Chapter 4

The Northridge pack house loomed larger than anything Freya had ever seen before. The sprawling estate seemed magnificent, with shadows stretching across the stone walls as the sun fell behind the treeline. It was beautiful in a way that made her chest ache, but to Freya, it felt less like a home and more like a prison.

Beta Xavier had escorted her straight through the heavy gates and into the mansion without saying much. His presence was unnervingly calm, his steps measured as though nothing could shake him. The moment they arrived, he handed her over to the maids without so much as glancing back.

The women were efficient, their faces kind but detached as they scrubbed her down, clothed her in simple linen, and ushered her into a small room on the west wing of the house. For the first time in days, Freya had a real bed and clean clothes. But the warmth that should have brought comfort only pressed on her heart like a weight. She was still someone’s property.

One of the women stayed longer than the others. A nurse with soft brown eyes and an easy voice, who introduced herself simply as Samantha. Unlike the rest, she did not hurry through her work. She asked Freya if she was hurt, if she needed food, if she wanted quiet. And for reasons Freya could not understand, she almost wept at the kindness.

Samantha checked her pulse, her eyes, her temperature, then finally leaned back with a small, approving nod.

“You’re healthy,” she said gently. “A little underfed, but nothing, time and good meals will fix it.”

It should have been good news. Instead, Freya only nodded silently, her hands fisting in her lap.

Days passed. Then a week. Then two.

She lived in that room as though the walls themselves were bars of a cage. She heard whispers through the hallways—the servants spoke when they thought she wasn’t listening. Some called her “the loan girl,” others “the hybrid.” A few whispered another name with hushed reverence: the breeder.

Freya tried to shut it out. Tried not to let it take root. But the seed of dread was already planted.

And still, she did not see him. The Alpha.

She thought perhaps he would never come. That maybe he was a shadow, a myth to keep others in fear. But her father’s words came back to her, and Lycril’s, and the murmurs that grew thicker with each passing day. He was real. He was powerful. And he had bought her.

On the fourteenth day, Beta Xavier returned.

He filled the doorway with his tall frame, his eyes calm but unreadable. “Prepare yourself,” he said simply. “The Alpha will see you this evening.”

Freya’s chest constricted. Her tongue felt thick in her mouth.

“W-why now?” she asked before she could stop herself.

Xavier’s lips curved into something that wasn’t quite a smile. “Because he has decided the time is right.”

And with that, he left.

---

When evening came, Freya felt the chill before she heard the steps. The setting sun shone through the windows, casting long streaks of red across the floorboards. Her hands trembled as she tried to steady her breathing and compose herself. She told herself she didn’t care. She told herself she would be strong.

The door opened.

Xavier walked in first, followed by Samantha, her face pale and drawn. And then—

Him.

The Alpha of Northridge. Logan.

He was taller than she imagined, broad-shouldered, his movements precise and predatory. His hair was as black as a raven’s wing, his jaw sharp enough to cut. His eyes—cold, calculating, merciless. They pinned her in place, stripping her down to bone and soul with a single glance.

He didn’t greet her. He didn’t even speak. He looked at her the way a man might look at a weapon or livestock. Evaluating. Measuring.

Freya’s stomach twisted. Every rumor she had heard screamed inside her head. The Alpha with nine lives. The Alpha who slaughtered rogues with his bare hands. The Alpha no one dared defy.

And now, the Alpha who owned her.

She dropped her gaze, but not before she caught the faint curl of his lip.

The silence stretched until it snapped with the arrival of the healers. Three of them entered the room, their robes marking them as the spiritual and medical guides of the pack. They bowed low to Logan before turning toward Freya.

“She is the one,” one of them announced. “The hybrid.”

Freya blinked, confused. “I—I don’t understand…”

The oldest healer, a woman with silver hair, stepped closer. “You carry blood that is rare. Sacred. You are not just an omega, child. You are a vessel for strength that will serve this kingdom well.”

Freya shook her head. “No… no, you must be mistaken. I—I don’t have a wolf. I’m nothing.”

The healer reached for her hand. Freya instinctively pulled back, but the woman’s grip was surprisingly firm. She turned Freya’s palm upward, staring at the lines as though reading scripture.

Then she chuckled softly, almost in awe.

“She’s truly the one. But her potential is buried deep. Even we cannot yet measure its full extent.”

Freya’s heart raced. “What are you talking about?”

But no one answered her.

Logan’s cold eyes never left her face. He turned slightly toward Samantha. His voice, when it came, was low and sharp.

“Is she prepared to conceive?”

The words hit Freya like a blow. She stared at him, uncomprehending. Surely she had misheard.

Samantha stiffened, her lips parting as though to argue. “Alpha… She's still so young. Barely twenty. Perhaps some time—”

Logan’s gaze sliced through her. “I asked a question.”

Samantha’s voice faltered. Her eyes darted to Freya, wide with silent apology. “Y-yes, Alpha. She… she is ready.”

Freya felt a knot form in her throat. She stared at Samantha then back at the Alpha. Ready? Conceive? Her hands shook as the blood drained from her face.

Logan gave one final, cold look before turning toward the door.

It was too much. Too fast. Too cruel of him to leave just like that without an explanation.

Freya’s trembling voice broke the silence.

“W-wait.”

Everyone froze. Xavier’s head snapped toward her in warning, Samantha’s hand twitched as if to hush her. But Freya’s words tumbled out, fragile but unstoppable.

“What do you mean… conceive? I—I was told I’d be working here. That’s why I’m here, isn’t it?”

Logan stopped at the threshold. Slowly, deliberately, he turned back. His eyes locked on hers, colder than the winter wind.

“I do not entertain questions,” he said flatly. “But for the sake of clarity, I will allow Xavier to answer you.”

The Beta stepped forward. His expression remained calm, but his words fell heavy as stone.

“Your father owed the Northridge pack a great debt. He could not repay it. To settle his dues, he offered you.”

Freya’s chest tightened. “No…”

Xavier’s voice remained even. “Not only that. He collected additional coins, selling your future to the Alpha. And the healers confirmed what we had long suspected and wanted—that your bloodline is valuable. That you would serve this kingdom not as a worker… but as the Alpha’s breeder. You will bear his heirs.”

The words tore through her.

“No…” Freya’s whisper broke into a sob. “No, that’s not true. He—he wouldn’t—”

But deep down, she knew. Her father had looked at her as nothing more than a burden, a mouth to feed, a tool to trade.

Her knees buckled, but she forced herself upright, clutching at her chest.

“A breeder?” she choked. “I’m not—I’m not some animal you can breed. I’m barely twenty. I’m—I’m just a girl—”

Her pleas cracked into raw, broken sobs.

“This isn’t fair! Please… please don’t do this to me.”

The room was silent except for her cries.

Logan’s expression didn’t flicker. He looked at her as though her tears meant nothing. As though she were not a person, but a duty to be fulfilled.

“You are in Northridge now,” he said coldly. “And in my kingdom, I do not tolerate weakness or disobedience. You will do what is required. That is all.”

And without another word, he left.

The door shut behind him with a finality that crushed what little air remained in Freya’s lungs.

She sank to the floor, shaking, her hands pressed to her mouth to smother her sobs. Samantha knelt beside her, whispering words of comfort she could barely hear.

But nothing could soften the truth.

She wasn’t a guest. She wasn’t even a servant.

She was a property.

And her body was no longer hers but the Alpha's.