Freya’s POV
The evening wrapped around like a familiar shawl as I stood outside my apartnt, waiting. Just after eight, Johnny pulled up with my car. The familiar rumble of the engine was a welco sound after the day’s chaos.
"Here you go," he said, tossing the keys.
I caught them with my good hand, my ankle throbbing dully despite the painkillers. "Thanks. How much was the repair bill? I’ll reimburse you."
Johnny flopped onto my sofa with the casual familiarity of a longti colleague, stretching his long limbs. "No idea."
"What do you an?" My brow furrowed. "You didn’t pay to pick up the car?"
"Nobody asked for money." He shrugged. "They just handed over the keys when I said I was picking up your car."
I froze, my wolf Selene imdiately alert in my mind. *Soone paid for us.*
There was only one person who could have authorized that. Alpha Xander.
"Everything okay?" Johnny asked, noting my expression.
I forced my features into neutrality. "Fine."
"Then let’s get started on our ’howork,’" he groaned. "I’m beat after today. Need to finish this and get ho to crash."
The "howork" he referred to was Dr. Ramirez’s assignnt - analyzing the technology exhibits we’d seen earlier. But first, I needed to clear this debt.
"I need to make a quick call," I said, pulling out my phone.
Alpha Xander answered almost imdiately. "Hello."
My wolf’s ears perked up at his deep voice, a natural response to an Alpha’s authority. "Alpha Xander, it’s Freya."
"I know." His tone was neutral. "What can I do for you?"
I kept my voice professionally cordial. "I’ve gotten my car back, and I understand you covered the repair costs. How much do I owe you? I’d like to transfer the money imdiately."
There was a weighted pause on the other end. "I’ll send you my account details."
"Thank you," I replied formally. "And I truly appreciate your help today. It was unexpected but very kind."
"No problem," he answered, ending the call abruptly.
Johnny watched curiously. "The guy who helped with your car today?"
Almost imdiately, my phone pinged with a ssage containing account details and a photo of the repair invoice. I nodded while opening my banking app. "Yes."
I could tell Johnny was curious about my interaction with Alpha Xander. He knew we were acquainted but probably assud our relationship was purely professional and distant. He wasn’t wrong - Alpha Xander and I had barely exchanged more than formal greetings at pack functions before today.
After transferring the exact amount and sending a final thank-you ssage, I turned to Johnny. "Ready to analyze so groundbreaking tech?"
We worked on our presentation for hours, docunting the core technologies of each exhibit we’d seen. Despite my attempts to keep focused, my mind kept drifting back to the day’s events - Silvano’s surprise appearance, the tension when he’d seen with Alpha Xander, the way my daughter hardly called anymore.
Selene whined softly in my mind. *You miss them.*
*I miss who they used to be*, I corrected ntally.
By the ti we finished and sent everything to Dr. Ramirez, it was past two in the morning. Johnny looked ready to collapse, dark circles prominent under his eyes.
"You should head ho," I told him, seeing him stifle another yawn. "Thanks for staying so late."
After he left, I hobbled to the bathroom, wincing as I put weight on my injured ankle. The hot shower helped ease so of the day’s tension, but my mind remained troubled.
Johnny had suggested I take a few days to rest my ankle before returning to the office. For once, I decided to listen to soone else’s advice. Working from ho would give space to think, away from the constant reminders of what my life had beco.
The next morning, I’d just finished making coffee when my phone rang. Isabella’s na flashed on the screen, sending a bittersweet pang through my chest.
"Mom?" Her voice sounded smaller over the phone. "Is your ankle feeling any better?"
I tested my weight gingerly while I poured my coffee. "A little better, thank you."
"That’s good." Then silence fell between us, heavy and uncomfortable.
My wolf whimpered at the awkwardness. There had been a ti when Isabella couldn’t stop talking to , when her words tumbled over each other in her excitent to share every detail of her day. Now, these stilted conversations had beco our norm.
The change had been gradual, then suddenly stark. First, Isabella had started sharing her little secrets with Aurora instead of . Then ca the preference for Aurora’s less structured guidance over my careful boundaries. Before I knew it, my daughter’s warst smiles were reserved for soone else.
Her concern about my injury seed genuine but superficial. The Isabella I’d raised would have been desperate to see , would have cried at the thought of being hurt. She would have insisted on coming over, on being my little nurse with exaggerated care and boundless affection.
That maternal bond had been redirected. I’d seen it happen with my own eyes - how quickly Isabella had rushed to Aurora’s side during her recent illness, sending secret ssages of concern and arranging visits the mont school ended.
If she truly worried about now, she would have pushed to get my address, would have convinced her father or a driver to bring her to . But she hadn’t.
I heard muffled conversation on her end of the line, then Isabella’s voice brightened. "Dad, do you want to talk to Mom?"
My heart clenched.
I braced myself to hear Silvano’s voice, wondering what my mate - my increasingly distant mate - would say to now.
Silvano watching fall without offering his hand. His coldness toward my injury.
Why would he care now? He hadn’t bothered to help up when I was right in front of him. Was he afraid of how it might look to Aurora? In his heart, Aurora’s feelings always ca first, didn’t they?
Whether I lived or died seed irrelevant to him. Otherwise, how could he have remained so detached when I was injured right before his eyes?
My expression hardened, and I was about to decline when Silvano’s voice ca through faintly: "Ask your mother."
Isabella relayed: "Mom, Dad wants to know if you’d like to talk to him."
I pressed my lips together, my wolf bristling. "That’s not necessary. I have things to do."
"Oh..." Isabella’s disappointnt was barely perceptible. "Dad, Mom says no."
I heard Silvano’s vague acknowledgnt in the background.
"Well, bye Mom," Isabella said, already sounding distracted.
"Goodbye," I replied, ending the call.
I set down my phone and leaned against the counter, suddenly exhausted despite having just started my day. Selene nudged at my consciousness, reminding that we were stronger than this—that we had survived worse.
I touched the wolf charm at my neck—a gift from my grandmother, who had raised to be independent long before I beca Luna of Shadow Pack. "We’ll be fine," I whispered, to myself as much as to my wolf.
For the first ti in years, I was answering to no one but myself. The realization was both terrifying and exhilarating.
I opened my laptop and began to work, pushing thoughts of Silvano and Isabella to the back of my mind. They had chosen their path.
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