Freya's POV
It felt as though I had been plunged into a realm of pure darkness, my body plummeting uncontrollably.
Within this vast, empty space, vibrant fragments floated above me, resembling paintings that dispersed in a flash.
Abruptly, I found myself in a dark forest, dense trees standing silently in the night, while faint moonlight spilled onto my face through the leafy gaps.
A heavy emotion weighed on my heart when a baby's cry echoed from all around me.
"Mommy."
The voice, though soft, resonated so clearly that I could even sense the faint sniffles in my ears.
Upon turning around, however, only an empty darkness persisted, with nothing altered beside me.
"Mommy."
The voice came again, this time with a hint of laughter—a child's laughter, seemingly longing for a playmate.
Unexpectedly, a ghostly light flashed from a distance, guiding me through the misty trees. In its soft glow, a small figure gradually emerged—a face both familiar and unfamiliar.
Attempting to draw near, I felt thwarted by an invisible force. My fingers couldn't reach the child, and a pang of despair welled up within me.
Another figure materialized and beckoned to the child, who joyfully ran toward her, fading into the distance.
Urgently, I called out, "Wait!" However, as if the child couldn't hear me, he continued to follow the person without acknowledgment.
I hastened my steps, trying to catch up, but my feet seemed burdened by profound grief, making each step heavy.
"Don't go!"
The child halted, turning his head and gazing at me with confusion in those clear eyes.
It was a face that looked exactly like Leo's, but it was evident to me that he wasn't Leo.
However, soon, the person next to him took him away again. In an instant, as if something crucial in my life had been taken away, I fell to my knees in that silent forest, tears wetting my cheeks.
"Don't go!" I cried out nervously, snapping my eyes open.
The black space instantly disappeared, replaced by a hospital room filled with the smell of antiseptic water. It turned out that what I experienced just now was merely a dream.
I slowly sat up and tilted my head to the side, finding a cute little baby in front of me.
It was Leo, babbling at me with wide-open eyes and little hands reaching out, as if longing for a hug.
I frowned at him, feeling the unique blood connection between us.
Yes, Leo was my child, alright, because I couldn't help but love him. But...
In a trance, I recalled the child from my dream.
What was going on here? Why did he look exactly like Leo?
I couldn't help but let out a long sigh.
Suddenly, a scary and bold speculation surfaced in my mind.
"Freya?" Just as I was wondering, a sudden rustling of footsteps came from outside the door.
Immediately afterward, the door to the room opened, and Kingsley slowly walked in, his face filled with worry.
"Freya, you're awake. Have something to drink first; you've been unconscious for a day." Kingsley carefully carried a bowl of hot soup, its aroma filling the room, but at the moment, I didn't have any appetite.
"Kingsley, I..." I pursed my lips, unsure of how to explain the current situation to Kingsley because even I myself felt that what I had just thought was too ridiculous.
At that moment, Jeremy hurriedly walked in. He went straight towards Kingsley, bent down, and whispered a few words in his ear. Kingsley's face instantly sank.
"What do you mean ... Grace is missing?"
I froze.
After Grace's plot with Robert and Alex was exposed, Kingsley killed Robert and Alex in a fit of fury, while Grace was imprisoned by Kingsley.
However, she was nowhere to be found now.
A strong sense of unease suddenly gripped my heart.
"Missing for a week, and you're just realizing it now?" Kingsley's anger intensified along with his questioning. "Check the surveillance! Examine them one by one! I need to find out where Grace is!"
Jeremy received the order and promptly left to inspect all relevant surveillance.
I gently patted Kingsley on the back before he finally calmed down. Softly, I said, "A person like Grace—how could she willingly be locked up for the rest of her life? I'm afraid that from the first day she was confined, she was planning her escape. Now is not the time to blame ourselves; we should speculate on where she might have gone."
Kingsley's cold face darkened; he tensed his jaw and slowly said, "She might have gone back to the Black Wolf Pack. It's just that..."
Kingsley fell silent, and I knew what he was thinking.
Alex and Robert were dead, and the Black Wolf Pack lacked a qualified successor with an Alpha bloodline. It was already in disarray, destined to slowly decline until it perished.
Why would Grace choose to return at this time?
After all, with the pack's decline, its members were bound to become Rogues, even if they didn't meet their demise.
Unless...
Suddenly, a terrifying thought surfaced, and I violently grabbed Kingsley's hand, locking eyes with him. "Kingsley, what if the Black Wolf Pack has found a successor with Alpha blood?"
Hearing my words, Kingsley frowned at me. "How can that be? Alex and Robert are dead, and as far as I know, Robert didn't find his mate or have children before he died."
"It doesn't have to be Robert's offspring!" I couldn't help but exclaim, my body starting to shake slightly at my own horrifying thoughts!
"Kingsley! The key to being an Alpha of a pack is having Alpha blood! Isn't that so?"
Kingsley finally grasped something, but he continued to frown as he looked at me. "You're right, but where could they find someone like that?"
A werewolf with Alpha blood would never abandon their pack to become the Alpha of another, unless the two packs merged. However, there was no news of the Black Wolf Pack merging with another pack.
"Kingsley," I muttered, grimacing. "I think I know where they found someone like that."
As I finished, I shared with Kingsley the dream I had while I was unconscious.
Werewolves rarely dreamed, but when we did, the dream usually hinted at some truth or another. This was even more pronounced in mates or loved ones with a special bond, like the dream I had earlier when Kingsley was in trouble.
"Are you suggesting that we might have another child? And he was taken by Grace?" Kingsley asked, looking at me incredulously.
"Yes! Remember what I mentioned before I passed out? When I was in labor, just before losing consciousness, I had given birth to a baby. That baby emitted a faint wolf howl upon being born, but soon after, I passed out again. What happened next is anyone's guess. Until I woke up, and you brought Leo to me, I could sense that his voice was different from the one I heard in the delivery room. Even though they looked exactly the same, they had different souls and wolves."
The more I spoke, the more plausible it seemed, and my body began to shake slightly. Kingsley, on the other hand, remained silent and deep in thought.
"Kingsley! You have to believe me! I can feel it... Kingsley, no mother would ever misrecognize her child." Seeing Kingsley's silence, I started to feel flustered, afraid that he wouldn't believe me.
Finally, Kingsley looked up at me and said seriously, "Freya, don't worry! I believe you! If it was indeed Grace who took one of our children, then all the doctors and nurses on that day must have been involved in this suspicious plan. I'm going to investigate all of this!"
Kingsley cupped my head in his arms and then gently patted my back.