Chapter 3
Freya’s POV
Three weeks later, I stood in the Crescent Court, the silver chains around my wrists burned like liquid fire. I could feel my inner wolf recoiling from their touch, whimpering as the moon-silver suppressed her strength. My heartbeat thundered in my ears, drowning out the murmurs of the crowd gathered in Moon Bay's most imposing structure.
"Freya Riley, step forward."
The command came from the raised dais where Alpha Thorne Grey sat in judgment. His voice didn't need to be loud; it carried the unmistakable weight of Alpha authority. Even in human form, his presence dominated the courtroom, making my wolf instinctively want to bare her throat in submission.
I forced myself to look up, meeting his golden-flecked eyes. Three weeks ago, those eyes had looked at me differently—with warmth, sometimes even amusement at my eagerness. Now they were cold, distant, holding nothing but contempt for the "criminal" before him. My chest tightened at the transformation. This was the wolf I had once loved, now sitting in judgment of me with complete detachment.
"The court finds you guilty of assaulting Beta Elite Kaelin Brooks," he announced, his voice as impassive as if reading a grocery list rather than destroying my life. His fingers tapped once on the armrest—a small tell I recognized from our past. He was uncomfortable, but his face revealed nothing. "The punishment for attacking a member of a prominent family allied with the Alpha line is exile to the Forgotten Wilds for a period of three years."
Gasps and satisfied growls rippled through the courtroom. My legs weakened beneath me, and I had to lock my knees to remain standing. Three years in the Wilds. My mind flashed to stories of wolves who never returned, who lost themselves to madness when cut off from their inner wolves by the silver suppression collars.
"No!" The word tore from my throat before I could stop it. "I didn't attack her! I would never—" My voice cracked, the reality of what was happening crashing down on me. My eyes burned with unshed tears as I watched Thorne's expression harden further.
Thorne's eyes flashed dangerously, a hint of his wolf pushing through. "Silence."
The single word hit me like a physical blow. My wolf cowered, but the human part of me couldn't accept this fate without fighting.
"Thorne, I swear by the Moon Goddess, please believe me..." My voice broke as I used his first name, my fingers curling into helpless fists. "Look at me. You know me."
His nostrils flared slightly—the only indication that my words affected him at all. Around us, murmurs of outrage swept through the gallery. Several Beta wolves bared their teeth, the sharp canines emerging even in their human forms as they bristled at my disrespect.
"You will address me as Alpha Thorne," Thorne said, each word clipped and precise. His fingers tightened on the arms of his chair until his knuckles whitened. For a moment, something flickered in his eyes—a flash of the wolf I used to know—before disappearing behind the cold mask of authority. "You stand convicted by evidence and testimony. You say you didn't do it. Do you have any evidence to support your claim, last daughter of the Riley line?"
I swallowed hard, the bitter taste of defeat coating my tongue. My shoulders slumped as the weight of my situation became unbearable. "Only my word."
A cold smile touched his lips, not reaching his eyes. "The word of a Riley against that of a Brooks. How convenient."
Kaelin Brooks sat in the gallery, her perfectly composed face showing just the right amount of distress. The bandages on her arms looked pristine, almost too clean. But no one else seemed to notice the inconsistencies I saw—how the claw marks on her arms couldn't possibly have come from my hands, how her tears seemed to appear on cue whenever Thorne looked her way.
"Take the prisoner away," Thorne commanded, rising from his seat. The dark robes he wore as judge were trimmed with silver thread that caught the light, a reminder of his untouchable status. As he stood, his gaze locked with mine for the briefest moment, and I saw his throat work as he swallowed. "Prepare her for transport to the Forgotten Wilds."
The Wild Guardians moved in, grabbing my arms roughly. As they dragged me toward the exit, desperation clawed at my throat, and I felt my wolf howling inside me, desperate to reach the man who had once been our friend.
"I want to see Alpha Thorne alone!" I shouted, struggling against their grip. "If you don't, I'll make sure all of Moon Bay knows he convicted an innocent wolf! That he violated the Moon Goddess's justice!"
My outburst earned me a hard cuff to the back of my head from one of the guards, but I noticed Thorne pause at the doorway behind the dais. His shoulders tensed beneath the robes, and his head turned slightly, one ear tilted back toward my voice—an unconscious wolf gesture of attention.
"You think anyone will listen to you?" one of the guards sneered as they pushed me down the corridor. "A Riley runt headed for the Wilds? In three years, if you even survive, you'll be nothing but bones and matted fur. Weak little she-wolves like you don't last a month out there without a pack."
I bared my teeth at him, feeling my canines lengthen despite the silver restraints. "I'm stronger than I look."
Something in my eyes must have unnerved him because he took a step back. The other guard laughed.
"Wait," came Thorne's voice from behind us. There was a tightness to his words I hadn't heard in the courtroom.
The guards stiffened, then bowed their heads. "Yes, Alpha."
My heart lurched in my chest, a sharp spike of hope cutting through the despair that had been drowning me. I turned my head, trying to see past the guards to where Thorne stood at the end of the corridor. Our eyes met briefly across the distance. His face remained impassive, but there was something in his gaze I couldn't name—a flicker of the wolf I had once known, perhaps, or just my desperate imagination.
The guards' grip on my arms loosened slightly. I seized the moment, turning fully toward Thorne.
My wolf, who had been cowering within me since the sentencing, suddenly perked up with interest. "He's listening. He's giving us a chance." I tried to temper her optimism with human caution. This might be nothing more than Thorne wanting to scold me privately for my disrespect, or to warn me against spreading "lies" about Kaelin.
"Five minutes," I pleaded, no longer shouting but letting my voice carry clearly through the corridor. "Five minutes to speak to you alone. That's all I'm asking. After everything we were to each other, don't I deserve that much?"
Whispers erupted from the courtroom observers who had followed into the hallway. Mentioning our past relationship so openly was taboo, especially now that I stood condemned. But I had nothing left to lose.
Thorne's jaw tightened, and I saw his chest rise with a deep breath. For a terrible moment, I thought he would refuse, would turn away and leave me to my fate. Then he gave a single, sharp nod.
"Bring her," he repeated, more quietly this time. Then he turned and walked away, his robes sweeping behind him.