Chapter 47
Freya
I woke to the buzzing of my phone, my hand fumbling across the nightstand. After the mark dissolution ritual with Paxton last night, I'd dragged myself back to my city apartment and collapsed into bed, emotionally drained. The absence of his mark on my neck left a phantom ache, like a limb that had been severed but still sent pain signals to my brain.
"Hello?" My voice was thick with sleep.
"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty," Lucas Morgan's voice came through, light and playful. "How about taking a peek outside your window? Your Alpha has arrived to escort you."
I bolted upright, sleep evaporating instantly.
I threw on my robe and padded to the window, pulling back the curtain slightly. There, parked ostentatiously in front of my building, was Lucas's fire-red Ferrari. He sat in the driver's seat, looking up at my window with that infuriating grin of his. When he spotted me, he performed the formal Alpha salute—right fist to heart, then extended outward.
I yanked the curtain closed.
"From today on, I'm your designated Alpha escort," he announced through the phone. "I'm pursuing you, Freya. And I intend to show my sincerity."
My grip tightened on the phone. "The mark dissolution ritual is already over. You don't need to keep up this act." I sighed. "I just want peace and quiet. And frankly, Alpha like you aren't my type."
"Who says I'm acting?" Lucas's voice dropped an octave, suddenly serious. "Wolf courtship is never false. Why don't you use your 'Moon's Blessing' to sense if my intentions are genuine or not?"
Before I could respond, he hung up.
I peered through a crack in the curtains again, and Lucas immediately spotted me, mouthing "My territory awaits you" with exaggerated clarity. I rolled my eyes. All Alpha wolves are this arrogant, aren't they?
I showered and dressed quickly, not bothering with makeup. My mark was gone now—I had nothing to prove to anyone. When I stepped outside, Lucas's eyes widened slightly as he took me in, his wolf eyes flashing gold momentarily.
"You look beautiful," he said, his voice carrying that distinctive Alpha resonance. "No wonder Paxton was so possessive. I like women with Alpha essence."
I ignored his comment and got into the passenger seat, trying not to react to the powerful Alpha scent that filled the enclosed space. My body responded instinctively, my own scent subtly shifting in response. I kept my eyes forward, refusing to acknowledge the way my pulse quickened.
---
Lucas drove like he had something to prove, his Ferrari roaring through the morning traffic before screeching to a theatrical halt directly in front of Sterling Enterprises' main entrance. Employees streaming into the building stopped to stare, eyes widening as I emerged from Lucas Morgan's car.
"Is that Freya Welch with Alpha Lucas Morgan?"
"But isn't she Alpha Paxton's mate?"
"The mark dissolution must be final..."
"So quick to move on to another pack..."
The whispers reached my sensitive ears as employees hurried past, stealing glances. I turned to Lucas, fixing him with an icy glare.
"What do you think you're doing?" I hissed.
Lucas shrugged, utterly unconcerned. "If I'm going to court you, I want every wolf to know my intentions." He popped the trunk, revealing an entire car's worth of flowers , rare blooms that only appeared during the full moon cycle.
The crowd of employees actually gasped. I felt my cheeks flush with a mixture of embarrassment and anger.
"You crazy Alpha!" I muttered, turning away. I strode toward the building without looking back, keenly aware of every set of eyes watching me.
---
Paxton
I stood at my office window, watching the spectacle unfold below. Morgan's red Ferrari—flashy and arrogant like its owner—screeched to a stop directly in front of our main entrance. My teeth clenched involuntarily when I saw Freya emerge from the passenger side.
What the hell is she doing with him?
A sharp pain stabbed through my chest. Our dissolution ritual was barely complete, the moon hadn't even waned, and already she was accepting another Alpha's attention?
When Lucas Morgan opened his trunk to reveal a car full of flowers, my growl was audible enough to vibrate the glass before me. He was publicly declaring intent to mark her.
"What is Freya doing?" Lyra's voice came from behind me. I hadn't heard her enter, too focused on the scene below.
"She's already accepting another Alpha's pursuit?" Lyra moved beside me, her pale face showing shock as she watched Freya walk toward the building entrance.
I remained silent, my jaw locked so tight I could feel my teeth grinding. The wolf in me wanted to tear through the building, confront Lucas Morgan, and remind him—remind everyone—that Freya had worn my mark for five years. That she was mine.
"I would never do that," Lyra continued, her voice softening to that vulnerable tone that usually appealed to my protective instincts. "If an Alpha and I parted ways, I'd miss him for a long time. I probably wouldn't accept another Alpha's mark ever again, Pax."
Her words slithered into my consciousness. Was Freya's acceptance of Lucas Morgan's attention proof that she'd never truly respected our mark?
"Was she ever sincere about your mark?" Lyra voiced my thoughts. "I wonder if she accepted it just for the Sterling name and pure-blood Alpha status." She sighed, the sound delicate and calculated. "And now that you're dissolving the mark, she immediately runs to the Morgan pack. She really has no sense of wolf loyalty, does she?"
I turned from the window, drowning the bitter taste in my mouth with the coffee on my desk.
Without acknowledging Lyra, I strode from my office.
I reached Freya's office in seconds, throwing open the door with enough force that it slammed against the wall. She had barely settled at her desk, looking up with those eyes that now seemed to mock me with their calm defiance.
The room filled instantly with my scent—anger, possession, and something deeper I refused to acknowledge.
"Alpha Paxton," she said, her voice unnaturally controlled. "What can I help you with?"
"Lucas Morgan is a notorious Alpha playboy in the wolf community," I said, my voice glacial even to my own ears. "Do you really think he's genuinely interested in a marked—formerly marked—mixed-blood wolf like you?"
I saw her flinch at my words, saw the way her hand unconsciously went to her neck where her mark had been. Good. She should feel the sting of this betrayal as keenly as I did.
"He's approaching you, getting close to you, to challenge me," I continued, unable to stop the possessive words pouring from me. "Once he satisfies his Alpha conquest impulse, he'll discard you. For your own sake, I suggest you wake up."
The thought of Freya carrying Lucas Morgan's scent, accepting his flowers, potentially accepting his mark where mine had been—it made my wolf howl with rage. Even without our mark, she had been mine first.
"I'm well aware of all that," she replied, those amber eyes meeting mine directly. Her voice remained calm, betraying none of the emotion I was certain she must feel. "But I don't understand what this has to do with you, Alpha Paxton."