Chapter 2
Freya's POV
Five Years Later
Moonlight Valley Airport
I stared at this place that felt both familiar and foreign, my mind in a daze, emotions swirling. My sharp werewolf senses picked up the scent of my homeland's pack territory once again.
Five years. Had it really been that long?
Last time I was here, I'd run through a thunderstorm in wolf form for three hours straight just to reach Zoe's pack. Desperate. Broken.
Thank God for her—she got me through the darkest period of my life.
Shortly after that nightmare, I discovered I was pregnant. With Zoe's encouragement, I gave birth to three wolf pups.
For my children's sake, and for my own, I made the bold decision to head east to the more developed packs, where no one knew who I was.
When Zoe found out, she didn't say a word—just sold the designer watch her father had bought her and gave me the money to start over.
My best friend doesn't even begin to cover it.
A red Ferrari pulled away from the airport.
Inside, three little ones were fast asleep.
Behind the wheel was my best friend—Zoe Smith, the heir of the Dawn Pack.
"Freya, You're insane," Zoe said, glancing at me in the rearview mirror. My three kids were passed out in the backseat. "You're making bank on the East Coast. Celebrities are literally fighting over your designs. And you come back here for what?"
I watched the familiar streets roll by. "Someone's offering me triple my salary to poach me for Crown & Gem. Of course I'm coming back. Besides, I need to reclaim what's mine!"
Crown & Gem was my mother's life's work, the only thing I had left of her after she died. How could I let that bitch Tiffany get her hands on it?
"That bitch Tiffany's run it into the ground. Company's basically dead." Zoe grinned. "Though she did manage to bag Alexander Reid. Lucky her."
"But if she finds out you're the jewelry designer they're paying top dollar for, do you think she'll have a stroke?"
Zoe couldn't help but laugh. "That would be one hell of a show."
Alexander? Had to be the same guy I was supposed to marry before everything went to shit?
The more I thought about it, the more likely it seemed. I vaguely remembered that the Moon Shadow Pack's Alpha family owned Titan Industries.
The car stopped in front of Crown & Gem's entrance. After dropping me off, Zoe headed home with my three kids.
Inside Crown & Gem's interview room, three panel members gave me a challenge: design a piece of jewelry on the spot with the theme "Traces of Time."
They'd also invited Mike, the Rocky Mountain pack's top jewelry design master, to evaluate my work.
This was a test to see if I—this so-called top jewelry designer returning from the eastern packs—actually had the chops.
Tiffany had orchestrated this whole evaluation herself. Fifty million a year! How could she not put me through my paces?
If my design impressed even the master, then the budget would be money well spent. If I was all hype and no substance, she'd send me packing.
Well, I was more than happy to oblige.
Two-hour time limit. I finished the design in just thirty minutes and handed it over.
They took my work to Mike, who was waiting in the back room.
Ten minutes later, this old guy with white hair practically sprinted into the room.
"This design brilliantly captures the essence of 'Traces of Time.' Just from the concept sketches, I can already envision how stunning this piece will be when crafted. Every detail is handled masterfully, and you've even incorporated traditional pack totem elements. This is a masterpiece!"
A smile spread across my face. This kind of praise never got old.
"By the way, what's your design philosophy?" Mike suddenly asked.
"My inspiration comes from the natural beauty of Moonlight Valley. The diamonds represent eternity and purity, like the bonds within a pack..."
He nodded enthusiastically. "Brilliant design. Honestly, even I couldn't pull this off. I've been grinding in this industry for over fifty years, and you've shown me what real talent looks like."
Mike's glowing review had the interviewers squirming in their seats.
One of the interviewers stepped out to make a call. Probably to tell Tiffany the good news.
"What? Okay, got it!" The interviewer hung up and smiled at me. "Miss. Crystal, the boss heard that Mike was incredibly impressed with your work and would like to meet you personally."
I walked up to Alexander's office door just in time to hear Tiffany singing my praises.
"Alex, thank God for your good eye. Crystal is amazing—she's definitely going to bring Crown & Gem back from the dead."
Hearing this, I couldn't help but smirk. I couldn't wait to see Tiffany's face when she realized Crystal was me.
This was going to be fun.
I knocked on the door.
"Come in."
I pushed open the office door and walked in.
"Welcome to Crown & Gem, Mr. Crystal—" Tiffany's voice died the second she saw me.
The look on her face was priceless.
"Don't stop on my account," I said. "You were saying something about how amazing I am?"
Realizing she'd lost her composure, Tiffany threw her carefully maintained image out the window and shrieked, "Security! What the hell are you people paid for? How did you let this piece of trash into the company? Get her out of here!"
The security guards who rushed over had to quietly explain, "Isn't she Crystal, the designer Alpha Alexander hired?"
"What?" Tiffany's jaw dropped so far you could fit a baseball in her mouth.
"How could she possibly be the famous Crystal? Are you sure you didn't screw up?"
The guards nodded—they'd checked my credentials at the door.
"Impossible!"
Tiffany frantically started making phone calls to confirm.
Watching her lose her shit like this, I couldn't help but smirk. This was entertaining as hell.
Alexander frowned. Tiffany's meltdown seemed to seriously piss him off. He said nothing, just turned his gaze to me.
At the same time, I looked toward Alexander.
When our eyes met, everything else faded out.
He was exactly what you'd expect from an Alpha - tall, sharp features, those amber eyes that seemed to see right through you.
But what shocked me most was Alexander's face!
Something about his face made my blood run cold.
He looked exactly like Levi. My youngest son. Same amber eyes, same expression when he was thinking hard.
What were the odds?
Tiffany must have noticed me staring because she quickly stepped between us.
"What are you looking at?" she snapped, but there was panic in her voice.