The Alpha's Exiled Mate Chapter 174

Freya’s POV

My hands clenched in the thin hospital blanket. "And you followed us?"

"I called the Delta patrol first," Emma said, "then took my car and followed at a distance. I lost you for a while in the mountain roads, but I kept driving, following... instinct, I guess. I parked when the road ended and tracked your scent into the woods." She paused, her eyes meeting mine. "I got there just in time."

"Thank you," I whispered again, the words wholly inadequate for what she had done. "You risked your life. For me."

Emma's gaze was steady. "Who did this to you, Freya? What wolf hates you enough to want you dead? To hire three thugs to make it look like an accident?"

I looked away, unable to hold her penetrating stare. "I can't say. Not right now."

Emma leaned forward, her voice dropping to a fierce whisper. "It was Kaelin Brooks, wasn't it? I saw her at the restaurant earlier."

My silence was answer enough.

"Dammit, Freya!" Emma slammed her hand on the arm of the chair. "You're protecting the woman who just tried to have you killed? Why?"

"It's complicated," I said weakly.

"Bullshit. It's not complicated. It's Brooks being threatened by you, by what you represent." Emma's eyes flashed gold momentarily. "You need to report this. Go to the authorities."

A bitter laugh escaped my lips. "The authorities? You mean Alpha Thorne? Thorne is engaged to Kaelin. He's not going to believe me over her." I shook my head. "Besides, she has my brother. She'll hurt him if I say anything."

Emma's eyes widened at this revelation. "Your brother? Ethan Riley? He's alive?"

"Yes," I whispered. "At least, he was in the photo she showed me."

Emma sat back, processing this information. Then, without warning, she stood and pulled the hospital blanket down to my waist.

"What are you doing?" I protested, trying to grab the blanket back.

But Emma had already lifted the edge of my hospital gown, exposing my torso. Her sharp intake of breath told me what she had seen—the network of silvery scars that crisscrossed my skin, some from claws, others from moonsilver chains.

"These marks," she said quietly, tracing one of the longer scars with her fingertip. "These are from the Forgotten Wilds, aren't they? How did you survive three years out there with these kinds of injuries?"

I pulled the blanket back up, shame and old pain tightening my throat. "I did what I had to do."

Emma stared at me for a long moment, her expression unreadable. Then she sat on the edge of the bed, her voice gentler than I'd ever heard it.

"The moonsilver marks on your wrists and ankles—those aren't from standard exile restraints. Those are from torture devices." Her eyes held mine, filled with a mixture of horror and compassion. "Freya, what happened to you out there? Who did this to you?"

I swallowed hard, memories threatening to overwhelm me. The isolation cell with its moonsilver-lined walls. The guards who looked the other way. The visits in the dead of night...

"I can't," I whispered, tears burning behind my eyes.

"Was it Kaelin?" Emma pressed. "Did she arrange for this to happen to you in exile?"

When I didn't answer, Emma's eyes flashed gold again. "It was her, wasn't it? She wanted you dead then, and she wants you dead now." She leaned closer. "Freya, don't be afraid. Tell me the truth. Who hurt you like this?"

The dam broke. After years of holding it inside, of carrying the weight alone, I couldn't bear it anymore.

"Kaelin," I admitted, my voice cracking. "It was Kaelin Brooks."

Emma's face hardened with anger. "And now she's threatening your brother?"

I nodded. "She said if I ever came near Thorne again, or if I revealed what she did, she would make sure Ethan was exiled too. She has him somewhere... I don't know where."

Emma was silent for a moment, clearly processing this information. Then she squeezed my hand. "We'll figure this out, Freya. I promise. But right now, you need to rest."

Just then, Emma's phone rang. She glanced at the screen and frowned. "Unknown number," she muttered, then answered cautiously. "Hello?"

After a brief exchange, she held the phone out to me. "It's for you. Someone named Terra?"

My heart skipped a beat. I took the phone with trembling fingers. "Terra?"

"Freya!" Terra's voice was warm with relief. "Thank the moon. Are you okay? I've been trying to reach you for hours."

"I'm fine," I said automatically, then winced at the lie. "Well, not exactly fine, but I'll be okay. How did you get Emma's number?"

"I didn't," Terra replied. "I called your phone, but this woman answered instead. Said you were with her."

Emma must have taken my phone from my purse while I was unconscious—a precaution I was now grateful for.

"How are you, Terra? How's the recovery going?" I asked, trying to steer the conversation away from my current situation.

"Better every day," she said. "But never mind me. I heard you left Grey Estate. Where are you staying now? Are you safe?"

An alarm bell went off in my mind. "How did you know I left Grey Estate?"

There was a brief pause on the other end of the line. "Mark told me," Terra admitted. "He's been checking on me since the hospital, and when he mentioned you weren't at the estate anymore, I got worried."

Mark. Thorne's right-hand man. The pieces clicked into place.

"Did Thorne ask him to call you?" I asked, my voice sharper than I intended. "Is he trying to find out where I am?"

"Not exactly," Terra hedged. "Mark was genuinely concerned, and so am I. But yes, I think Alpha Thorne is looking for you."

I closed my eyes, exhaustion washing over me. "I'm fine, Terra. Please tell Mark—and anyone else who asks—that I'm fine. But don't tell them where I am. Please."

"Freya—"

"Promise me, Terra."

She sighed. "I promise. But Freya, if you need anything—"

"I know," I said softly. "Thank you."

After we hung up, I handed the phone back to Emma, who had been watching me closely throughout the conversation.

"Alpha Thorne is looking for you," she said. It wasn't a question.

"So it seems."

Emma's expression turned thoughtful. "That's interesting, considering his fiancée just tried to have you killed."

I stared at the ceiling, a cold realization settling over me. "Maybe he knows."

"Knows what?"

"What Kaelin did. What she's been doing." I turned to meet Emma's gaze. "Alphas can sense lies. They can smell deception. If Kaelin has been behind all of this—the exile, the torture, the attempts on my life—Thorne must know something."

Emma frowned. "That doesn't make sense. If he knew, why wouldn't he stop her?"

"Because he doesn't care," I whispered, the truth of it piercing my heart like a moonsilver blade. "He's never cared. The strong dominate the weak—that's the way of our world. And I was weak."

Emma shook her head firmly. "No, Freya. You survived three years in the Forgotten Wilds with torture marks that would have killed most wolves. You're anything but weak."

But my mind was already racing down a dark path. All this time, I had held onto some small hope that Thorne didn't know the full extent of what had happened to me, that he had been deceived by Kaelin. But what if he had known all along? What if he had allowed it?

"Has he ever tried to defend the weak? To stand up for justice when it wasn't convenient?" I asked bitterly. "Or has he always just enforced the law as it benefits the powerful?"

Emma didn't answer, but her silence was telling enough.

"That's Alpha Thorne's justice," I said, turning away to hide the tears that threatened to fall. "That's the Alpha I once thought would save me."

Emma stood quietly. "You should rest. The doctor said you need to sleep for the medication to work properly."

I nodded, suddenly too exhausted to argue or even think anymore. As Emma moved toward the door, I called out softly, "Emma?"

She paused, looking back at me.

"Thank you. For everything."

A small smile touched her lips. "Get some sleep, Freya. Tomorrow, we'll figure out what to do about Kaelin Brooks."

After she left, I stared at the ceiling, my thoughts a tangled mess of fear, anger, and heartache. The memory of Thorne's kiss on the terrace—so possessive, so demanding—now seemed tainted by the possibility that he had known all along what Kaelin had done to me. Had he been protecting her? Was he still protecting her?

"He can sense every lie," I whispered to the empty room. "He knows when someone is deceiving him. So has he been complicit all this time? Is that the Alpha's justice?"