Chapter 533

Olivia

The journey back to the nearby pack's territory felt like a blur. Nathan carefully cradled Freya’s unconscious human form in his arms as we hurried through the dense forest, my heart pounding with every step.

I kept glancing over my shoulder, half-expecting her to revert back to her wolf state and attack us at any moment. But she remained still and silent, her chest rising and falling with shallow breaths.

When we made it back to the car, I carefully bundled Freya up in a blanket that I kept in the back seat to keep her warm and covered before Nathan peeled away from the side of the road. We were silent as we hurried down the road toward the nearby pack’s territory.

Every so often, I would glance back at Freya to see her still laying there, unconscious and a little bloody.

“You’re sure you didn’t hurt her?” I asked, glancing over at Nathan, who—aside from some minor cuts and bruises—was mostly unscathed after their vicious fight.

Nathan nodded and tightened his grip on the steering wheel. “She was fine before that freak flash of lightning,” he explained. “But if her wolf really is gone, there’s no knowing exactly what sort of mental effects she’ll exhibit.”

I bit my lip almost hard enough to draw blood as I looked back at Freya, her red hair cascading over the car seat. The mental anguish that would come with losing one’s wolf wasn’t something that I had considered much leading up to the ritual.

But surely, whatever the consequences were would be better than being poached by people who didn’t take kindly to feral wolves threatening their homes.

As we finally neared the pack’s borders a little while later, I could finally let out the breath I had been holding this entire time. Nathan pulled his car up to the pack’s Council building, which had a single flickering light in the window.

“Good,” Nathan said as we got out and gathered Freya from the back seat. “Someone’s awake.”

Before I could even knock on the door, it swung open and I was met immediately with the sight of Mingan. Instantly, I knew: she was already expecting us tonight.

“Mingan,” I breathed, my chest heaving. “We need—”

“Come in. Quickly.”

Without another word, Mingan ushered us quietly into the Council building under the cover of night. With Freya cradled in Nathan’s arms, we rushed inside, where Mingan gestured for him to take her to a nearby room and lay her on the table.

After Nathan laid Freya down, still bundled up in the blanket, there was a long silence. Nathan and I exchanged nervous glances with each other while Mingan circled Freya’s body, inspecting her for any serious wounds.

Finally, Mingan nodded to herself and turned to face us.

“Her wolf is gone?” she murmured, her tone unreadable.

I exchanged a glance with Nathan, unsure of how to respond. But before I could formulate an answer, Mingan continued.

“I sensed a disturbance in the natural order—a great shift in the balance of power.” She shook her head, her expression grave. “This was unwise, children.”

“We had no choice,” I said, swallowing hard. “Not only was Freya a threat to the safety of many, but also—”

“There is no need for explanations,” Mingan interrupted, fixing me with a penetrating stare. “All that matters is now, she is a shell of her former self. A wolf without her spirit. The consequences may be dire.”

A heavy silence hung in the air, punctuated only by the crackling of the fire and Freya’s shallow breathing as she lay there on the table. I felt a pang of guilt twist in my gut, but I couldn’t bring myself to regret our actions—not when, deep down, we all knew what this really was.

Necessary.

Hours seemed to pass as we waited for any sign of Freya stirring. Mingan tended to her tirelessly, applying poultices and murmuring ancient incantations under her breath. She cleaned Freya’s skin gently, removing any remnants of blood.

It was just as Nathan had said: she was unharmed. She was missing her other half, her wolf half, but she was unharmed.

Finally, just as the first rays of dawn were beginning to filter through the trees and cast a dim blue glow across the room, Freya’s eyelids fluttered open. She blinked slowly, her gaze unfocused and hazy.

And then, all at once, her eyes snapped into clarity, and she bolted upright with a strangled gasp.

“My wolf!” her telepathic cried out, her hands flying to her throat as if she could somehow coax her beast form back to the surface by doing so.

Somehow, she still possessed her telepathic abilities—perhaps from her Elder rituals—but lacked her wolf. Normally, it would have been a marvel that she had maintained this ability. But now, seeing her like this just filled me with dread.

“What have you done?”

Her frantic gaze fell on me, and in that moment, I saw a depth of anguish and despair that nearly took my breath away. “F-Freya,” I stammered, taking a step forward, “I—We—”

“You,” she hissed, her inner voice trembling with barely contained fury as she pointed her shaking finger at me. “It was you! You took my wolf from me!”

Nathan stepped forward then. “Freya, we had no choice,” he said. “You were feral.”

But Freya wasn’t listening. All of the poise and grace of the woman who I had once known for a brief time was quickly snuffed out, replaced by a haphazard and painful fury. Without her wolf, she was empty inside. That much was obvious.

“Get out,” she growled, her eyes darting back and forth between all of us. “Get out now!”

Mingan rose to her feet from the chair where she had been sitting, positioning herself between us and Freya. “Have peace, child,” she said, her tone firm but gentle. “You are safe here.”

“And you, Mingan.” Freya doubled over, her body wracked with agonizing yet utterly silent sobs as the realization of her loss truly set in. “You didn’t stop them?” she choked out. “You just sat here and let this happen?!”

Mingan turned to us as Freya sobbed and choked, her expression solemn. “You should go,” she said quietly. “I will tend to her.”

Nathan opened his mouth as if to protest, but I placed a hand on his arm, silencing him. With a heavy heart, we turned and made our way outside, leaving Freya to grieve in the company of the elder.

We settled on the hood of the car, the weight of what we had done pressing down on us like a thousand pounds. For a long while, we sat in silence, lost in our own thoughts and emotions.

Eventually, the forest began to lighten around us, and I turned to Nathan, taking in the hard set of his jaw and the leftover flecks of coppery blood in his hair.

“What about Dan?” I whispered. “He’ll notice you’ve been gone.”

Nathan just shook his head. “He won’t notice.”

“But—”

“He won’t notice, Liv.”

Nathan’s tone was firm, brooking no room for further argument. I regarded his side profile for a moment longer, before I turned away with tears in my eyes. We had both committed something grave tonight; robbing a woman of her wolf, especially an Elder like Freya, could not be taken lightly.

Would it really be worth it? Was Freya truly a danger, or was this all done out of pure selfishness—out of a need to learn more about my own bloodline, no matter the consequences?

Eventually, Mingan emerged from the Council building and her face was unreadable. She approached us, her movements slow and measured and her gait slightly halting from her old age.

“Olivia,” she said, stopping in front of me. “Freya wishes to speak with you. Alone.”