Third Person’s POV


    Freya lifted her chin, her voice steady despite the tension thick in the air.


    75%


    Finished


    “You’ve got so many guards around you. Do you really think Kade could bypass all of them just to harm you, Alpha Ss?”


    Ss lowered his gaze,shes casting shadows over his sharp cheekbones. There were wounds that no bodyguard could ever shield a man from–and he knew it too well.


    Then his voice cut through the silence, sudden and disarming.


    “Do you dislike calling me by my name so much?”


    Freya froze for a moment.


    “…Ss.”


    She gave him what he wanted, whispering his name softly. “Don’t hurt Kade. I don’t want to stand against you one day.”


    Hisshes trembled, a strange bitterness curling faintly at the corner of his lips.


    Why did it feel like that?


    Was it because, against his will, he was beginning to care for her?


    “Fine. I won’t harm Kade,” Ss murmured, his voice low, husky, his sharp wolfish eyes finally lifting to meet hers. “Because I don’t want to be your enemy.


    Just the thought of being on opposite sides with her–it unsettled him to the core. His instincts screamed. that if it ever happened, he would regret it for the rest of his life.


    The Capital


    Aurora was finally released from the holding cells.


    Waiting for her were Caelum, alongside his long–time enfoer, Ryker.


    The moment Aurora stepped into the vehicle, Ryker clicked his tongue dramatically.


    “You’ve no idea what Caelum’s been like while you were in there. Running day and night, barely sleeping. If hardship reveals true loyalty, well… this looks a lot like the real thing.”


    “Enough, Ryker,” Caelum growled sharply.


    “What? Feeling shy now?” Ryker smirked before leaning forward. “But seriously, Auroranding in the detention hall–don’t tell me it wasn’t Freya Thorne’s doing. I’d bet she stirred up the Iron Fang Recon Unit, pushed them to file that report, just to crush you.”


    Aurora’s eyes shed cold at the name. Her hatred for Freya burned hotter than ever.


    “I despise people who scheme in the shadows. If she had a problem with me, she should’ve faced me directly. Instead, she used such vile tricks. Typical.”


    75%


    Finished


    Being detained was a stain on her record, one that would follow her no matter how clean she kept her wings. Even if she clung to her position as co–pilot, the dream of rising higher in the ranks was gone. Freya had destroyed her career.


    Ryker’s voice dripped with mockery.


    “Freya? Please. Compared to you, she’s nothing but a petty schemer. Using her parents‘ martyrdom in the Ashbourne Legion’s Hall of Martyrs as leverage, twisting it to sabotage you. She actually thinks if she ruins you, Caelum will return to her? What a delusion.”


    “Ryker, enough!” Caelum’s voice cracked like a whip.


    Ryker frowned, annoyed.


    “Why are you still defending her? You’re divorced. Don’t forget the press conference during the Lunar Severance Phase–how much humiliation she threw on you in front of the packs.”


    Caelum’s chest tightened.


    Humiliation? If anyone had caused disgrace, it had been himself.


    “Freya isn’t the kind of wolf who schemes and sabotages,” Caelum said, his voice hoarse.


    Three years of marriage reyed in his mind, the memories sharper than ws. She had never once tried to entrap him. Never plotted. Never asked for more than what he already gave. And he… had taken her devotion for granted.


    “You’re actually defending her?” Ryker’s voice rose in disbelief.


    Aurora’s expression faltered, unease creeping into her chest. In the past, Caelum never spared Freya a second thought. But now? Now he spoke of her as if… No. That couldn’t be. He couldn’t possibly care for Freya Thorne again.


    Aurora told herself that, again and again.


    They stopped at a private dining hall Caelum had booked in advance. Inside the dimly lit chamber, Caelum shrugged off his Silverfang Pack uniform jacket,ying it casually aside. Then, his WolfComm buzzed.


    “I need to take this,” he said, picking it up as he strode out into the corridor.


    Aurora, alone in the room with Ryker, reached for Caelum’s jacket, intending to hang it properly. But as the fabric tilted, something small ttered onto the floor.


    Two simple, unadorned rings. Cheap in appearance, nothing like the treasures of an Alpha.


    Aurora blinked, picking them up. Since when did Caelum Grafton carry such things?


    The door burst open. Caelum’s expression darkened instantly as his sharp gaze locked onto the objects in Aurora’s hand. In a sh, he snatched them away, his grip near violent.


    “Who told you to touch these?” he snapped, his voice thunderous.


    $ 75%


    Finished


    Aurora stared at him, startled. They were just two shabby rings–so why was he trembling with fury?


    “Caelum, it’s only a pair of rings. They fell out when I lifted your jacket. Aurora just picked them up,” Ryker interjected, scoffing.


    But Caelum’s eyes burned, his wolf raging inside him, as if those in rings were more precious than gold.


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