Chapter 7 Rejection

"Freya, what the hell is this divorce agreement supposed to mean?"

Niklaus's dark voice jolted Freya fully awake.

"Exactly what it says."

Niklaus let out a cold laugh. "Come to my office and take this garbage with you. Eight o'clock tonight, I want to see you at the pack house, along with... your luggage."

When Niklaus went to their bedroom, he found that Freya had already packed and taken all her clothes.

Freya said helplessly, "Niklaus, you..."

The line had already gone dead.

Freya didn't understand why Niklaus wouldn't just sign the divorce papers. Their contract was already over. She had graciously stepped down from the Luna position, hadn't she?

After washing up, Freya went to Lockwood Enterprises. As Niklaus's Luna, besides handling pack affairs for him, she also helped with company matters.

The first thing Freya did at the company was write her resignation letter. Passing colleagues saw this, and the news spread through the administrative building immediately.

By the time she headed to print it, voices drifted from the break room.

The usual venom filled the air.

"So last night's news was true. Rebekah got hurt, Alpha carried her to the hospital. He's definitely choosing Rebekah."

"Poor Freya's getting kicked out. Everyone says she stole Rebekah's Luna position."

"She claimed at the ceremony that she was his fated mate. So manipulative."

"A divorced Omega? She'll end up Rogue."

Fury blazed through Freya. Three years of biting her tongue, of trying to earn their respect through kindness and hard work--and this was what she got. Malicious gossip and backstabbing.

Enough.

Freya walked straight into the break room. "Actually," she said, loud enough for the entire floor to hear, "I'm the one resigning."

Dead silence.

"Must be hard being rejected by an Alpha," one woman said with false sympathy.

Freya laughed. "Rejected? I filed for divorce. I moved out. And honestly? I got tired of playing with just one Alpha. There's a whole world out there."

Shocked gasps filled the room. Freya knew she was being scandalous--suggesting she'd grown bored with an Alpha was practically blasphemous. But the stunned looks on their faces? Worth it.

"Social gathering?" Niklaus's voice sliced through the tension.

Everyone scattered like startled deer.

His eyes found hers immediately.

"My office. Now."

Freya lifted her chin, refusing to show weakness. She walked past him into his corner office.

Niklaus was leaning against the desk, arms crossed, eyes dark.

"Care to explain what I just witnessed out there?" he asked.

Freya placed the envelope on the desk.

"My resignation," she said, voice clipped. "Effective immediately."

His gaze flicked to the envelope, then back to her face. She looked different somehow. Colder. More distant.

"And that comment about 'playing with Alphas'?"

As an Alpha, his pride was everything. The idea that she saw their relationship as a game made his blood boil.

Her mouth curved, just barely. "I gave them something to talk about. They gossip about me anyway."

That did it.

"So that's what I was to you." His voice turned cutting. "A game. Three years of marriage, and you turn it into gossip?"

She opened her mouth to explain, then closed it. What was the point?

"I want a divorce."

He let out a cold laugh. He reached for a folder and tossed it onto the surface. Papers slid free--the divorce documents she'd had delivered.

"You came prepared," he said. "Very thorough."

"Our contract expired last night--this is just making it official."

He stilled completely. The contract expired last night? He had completely forgotten about it. But Freya--Freya had remembered it clearly. She'd been counting down the days, hadn't she? Waiting for her freedom.

For a heartbeat, nothing moved in the room. The silence stretched between them.

"You remembered." The words came out sharp, bitter.

"Yes."

His jaw tightened. "You didn't even speak to me first. Didn't think I deserved a conversation before you decided to blow up our lives?"

"There was nothing left to say."

"Nothing left to say. Right." His voice turned ice-cold. "And what about your little trip to The Royal Crescent Hotel? Was Jonas Saltzman there waiting for you?"

Freya's eyes widened in genuine shock. "Jonas?"

Why would he think she was with Jonas? Was he actually accusing her of cheating?

"I would never cheat on you," she said, her voice sharp with hurt and anger.

"But it doesn't matter anymore. I've already moved out, and my lawyer has drawn up a fair settlement. All you need to do is sign."

"I'm not signing this," Niklaus said coldly.His tone brooked no argument.

For a moment, hope flickered in Freya's chest. Did he not want to divorce her?

"Half of my assets?" He jabbed his finger at the papers.

His voice was getting sharper, crueler. "Really? Is that what this was always about? A big payday? Did you spend three years playing sweet and obedient just to cash out?"

The hope died instantly. Even now, he thought the worst of her.

"You've always thought I was a gold digger?"

"What else should I think? The moment our contract ends, you want half of everything I own."

Niklaus was beyond reason now, his anger making him cruel. "You married me to pay off your debts, didn't you? If it wasn't about money, what was it for? If you hadn't caught me at that party, you would have climbed into another Alpha's bed just the same."

Every word cut like a dagger. Three years of bowing her head, of enduring whispers and cruel gossip--every cruel rumor she'd ever heard about herself was now pouring from his lips like poison.

That was the cut that went deepest.

So this was it--this was the end.

"Keep your money," she said, her voice trembling with hurt and fury.

He looked up, confusion flickering across his features.

"I don't want your money," she continued. "Your name or anything from you except my freedom."

She straightened, gathering every ounce of dignity she had left.

"I, Freya Gilbert, reject you, Niklaus Lockwood of the Whitecrown Pack."

The formal words of rejection rang through the room clearly.

Pain ripped through her chest as she severed the mate bond herself. Each word felt like cutting away a piece of her soul.

He stared at her, completely stunned. Niklaus hadn't expected her to have the nerve to reject him first. Rage and panic flooded through him. He was supposed to be in control of this relationship, of this situation. How dare she reject him!

"The divorce papers included asset division because it's a legal requirement. I don't need your money."

She took a shaky breath, fighting to keep her tears from falling.

"Thank you for clearing my father's debts." Her voice wavered slightly.

"Thank you for giving me a home when I had nowhere else to go."

The words came harder now, each one a struggle. "This is goodbye, Niklaus. I hope you and the woman you love will be happy together."

She turned toward the door. Every step felt like walking through glass, but she forced herself to keep moving.

"No." Niklaus's voice rang out, hard and final.

She froze.

"I don't accept your rejection."