Chapter <b>56 </b>
Freya’s POV
“Kade…” he opened his mouth, but the words got caught somewhere between pride and hesitation.
+8 Pearls
“I should have told you back then, when I married….. I didn’t let you know. I’m sorry,” I said, taking the first step. I wanted him to know I remembered, I cared.
His nose twitched, a sharp scent of emotion betraying him. “Yeah… I was miserable back then.”
He’d only just realized what his feelings for me truly were, but by that time, I had already been imed by another. The Alpha Caelum.
“Now…” he hesitated, then forced a grin. “Now, I’m happy.”
“Happy?” I blinked, slightly startled. “Because… I’m divorcing?”
“Exactly,” he said, and his grin widened, wolfish and unabashed. “Because you’re divorcing, I’m thrilled.” He lifted his ss and drank deep, crimson wine spilling down the corner of his lips, tracing the line of his neck, soaking into the cor of his
shirt.
His <b>eyes</b><b>, </b>bright as twin moons, glimmered with a drunken intensity. “Once you’re free… there’s something I want to tell you.”
I arched an eyebrow. “Not now?”
<b>He </b>shook his head, a slow, deliberate movement. “Not now. Later… when there’s no chains of duty, no moral leash, no pack politics to bind <b>us</b><b>.</b><b>” </b>
I nodded, understanding. Wolves <b>feel </b>the truth in their bones; he wanted a moment untethered, where our fates could collide <b>freely</b>.
“Fine<b>,</b><b>” </b>I said.
Eventually, the wine <b>got </b>to him. <b>Kade </b>toppled onto the table, half–asleep, half–lost in drunken haze. Lana, not far behind in her own <b>indulgence</b>, giggled uncontrobly beside him. I rubbed my temples, already bracing for thebor of dragging two drunken packmates to their respective rooms.
A <b>buzz </b>on <b>my </b>phone broke <b>my </b><b>headache</b>. A message from Caelum: the details of the divorce <b>press </b><b>conference</b><b>. </b>I <b>stared </b>at it, <b>feeling </b><b>the </b>chill settle in my chest<b>. </b><b>After </b>all <b>was </b>said and done, <b>all </b>that remained between him and me was this <b>frozen</b><b>, </b>clinical
severance<b>. </b>
Soon, the
<b>press </b>would/know<b>. </b>
<b>I </b><b>had </b>nned to go alone<b>, </b>but Lana refused. “You’re getting <b>divorced</b>. I might as <b>well </b>be your family<b>–</b>you <b>need </b>me there <b>she </b>said, her <b>voice </b><b>warm</b><b>, </b><b>loyal</b><b>, </b>unwavering.
A pang <b>of </b>something long buried <b>surged </b>through me. <b>My </b>parents <b>gone</b><b>, </b>my brother missing, my marriage a hollow cage<b>–</b>I’d walked alone for so long. Yet <b>here </b>was Lana<b>, </b>a wolf standing firm <b>beside </b>me<b>, </b><b>ready </b><b>to </b>defend, to back me, regardless of the fight.
<b>“</b><b>You </b><b>are </b>my family,” I murmured<b>, </b><b>a </b><b>rare </b>softness in my <b>voice</b><b>. </b>
The hotel lobby for the press conference <b>was </b>already set when we arrived, though the <b>event </b><b>hadn’t </b>begun. The first people I <b>saw </b>were <b>Giselle </b>and Eleanor. The <b>air </b>snapped with <b>tension</b>. Wolves <b>scent </b>danger a heartbeat before it strikes, and <b>both </b>of them radiated hostility<b>. </b>
Eleanor lunged at me<b>, </b>hand arcing <b>in </b>a p meant to humiliate. I caught her wrist mid–air.
“The only one who cannd <b>you </b>in prison… is your own misdeeds,” I said, letting the <b>weight </b>of my words be the pack’sw, then flicked her hand <b>away</b>.
She shrieked, scandalized, “How dare you strike your mother–inw!”
I narrowed my eyes. This human pretense, this weak mask of moral outrage–it wasughable.
Caelum’s voice cut through sharply: “Freya, you hit my mother?”
I turned just in time to see him and Aurora approaching.
+8 Pearis
Giselle trailed behind, half–supporting Eleanor, spinning her own version of events. “Brother, it’s not her fault! Mom just yelled because Freya refused to sign that reconciliation statement–she barely said anything!”
I fixed my gaze on Caelum. “Do you believe her?”
“She is my mother. Of course I do. We have a press conference in a few minutes; I don’t want embarrassment. You’d better apologize immediately,” he demanded, his Alpha authority sharp but naive.
Iughed–cold, wolfish, untamed. Caelum had seen Eleanor’s lies, her venom. Yet now, here he was, swallowing her words like an obedient pup. He had never truly seen me as family, never truly respected me as part of his pack. And he never would
“What’s so funny?” he snapped, brow furrowed, ws of pride flickering beneath the surface.
“Divorcing you is, without a doubt, the best decision I’ve ever made,” I said inly. My words, light on human tone but heavy with wolf’s conviction, cut through him sharper than fangs.
He tensed, unease creeping across him. Though today the world would witness our divorce, hearing ite from me- strong, resolute<b>–</b><b>was </b>like a fresh fang in the ribs, reminding him he was about to lose something he’d never truly held.
He tried to reim control, masking the sting. “If you refuse to apologize… then don’t expect me to release the 1.53 million cash you demanded!”
Lana’s voice rose instantly, a fierce growl of indignation. “Caelum, are you even human? That money–it’s Freya’s parents-”
I held
up a hand, stopping her mid–rant. “Lana, let me handle this.”
I pulled <b>out </b>my phone and yed a video. The footage was clear: Eleanor lunged, failed, then staged the entire assault‘ for human eyes. The truthy bare, the deception undone.
Tonight, I would stand, fangs bared, instincts sharp. Wolves know the hunt is never just about survival—it’s about truth. dominance<b>, </b>and ining what is rightfully theirs.
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