Chapter Six – Freyr's Acceptance

Hera’s POV 

I couldn’t hear him in my room. Did he leave? Hesitating a little, I opened the door and peered out. A sigh escaped my mouth at seeing the bedroom empty. I emerged and wandered over to the door. It was locked, as I had expected. Now what? There was nothing I could do other than sit at the window and watch the beauty outside beckoning me.

The door clicked open and Stella walked in with a bright smile on her face. “I’m leaving, Hera. Take care of yourself. Maybe I’ll see you again.” 

My jaws dropped in surprise. Why was she leaving? “Leaving? Why?” 

“Mr. Andreadis gave me ten days’ leave!” I instantly knew what that meant. We would stay here for ten days! 

“Oh, I’ll miss you and your food!” 

“More my food than me. Right?” She chuckled and so did I. She left, forgetting to lock my door. My heart thumped with joy and I took baby steps to go out and explore the rest of the house. Of course, I wasn’t planning my escape yet. That would happen only when Felixe wasn’t around. 

I wondered where he was since I couldn’t hear him anywhere ever since we came in. Were the walls soundproof here? 

The moment I went out, a gasp of pure delight escaped my lips. I gazed all around me in awe. The lodge was much bigger than I had expected it to be. The vast living space merged with the open-style kitchen on one side and a huge patio on the other. Foliage and potted plants gave the place a natural look. Maybe Felixe loved staying in the lap of nature. I wondered what his home would look like! Would he take me there? 

There were two more bedrooms in the house, and I was sure Felixe was occupying the one next to mine. I didn’t want to check, instead going straight to the patio to inspect. The place was so beautiful, Hye prodded me to go inspect the surroundings. I didn’t pay any heed to her. Felixe would punish me if I disobeyed him, and I didn’t want to be locked up again. 

As I stepped outside on the patio, the fresh scent of the place numbed my senses. There was a well-manicured lawn beyond and my feet ached to walk on the smooth grass. I gave in and ran onto it, getting rid of my shoes to walk over it barefooted. It was indeed exhilarating!

All my life, I had lived in sub-arctic areas and walked only over snow! In Aromania, the summers used to be fun at our sprawling gardens, but later, when we grew up, everything changed. We were always at the academy for training and these simple pleasures of life were snatched away from us. 

‘Please, let me!’ Hye urged. She pushed herself to the surface and I could feel myself shifting. I quickly took off my beautiful dress to prevent her from shredding it to pieces. 

Hye yipped with joy as she ran all around the place, inspecting every corner. We were so lost we totally forgot about our captor for a moment. I felt free, running around and inhaling the fish abounding in the Back Bay. 

‘Can we go to the lake and catch a few?’ urged Hye, but I hesitated. Hye couldn’t restrain herself and ran in the other direction, the scent of a fresh catch driving her crazy. 

Before she could take another step forward, Felixe’s humongous wolf, Freyr, stood in front of us, blocking our path. Anger swirled in his ruby-red eyes as he glared at us. It made Hye whimper, knowing what he was capable of! Freyr was the most dangerous wolf to come across! I didn’t want to deal with him at all! There was no surety if I would be alive in an encounter with him. 

“Where do you think you were going?” he snarled at us with his fangs bared. Hye whimpered again, taking backward steps ready to shift.

I panicked, looking around for my clothes. Obviously, I didn’t want to be naked in front of the beast to seduce him more! I whirled around to run back to get my clothes without realizing how impossible it was to outrun Freyr. I could hear him behind me and before I could reach my clothes, Hye shifted, leaving me naked and vulnerable! 

The next thing I knew was my shoulders being plowed into the grassy lawn as Freyr hit me from behind. It slammed my jaws against the ground, making my head reel in the process. In a split second, he nudged me with his snout, turning me over to face him. At that moment, I forgot my pain, and my nakedness as I trembled with fear. His searing eyes had me hypnotized as they held my gaze! I couldn’t move a muscle, watching him move closer to my neck. 

Compared to his giant nightmarish stature, I was like the trout Hye wanted to eat. I squeezed my eyes shut, praying to the goddess that he didn’t eat me up! I had heard of feral wolves devouring everything they liked! Did they even ravish their mates? I didn’t want to know! 

I could feel his cold nose sniffing my face, then trailing his muzzle closer to my neck. I was too petrified to open my eyes or speak. My body trembled like a leaf, trapped underneath the humongous beast! With my breath stuck in my throat, I knew I only had minutes to live! Maybe he would take his revenge right now! A low growling sound erupted from his throat, but I was too scared to look. 

“Please don’t kill me!” I whispered as tears crept into my eyes, trickling down my cheeks. 

He smelled the tears before licking them away! Then, to my utter astonishment, he nudged the loose tendrils of hair aside with his cold nose! A gasp of horror escaped my lips, waiting for him to bite me, but he didn’t. Instead, his muzzle hovered over my lips and he licked them! Was it a kiss? 

I opened my dazed eyes to look at him. His eyes were dark as they swept over my naked body. I could sense an inner struggle deep within him. Was he blocking Felixe out just to be with me? He might be a feral wolf, but at that point, he seemed like a giant teddy bear who could do with a little cuddle. I hesitated a little before reaching out to touch the smooth glossy fur on his cheek! Strangely, he leaned into my hand! 

“You won’t harm me, will you?” I whispered, touching his head to stroke him. A low purr erupted from his throat and he stepped off me. I smiled at the feral beast I had tamed. In fact, I liked him better than Felixe. At least Freyr was approachable, unlike Felixe! 

He totally lost control and started licking my face happily, yipping and prancing around me like a little pup in love! 

“I like you!” I grinned at his playfulness, getting up to grab my clothes. He plowed me down again, not allowing me to get my clothes. Typical male behavior! 

“I’m cold, Freyr!” I laughed, pushing him away. “Please, I’ll give you a kiss if you get me my clothes.”

I could see his eyes glow as Felixe struggled to return! I knew he was there, watching us, listening to us, maybe getting annoyed at his wolf for keeping him in time-out, but I was enjoying myself with Freyr. 

He got off me and ran to get my clothes, bringing them back to me. I wore them while he watched me longingly. I laughed at the look in his eyes as if begging me to kiss him. 

“Come here!” I opened my arms out to him and he trotted right into them. With a smile, I wrapped them around his soft, warm, furry body, pressing a kiss to his forehead. He closed his eyes, surrendering to me while I embedded my face into his body and just held him close. I could feel Hye purr, and I closed my eyes to let them connect. 

‘Mate!’ he mind-linked with me. It shocked me to the core. Did Freyr accept me as his mate? 

A growl had me open my eyes and look at Freyr, but it wasn’t him in my arms. It was Felixe, totally bare in my embrace, flush against my body! 

Instantly, I released him as if burned while he stared at me with dark, glowing eyes. “I.. you.,” I stammered, ready to flee. 

He grabbed me by the waist and pulled me back into his arms, flush against his bare chest. I couldn’t look down to see how aroused he was! Why couldn’t he just carry his clothes around? 

“Felixe, let me go.” He tightened his hold on me, grabbing the back of my head to compel me to look at him. 

“No.” He sounded angry, as he gazed back at me with searing eyes. Now what did I do?

“I’ll go back to the room and stay there, I promise.” Yet he didn’t release me, grinding his rock-hard co*k against me. It caused strange sensations to course through my body. I could feel a throbbing deep within me, ready to erupt. What was happening to me? 

“Kiss me the way you kissed Freyr!” I gaped at him in horror. Was he jealous of his wolf?