3. Frey — Family

Frey

Things didn't go exactly as I planned at the pack house, so I had to return home to grab a quick breakfast for the kids that were victims of last night's incursion. After I made sure I'd fed and clothed the kids, I grabbed a few of my things and put them in Logan’s room before I headed off home. I hadn't seen my parents since last night's ordeal.

Marching from the manor, I clenched the plastic bag to my fist and moved past the densely packed housing structures. There was a forest of rosewood, beech, red oak and silver birch trees. I had to visit my father at the healer's enclave. Heard he wasn't so lucky during the battle. I appeared in front of the hospital, which had wonderful lighting, and I marched into the hallway, heading for the nurse's station. “Hello.” I waved at the nurse behind the counter. She was dark-skinned with curly chocolate dread and had a clipboard clutched to her palm.

“Hey. Frey, your father has been expecting you.” She set down the clipboard and moved out of the counter with a grin. We took a long walk down the hallway and appeared at the door where the nurse had admitted my father. 

“Thank you.” I replied with a grateful expression. 

“Anytime, Frey.” She said and returned to her duty post. I stepped into my father's ward and he turned to me with a huge smile. 

“Frey, how are you? I heard what you did last night.”

“I guess news travels like wildfire,” I chuckled, head bowed. Denzel Hemming was my number one support. He'd always told me to go for what my heart desires, regardless of the world's opinions. “Dad, I'm sorry. I wasn't there to protect you.”

“Hey. It's just a broken arm. It'll heal in days.” He told me. Right, I didn't know because I had no wolf. Werewolves had heightened abilities of sight, sense, healing factor, speed, agility, and stamina, etc. My face paled, and he took my hand and caressed it. 

“I see you got the royal ring on your finger. He's finally proposed.”

“Yes, he did, this morning. Um, dad, I'd like to tell you something.” 

“I'm all ears.” He smiled. 

“I'm pregnant. The child is Logan's. Please don't tell mom.” I announced and pleaded at the same time. The look of over excitement on his face was something I wouldn't forget in a very long time. 

“It's ok. I can't wait to meet my grandchild.” He said to me, and I leaned in for an embrace I hadn't realized I needed. 

I left the hospital and trod down the gravel path that led to my home — a brown-walled bungalow surrounded by a thorny bush. I sauntered into the house when I arrived, and I saw my raven-haired mother sitting in the living room. My bag slipped from my fingers and my mother raced toward me. “Sleeping over at the Alpha's house, really?” My mother wasn't my number one pillar, so she didn’t disappoint my expectations. 

“I'm fine, mom.”

“You stayed over at the pack house. How could you be so stupid?” Here we go, raining abuses on me.

“If I hadn't been there, those kids would have died.” I retorted. She seized my hand where Logan put the royal ring, and I tried to pull away. There was no need to hide from the truth. She recognized the royal ring anywhere. She knew he proposed to me and I accepted. “What is this?” She hollered as she strived to snatch the ring from my finger, but I didn't let her. 

“Let go of me. Was I supposed to turn him down? I'm in love with Logan, for fuck's sake.” I shrugged with a conflicted expression. 

“You know this marriage won't come through. Frey, you have no wolf. You really think the Council will let you marry the Alpha? It will make his reign weak. He needs someone from the royal bloodline — Grainne or Jacinthe.” 

“Well, things are about to change,” I was saying when I turned on my heels. “I felt something last night, and I think I'll shift in two days.” I babbled with a confident smile. 

“We both know you won't shift. You're just going to remain wolf-less for the rest of your life.” She cursed, her voice laced with venom. The smile on my lips faded, and I backpedaled to avoid her devilish touch. She said these things to me like she knew my future. I didn't wrong my mother, yet she was recklessly determined to make every passing second of my life a living nightmare. 

“You know, mom, I thought you'd have my back.” I muttered and walked out of the house, slamming the door on my way out. I didn't want to be anywhere near my mother. It was Logan and me against the world, but I really hoped that my family would support me too — my mother. I'd been seeking her approval since I was a kid, but all she did was treat me with revulsion and unkindness. Approval sucks! 

I stomped my way to my best friend's house, burying the outright rage I felt. I wandered past three columns of houses and saw him sitting on the front porch. His sister's death devastated him. He looked up at me with tears in his eyes. I knew what happened. The kids I saved from last night were his cousins, and his sister worked at the pack house just to make ends meet to feed her children. She lost her mate two years ago when hounds invaded the Sentinels just outside the pack's territory. I sat next to him and placed my hand on his shoulder. 

“I should have been there to protect them. Now the kids will grow up without a father or a mother.” He wailed. His skin was pale and there were dark circles under his eyes. 

“It's ok. We're here to take care of them. Both of us. I promise.” He nodded, and I pulled him into an endearing embrace. 

“Jax, you're cold.”

“I'm fine. Can I see them?” He inquired and wiped the last of his tears.

“Yes, they're at the pack house. We could go see them now.”

“Congratulations.” He said when he saw the ring on my finger. 

“Thank you,” a genuine smile formed on my lips. I was really glad that he had my back. Jax and I have been friends since I was five. We used to steal cookies from his mother's kitchen, escape to the riverside and enjoy them before a swim. When I was fourteen, I almost drowned, but he was there to save me. He was my knight in shining armor. Now I had to be his. “Jax, I know there's a lot going on. I'm so sorry you lost your sister, but I promise to be here for you for however long it takes.” I reassured my friend and nudged his shoulder. A confident smile tugged at the corner of his lips and we set off to the pack house. 

We arrived and met some kids playing by the water fountain with Logan and Tyler. I halted in astonishment when I saw how excited the kids were to play with their Alpha. It soothed my soul and at that moment; I knew that my pup would have a wonderful man as a father. Logan met my blissful gaze and set the little kid he held down, then he marched toward me. 

“Uncle Jax!” Jada, Annalise, and Austin roared with joyous laughter as they raced toward Jax, who was right behind me. 

“Hey.” Jax said and pulled the kids into an embrace. I'm lost with Jax and the kids that I didn't realize Logan was standing in front of me. My gaze met his, and he tried to pull me into his pool of fluttering emotions, but I stepped back. 

“Not in front of the kids.”

“Can I talk to you? Away from all this?” He sighed. 

“Yes. Whatever you need.” I was walking away with Logan when I saw Tyler with Jax and his cousins. They looked magnificent together. I stood five steps from the fountain and took Logan's hands. 

“I suggested to the Elders that we go to the witches for help.” He said.

“The witches? Are you sure they'll assist us?”

“Maybe, but If I want to change things around here, I have to reform the alliances that were broken by my ancestors.”

“You're inviting them back to the pack?”

“Yes, but not just because they'll help with the spells. I want them back here, to live with us. It's a cruel world out there and they need us to survive.” 

“We need each other.”

“I hope we come to a mutual agreement.”

“Sure. When are you leaving?”

“Soon. Keaton is rounding up Betas for the journey.”

“Great. I need you to return to me in one piece.” I said and put my hands around his shoulder. 

“Hmm.” He moaned. 

“I think I might shift during the crowning ceremony.” I said out of the blue. The message enlivened him and he tugged me closer to himself. 

“That's great news.”

“Do you think it'll be painful? Jax says that you have to break every bone in your body to shift.” I inquired. Logan had his first shift when he was sixteen; wolves of the Alpha bloodline had their shift earlier than most wolf bloods, so I thought he'd have more experience since he had been shifting every full moon from the first night. There was also something special about our wolf bloods. They had wolf abilities that manifested in their human forms. For Logan, it was the Alpha aura. He could use it to subdue an entire wolf pack and turn them against each other. 

“Yes, but it gets better when you embrace your connection with the moon,” he explained it to me. “Do you think it'll harm our pup?” There was a look of concern in his eyes. 

“No. I'm three weeks ahead. Wolves can't shift after their third month.”

“Alright.” He said. Two SUVs came to a halt behind the fountain and Logan laid a swift kiss on my lips. 

“Be safe.” I said and patted his broad shoulder as he walked to the SUV where the Gamma heir and Sentinel leader had gathered. 

“Tyler, come on!” He said to his friend. They boarded the vehicle and took the road that led out of the pack's territory. 

I released a sigh and marched toward Jax. The kids were trying to pull him apart. He wasn't always good with kids, but right now, he's doing a good job. “Frey, are you going to be our Luna?” Annalise, the young wolf blood, asked me, and I turned with a slightly embarrassed look on my face. I didn't know what to say. She looked so happy and hopeful. I knelt before her and took her tiny hands. 

“I want to tell you a secret. Promise not to tell anyone?” I inquired, and she nodded with a broad grin. I leaned closer to her ears and whispered, “Yes.” 

She jumped out of excitement and came closer to me. I waited for her reply. 

“I bet Luna Frey will buy me a princess dress, a tiara and a pair of shoes.”

“Yes. I will. You know what, would you be my flower girl?” I said, and she nodded and giggled. I rose to my feet and turned to the kids. 

“Come on kids, we have to get inside. It's getting late.” I said calmly, and the kids moved into the pack house. I stood next to Jax and smiled at him. There was a familiar peace in his eyes, and I was glad that seeing his family survive made him happy. 

“Are you taking them home?” 

“No. I need to clear out the house before getting them back in.”

“Alright. You could have dinner with us before we head for the vigil.”

“If you insist.” He shrugged, and we strode to the entrance. I was about to walk

into the foyer when I looked over my shoulder. I sighed and said a prayer to Diana, the moon goddess. Please keep my mate safe.