SWNOVELS Chapter Warrior 136
*Freyah*
The fire crackled softly between us, the scent of roasted meat filling the air as I absently chewed on the piece of venison Liam had cooked. We hadn't spoken for a while, sitting in silence, the weight of everything I had learned pressing down on 1. me.
I stared into the flames, trying to make sense of it all, but it felt like trying to fit together the pieces of a puzzle with half of them missing.
"So, that's who I am then, huh?" I finally asked, my voice quiet, my gaze still fixed on the fire.
Liam glanced over at me, his expression unreadable. He nodded slowly, swallowing the bite of food he'd just taken. "Yeah. That's who you are."
I exhaled deeply, the weight of his words settling into my bones. I wasn't just some ordinary girl. I was... something else. Something more.
"You were powerful, Freyah," he added softly. "You still are. You're just... figuring it out again."
I could feel the heaviness in his voice, like there was more to it than he was letting on. But I didn't ask. Not yet.
I picked at the piece of meat in my hands, turning it over in my fingers before dropping it back onto the leaf we were using as a plate. It didn't feel right to eat, even though I hadn't had anything in hours. My stomach churned, too full of anger and confusion to handle much else.
Liam had told me so much-about the wolves, about our lives together before I lost my memory. But there was one thing that gnawed at me more than the rest. Something that hurt in a way I couldn't fully explain.
"Symphony," I muttered, the name bitter on my tongue.
Liam's jaw tightened as he looked away, poking at the fire with a stick. "Yeah. Symphony."
I couldn't get the image out of my head-the idea of Oliver with her. Though I didn't know what she looked like, Liam painted a good enough picture that was already driving me crazy. I had no idea why I was so... jealous. But when Liam told me that Oliver getting her pregnant in the first lace and rejecting me was what caused all of this... I was a lot of different kinds of angry.
Angry at myself for wanting him, even though I barely knew him anymore. Angry at him for hurting me like that, and hurting me again. Angry at Symphony for everything she has done.
And then there was the rejection.
Liam had explained what it meant, what it did to wolves like us. How Oliver had rejected me-his own mate. I couldn't even imagine how that had felt. And yet... I had felt it, hadn't I? The anger, the betrayal. The way my chest ached whenever I thought about him. Liam hadn't held back when he told me what had happened between us. He hadn't sugarcoated the truth, but... something in the way he spoke, the way he delivered the details, made me feel like I had been played. Like Oliver had manipulated me, tricked me into taking him back.
My grip on the deer bone that Liam had killed and cooked tightened, my knuckles white as the anger simmered beneath the surface. How could Oliver have done that to me? How could he have betrayed me so completely?
"I can't believe I ever loved him," I muttered, more to myself than to Liam.
Liam didn't respond right away, but when he finally spoke, his voice was low, measured. "He wasn't the one for you, Freyah.
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Chapter 72
He never was."
His words stung, but they felt true. At least, that's what he wanted to believe. I didn't quote know what I believed anymore.
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I shook my head, trying to push the thoughts of Oliver aside, but they kept creeping back in. The memories-or lack of them-haunted me. And then there was that spark. The one I had felt when I touched Jullian. Liam had told me about that too.
"You said I had powers," I said, breaking the silence again. "That could heal... or kill."
Liam nodded, watching me closely. "You're a Celestial Luna, Freyah. The last one. You have more power
than any of us."
I furrowed my brow, the words sounding foreign to me, even now. "But... I don't feel anything. I don't feel that power. I can't even feel my wolf. Shouldn't I be able to?"
Liam's gaze softened, and he reached out, gently brushing a strand of hair behind my ear. The way he looked at me as if I was everything to him... Yet so sad.
"Your wolf took the hit to protect you, Freyah. She sacrificed herself in the accident. That's why you can't feel her. It's why everything feels so... distant."
I swallowed hard, the weight of that realization pressing down on me. My wolf-my protector-was gone. And yet, I had felt something. That spark when I touched Jullian, that faint trace of power. But why only then? And also when I was with Oliver... The bond was still there, even if I didn't want it to be.
"And what about Oliver?" I asked, the words slipping out before I could stop them. "Why do I still feel... something with him? Sparks from the mate bond?"
Liam's expression hardened for a moment, but he quickly masked it, his voice calm and measured. "The bond between mates can linger, even after a rejection. But I don't know about a dead or injured wolf. I thought it would be gone," he said that part more to himself. "But you don't have to worry about that, Freyah. You're free of him now."
I nodded slowly, trying to make sense of it all. I should have felt relieved, knowing I didn't belong to Oliver anymore, knowing I wasn't tied to him. But there was still that nagging feeling in the back of my mind, that strange pull I couldn't explain.
Liam leaned forward, his eyes searching mine. "Look, Freyah. You don't have to go back to Moonlight Pack if you don't want to. You don't owe them anything. You can come back to Lightwater Pack with me."
I hesitated, considering his words. Going back to Moonlight Pack meant facing Oliver. It meant dealing with everything I had just learned, all the lies and betrayals. But there was alss my brother... my sick brother. Gosh, I just left him. And Ally with the stress. But staying away... staying away felt like the only way I could have any control over my life again. At least for now.
"I can't go back," I said softly. "Not yet. They'll find me too easily, I need time... time to figure things out." Liam's lips curved into a gentle smile. "I understand. You need space. But you don't have to be alone."
I looked up at him, surprised by the softness in his tone. He reached out, gently taking my hand in his.
"I know a place," he said. "An old cabin, not far from here. It's secluded, quiet. No one will find you there, and you'll have time to figure things out. I can take you there."
I felt a small flicker of hope ignite in my chest, the idea of being away from everything, of having space to breathe, pulling
me in.
"Okay," I whispered, nodding. "Let's go."
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