CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND FIVE - GLACIAL GREETINGS

The dismissal in Freya's tone was clear, but Anna refused to back down. "I'm willing to learn, Mrs. Ulfheim. I want to do things properly during my stay here." Freya's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Your stay here? Let me make something perfectly clear, Anna. You are not a guest in this house. You are here on sufferance, and only because Erik insisted. Your presence here is a disruption to our way of life, an insult to the very traditions you claim to want to understand." Anna felt as though she had been slapped. She struggled to maintain her composure as Freya continued, her voice growing colder with each word. "The most important tradition at Ulfheim is respect. Respect for our history, for our lineage, and for those who have earned their place here. You, my dear, have done none of those things. You waltz in here, expecting to be treated as an equal, when you have no understanding of what it means to be part of this family." Freya stood, her tall frame looming over Anna. "If you tru