Chapter 8

Jasper stared at his phone, his heart pounding hard in his chest. He'd let Mia make his judgement, now he was paying dearly for it.

He called her severally, but every time the call dropped it said: Number unreachable.

She had blocked him. Why wouldn't she? After what he'd done to her, she had every right to do so.

Mia was still there, shedding fake tears. The mere sight of her made him want to lose his cool, but that wasn't important. Freya first then he'd handle her later.

"Jasper, please." She pleaded. "I'm your true mate, not her." She tried to touch him, but he glanced at her coldly, making it known that she needed to be steps away from him.

His wolf was howling within him out of anger and respite. Not at Freya, but at him all because of his foolishness. He had believed Mia. He had pushed Freya away when she begged to be believed. And now it was too late.

“No… it can’t be,” he whispered.

He rose up and ran outside. “You!” Jasper snapped. “I need your phone.” he ordered.

The guard, startled, quickly brought out his phone and handed it over without asking why.

With shaky hands, Jasper quickly typed in Freya’s number. It rang for a bit until it dropped. At least he knew the number was going through so he tried it again. His heart nearly stopped after the third ring.

Then—she answered. “Hello?” Her voice was quiet, cautious. He didn't speak, just looking at the phone.

"Hello, who’s this please?”

“Freya,” he called, his voice low. “It’s Jasper.” He announced like she was supposed to be excited that he'd called.

There was a long pause. He could feel the coldness in the silence.

“I know you don’t want to talk to me,” he rushed out. “But I found your letter. It was in the trash can at the office. Mia lied about everything. I just found out that she set you up, Freya. I didn’t know. I swear, I didn’t know—”

“Stop,” Freya cut in sharply. His hands froze.

"You've done what you wanted, You're with Mia now so stop bothering me."

"Freya, please." He was on the verge of tearing up. "I had no idea, I should have never cast you out. I should have believed you when—"

“It’s too late, Jasper,” she cut him off. She was tired. "It's too late for any of this."

“No, please, Frey, don't do this to me—”

“The part of me that loved you?” she said, her voice hard. “It’s dead, and buried alongside the past memories we shared. And I hope it never comes back.” The line went dead.

Jasper stood there, phone in hand, staring into space. The pain hit him hard. He had truly lost her.

Back at Freya's........

Freya let the phone fall to the floor. Tears were welling up in the corner of her eyes, but she quickly wiped them off. Crying over someone who treated her like trash was useless.

She said what needed to be said. It still hurts. Her fragile heart was still broken in many pieces, but she'd learn to live with the pain. Her wolf was right here with her, that's all that matters.

She turned back to the last box she was unpacking. Her new house was small and quiet, but it was hers. It was a fresh start where there would be no more pain, no more lies, no more Jasper and no more Mia.

Freya lost the urge to unpack. She put her dress on the bed, and went to stand in front of the mirror, observing herself. Her eyes were still red from the nights when she'd cried herself to bed.

"Freya, please." His words were still in her head. No, she shouldn't think about him.

That letter, why did she even put it there? She'd have let him continue living his lie, but the deed had been done.

"You did the right thing, Freya." Her wolf said to her. "Don't think about him—

Then, all of a sudden, her wolf growled softly inside her. Not out of anger—but something else. An Alert. A strange feeling came over her and her heart beat faster.

Then… she caught a scent. It was Woodsy, deep, rich and masculine. She looked around frantically for what wasn't lost.

It wasn’t Jasper. That was for sure. It was someone new, and her wolf was eager to find out who it was.

Her wolf purred, clawing at her chest like it was trying to reach something outside. Pushing her towards the door.

Freya froze. Her eyes widened. She looked toward the window but didn’t see anyone. Still, the scent was stronger now, and it was getting closer.

Without thinking, she pulled open the door and rushed outside, looking around for the person who was making her wolf jump.

Then she saw him. A man. Tall, strong, and beautiful in a way that stole her breath. He looked just as shocked to see her. His golden eyes locked onto hers, and he stopped in his tracks.

She couldn’t move. Neither could he.

The air between them felt different, like something very powerful was holding them together.

Her heart was beating fast against her chest. Her wolf was jumping and howling inside her, full of joy.

The man took one step closer to her, and she did too. And at the same time, they both whispered the same word.

“Mate.”