Ashley’s POV
The dining room was heavy with silence. It wasn’t the soothing kind that was comforting-it was thick, heavy, pressing down on me like an intangible weight. I was wedged between Roy and Liam, and I could feel tension wrapped around all three of us like shackles. Freya’s anger lingered like a tempest about to erupt, and Steven-Steven just sat silently, as always, like he wasn’t the source of everything.
I attempted to concentrate on my meal, but each mouthful was flavorless. I wasn’t hungry. It was not possible to relish a meal when the atmosphere was so thick with unspoken words, repressed feelings, and quiet resentment.
The metallic ring of footsteps coming closer broke the strained stillness, and I looked up as Freja strode into the room. She entered amidst a whirlwind of emotions, her face set in unyielding lines, her fists locked at her sides.
“Where have you been today?” I asked, my voice softer than I had intended for it to be. It wasn’t meant to be an interrogation, just a question, but with everything that was going on, it somehow had more significance.
Freja gave me hardly a glance before responding. “I don’t want to discuss it.” Her voice was sharp, her words slicing through steel.
Without further ado, she tore upstairs, her anger in her wake like a cloud of damp smoke.
I released a breath, rubbing my temples. Freja’s temper. Freya’s sorrow. Steven’s reserve. Too much. This house-this family-was like a time bomb about to explode at any second. And I was right in the middle of it.
Struggling through my meal, I slowly rose from my seat, my body heavy. I wasn’t tired just physically-I was tired emotionally. Still, however, despite how exhausted I was, I knew that I couldn’t get away from what was waiting for me upstairs.
I climbed slowly up the stairs, my feet lagging behind me as if they also wanted to linger until the inevitable occurred. Upon arriving at our room, I slowed further before gently opening the door.
Steven was already in, in bed, his muscles stiff and unbending. He was a statue-silent, motionless, cold. His expression was flat, but I knew better than to believe that. He was not as blank as he was trying to act. I had learned to recognize the small details-the way his fingers curled up when he was agitated, the way his jaw clenched when he was hiding something far down inside.
I took a slow breath before I talked. “If you’re feeling guilty about what happened,” I said slowly, “then maybe you should apologize to Freya.”
His head leaned a fraction of an inch in my direction, his eyes zeroing in on mine with rigid intensity. “Apologize?” he repeated, his voice cold and unflinching. “I was protecting her. I did what I had to do.”
I sighed, massaging the back of my neck. “Steven, maybe Freya doesn’t need you to watch over her all the time. She can defend herself, assert herself. You don’t need to be her personal bodyguard all the time.”
His stance hardened, and his voice was gruff this time. “I’m her brother. It’s my duty to protect her.”
“And I’m not saying you shouldn’t,” I replied, my voice rising. “But you’re smothering her. Can’t you see that? You’re trying to keep her safe, but all you’re doing is trapping her. She’s in pain, Steven. And some of that is your fault.”
His entire demeanor shifted, and for a moment, I was certain the air in the room chilled. His eyes became dark, his entire demeanor more intense, more oppressive. When he finally spoke again, his voice lower, there was a detectable edge to his words.
“Enough, Luna. One more word from you, and I’ll-”
“You’ll what?” I cut him off before he could get the words out, advancing on him without hesitation. “Cut out my tongue? Turn me into a werewolf? Kill me?”
I snorted a bitter laugh, running my fingers through my hair. “Be my guest, Steven. Do as you please. But don’t forget this-I’m done being intimidated by you. Everyone else can quake in their boots when you walk into a room, but I’m not that woman. I’ve lost everything, so tell me-what’s there left to fear?”
Silence.
For the first time, I saw uncertainty flash in his eyes. It was brief-so brief I might have imagined it-but it was there.
“Do you think you can order me around?” I continued, my voice softer now, but no less firm.
“Please. I have nothing left to lose.”
His gaze hit mine, his face still expressionless, but something had changed. I didn’t know what, but I could feel it.
But I didn’t wait for him to respond. I had spoken my piece.
Without hesitation, I strode and right into the bathroom, closing the door behind me.
The instant I was alone, I clasped my hands around the sink, fingers gripping the cold of the porcelain.
I didn’t scream.
I didn’t cry.
I just stood there, gasping, staring at myself in the mirror.
Outside, I knew Steven was still waiting outside, still attempting to comprehend my words.
But for once, I didn’t care.
Let him battle his darkness.
I had my own to battle.
******
Freya’s POV
I lay in bed, staring vacantly at the ceiling as sunbeams of golden morning light streamed through the thin drapes. The warmth of the sun should have been comforting, but it wasn’t. It made me feel exposed instead, as if it were pulling me out of safety of my darkness and into a world I was not ready for. The weight in my chest had only grown heavier, pressing down on me like an invisible force, making it impossible to move.
I felt exhausted-not just physically, but in a way that went beyond tiredness. It was a deep, aching weariness that no amount of sleep could fix. My thoughts were tangled in a web of emotions, each one more suffocating than the last. Every time I closed my eyes, my mind went over all the things I had been going out of my way to avoid, reliving all the things I didn’t want to remember. I didn’t want to get up. I didn’t want to see anyone. Not today.
And then someone knocked on the door.
I winced, my heart performing a feeble, startled thump at the sound that broke the silence of my room. I wasn’t up to talking to anyone, and I definitely wasn’t up to pretending to be fine.
“Whoever it is, leave me alone!” I shouted, my voice harsh from lack of use. “I don’t want to see anyone!
For a moment, I thought my words paid off. Maybe whoever it was would change directions and leave. Maybe I’d be stuck with only thoughts a little bit longer. But then I heard the voice.
“Freya.”
Liam’s voice was soft but firm, echoing through the closed door with a surprising gentleness. My breath caught in my throat at the sound of it. He wasn’t yelling. He wasn’t shouting. He wasn’t forcing his way into my space like all the others had tried to do before. No, his voice held something else-concern, patience, something I wasn’t sure I deserved.
My fingers clenched the blanket as my heart started to beat a little faster.
“What… what do you want?” I breathed.
“Would you mind opening the door?” he answered, still calm, still patient, still waiting.
I closed my eyes and pursed my lips, deciding. I did not know that I wanted to see him. I did not know that I wanted to see anyone. There was something, though, the way he sounded, something in his voice, that made me unable to dismiss him.
With a heavy sigh, I pulled myself up, shoving my blanket aside and swinging my legs over the edge of the bed. My actions were slow, unwilling, but finally I made it to the door. My hand trembled slightly as I reached for the handle. Taking one deep breath, I turned it and opened the door.
Liam stayed there, his body between me and the space. His eyes-those dark, inscrutable eyes-ran over my face, traveling over every inch of me as if trying to determine what was wrong without my needing to explain.
“I was concerned for your safety,” he said quietly. His voice was gentle, unshrinking, heavy with something I couldn’t identify.
I let out a harsh, dry laugh, arms crossing over the chest as I turned my eyes away. “Why should you care? You probably despise me.”
His expression altered, eyebrows drawing together by a fraction of an inch as if offended by what I’d just said. “Why in the world should I ever dislike you, Freya?”
It was hard to meet his eyes and I swallowed. “Because I said. awful things to you,” I mumbled in a near-whisper.
Liam let out a slow breath, his jaw twisting for a moment before his expression relaxed again. “If I could hate you,” he said, his words heavy with something deep, something painful. “It would all be so much easier.”
My chest tightened. “What. do you mean?”
He shook his head ever so slightly, as if he were frustrated with himself. And then, after a very long silence, he looked directly into my eyes and said the last thing I would ever have expected.
“I can’t stop loving you, no matter how hard I try.”
Air rushed from my body in a loud, soundless whoosh. I was frozen, shocked and immobile where I was. I stared, my own heart pounding in my chest so loudly I couldn’t hear anything else.
“You. love me?” I whispered, shaking so hard I couldn’t quite say the words.
Bitter satisfaction pulled on his lip, like a smile at the rim of a cliff’s edge. “I’ve always loved you, Freya,” he said to her, his voice harsh, unadorned. “As far back as I can remember. Before we even knew what love was. Even when life ripped us apart, even when our families pushed us down different roads, I never did.” His fists were clenched at his sides, his shoulders hunched up. And when I found out you were taken by another mate… it destroyed me.” He gasped for air, his voice growing deeper. “I wasted years trying to forget, trying to drive you out of my heart, but no matter how hard I tried, you remained. In my mind. In my dreams. In everything I did.”. And now, here before you… I was a fool for coming, I know.” His jaw was tense, his eyes black with an indreadful something. “Because it hurts, Freya. Hurts to know I’ll never even have a possibility with you.”
He began to turn, to walk away.
Panic struck me like a lightning bolt.
I couldn’t let him get away.
Without hesitation, I stretched out and grasped his hand, holding it tight as if letting go would mean losing him forever.
“Wait,” I whispered, my voice trembling. “Don’t leave me.”
He faltered but did not turn around. His hand was warm in mine, and I held it even tighter, afraid that if I let go, this moment would be gone.
As a kid, I regarded you as my best friend-the only person who made the world safe,” I confessed, my voice heavy with emotion. “And then you were gone, and I had convinced myself that I had lost you for good.” I swallowed hard, my hold on his hand tightening. “After him, I thought I would never love again.”. I thought my heart had given all it could give. A breath was stuck in my throat. “But with you, Liam… you’ve completed me. And I don’t know when or how, but I couldn’t resist it anymore.” My eyes met his, wide and vulnerable. “I’m falling for you, Liam. And I’m not lying anymore, I’m not.”
Neither of us moved for a frozen, gasping instant.
Then, before I could even process what was happening, Liam turned. With a swift motion, he closed the distance between us, his hands cupping my face as his lips crashed into mine.
The kiss was everything and nothing-desperation, longing, grief, relief. It was a kiss that told of all the things we never told each other, all the years of pain and hope and love condensed into one, breathtaking moment.
And for the first time, I didn’t step back.
I kissed him in return.
Because, in that moment, nothing else mattered.