa—a property Silvano had purchased when expanding the Shadow Pack’s business interests into this territory—it was already past ten.
Sara,our human housekeeper looked genuinely startled when she opened the door. "Luna Freya! Oh my— we didn’t know you were coming!"
The title still felt strange on my tongue,even after all these years. Luna Freya Stone-Moretti of the Shadow Pack. The ceremony where Silvano had officially claid as his mate had been beautiful,aningful—everything I’d once dread of during those dark days with Jasper.
"Where are Silvano and Bella?" I asked,setting down my designer bag with the neural network prototype still inside. I’d pushed aside critical work on my AI launch to co here,hoping to spend my birthday with my family after two months of separation.
"Alpha hasn’t returned yet," Sara replied carefully. "Miss Isabella is playing in her room."
I nodded,handing my luggage to Sara before climbing the stairs. My wolf was already pulling toward our daughter,desperate to nuzzle and scent her after our ti apart.
Isabella was sitting cross-legged in her pajamas at her small table,concentrating so intently on sothing that she didn’t notice enter. At five years old,she was the perfect blend of Silvano and —she had his dark curls and my determined chin. More importantly,she’d inherited his rare mixed blood; already the pack elders whispered about her potential.
"Bella?" My voice caught in my throat.
Hearing my voice,Isabella turned her head and happily called out: "Mommy!" Her eyes flashed a montary amber—a sign of her wolf’s excitent—before returning to their normal hue.
She turned back to her project just as quickly,her small fingers working deftly with colorful moonstone beads.
For a heartbeat,I stood frozen,my arms still half-open,holding nothing but air.
I moved to embrace her,but she squird away."Mommy,not now! I’ll ss it up if you talk to ."
The rejection stung more than it should have. Two months without holding my pup,and she wouldn’t even spare a hug.
"Are you making a necklace?" I asked,trying to keep my voice steady.
"Mm-hmm!" Isabella’s eyes lit up: "In a week,it will be Aunt Aurora’s birthday. This is a special gift I’m making with Dad for Aunt Aurora! We carefully selected these moonstone beads together,and Dad showed how to infuse them with pack energy. Aren’t they beautiful?"
My chest tightened at the ntion of Aurora.
"Daddy also customized other gifts for Aunt Aurora," Isabella continued cheerfully with her back turned to . "Tomorrow—"
"Bella..." I interrupted,unable to hold back the hurt. "Do you rember Mommy’s birthday?"
"Huh? What?" She glanced up distractedly before looking back down at the beads. "Mom,don’t talk to right now. You’re making lose track of the bead order—"
My wolf whimpered softly in my mind,the sound echoing through the hollow of my chest. She wanted to reach for our pup,but pride—and pain—kept us still.
I stood there watching my daughter,the little girl I’d carried in my body,who wouldn’t even look up at now. Finally,I pressed my lips together and left the room without another word.
Sara t in the hallway. "Luna,I just called the Alpha. He said he has sothing tonight and asked you to rest first."
Sothing tonight. Not soone,I desperately hoped,though my instincts scread otherwise.
"I understand," I replied,the words hollow in my mouth.
Rembering Isabella’s excited chatter about Aurora,I paused before calling Silvano. My fingers trembled slightly as I dialed—the sa way they had years ago when I’d call Jasper,always afraid of what I might hear.
It took what felt like forever before he answered,his voice distant. "I’m busy,tomorrow we can—"
"Silvano? Who’s calling you this late?" A female voice interrupted. Aurora’s voice—soft,lodic,and too damn familiar—slid through the speaker like poison wrapped in silk.
My wolf snarled,territorial rage flaring through our bond. The crescent moon pendant he’d given when we mated—seed to burn against my skin.
"Nothing," he replied.
Before I could speak,Silvano had already hung up. We hadn’t seen each other for two or three months. I’d finally managed to break away from my work to co to the Northern Territory,and he couldn’t even spare ti to co ho to see .
Even for a phone call,he didn’t have the patience to let finish speaking.
Throughout the past year,he’d grown increasingly cold and distant. The attentive,loving Alpha who had saved from Jasper’s indifference had been gradually replaced by soone who seed perpetually distracted,impatient—soone who reminded more and more of my ex.
I’d told myself it was just the stress of the territorial expansion. That once things settled down,he would return to being the mate who’d sworn eternal devotion under the full moon. But deep down,my wolf recognized the familiar patterns erging—the late nights,the canceled plans,the way his eyes lingered a little too long on Aurora during pack etings.
In the past,I would have called him again,patiently asking where he was and if he could co back. I would have cowered and begged,desperate to preserve the relationship I had fought so hard to build.
My wolf used to whine and submit,desperate for any scrap of attention from our mate. But sothing had changed in both of us. Today,perhaps because I was too tired or because I’d grown too much to regress.
For the first ti in years,I didn’t feel the urge to chase after love that kept walking away.
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