Chapter <b>25 </b>


    Freya’s POV


    “Brother, I told you she wasn’t acting proper outside. Otherwise, why would the SkyVex deal copse the moment she resigned?!”


    Giselle’s voice scraped down my spine like ws against bone as she shoved herm crystal into Caelum’s hand. “Look at this<b>–</b>I got it all recorded.”


    The screen lit up. Caelum’s eyes flicked to the sleek ck vehicle.


    And there it was–the sigil of the Irond Coalition, carved into the shadows of the Maybach’s license te.


    Ss Whitmor’s personal car.


    Then came the moment I stepped out, the book passed from his driver’s hand into mine. Caelum’s scent shifted–startled, then guarded. He looked from the screen to me, that sharp jaw locked with tension.


    So, he


    had


    seen it.


    “It’s not what it looks like,” I said, voice steady. “We left the aerial showcase at the same time. He offered a ride, I epted.”


    “Oh, what a tidy little excuse,” Giselle scoffed. “You’re a mated female, Freya. What sort of twisted game are you ying, riding in another Alpha’s car?”


    “If we’re policing rides now,” I said coldly, “maybe you should ask your precious brother about how often Aurora rides in his.”


    Giselle’s face froze.


    Then Eleanor, Caelum’s mother, stormed forward, her rage radiating like a crackling ze.


    Her hand came up fast, sharp and viper–quick–aimed for my face.


    But I caught her wrist mid–air.


    Gasps echoed through the room.


    “You see that?!” Eleanor snarled, wrenching against my grip. “She raised her hand against me! Caelum, she dares to strike her elder! And you still haven’t cast her out?!”


    Caelum’s boots thudded across the stone floor as he stepped between <b>us</b><b>. </b><b>“</b>Let her go, Freya.”


    “She tried to hit me<b>.” </b>


    “She’s your elder Luna. Even if she scolds you<b>, </b>you shouldn’ty a hand on her,” Caelum snapped. “You’re younger. A daughter–in–bond. You should endure a few words.”


    “A few words<b>?</b><b>” </b>I echoed, bitter.


    “She helped raise me alone after my father’s <b>death</b>. I owe her everything. You can’t endure a few scoldings for the sake of this bond?”


    There it was again.


    That ancient guilt weaponized like <b>a </b>de.


    How many times had I heard him say it?


    His mother sacrificed. His mother suffered. His mother was owed.


    And I… what was I? A wolf tethered for convenience?


    “No,” I said, voice low. “I endured because <b>I </b>loved you. But I don’t anymore. So <b>I </b>won’t endure it again.”


    The silence after that rang sharp and final.


    Caelum flinched–just slightly, but <b>I </b>saw it. The doubt shing across his features, the Alpha posture slipping just for a heartbeat.


    <b>His </b>voice dropped. “Is this about him? Whitmor? You stopped loving me because someone more powerful came along?” Myughter <b>was </b>bitter. “This isn’t about <b>Ss</b><b>.</b><b>” </b>


    Eleanor stepped forward again, venom in her tone. “Clearly your parents didn’t teach you how to respect a mate’s bloodline.” My parents?


    For one brief second, I saw their faces–Arthur and Myra Thorne, the night before they left for the peacekeeping mission. Their warm smiles. My father’s hand resting on my shoulder. My mother’s scent still clinging to my jacket when I returned from Halston.


    “They raised me with love,” I said quietly. “Not so I could marry into your family and be beaten down by yours.”


    I released Eleanor’s wrist.


    “You want a divorce? Fine. But I take what is mine.”


    “You filthy-! After what you did, you think you deserve a silvermark from our coffers?” Eleanor snapped.


    “Giselle used me of cheating,” I said, turning calmly toward her. “Let’s rify it. The man who gave me that book… was Ss Whitmor.”


    Giselle’s mouth dropped open. “What?”


    She paled instantly.


    Even a reckless pup like her knew better than to toss usations at the Alpha of the Irond Coalition.


    “That’s right,” I continued smoothly. “So, Giselle, are you publicly iming I’m having an affair with Ss Whitmor?”


    “I-” Her lips opened. Closed. Then again. “I didn’t know… I thought it was just some-


    “Be silent,” Caelum growled at her, voice dipped into Alphamand.


    17


    “Take Mother upstairs,” he added, colder now. “And don’t speak of this outside these walls. Not a word.”


    They left reluctantly, Giselle sending me a re over her shoulder that promised trouble she couldn’t deliver.


    Now we were alone.


    NC


    nd something more feral beneath.


    The shadows wrapped around us, thick with tension and


    15


    T


    1


    2


    A


    Caelum turned to me, his eyes darker now.


    “What’s your rtionship with Ss?”


    CH


    ?????、;???


    “There isn’t one,” I replied.


    “Then why did he send you home with <b>a </b>gift?”


    “It’s not a gift,” I said. “It’s a book. A rare one. He knows I read. He let me borrow it.”


    He stared at me, something calcting flickering behind the storm in his gaze<b>. </b>


    I didn’t tell him that I had already researched the book before he came home.


    That M’s Bestiary of Skyborne Avians had sold for twelve million credits at thest Crescent Auction.


    A book Ss passed to me <b>as </b>casually as one might hand over a leaf.


    1 hadn’t epted it–not truly.


    But Caelum didn’t know that.


    And for the <b>first </b>time in a long while, I didn’t feel the need to exin myself.


    Send Gifts