The guest room was completely different from the dungeon Freya had just left. It was warm and cozy, instantly offering comfort. There was a moderate bed in it, beautifully laid with colorful bedspread, a wooden chair and a table by another side. And there was even a big dressing mirror facing a wooden large wardrobe.
To Freya who had spent years living in the wilderness, that was luxury and comfortability but her mood presently wouldn't allow her to appreciate that at the moment.
Two conflicting thoughts were warring in her mind as she paced the length of the room like a caged wolf.
"Ancient evils? What are those?" She wondered inwardly as the encounter with the Moon Goddess played in her memory.
But even more pressing was her need to escape. Every instinct screamed at her to run, to get as far away from Alpha Grimfang and his suffocating pack as possible.
"I can't stay here, playing mate to a man who clearly despise my existence..."
A soft knock at the door interrupted her restless thoughts. She turned toward the entrance, startled and stayed at alert but the door didn't open and it was after a second that she remembered she was supposed to talk.
"Come in." Freya called out.
Then a young woman gently entered, carrying a wooden tray laden with food. She had warm brown eyes and short hair pulled back in a simple braid.
"Good evening, Miss. I'm Lena from the pack clinic. I've been assigned to attend to your needs during your period of treatment." The servant said with a respectful curtsy.
"Healer Moira asked me to bring you some nourishment and her special recovery decoction." She added.
The aroma coming from the tray was intoxicating. It was roasted meat, fresh bread, and what smelled like herb-seasoned vegetables.
"Thank you." Freya said, genuinely grateful as Lena set the tray on the small table.
As Lena began arranging the dishes, Freya couldn't help but stare at the feast before her. After ten years of surviving on whatever she could hunt or forage in the wilderness; raw rabbit when she was lucky, bitter roots and questionable berries when she wasn't—this spread looked like something fit for royalty.
"I will be back later to pack the dishes when you're done, Miss." Lena said after she was done with the arrangement. Freya nodded and the woman left.
Freya sighed heavily as the door closed, and was about to go back to her thoughts but her eyes caught the meal on the table and her stomach growled loudly as if reminding her she hadn't eaten a proper meal in days.
"Okay, I think I need to eat before anything..." She concluded as she went to sit on the chair to start devouring the food with a huge appetite.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile, in the other part of the manor, Alpha Grimfang stormed into his office with thunderous steps.
"Damn it all to hell!" He snarled, running both hands through his dark hair in frustration.
He was annoyed that the interrogation had been a complete waste of time. Instead of getting the answers he needed, he had ended up dealing with a sick woman who needed medical attention.
"And because of some twisted joke by the Moon Goddess, I'm supposed to accept that... that wild creature as my destined mate?" He began pacing the room, his fists clenching and unclenching.
"After twenty-seven fucking years that I've been curious about my mate, and the Moon Goddess gives me a rogue who probably can't even remember what civilized behavior looks like." He scoffed in disbelief and hissed.
Afterwards, he stopped in front of the large window that overlooked the pack grounds, his hands reaching out to grip the frame as he stared out.
Something strange was happening but he didn't understand what to make of it. The mate bond was there: he could feel it pulling at something deep in his chest every time he was near her. But it felt wrong somehow, forced and unnatural.
Everything about Freya Nightshade went against everything he'd hoped for in a mate. She was wild, unpredictable, and clearly had no respect for authority or pack hierarchy. How was he supposed to lead his people with a Luna who looked like she'd rather bite someone's throat out than attend a pack meeting?
But even as these thoughts warred his mind, one stubborn part of him mysteriously refused to let him consider rejection. Every time he thought about cutting ties with her completely, something deep inside him rebelled against the idea with startling intensity.
"It's just the mate bond. It's making me think I need her when I clearly don't." He told himself firmly. "
He was still wrestling with these frustrating thoughts when a sudden whistling sound cut through the air, followed by a solid thunk.
Kade spun around to see an arrow sticking from the wall directly behind his desk. His irritation immediately transformed into something else entirely as his eyes focused on the small piece of fabric tied around the arrow's shaft.
The cloth was a soft yellow color, and embroidered on it was a delicate daisy—a symbol he knew as well as his own heartbeat.
His cold, angry expression melted away completely, replaced by a smile so warm and genuine it transformed his entire face. The harsh lines around his eyes softened, and for the first time in hours, he looked truly happy.
"She's finally here... My beautiful daisy." he whispered, reaching out to touch the fabric.
Without another thought, he bolted from his office, practically sprinting, grinning from ear to ear.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Back in the guest room, Freya had finished her meal and was now conducting a thorough examination of her temporary prison.
She tested the door handle: locked from the outside, as expected. She could hear the quiet murmur of guards stationed in the hallway, confirming what Alpha Grimfang had said about her movements being monitored.
She left there and approached the large window that faced the pack grounds, examining the frame and the drop beyond. The window was made of real glass, a luxury she hadn't seen in years, set in a wooden frame that looked sturdy but not impossible to break. The room was on the second floor of the manor, which meant roughly a fifteen-foot drop to the ground below.
Manageable, if she was careful.
As she was assessing the window's potential as an escape route, movement in the courtyard below caught her attention. She pressed closer to the glass, peering down.
Two figures were walking hand in hand along one of the stone paths in the pack's central area. Even from this distance, Freya could make out the tall, broad-shouldered silhouette of Alpha Grimfang.
The man who had shown her nothing but cold disdain and barely contained hostility was smiling. Not just smiling, he was beaming with happiness as he gazed down at the young woman beside him. The transformation was so complete it was like looking at an entirely different person.
"So he's capable of human emotion after all." Freya thought with a mixture of surprise and something that felt uncomfortably like jealousy, though she quickly pushed that feeling aside.
But as her eyes focused on Alpha Grimfang's companion, that brief flicker of jealousy was overwhelmed by something much more profound and shocking.
The woman was young and stunningly beautiful, probably around Freya's own age. But it wasn't the woman's beauty that made Freya's heart start racing and her hands shaking against the window glass.
It was the uncanny resemblance to someone she'd thought was lost forever.
"Soraya... My twin sister?"