CHAPTER 173: CHAPTER 173 THE DAY SHE STOPPED WAITING

Freya

I stared at my phone screen long after Silvano’s call ended,my wolf,Selene,restless beneath my skin. She had been agitated ever since we’d left our home—no,since we’d left our daughter.

"Bad news?" my sister Raven asked,sliding into the chair across from me at our family’s breakfast table.

I set my phone down beside my barely touched plate of eggs. "Just Silvano. His mother wants us for dinner tonight."

Raven’s eyebrows shot up. "The Elder Luna Victoria Moretti herself summoning you? That’s... unexpected."

"Not really," I sighed,pushing my food around with my fork. "She probably wants to see Isabella. It’s been months."

"And she doesn’t know about your... situation?" Raven asked carefully.

"No one does,except you." I took a sip of my coffee,wincing at its bitterness. "Not even Isabella."

Sixteen days. That’s how long I’d been staying at my family home,sleeping in my old bedroom,trying to recapture who I used to be before I became Luna of the Shadow Pack—before I became merely an extension of Silvano Moretti’s legacy.

Sixteen days since I’d held my daughter.

My wolf whined pitifully at the thought of Isabella,our bond stretched thin by distance. Selene had been restless each night,pacing the confines of my mind,urging me to return to our pup. But I couldn’t—not yet. Not until I figured out what I wanted beyond being someone’s mate and someone’s mother.

"You haven’t called her," Raven said,her voice free of judgment but heavy with concern.

"I can’t," I admitted,shame burning through me. "Every time I pick up the phone,I imagine her asking when I’m coming home,and I just... freeze."

The truth was far more complicated. I was terrified—terrified that Isabella wouldn’t ask at all. That in the chaos of my absence,she might be happier with Aurora’s doting attention than she ever was with my cautious care.

"She’s with her father," I said,more to convince myself than Raven. "And Aurora is there constantly. She’s probably having the time of her life,free from my rules and restrictions."

Raven reached across the table and grabbed my hand. "Stop. Isabella adores you."

"She tolerates me," I corrected. "There’s a difference."

My sister’s eyes flashed with frustration. "This isn’t like you,Freya. The sister I know would never abandon her child."

"I haven’t abandoned her!" The words came out sharper than intended,drawing the attention of our mother in the kitchen. I lowered my voice. "I’m taking space to figure things out. There’s a difference."

"Is there?" Raven challenged. "Because from where I’m sitting,it looks like you’re running away from the hard parts of your life instead of facing them."

My wolf bristled at the accusation,but deep down,I knew Raven was right. I had spent years building a life around Silvano and Isabella,sublimating my own dreams and ambitions to be the perfect Luna,the perfect mother. And when that life started to crumble—when I realized I was losing myself in their shadows—I ran.

Just like my mother had warned me I would.

"Isabella called me yesterday," Raven said quietly.

My head snapped up. "What? Why didn’t you tell me?"

"Because she asked me not to." Raven’s eyes held mine steadily. "She wanted to know if I would take her to school today. She said her father was too busy."

The familiar pang of guilt twisted in my chest. "What did you say?"

"I told her I would,of course. She’s my niece." Raven hesitated. "But Freya,she asked about you. Wanted to know if you were staying with me."

"What did you tell her?"

"The truth—that you needed some time to yourself,but that you love her more than anything."

I nodded,swallowing past the lump in my throat. "Thank you."

"She’s drawing again," Raven continued. "Those strange dreamscapes,just like Luna Victoria used to do."

A chill ran through me. Isabella’s drawings had always unnerved me—not because they weren’t beautiful,but because they were too beautiful,too precise,too... prescient. They reminded me of the stories about her grandmother’s fairy gifts,abilities that had always made me deeply uncomfortable.

"Silvano encourages it," I said tightly. "He sees it as proof of her bloodline."

"Maybe because it is," Raven suggested gently. "You can’t keep denying her heritage,Freya."

"I’m not denying anything. I just want her to have a normal childhood," I shot back. "Not to be treated like some mystical oracle because she has dreams!"

The real fear—the one I could barely admit to myself—was that Isabella’s gifts would only further separate us. How could I,an ordinary wolf with ordinary blood,ever understand a daughter who carried elven magic in her veins?

My phone buzzed with a text message from Adrian,Silvano’s Beta: *Meeting at 10. Jasper from Stone Lake will be there. Need your input on the territory negotiation docs.*

Work. At least there,I still had value.

I stood up,gathering my plate. "I need to get going. Pack business."

"Of course," Raven said,her tone making it clear she saw right through my escape. "About tonight—"

"I’ll handle it," I interrupted. "I’ve been managing Elisabeth Moretti for years. One dinner won’t kill me."

"That’s not what I was going to say." Raven’s expression softened. "I was going to ask if you want me to come with you for support. I could drop Isabella off at school tomorrow morning,give you two some time together."

My throat tightened with unexpected emotion. "I—thank you. But no. This is something I need to handle myself."