Chapter10
1085 Words
Freya lay on the bed, her body damp with sweat and the remnants of what had transpired. Her mind raced in a thousand directions, trying to piece together what had just happened.
Beside her, Logan slept with his chest rising and falling in steady rhythm, his breathing heavy and unbothered.
What just happened? she whispered under her breath, clutching the bedsheet to cover her bare skin. Her lingerie lay discarded across the room, a silent testimony of the night. Heat rose to her cheeks as she crept under the covers, shame and disbelief warring within her.
A low voice startled her. “Don’t you think it’s time to leave for your room?”
Her head snapped toward him. His eyes were open now, watching her with a calm detachment that cut deeper than anger.
“Leave for my room?” she asked, confusion threading her voice. “Can’t I stay here? With you?”
She had thought—hoped—that what they shared last night meant something. Surely she wasn’t just a vessel to him. Surely she wasn’t only his breeder, meant for nothing more than carrying his heirs.
“You haven’t answered me, Logan,” she pressed, her voice trembling despite her effort to appear calm.
His gaze shifted to the ceiling, never meeting hers. “Do you think anything real could happen between us? I respect you, Freya, but intimacy isn’t for us. Not in the way you’re thinking.”
Her chest tightened. She was only eighteen, still unshifted, and he was an alpha—older, stronger, and bound by a world she could never match. Perhaps it was foolish to expect anything more. Yet the memory of his gentleness the night before tugged at her heart.
“But last night,” she whispered, “you were different. The way you touched me, the way you spoke—it felt real.”
“Freya.” His voice softened as he reached for her hand. “You’re still young. I don’t blame you for mistaking this for something else. But don’t forget—you’re my breeder. Nothing more. That’s what makes you valuable.”
His words sliced through her like hot iron, searing into her soul. She pulled her hand free, gathered her scattered clothes, and fled the room before her tears could betray her.
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The morning air was colder than usual when she pressed her forehead to the cold windowpane. Fog curled over the pack grounds, and the distant trill of birds filled the silence. Freya’s thoughts drifted to her family—the ones who had traded her for wealth, selling her future as though she were nothing but livestock.
A soft knock broke her reverie.
“Can I come in?” Samantha’s gentle voice came from the doorway, her smile bright and warm.
“You’re practically in already,” Freya replied with a faint chuckle, shifting on the bed.
“It’s been almost a month, and no one’s seen much of you,” Samantha said, stepping inside with a look of concern.
“I don’t want to be outside,” Freya admitted. “What’s the point?”
“Is it because of the other women?” Samantha sat beside her. “Ignore them. They’re only jealous the alpha chose you.”
Freya forced a smile, though bitterness stirred in her chest. Chose me? No. He only chose what I could give him. Alpha Logan seemed incapable of love, of allowing himself to be vulnerable again. Something in his past still bound him in chains.
“Sam,” Freya turned to her cautiously. “Last week, you mentioned someone—Lucia. Please, tell me about her.”
Samantha hesitated, then sighed. “Lucia… she was everything. Beautiful, graceful. The alpha called her his diamond. She was to be his wife. But she betrayed him. Cheated with his own brother, and worse—she sold his secrets to his enemies. They nearly killed him because of her.”
Freya listened intently, each word painting Logan in a new light. For the first time, she felt a flicker of pity for the man who had been nothing but stern with her.
“At one point, he was so broken he had to be taken to rehab,” Samantha added, shaking her head. “He loved her more than anything.”
Freya pressed her lips together, the weight of those revelations sinking in. “So that’s why he keeps me only as a breeder… no strings attached.”
“You can’t be sure of that,” Samantha said firmly. “The alpha didn’t even want a breeder. The council had to push him into it. If he gave in once, maybe… maybe something more can happen between you two.”
Freya shook her head. “It’s better this way. Better if we stay nothing more.”
Samantha smirked knowingly but didn’t argue further.
“Where’s Lucia now?” Freya asked after a pause.
“Last we heard, Syria,” Samantha replied. “And would you believe—even after all she did, Logan begged her to return. He was ready to forgive her. That’s how deeply he loved her.”
Shock rippled through Freya. How could he still love someone so cruel? What chance did she ever stand against such a memory?
“And if she comes back?” Freya whispered. “What happens to me?”
Samantha looked away. “I don’t know. But even if she did, I doubt he’d abandon you and his children. By then, you’d be bound to him through blood.”
Freya sank back onto the bed, staring at the ceiling. She longed to hear Logan speak of Lucia himself, to understand the truth hidden behind his silence. Her hand drifted unconsciously to her stomach, lingering there as though on instinct.
Samantha pulled an apple from her dress pocket and offered it. “Here. Have this.”
But the sight of the fruit churned Freya’s stomach. She lurched forward, hand clamped to her mouth, and bolted to the bathroom.
She barely made it before nausea overtook her. Moments later, she sat slumped against the cool tiles, drenched in water she had splashed on herself to steady the dizziness.
“Freya?” Samantha’s voice was laced with concern as she peered in. “Are you… are you alright?”
Freya’s chest rose and fell in ragged breaths. She couldn’t answer—not with the uncertainty twisting in her gut.
Because she wasn’t sure if she was okay at all.
- Writer
