RUINED SURPRISE

He got into the car as Freya slid into the driver's seat, inches away from him.

Her fingers ran over the steering wheel as she made a competent U-turn on the still-empty road, she drove, somewhat slowly, back toward Tulsa.

After what happened to Freya, she developed an overly kind heart. To her, she vowed never to be the source of another person's pain or sadness. Whosoever she came across, got a piece of her bright spirit that shared happiness and love. Freya stayed away from anything that could trigger her panic attack or remind her of who she was before she earned her freedom.

Freya attempted to talk to him. She liked to chatter, this female. 

The stranger was fine with sitting back and listening to her, scenting her and watching her.

As they neared the city and the road started getting busier, Freya lifted her cell phone and called her boss. She explained she'd be late, then held the phone from her ear while a male voice on the other end spoke loudly in an unfamiliar accent.

Freya rolled her eyes at the stranger and smiled, unworried. "He is a sweet man. Just don't piss him off or make excuses for being late," she said, clicking off the phone. "I wish that everyone was as easygoing as him."

Freya laughed, her red mouth opening. She had metamorphosed into an elegant, beautiful woman. Not staring at her would be difficult for any man. She was the true definition of a pretty damsel. 

The stranger leaned in closer to her, not hard to do in this little compartment in the name of a car, and brushed his scent onto her.

She glanced at him, again with the puzzlement of knowing something had happened, but not sure what. "It's dangerous for a woman to give strange men rides. I wonder why I'm not worried about you."

Because you're my mate. "Because you are helping me out for a good cause. I need you."

Drumming her long slender fingers on the wheel, "hmm, that sounds creepy. You say the nicest things in a very unsafe and suspicious way. If I didn't know any better, I would have thought that you were someone from my past up to no good."

Wasn't he from her past? She was too relaxed about him and it was so dangerous. Why would she throw away all her etiquette of handling strangers and not trusting people easily? For all she knew, this stranger could inflict real harm on her. And what would she do? Fight him off with her heels?

This stranger was a dangerous one from Freya's past, one she wouldn't appreciate ever speaking to if she learned the truth. But for her, it was a little gut in her feeling that was trying to warn her that this wouldn't end well for any of them. No, it was even going to be a day she wished she had run in the opposite direction immediately she set her eyes on this beautiful sin in the form of a well-endowed man.

The presence of this stranger awoke Freya's wolf needs. It has never happened. The craving to mate until they both passed out from exhaustion was there. Don't get her wrong, Freya had a healthy sexual appetite. But, it has never gotten this strong for any reason. She enjoyed her moments with Jake. It was fun and filled with a lot of role-plays. She just wanted to have a feel for this stranger. Him inside her, doing things to her body. 

Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Why was she thinking about this kind of thing? This was mentally cheating on Jake, and it was unfair.

Freya kept up the conversation through midtown traffic and up the south close to Jake's apartment.

"I can haul you a taxi to continue your journey from here. It would be safer and closer to your destination."

"I don't mind following you to drop off the car."

Freya gave the stranger a once overlook, briefly thought about it, and agreed. The idea was foolish. Well, what harm could he possibly cause in the environment she was familiar with?  

She continued the drive and finally arrived at a driveway that led into an enormous house. 

Freya parked the car and got out, and the stranger followed her.

Gates on either side of the house led to the backyard, and Freya opened one, beckoning the stranger to follow. 

He got in front of her and went through the gate first, his wolf sense urging him to make sure the way was safe for him to encroach.

The backyard overlooked the spectacular beauty of the ocean. Very serene, with only two houses at the far end, where they equally had a view of this one. By the side of the ocean, close to the end of the house's extension, parked a private yacht. Glass stairs ran from the end of the building to the balcony. A row of glass windows lined the back of the house, but the glare of the sun and the tint of the windows kept outsiders from seeing inside. 

The stranger felt uneasy being there. He knew the truth. He wasn't supposed to run into her. Head back and prepare to take what's his. What will help him gain back his powers? Or, allow her to find out who he was and ruin everything. The latter wasn't an option he should take. 

As they took the stairs and approached the entrance, they met a middle-aged woman in a maid's outfit. 

Freya looked astonished when she saw her. "Who are you?" She questioned.

The stranger sensed the increase in Freya's pulse.

"I am the new maid. The old one got fired this morning."

"Where's Jake?"

"He's in his study."

"I can't believe he didn't discuss this with me," Freya mumbled, storming towards Jake's study. 

"Ma'am, I don't think you can go in. He is occupied," the maid tried to stop him.

"Don't mess with me. Who are you to tell me what I can and can't do in my house? I don't mean to be rude. Leave the way," Freya fumed.

The maid gave way for Freya to gain access to the house.

Freya reached for the handle of one of the glass doors.

The stranger tried to get around Freya to enter the house first, but she was swift. She was opening the door and walking inside before the stranger could stop her, and he had to settle for following a step behind her.

What the stranger smelled inside the house wasn't dangerous. However. It was anxiety and happiness.

He saw why when he and Freya rounded a wall behind which stretched a huge kitchen. Cabinetry in a dove gray wood filled the walls, and the long counters were shiny granite. It was clean in here, with no dishes cluttering the counters, no one cooking something that smelled good, and no chatter and laughter as a meal was prepared.

As they got to the sitting room which maintained the same color pattern as the kitchen, it was adorned with balloons of different colors, a big billboard reading 'MARRY ME,' and a man kneeling with an open box of a diamond ring.

"Freya, will you be my forever?" Jake said with a pounding heart. "I don't need any more proof to know that you are meant for me. I love and cherish you, Freya. Complete my existence by marrying me, baby," Jake proposed.

"Oh, baby." Screaming, "yes. Jake." Shaking her head vigorously, "she leaned down and passionately kissed her boyfriend, now fiancé, on the lips.

"Now I can breathe. Thought you would have rejected the proposal," Jake let out a burst of nervous laughter before standing to his feet. He removed the thirty-carat Cartier cushion-cut black and platinum diamond ring and placed it on Freya's finger. "It fits perfectly."

"And must have cost a fortune, too." Freya kissed Jake again. "This is beautiful." She looked at her mind-blowing ring with so much happiness that made her cheeks red. "How were you able to put this together?"

"The thing is, I didn't plan to have you back until later. When the maid notified me that you were back, I just had to hurry up the process."

"We will talk about this new inclusion later on."

The stranger stepped in front of Freya, trying to put his massive body between her and the scene. 

For the first time, Jake noticed the stranger. "Who is that?" There was a shock in his tone.

The stranger was fuming and angry. Although it wasn't his place to feel bad, he couldn't help but feel that way.

Oh, sorry, babe. This is my friend, Karl."  She lied. It would be unbelievable that she invited a nameless stranger into her home. Who would believe that madness?

"Nice to meet you. I am Jake. Her fiancé," Jake, stretched out his hand for a shake.

The stranger glared at Jake, turned to Freya and said, "nice to see that you have done well with your life after these years, daughter of the bitch pack!" He spat.

Saying that Freya froze. Her suspicion has been finally confirmed. Did she just take the biggest risk of her life? Would she survive this? She should have smelled this danger and followed her instincts. After all these years, chaos still caught up with her.