Freya’s POV
The moment I turned my head, a sh of deep green uniforms hit my eyes.
My heart clenched.
Aldred hade.
+8 Pearls
I froze, staring at the familiar figure standing not far away. Behind him followed the old pack medic, the one who had once served beside my parents, and with them came others<b>–</b>wolves who had been my father Arthur Thorne’s and my mother Myra Brown’srades–in–arms. Two full rows of warriors marched in their wake, their formation sharp, every step echoing the discipline of the Iron Fang Recon Unit.
The air shifted instantly. The terminal went silent, every mortal and wolf alike struck still by the sight of so many soldiers in ceremonial greens.
My throat burned. My eyes stung hot.
I hadn’t shed a single tear when Aurora’s cronies shoved me, or even when the crack of the shock baton rattled against my ribs. I had clenched my jaw, held my wolf’s rage inside a cage.
But now<b>, </b>seeing Aidred here–seeing the pack’s warriorse to escort my parents home for their final run beneath the moon–I nearly broke.
This… this was for them.
The airport guards, who had moments ago dared to brandish batons against me, lowered their weapons at once. Their faces nched. They no longer dared move.
My gaze swept the rows of soldiers, and for a breath, I felt the ghost of my own Iron Fang days–the oath I once swore, the blood I once spilled for the pack and nation. I had vowed never to dishonor that service. And even though fury thundered inside me, I forced myself to unclench my boot from Aurora’s ribs.
I could have crushed her further. Broken bones, torn muscle–her howl of pain would have satisfied some small part of me. But that kind of vengeance would only drag me into dishonor. Wolves like her weren’t worth the stain.
Aurora stumbled up to her feet, eyes filled with venom. “Freya Thorne, I’ll see you punished for this!”
Before I could answer, Lana stepped forward like a sudden me. “<b>No</b><b>–</b>you don’t get to twist this. <b>If </b>not for you, Freya wouldn’t have been cornered like prey by these guards<b>, </b>struck with a shock–baton like some criminal!”
“Shock–baton?” Aldred’s voice rumbled like a thunderp. <b>His </b><b>gaze </b>dropped to the weapons in the <b>guards</b>‘ hands. His aura rolled over the hall like a stormfront. “You dared? You wolves dared strike her with those? She is the daughter of martyrs! Her parents gave their <b>lives </b>for this nation. She herself bled for the pack as part of the Iron Fang Recon Unit! And in broad daylight, here in the open, you dare<b>?</b><b>” </b>
The sound of his words split the air<b>, </b>snapping down like lightning. The staff and guards flinched, eyes darting, suddenly unsure of their footing.
Martyr’s daughter.
Whispers slithered through the crowd. Were the ashes <b>in </b>my arms truly of fallen wolves who had given everything? And was I <b>-me</b><b>, </b>the woman they had sneered at–not only the daughter of the dead, but a soldier who had once faced death herself in the name of the pack?
The guards who hadid hands on me shifted uneasily, ncing at <b>one </b>another, panic painting their expressions<b>. </b>
Aurora’s face twisted. Disbelief shed there. She couldn’t swallow it, That I was truly of that bloodline? <b>That </b>Arthur and Myra had indeed fallen for the nation? Rather than an ordinary logistics Omega?
Her eyes cut toward Caelum Gration.
1251 PM PP
But Caelum wasn’t looking at her. He wasn’t even listening.
His gaze was on me.
+8 Pearls
And for the first time in so long, it was only on me. I had called to him earlier and he had not heard, but now—now his wolf’s attention was locked. His dark eyes were wide, filled with something like shock. Or recognition.
Aurora stiffened, jealousy crackling off her scent.
As for Caelum… his heart was louder than any words.
I could feel his realization pouring through the bond of his gaze. That what I had said earlier–what he had doubted–was true. My parents were martyrs. They had run theirst run for the pack.
And me… I had only wanted him beside me, when I carried them home.
Yet instead–memories shed through me like ws–when I brought their ashes back, Eleanor had sneered, barring me from the Grafton home. She had pointed at the urn, calling it cursed, spitting on the honor of wolves who had given everything. And Caelum—he had stood silent then, letting me bear it alone.
I saw the way his jaw tightened now, his fists curling at his sides. Regret. Shame. The wolf in him longed to tear at himself for what he had allowed.
The burn in my throat worsened.
Before I could speak, the executives of fight strode hurriedly forward. “Commander Aldred, you honor us with your presence. And Miss Thorne–this is…”
Their words trailed off, dying against the sight of my bruises and Aldred’s fury.
“Miss Thorne came carrying the ashes of martyrs,” Aldred growled. His voice carried like a war drum. “And you–yourpany’s guards–surrounded her, attacked her, treated her like a threat. Exin yourselves!”
The Yunhang leaders exchanged uneasy nces. Finally, the head of Public Rtions stepped forward, pale and sweating. “Someone exin. What happened here<b>?</b><b>” </b>
All eyes shifted.
To Aurora.
She swallowed, then forced her voice out. “I… I <b>suspected </b>the urn. I thought it was unsafe. She refused to let me inspect it, so I called security<b>. </b>It was only to ensure flight safety-”
A snarl rolled from Aldred’s chest. “Pathetic <b>excuse</b>.”
The soldiers behind him, wolves all, bared their teeth. Their fury was palpable,
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Aurora floundered, voice rising. “If the urn had held something dangerous<b>–</b>explosives, toxins—then the entire flight could <b>have </b>been at risk! I was thinking of the passengers<b>!</b><b>” </b>
My wolf snapped inside me. My voice came cold as ice. “I had filed the report. The ashes were cleared. All you had to do was check. But you didn’t check. You chose instead to use, to humiliate, and to seize. That was your choice.”
Aurora’s face went white, then red.
“And so what you im is this,” Aldred said, voice like iron, eyes cutting through her. “That if a pilot doubts–then even the ashes of martyrs can be desecrated, dragged into suspicion, handled like contraband. Is that it?”
His growl reverberated through the hall. Every wolf present felt it in their bones.
And Aurora could only stand there, caught in the shadow of his fury, her lies copsing like ash in the wind.