Chapter 160: Chapter 160 While She Was Gone,He Never Noticed
Author
Miles away,Silvano and Isabella were finishing breakfast at the Northern Territory villa. The Alpha barely registered that Freya hadn’t made her usual call,his mind already occupied with the upcoming negotiations. Aurora would be arriving soon,and he needed to prepare Isabella for the day’s events.
Isabella,however,had noticed the silence from her mother’s end. Her bright eyes darted to the clock repeatedly,a mixture of relief and something deeper—something that tugged uncomfortably at her young heart—swirling inside her.
"Young Miss,aren’t you going to wait for your mother’s call?" Sara asked gently as Isabella grabbed her small beach bag.
Isabella’s wolf,still developing but already showing Alpha tendencies,bristled at the suggestion. "Mom’s probably busy," she replied,her tone deliberately casual. "Besides,we’re going to be late meeting Aunt Aurora!"
She dashed for the door,evading Sara’s attempt to slow her down. "Young Miss,it’s still early! You have time!"
But Isabella was already racing toward the car,her heart pounding with an emotion she couldn’t quite name. If she left now,she wouldn’t have to endure another lengthy conversation where her mother asked too many questions and made her feel guilty for enjoying her time with Dad and Aurora.
Yet as the car pulled away from the villa,Isabella found herself glancing back at the house,a tiny frown creasing her forehead. Mom had never missed their morning call before—not once in all these months.
Her wolf pup whimpered softly,but Isabella silenced it with the excitement of seeing Aurora again. Aurora never made her feel bad about wanting to run wild or stay up late. Aurora understood her in ways her mother never had.
Still,as they drove toward the beachfront meeting place,Isabella couldn’t shake the strange feeling settling in her stomach—like something important had changed,something she wouldn’t understand until it was too late to fix.
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The next morning,Freya walked purposefully through the corporate headquarters where she had worked since marrying Silvano. As Gamma of the Shadow Pack,she had also taken on significant responsibilities within Moretti Enterprises,overseeing pack integration into the human business world with remarkable efficiency.
Now,with divorce papers filed and her mate bond severed,she had no reason to remain. The company was Silvano’s domain,and every corner held memories of the life she was leaving behind.
Freya knocked firmly on Timothy’s door,her back straight and her expression carefully neutral despite the bone-deep exhaustion of breaking a mate bond. The Beta looked up in surprise when she entered.
"Luna—" he began,then stopped when he caught her scent. His eyes widened in shock. "Freya... your bond—"
"I need to resign,effective immediately," she said,placing her letter on his desk. Her voice was steady,though her wolf ached inside her. "I’ve already cleared my office."
Timothy stared at her in disbelief, "Does he know?" Timothy asked quietly,struggling to process what this meant for the pack hierarchy.
Freya’s smile was brittle. "He will soon enough."
As she turned to leave,Timothy called after her,"Where will you go? What should I tell the pack?"
Pausing at the doorway,Freya looked back one final time. The golden flecks in her eyes—signs of her wolf’s presence near the surface—gleamed with newfound determination.
"Tell them their Luna has remembered who she was before she became a mate," she replied. "And that sometimes,even fate makes mistakes."
In the world of the Shadow Pack,information traveled fast—especially when it concerned the Alpha’s mate. Timothy had immediately recognized the significance of Freya’s resignation,but Jake,one of Silvano’s personal secretaries,was blindsided by the formal letter that now sat on his desk.
Jake was among the privileged few at Moretti Enterprises who knew the complex dynamics between Freya and Silvano. Anyone in the Alpha’s inner circle understood that his heart had never truly been claimed by his Luna,despite their mate bond. The primal connection that should have bound them together had always seemed one-sided,with Freya’s wolf desperately reaching out while Silvano’s remained distant.
After their mating ceremony,Silvano had remained cold toward her,rarely returning to their den at the main pack house. His absences grew longer after Isabella was born,his duties in the Northern Territory providing a convenient excuse. To bridge this growing chasm and win over her mate,Freya had strategically chosen to work at Silvano’s company.
Her initial goal had been ambitious—to become his personal secretary,positioning herself where he couldn’t avoid her presence. But Silvano had firmly refused.
"A Luna doesn’t serve her Alpha in the workplace," he’d stated coldly,though everyone knew the real reason. Even the intervention of Elder Moretti,Silvano’s grandfather and the pack’s respected former Alpha,couldn’t sway him. Finally,Freya had been forced to settle for joining the secretarial department as one of many ordinary staff members.
At first,Jake had worried she would use her position as Luna to create chaos within the department’s hierarchy. But the results had surprised him and everyone else watching the situation unfold.
Though Freya occasionally leveraged her status to get closer to Silvano during company events,she chose her moments wisely and never pushed beyond the boundaries of professional decorum. Instead,perhaps hoping to earn her mate’s respect through competence rather than their bond,she worked with remarkable diligence and displayed exceptional capability.
"She’s trying to prove her worth to him," Jake had overheard Beta Timothy saying once. "As if being his true mate wasn’t enough."
Whether during her difficult pregnancy with Isabella or other challenging times,she had followed company procedures to the letter,never seeking special treatment despite her rank in the pack. The other wolves in the office had initially walked on eggshells around her,but gradually came to respect her work ethic and integrity.
Over the years,she had risen through merit alone to become the department’s team leader. Jake had always observed her unrequited feelings for Silvano with a mixture of pity and admiration. Honestly,he never imagined she would resign. The mate bond was sacred among werewolves—he couldn’t believe she would willingly sever it.
Her resignation now probably meant something catastrophic had happened between them,something unknown to the wider pack,with Silvano forcing her out of both his life and the company. Jake’s wolf bristled at the thought—forcing a mate away violated every instinct their kind possessed.
Despite his internal turmoil and recognition of her strong capabilities,Jake maintained professional courtesy,his voice betraying none of his shock. "I’ll take your resignation and arrange for your replacement soon."
"Alright." Freya nodded,her scent surprisingly calm for a she-wolf who had just torn away half her soul. She returned to her desk with the dignified posture of a Luna,even as the golden flecks in her eyes—evidence of her wolf’s distress—betrayed her inner pain.
Jake worked through his normal tasks before reporting to Silvano through their secure pack communication channel. As they were wrapping up their discussion about the Red Claw Pack negotiations,he suddenly remembered Freya’s resignation.
"Oh,Alpha,regarding—" he began.
Although he had told Freya he would arrange her replacement quickly,he wanted to gauge Silvano’s thoughts on exactly when she should leave. If the Alpha wanted his estranged mate gone by tomorrow,immediate arrangements would be made.
But as the words reached his lips,he recalled what Silvano had decreed when Freya first joined: handle all her company matters according to standard procedures,no need to report specially to him. "I won’t micromanage her affairs," he had stated firmly,his wolf eyes flashing with warning. And indeed,that’s how it had been. Over these years,Silvano had never actively inquired about Freya’s matters at work.
When encountering her at the company,he treated her with the cool politeness one might offer a business associate rather than a mate. It had always struck Jake as unnatural—wolves were tactile creatures by nature,especially with their mates. Yet Silvano and Freya moved in separate orbits,the space between them charged with unspoken tension.
Two years ago,when they had planned to promote her based purely on merit,they had specifically mentioned it to Silvano,considering his obvious emotional distance from her. The implication being if he disapproved,they would find another candidate.
At the time,Silvano had frowned impatiently,his powerful Alpha aura making the air in the room heavy. "I’ve told you before—I won’t interfere with her professional growth. Follow standard procedures." His voice had dropped to a dangerous growl. "And don’t ask me about Freya’s company matters again."
Seeing Jake’s hesitation now,Silvano’s eyebrows drew together in that familiar expression of impatience. "What is it?" he demanded,his Alpha tone making Jake’s wolf instinctively lower its head.
Jake snapped back to attention. "Nothing,Alpha." Since Silvano must already know about Freya’s resignation but hadn’t mentioned it,it clearly wasn’t important enough to discuss. They should handle it like everything else,according to company policy and pack protocol. With this thought,Jake said nothing more.
Silvano ended the video call,his expression unreadable.