Chapter 9

Freya

“You’ve already paid everything back, Freya.”

Ezren was reminding me of the deal between us—the one where I’d use my body to pay back the money he’d given me. As if my body was the only currency he’d accept. As if all those nights spent with him meant nothing more than transactions on a ledger.

Something inside of me snapped.

I shoved Ezren away with all the strength I could muster, my emotions completely unraveling in front of him—something I had never let happen before. Not with him. Not with anyone since Kael.

“Don’t touch me,” I snarled, my voice trembling with rage. “Don’t you dare fucking touch me like that.”

Ezren took a step back, his gray eyes widening slightly. He looked surprised, as if he hadn’t expected me to push back—physically or otherwise.

“You think you can just manhandle me? Corner me against a wall and tell me what I have or haven’t paid? Like I’m some kind of possession?” I was practically shouting now, all the frustration and anger I’d been bottling up for the past two years spilling out. “You don’t respect me, Ezren. You never have, and I won’t be obedient like all your other women. I won’t fawn over you, I won’t worship the ground you walk on, and I certainly won’t let you parade me around like a trophy.”

Ezren’s expression shifted, his usual smugness replaced by something I’d never seen before. He suddenly looked somewhat lost, as though he had done something wrong but didn’t know how to make amends, like a child who had misbehaved.

“Freya, I—”

“Save it,” I cut him off, straightening my clothes and collecting myself. “I don’t want to hear your excuses or your explanations. I just want you to honor our original agreement. Sex during the full moon to help your wolf, money to help my pack. Simple and clean. No complications.”

“Is that really all you want from me?” Ezren asked.

“Yes,” I said firmly, although a small voice in the back of my head called me a liar. “I want you to maintain our simple contract relationship, just like before—where we don’t interfere in each other’s private matters. I won’t drag you into my problems with Kael, and you won’t drag me into your political campaigns.”

Ezren was quiet for a long moment, just staring at me with those stormy gray eyes. I couldn’t read his expression, couldn’t tell what was going through his mind. That was probably for the best.

Finally, he nodded. “Fine. If that’s what you want.”

“It is.”

“Then I won’t ask you to be my date tonight.”

“Good.”

“But the offer stands if you change your mind.”

I scoffed. “I won’t.”

The meeting ended on a sour note, with Ezren showing me to the door without another word. As I stepped into the elevator, I couldn’t seem to decide if I was relieved or disappointed.

But that was ridiculous. Ezren and I had a business arrangement and nothing more. The fact that I’d felt anything else, even for a moment, was just a sign of how messed up my life had become.

Two years ago, when I first entered the contract with Ezren, I had thought he liked me. It was stupid, looking back on it. The way he’d approached me after that one-night stand, the way he’d offered to help my pack financially, the intensity in his eyes when he told me his wolf responded to me like it never had to anyone else.

For a brief, delusional moment, I had thought maybe there was something there. Something beyond the physical attraction, beyond the mutual need.

But I quickly realized it was just a misunderstanding. Ezren was still the same headstrong playboy he’d always been, charming women into his bed and then moving on to the next conquest. The only difference was that he kept coming back to me once a month because his wolf needed it.

I felt ashamed for being delusional and soon distanced myself from the budding feelings I had. I built walls around my heart, kept our interactions strictly professional, refused to let myself think of him as anything more than a business partner.

I wouldn’t fall in love with Ezren. I had already fallen once in love and had been hurt in ways I was still recovering from. I wouldn’t make the same mistake twice.

When I got home, I headed straight for my office. If I wasn’t going to be Ezren’s date for the election event, I needed another plan. I still had to find a way to get the money to pay back what I owed Kael.

I had been reaching out to potential investors and partners for weeks now, trying to drum up interest in what remained of Silvermoon’s assets. I was still searching for a partner.

I wanted to collaborate with one well-respected old Alpha—Alpha Anderson from Stormwind pack—but my invitation to meet with him had disappeared without a trace. I had sent multiple follow-up emails, made phone calls, even tried to catch him at public events, but it was like he was deliberately avoiding me.

I suspected Kael had something to do with it. He had too much influence, too many connections. It would be easy for him to poison Anderson against me, to ensure no one would help me regain what I’d lost.

Frustrated, I flipped open my laptop to check my emails, hoping for some good news from somewhere. Instead, the first thing I saw was a news alert, courtesy of the werewolf gossip site I’d foolishly subscribed to after the Alpha Ball.

The headline read: “ALPHA EZREN ATTENDS ELECTION GALA WITH SUPERMODEL LUCY WINTERS.”

There were photos of them together—Ezren in his customary black suit, Lucy in a gown that made the red dress he’d picked out for me look modest by comparison. Her arm was looped through his, her smile radiant as she gazed up at him adoringly.

I felt a twinge of… something when I looked at that photograph. Not jealousy, I told myself firmly. Just annoyance that he’d replaced me so quickly, as if I were interchangeable with any beautiful woman willing to hang on his arm.

As I scrolled through the article, my phone pinged with a notification. It was from my bank app—a payment reminder. I opened it and felt my stomach drop.

The court had issued a debt notice. I had to pay what I owed Kael by the end of the month, or they would start seizing assets. Assets I couldn’t afford to lose.

“Fuck,” I muttered, dropping my head into my hands. Just when I thought things couldn’t get worse.

My phone pinged again, this time with a text message from an unknown number. I almost ignored it, assuming it was spam, but something made me check it anyway.

It was from Kael. Of course it was. He had apparently gotten a new number since I’d blocked his old one.

“Saw the news about Ezren and the model. Seems like he’s not being much help to you after all. I hope you’ll reconsider my offer, Freya. We could be great together again.”

He clung to me like a persistent ghost, refusing to let go no matter how many times I pushed him away. I blocked his new number without bothering to respond.

I needed to take matters into my own hands. I couldn’t keep waiting for someone else to save me—not Ezren, and certainly not Kael.

I remembered that Alpha Anderson was hosting a dinner that weekend. It wasn’t the sort of event one needed an invitation to; it was a fundraiser for his wildlife conservation efforts, open to anyone who could afford the steep ticket price.

I could barely afford it, but I decided to attend anyway. It might be my only chance to speak with Anderson face-to-face, to make my case without Kael’s interference.

The night of the dinner, I dressed carefully in a simple but elegant black gown—one that wouldn’t draw too much attention but would still mark me as someone worth talking to.

I kept my makeup minimal, my jewelry understated, and pulled my strawberry blonde hair back into a neat bun. I wanted to look polished and professional, the antithesis to the sort of woman Ezren and Kael both wanted me to be—a perfect, pretty housewife for Kael and a trophy for Ezren.

The venue was Anderon’s personal estate, situated atop a large hill overlooking his pack’s city below. It was exactly what I expected: round tables draped in white linens, fine china and crystal glassware, a pianist playing in the corner.

I checked in at the entrance, handed over my ticket, and stepped into the ballroom, scanning the crowd for Anderson. I spotted him near the bar, deep in conversation with another Alpha I didn’t recognize.

I made my way toward him, rehearsing my pitch in my head. I would be concise, professional, compelling. I would make him see the value in partnering with me, in defying Kael’s influence.

But before I could reach Anderson, someone stepped into my path. Someone I’d been hoping to avoid.

Kael.

He looked good, damn him. His chocolate-brown hair was perfectly styled, his suit impeccably tailored to his slim but muscular body. He was wearing the engagement ring I had given him years ago, back when I thought we had a future together.

And on his wrist, I spotted the watch I had personally engraved for him on our last anniversary before everything fell apart.

Kael extended his hand to me, palm up, an invitation. “Would you do me the honor of this first dance?”