Finnick's POV
The silence weighed heavily on me like a burden, and the night was restless. I kept seeing Freya's face and the look of surprise in her eyes when I turned her away. I believed it was the proper choice since I couldn't have an orphan like her at my side who was weak and undeserving. Now, however, there remained a void that gnawed at me, a continual reminder that something important had vanished.
"Finnick!" Aaron, my Beta, was at my door, speaking in a strained tone. "We need you outside."
I forced myself to stop thinking about her and headed to the door in the hopes of finding some sort of diversion. However, Aaron's expression made me feel uneasy again.
"What is it?" I asked, trying to hide my concern.
His voice was hardly audible above a whisper when he continued, "It's Freya." "She has teamed up with Kade, the Nightfang Pack's Alpha."
For a minute, the world seemed to tilt, and I found it difficult to remain calm. "Freya?" Stunned, I repeated. "With Kade?"
Aaron nodded, but it was impossible to read his face. The news has recently been brought back by our scouts. She was discovered and taken in by Kade.
A peculiar feeling, a mix of rage, astonishment, and jealousy, crept into my chest. Yes, I had turned Freya away, but it was almost intolerable to think of her standing next to our fiercest opponent, Kade.
"With her, what would Kade want?" More to myself, I mumbled.
Aaron stirred uneasily. "Kade must see something worthwhile in her that we might have overlooked."
I gritted my teeth as I battled the sensation that was developing within me. I had sent her away, let her go. She was with him now.
The day went by, but I had completely lost focus. Every choice I made and every directive I issued felt incorrect. I started to feel a similar emptiness that was getting stronger every hour. Despite my best efforts, my thoughts kept returning to Freya.
I shouldn't have had any emotions. She had been a liability, a helpless weakling who had no connection to any of us. But now that Kade had the same weakling by her side, she was no longer an outsider. I couldn't ignore the tension that was building inside of me as the knowledge bit me, twisted and nasty.
"Alpha?" Aaron's voice interrupted my train of thought.
When I blinked, I saw that he had been observing me from there. "What is it?"
"You appear... preoccupied. Are you okay?
Unwilling to display my vulnerability, I straightened. "I'm all right. Merely considering the reports.
Aaron hesitated and looked aside. "Finnick, there's more."
"More?" With the word "sharp," I asked.
Kade is reportedly training Freya, according to one of our spies. She has been strengthening herself by learning from his pack members.
I was hit hard by the news. Training, Freya? Now training to combat with our enemy, Freya, the powerless orphaned girl?
"Is she even aware of what she is doing?" I asked, trying not to sound worried.
Aaron shrugged. She may, or perhaps Kade has misled her. In any case, she has changed.
With an unknown fear gnawing at me, I clenched my hands. Had I misjudged her? Had she had talent that I had overlooked?
A scout returned in the late evening with even more concerning information. Breathless and scared, he rushed into the pack house this time without even waiting to be called in.
"Alpha!" he gasped, bowing his head respectfully. "I have important news regarding Freya."
I became cold just thinking about her name. "Talk."
The scout looked around to make sure we were by ourselves. Freya has been going through a lot of training. She is already displaying strength that we weren't anticipating. However, it goes beyond that," he said, his voice nearly trembling. Rumor has said that her ancestry may be unique.
"Unusual?" I narrowed my eyes and echoed.
"Yes," he added, "Alpha." As it happens, Kade discovered that Freya's ancestry might be connected to the ancient wolves those with abilities we previously believed to be a myth.
A cold sensation descended upon me. I would have made a serious error if it were true if Freya's blood had any trace of those ancient abilities. I might have lost something priceless for me and the Whiteclaw Pack if I had let her go and cast her out without thinking twice.
"Finnick," Aaron spoke steadily, but I could sense the worry in his voice. "Kade has already recognized her potential if her ancestry is indeed connected to the ancients. She will be a strong ally, and he will make her stronger.
The truth was glaring back at me, and I couldn't deny it. Her visage and the pain in her eyes, as I had turned her away in front of the pack, raced across my thoughts that night. My pride had prevented me from seeing past her shy exterior.
"What prevented us from knowing?" Almost to myself, I asked. "How did we overlook this?"
However, I already knew the solution. I hadn't noticed. I had rejected her because of my own bias and judgment. She could easily turn into a threat one I had created myself if she were to learn to use this age-old power and grow up under Kade's tutelage.
With my thoughts racing with questions I could no longer ignore, I withdrew to my quarters. The weight of my choices seemed to be bearing down on me as if the walls of my pack house were closing in. I was unable to deny that I had made a mistake a risky one, at that.
I had to act. Kade would gain power if she stayed with him, and the Whiteclaw Pack would suffer as a result. She was one of us, and even if it meant sacrificing my pride, I would have to do whatever it took to bring her back.
However, a part of me questioned whether I could persuade her at all. Now she had every reason to despise me, every reason to stick with Kade. I would have caused her irreparable harm. She might never forgive me if she found out about her power and her real ancestry.
When I knew what I had to do, a chilly determination descended upon me.
"Freya," I muttered into my room's quiet, my regret piercing and severing. "I will not allow you to leave so simply. Not right now.
Before it was too late, I needed to locate her and get in touch with her. Because all I had created, the entire Whiteclaw Pack, could be in jeopardy if I didn't... if she stayed with Kade and used her real ability. Worse than that, I may have lost her for good.
I gritted my teeth, already forming a plan. Whatever it took, I would bring her back, whether by words or by force. I couldn't let her slip through my fingers and become the weapon that would turn against me.
But even as I thought it, a dark voice in the back of my mind whispered… what if it was already too late?