Chapter 161

Freya "What are you thinking about?" At noon,a hand landed gently on my shoulder,pulling me out of the fog that had settled over my mind. I blinked,startled to find myself still in the office,my screen glowing with unread reports. "Nothing important," I said with a faint smile that didn't quite reach my eyes. My colleague—a Beta wolf from the Silver Crescent sub-pack—arched an eyebrow,trying to mask the way she subtly scented the air between us. I knew what she was doing. All of them did. Wolves were attuned to emotional changes in scent,and mine had shifted in a way that couldn't be hidden. The bond had been severed. The emptiness it left behind had its own smell—faint,metallic,hollow. She hesitated before asking softly,"Not calling your daughter today?" My throat tightened. I forced myself to keep typing. "No. Not anymore." Two simple words,but they landed like stones. For years,I'd called Isabella twice a day—once at one in the morning,matching her breakfast time in the Northern Ter