CH3
1895 Words
FREYA'S POV
The rain had finally stopped.
The sky was still dark, but a soft gray light had started to bloom on the horizon. Morning was coming, and I hadn’t slept—not even for a second.
I sat on the floor of the old storage shack, my arms wrapped around my knees as I watched the man breathe slowly.
He was still alive.
I couldn’t believe it.
After everything I saw last night—the blood, the wounds, the stake through his chest—I didn’t think he’d survive. But somehow, he had. Somehow, he was still fighting.
I leaned my head back against the wooden wall and closed my eyes for a moment. My head was pounding. My whole body ached. The burns on my chest still throbbed from the hot food Alpha Ethan poured on me. My clothes were still wet, my fingers numb, and my feet sore from walking through the mud.
But none of that compared to the weight in my chest.
What was I supposed to do now?
I'd been gone for too long already.
If I went back to the pack house without a good enough explanation for my long absence, I’d definitely be punished. Again. Probably worse this time.
Unless I could come up with an excuse to buy me out of the punishment.
But if I went back and said nothing about the man… would I really be able to sleep at night, knowing I left someone to die out here?
I looked over at him again.
His chest rose and fell slowly. He was pale, his skin bruised and scratched. I could still see where the stake had been pushed into him—though the bleeding had stopped somehow. That wasn’t normal.
And what was stranger... was how he reacted to my touch.
It was like... it calmed him. He went still the second I touched his cheek. His breathing evened out.
I didn’t understand it.
But I couldn’t ignore it either.
A soft groan pulled me out of my thoughts.
I sat up straight, my heart pounding.
He was moving.
His fingers twitched. His lips parted. Then slowly, and painfully, his eyes fluttered open.
At first, they were unfocused—glassy and confused. But then they locked on mine.
And I forgot how to breathe.
His eyes… they were violet.
A rich, haunting shade. Not purple like bruises, but deep and luminous like the first bloom of nightfall. I’d never seen eyes like his before. Not on a wolf. Not on anyone.
They didn’t look natural.
They didn’t look like they were of this world.
He blinked slowly, and then his dry, cracked lips moved.
“...You,” he whispered.
I froze. “W-What?”
He frowned slightly, his face twisting in pain. “You... mate...”
My brow furrowed.
“No,” I said quickly, shaking my head. “I—I'm not your mate. My name is Freya, I just… I found you. That’s all.”
I hadn't even meant to tell him my name. It just slipped out without my control.
His eyes drifted shut again, and for a second, I thought he had passed out. But then he spoke again.
“Don’t… leave.”
His voice was weak and broken, but the plea in it was strong. He sounded almost scared.
“I won’t,” I whispered, surprising myself, even though I still had no idea what he was talking about.
Why did I say that? I didn’t even know who he was.
And why did he call me mate?
He groaned softly, and I shifted uncomfortably.
Something about him—his pain, his fear, those violet eyes—touched something inside me that I didn’t even know how to explain.
I looked down at the blood-soaked cloth I’d wrapped around his chest earlier. It wasn’t good enough. He needed real medicine. A healer. But I couldn’t risk taking him to anyone in the pack. They’d kill him on sight.
They wouldn’t even ask questions.
I took a deep breath and stood up.
“I’ll be back,” I whispered. “I have to go before someone notices my absence. But I’ll come back. I promise.”
He didn’t answer. He had passed out again.
I slipped out of the shack, looking around carefully. It was almost dawn. I had to hurry.
As I locked up and started to walk back, all I could think about were those eyes.
They were quite odd.
Who was that man?
My chest tightened with every step I took. I’d already been gone too long. I needed to come up with a believable excuse. Something quick, something solid—before Alpha Ethan—
A sharp snap behind me made me freeze.
I held my breath as I heard footsteps and crunches.
“Do you see her anywhere?” Alpha Ethan’s voice echoed in the woods, causing my stomach to drop.
My eyes widened. My pulse thundered in my ears.
They were looking for me.
I spun around in a panic, my eyes scanning for cover, for anything—but it was too late. They were already coming through the trees. Alpha Ethan led the group of pack guards, his eyes dark and furious.
“There you are,” he snapped, stomping toward me. “Where the hell have you been, omega?”
I flinched, my mouth opening before my brain could catch up.
“I—I can explain—”
“I sent you to the farmhouse to get potatoes. Potatoes, Freya. Not to vanish into the goddess-damned woods!” he barked, his voice rising with every word. “You’ve been gone all night! Where are the potatoes?”
I swallowed heavily when I realized I didn't remember to go back for them.
“I—I'm sorry,” I said quickly, my voice trembling. “I was on my way back, but I heard something and I—”
“You heard something?” he cut in, laughing coldly. “That’s your grand excuse?”
I swallowed hard. I couldn’t tell him. I couldn’t tell any of them.
They'd kill him on sight.
“I'm sorry, Alpha. I—I didn’t mean to disobey,” I whispered. “I just—”
“I don’t want to hear it,” he snarled. “Guards. Take her. Lock her up. I’ll deal with her later.”
“No—wait, please!” I cried, taking a frantic step back. “I wasn’t running away! I swear! I just—”
His eyes dropped suddenly to my shirt and he stiffened.
“What is that?” he demanded.
I followed his gaze, and my eyes widened.
Blood.
Panic slammed into me.
The stranger’s blood. I hadn’t even realized it had soaked through my shirt. In the dim light it must have looked like dirt and rain, but now—now it was glaring red.
“I—I can explain—” I started, but my voice shook too much.
“Where did you get that blood, Freya?” Alpha Ethan’s voice had dropped to a dangerous growl.
My mouth opened, but no sound came out.
“I just— I—”
“Search the woods,” Alpha Ethan ordered coldly, turning away from me like my presence here didn't even matter.
“No!” I gasped. “Alpha, please, there’s nothing out here!”
One of the guards shoved me roughly aside and I stumbled and nearly fell.
Within moments, they spread out, combing the forest floor with their sharp eyes and sharper noses. I held my breath as I waited. Then, from behind me—
“Alpha! Over here! Blood—on the leaves!”
My heart stopped.
Alpha Ethan moved to inspect it.
“Follow it,” he said.
Please, no.
Please, please, no. Goddess, no.
The guards moved swiftly, tracking the trail with ease. I stood frozen, praying to the Moon Goddess, to anyone who would listen, but it was useless. The blood led them straight to the old storage shed just a few steps behind me.
Alpha Ethan’s gaze shifted to me.
“It stops here,” he said, then turned to the men and ordered, “Open it.”
My eyes widened and I jumped in front of the door, arms spread.
“Alpha,” I said, too quickly. “Please. It’s just a storage place. I just—”
“Move, Freya,” he gritted through his teeth.
“Please, Alpha, I swear—”
He didn’t wait.
His hand shot out and grabbed a fistful of my hair, yanking me back with brutal force. I screamed as he threw me down, causing me to land on my face in the cold, wet mud. My body ached from the impact.
“No!” I cried, trying to push myself up as the guards reached the door.
The door burst open with a loud crash, and then—
Silence.
Then I heard one of them mutter something under his breath.
I turned, heart racing.
He was there.
Still lying unconscious, the same way I left him just minutes ago. The bloodied cloth around his chest looked darker now, completely soaked through. His breathing was faint—too faint.
Alpha Ethan turned to me slowly.
“What is the meaning of this?” he hissed. “Who is he? A spy? A rogue? Are you hiding strangers on my lands now, Freya?!”
“No!” I choked out. “Please, he’s not—he’s hurt. He was dying. I—I just found him like that!”
“And your first thought was to bring him onto my land without asking for my permission?!” he roared. “Are you completely insane?!”
“I didn’t know what else to do!” I shook my head. “He had a stake through his chest—he was barely breathing—I couldn’t just leave him—”
“You endangered this entire pack!” he spat. “You disappeared, disobeyed orders, and then dragged some unknown stranger onto our land in the middle of the night! You think your tears will make me believe this was an act of compassion? That you didn't plan to sabotage this pack in any way?!”
My lips trembled. “I’m telling the truth.”
But it didn’t matter.
His eyes were like fire and ice—burning through me with so much coldness I almost shivered.
He turned to the guards, his voice cold and final as he spoke. “Bring him.”
“No!” I gasped, panic clawing at my chest. “He won’t survive being moved! He’s too weak—he needs help—”
“Enough!” Alpha Ethan thundered. “You’ve done enough damage already. Your stubbornness will be what gets you killed, omega.”
I watched in horror as the guards stepped into the shed.
And all I could do was watch helplessly and scream inside my soul—as the only thing I had tried to protect in years was taken away right in front of me.
What would they do with him?
Would Alpha Ethan really kill an injured man just to prove a point?
He hasn't even done anything wrong.
He didn't hurt anyone.
How could Alpha Ethan go this far?
- Writer
