“Please don’t misunderstand,” she said sweetly. “Alpha Riven was just being kind. I wanted to be a mother so bad and he thought spending time with Kael would help me prepare.”
She clasped her hands together, feigning remorse. “If you’re upset, please direct it at me. It’s my fault. Alpha Riven and Kael are completely innocent.”
Sorenna played the helpless maiden to perfection, her amber eyes shimmering like a doe’s.
But while pretending to be fragile, she made sure Riven—looming right behind her—could see the faint bite-marks peeking from her collarbone.
“Enough. Freya isn’t the kind who clings to petty jealousy,” Riven muttered, rubbing his temples as irritation seeped into his voice. “There’s nothing here for her to misinterpret. Nothing happened.”
Before Sorenna could feign another excuse, he cut her off sharply, “Don’t you have a summit with the pack member? You should go now.”
“Alpha Riven… but you said you’d… today you promised you would—”
Seeing she was about to reveal something dangerous, Riven’s tone dropped into a cold growl, “Sorenna, that’s enough. Don’t test my patience.”
Her lips tightened into a small defiant pout, but one look at his expression made her back down.
As she slipped on her veil, she cast a concealed glare at Freya before leaving, reluctance written all over her movements.
Kael, using his youthful charm, hurried to Freya’s side. “Mom, Sorenna came to help me pick a gift for you! I wanted to give you the most amazing present in the whole Moonlands.”
Freya replied evenly, “I’m not upset. It’s… simply unexpected to run into the three of you here.”
She appeared distant. “If you don’t need anything else, I’ll return to the packhouse.”
“It’s rare for the three of us to be out together,” Riven said in a softer tone. “There’s a charity gathering tonight at the Alpha Council. Will you accompany me?”
Freya stayed silent, but her silence was enough for him to assume she’d agreed.
Without hesitation, he slid an arm around her waist.
“You’ve gotten fuller,” he murmured absently, then corrected himself, “That’s good. You used to be too thin. No matter how you look, I love you just the same.”
A cold, faint smile touched her lips, yet she didn’t reply.
Her figure hadn’t changed in years. The comment came only because his hands were used to tracing Sorenna’s narrow waist.