Chapter 11

Ezren

Ezren hadn’t planned on attending Anderson’s little charity event. In fact, he’d been at a campaign meeting across town when he received a text from one of his contacts that Freya was making a scene at Anderson’s estate.

His first instinct had been to ignore it—he’d promised her he wouldn’t interfere in her business anymore, after all—but something had compelled him to wrap up his meeting early and head over.

He was glad he did. The sight that greeted him when he arrived was both infuriating and heartbreaking: Freya, downing drink after drink while a circle of Alphas watched, some openly laughing at her desperation.

And there was Kael, standing off to the side with a self-satisfied smirk, watching it all unfold as if it were entertainment staged for his benefit.

Ezren had arrived just in time to see Freya finish the last drink, her words slurred as she demanded to see Anderson. When she began to sway, her knees buckling beneath her, Ezren moved without thinking. He crossed the room in quick strides and caught her just before she hit the floor, his arms wrapping securely around her waist.

She was light in his arms, smaller than he sometimes remembered. Up close, he could see the dark circles under her eyes, evidence of the stress she’d been under. Her strawberry blonde hair, usually so perfectly styled, was slightly disheveled, and her breath reeked of alcohol.

The crowd around them had gone silent, all eyes on the scene unfolding before them. Ezren didn’t care about the impending gossip that would be added to the already enormous, stinking pile of it. All that mattered was getting Freya somewhere safe.

Ezren carefully lifted Freya into his arms, carrying her through the crowd of onlookers. He carried her straight out of the ballroom and up the stairs, down the hall to a guest room he knew well—the very same room he often slept in when he visited.

The guest room was lavishly appointed. A large four-poster bed sat in the center of the room, draped in heavy velvet blankets and pillows. Ezren laid Freya down on the bed with care, then turned to Marissa, who had followed him.

“Get me some detox medicine,” he ordered. “And water.”

Marissa hesitated, but the steel in Ezren’s gray eyes allowed no room for argument. She nodded and left to fetch the requested items.

Ezren’s movements were calm and patient as he arranged Freya more comfortably on the bed, removing her shoes and loosening the collar of her dress to help her breathe more easily. He checked her pulse and her breathing.

When Marissa returned with the medicine and water, Ezren took them without a word and dismissed her with a curt nod. She left, closing the door behind her.

Ezren sat on the edge of the bed and carefully lifted Freya’s head, supporting her neck as he pressed the small vial of detoxifying medicine to her lips.

“Drink,” he murmured, tilting the vial. “This will help.”

Freya’s eyes fluttered open momentarily, confusion clouding her hazel irises, but she obeyed, taking a small sip of the bitter liquid. She grimaced at the taste but didn’t fight him as he coaxed her to take another sip, and then another, until the vial was empty.

As her head dropped back onto the pillows, he brushed a lock of strawberry hair away from her face, his fingers lingering for a moment, conveying more tenderness than words could say.

If only she knew.

After ensuring that Freya was resting comfortably, Ezren left the room, instructing one of Anderson’s staff to alert him immediately if she woke or showed any signs of distress. Then he headed toward the meeting room where Alpha Anderson was waiting for him.

Anderson was already seated at the head of the table, a glass of whiskey in his hand, when Ezren entered.

“I don’t appreciate you turning my charity dinner into a spectacle,” Anderson said by way of greeting, although there was no real heat in his words.

“I don’t appreciate you forcing a desperate woman to drink herself into unconsciousness for your amusement,” Ezren countered as he poured himself a glass of whiskey and took a seat across from Anderson.

Anderson had the grace to look somewhat ashamed, at least. “It wasn’t for amusement. It was meant to deter her. I didn’t think she’d actually do it.”

“Then you don’t know Freya very well,” Ezren said.

The two men fell into a tense silence. Despite the rumors, Ezren and Anderson, the latter now in his fifties, had become friends over time. Initially, Anderson had criticized Ezren publicly, which led to the rumor that the two had a poor relationship. But as time passed, they had several business dealings, and Anderson gradually came to respect Ezren.

Anderson studied Ezren for a moment, swirling the amber liquid around in his glass. “Kael told me she’s still in love with him. That’s why I refused to meet with her. I didn’t want to get in the middle of whatever complicated love triangle you three have going on.”

Ezren’s jaw tightened. “Kael says a lot of things that aren’t true.”

“So she’s not still in love with him?”

“You’d have to ask her that,” Ezren admitted, although the thought of her still loving that piece of shit made his wolf growl possessively. “But I do know that she hates him for what he did to her and her pack.”

Anderson nodded thoughtfully. “I’ve heard the stories. About the will, the inheritance. It seemed… convenient, how it all worked out for him.”

“Too convenient,” Ezren agreed. “Which is why I’ve been investigating.”

“And?”

“And I think Kael forged the will. I’m close to proving it.”

Anderson sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I knew, of course, about your marriage,” he said, leaning back in his chair. “I didn’t think you were so taken with her, though. But I can’t blame you after what I saw tonight; to drink all that just for a chance to speak with me. Most male Alphas would have given up after the first rejection.”

“Freya isn’t a man. And she isn’t most Alphas,” Ezren said. “She’s been fighting for her pack single-handedly for two years. She doesn’t know how to give up.”

“And yet she’s gotten nowhere,” Anderson pointed out. “The court ruled in Kael’s favor. The will stands.”

“For now,” Ezren said. “But if I can prove it was forged, then everything will change.” He glanced at Anderson. “That’s why she came to you, you know. She needs a business partner, an investor. Someone with enough influence to stand against Kael.”

Anderson took a sip of his whiskey, considering. “And you think that should be me?”

“I think you should at least hear what she has to offer,” Ezren said. “Judge the opportunity on its merits, not on gossip and rumors.”

Anderson studied Ezren for a long moment with a thoughtful expression on his face. Then, a slow smile spread across his lips.

“So, Freya Thornhart is the girl Ezren has been secretly in love with. Interesting…”

Ezren smiled but didn’t answer the question. His feelings for Freya were complicated, even to himself. Their arrangement had been purely transactional at the start—sex for money, essentially. But somewhere along the way, it had become… more. At least for him.

The conversation was interrupted by a knock at the door. Marissa entered, looking slightly flustered.

“Alpha Anderson, Alpha Freya has awakened,” she reported. “And… Alpha Kael is with her.”

Ezren stood up immediately, his wolf surging forward at the mention of Kael being anywhere near Freya. “I’ll go check on her.”

Anderson nodded. “We’ll continue this discussion later. I’d like to hear more about this business opportunity of hers.”

Ezren left the meeting room, his strides long and purposeful as he made his way back to the guest room where he’d left Freya. Recently, his investigation into Kael had yielded some results, and he had caught a glimpse of the forged will that Kael had been hiding. He was close to having enough evidence to bring to the court, to help Freya reclaim what was rightfully hers.

But as he approached the door to the guest room, he slowed his pace. He could hear voices inside—Freya’s and Kael’s. He paused, not wanting to interrupt, but then Freya’s words drifted clearly through the partly open door.

“Ezren and I are just business partners,” she said firmly. “There’s no love between us.”

Ezren’s heart clenched, but he remained calm as he stood outside, his mind racing with thoughts of what he had just heard.