Chapter 534

Olivia

I stepped into the dimly lit room, my heart pounding in my chest. Freya was seated on the edge of a simple cot, her back turned toward the door. Even in her human form, she exuded an aura of power and command that caused the hair on the back of my neck to stand on end.

“Freya,” I said softly, my voice barely more than a whisper.

She stiffened at the sound of my voice, her shoulders tensing. Slowly, she turned to face me, and the look in her eyes nearly took my breath away. They were filled with a depth of anguish and betrayal that cut me to the core.

For what felt like a long time, we just looked at each other. The months we had been apart, during those moments, felt like an eternity. I realized now, as I looked at the red-haired and utterly silent woman in front of me, that maybe I didn’t know her as much as I thought.

And maybe I hadn’t considered the immense harm I brought to her by going through with the ritual.

“You,” she finally said, her inner voice trembling with barely contained fury. “You stole my wolf from me. Mingan tells me that it was for the greater good, but this… how could you do this?”

I swallowed hard, steeling my nerves. “Freya, please, let me explain—”

“Explain?” She let out a harsh, bitter laugh with a throat that hadn’t uttered a sound in a long, long time. “What is there to explain? You’ve robbed me of my very essence, my connection to the natural world. I am nothing without my wolf.”

Tears stung my eyes as I witnessed the raw pain etched across her features. “I know, and I’m sorry, truly. But you have to understand, we had no choice.”

Freya’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “No choice?” she spat. “You always have a choice.”

I took a deep breath, willing myself to remain calm. “You were feral, Freya. A danger to yourself and others. If we hadn’t intervened, who knows what could have happened?”

For a moment, Freya’s gaze wavered, and I saw a flicker of doubt cross her face. She took a deep breath as if to retort, and for a moment I thought she might speak out loud; but then she simply let the breath out, her shoulders slumping ever so slightly.

“Perhaps you are right,” she said at last, her mental voice hardly more than a whisper. “In my state, I was a threat to all I hold dear.”

A glimmer of hope blossomed in my chest. “Then you understand why we had to act?”

Freya nodded slowly, her expression somber. “I do. But that doesn’t make the loss any easier to bear.” She fixed me with a piercing stare, and her silence spoke volumes.

I let out a sigh and dropped my gaze to the floor. “I understand. And I’m sorry,” I said softly.

There was another silence then, and I had one burning question to remain; maybe Freya knew that, and she was simply waiting for me to ask it. “Freya,” I finally said, drawing in a sharp inhale and lifting my gaze to meet her. “How can you…”

“Speak telepathically?” she asked.

I nodded.

Freya sighed again. “The Elders gain some of their abilities via witchcraft,” she explained. “I may have lost my wolf, but the abilities I learned through rituals remained. I can still speak like this, among other things.”

That made sense, at least in the moment. But I felt little need to pry and ask what other abilities she still possessed; I figured that she deserved at least that modicum of privacy, considering what else had been taken from her tonight.

“Now, tell me, child, what troubles you so deeply that you would go to such lengths? I know it wasn’t simply my feral nature that led you to do what you did.”

I took a deep breath, steadying myself. This was it—the moment I had been both dreading and anticipating.

Slowly, I began to recount the horrors of the sex trafficking ring, the heinous crimes being committed under Dan’s watchful eye. I told her of my need to harness my Ancient Wolf powers, to protect my pack and bring those who were responsible to justice.

I told her that she was the only one who could help me.

And I told her about Clarissa.

As I spoke, Freya’s expression grew increasingly grave, her brow furrowed in contemplation. When I finally fell silent, she let out a weary sigh.

“A heavy burden indeed,” she murmured. “And this Clarissa you speak of—you believe she is kin to us?”

I shrugged. “She looks similar to my mother, and we share an uncanny bond; not to mention that her past is a mystery to her. I was hoping you might know if there was another sister. Maybe one that was lost at a young age.”

Freya’s lips pressed into a thin line. “It was only ever your mother and I growing up. We had no other sisters, at least not as far as I’m aware. But…” She paused, running a hand through her tangled red hair. “I’ll meet with her at some point and see for myself.”

A flicker of disappointment stirred inside of me at the possibility of Clarissa being unrelated to us, but I quickly pushed it aside. There would be time to unravel the mystery of Clarissa’s lineage later.

“For now, we must focus on the task at hand,” Freya said, her gaze sharpening. “I will help you, Olivia. Not only will I guide you in harnessing your Ancient Wolf abilities, but I will rally the other Elders to our cause. Together, we will bring this despicable ring to its knees.”

Relief washed over me, so palpable that I nearly staggered under its weight. “Thank you, Freya. Really, thank you.”

She raised a hand, her expression softening ever so slightly. “There is one condition, however.”

I tensed, my heart skipping a beat. “What is it?”

“Once this is over, once the threat has been neutralized, the Elders must be allowed to return to the pack.”

I opened my mouth to protest, but Freya silenced me with a stern look.

“We were cast out unfairly, Olivia,” she said, her voice laced with a trace of bitterness. “Punished for simply upholding the ancient ways, the traditions that have kept our kind strong for centuries. If we are to risk everything to help you, we must have your word that we will be welcomed back into the pack.”

I hesitated, my mind racing. Could I—could we—really trust the Elders, after everything that had happened before? And what about Nathan—would he, as our Alpha, really agree to such terms?

As if summoned by my thoughts, the door to the room swung open, and Nathan stepped inside, his expression unreadable.

“I’ve heard everything,” he said, his voice low and grave. “And I agree to Freya’s terms—on one condition.”

Freya arched an eyebrow, but remained silent, awaiting his request.

“The Elders must vow, here and now, that their sole purpose in returning to the pack will be to guide and protect us,” Nathan said, his gaze unwavering. “No more power grabs, no more secret agendas. You will serve the pack, and the pack alone.”

A heavy silence hung in the air, thick with tension. Finally, Mingan stepped through the doorway, her weathered face masked with a solemn expression.

“As the head Elder, you have my word, Alpha,” she said, inclining her head in a gesture of respect. “We will be loyal to the pack, and nothing else.”

Nathan turned to Freya. “And you, Freya?”

Freya was silent and still for a long time, and for a moment, I thought she might refuse. But then, she nodded and fixed Nathan with a steady gaze. “This is fair,” she said.

Nathan held her gaze for a long moment before giving a curt nod. “Very well,” he said softly. “Then we have an accord.”