Heart of the Auburn Wolf

A Mother's Love

POV: Freya

If I had to choose a few words to describe my walk home, it would definitely be with the imaginary tail between my legs. My whole day was a crazy mess, starting with me slapping the Lycan f*cking King. When I heard that werewolf say the name "Elijah", I was sure of it and felt my blood leave my face. It was a pretty big deal for all the unmated girls in the pack when a new Lycan King was throned last year. Elijah Chogan is 24 years old, unmated and he inherited the title from his father, after winning 13 challenges to the death. I’ve never seen a picture of him before.

Then I was attacked and I woke up in the house of a human male that most likely witnessed a werewolf fight. On top of that, I left in a hurry, without having the chance to ask for directions. Thankfully, Nicholas' place was a cabin in the woods. It took me just a few minutes of walking aimlessly to recognize where I was, and another 50 minutes of walking to reach our territory. The full moon above me was gently lighting my way.

"I'm late anyway, might as well enjoy the forest." I think, as I walk leisurely and pass the border. Not even 10 seconds after, a patrol approaches me clearly in distress:

"We have been looking for you! Your father is awaiting you at once!!" His voice didn’t seem at all concerned for my father, but for me. I gulp. He is soon joined by Erik, my father's Beta, who was definitely mind-linked by the patrol. Erik also seemed to be breathing raggedly, waiting a second to catch a breath before saying:

"Where have you been, Freya?! I'm so glad you're fine! Come on now, your father is expecting us back home." And he grabs my wrist and pulls me with him. I feel a bit tired of being pulled around, so I decide to fight back this time and free my hand forcefully from his:

"I can walk without being pulled, thank you." It was easier than I thought it would be. Erik was probably not expecting me to do something like this, lessening his grip. However, I followed him peacefully. There's no other way when you’re a human and they are werewolves, unfortunately. I do notice him mind-linking someone, most likely my father, after which he looks at me with a face of concern. It must be bad.

Erik opens his mouth to say: "When we get there, please behave and don’t cause trouble. We have guests over at the house for the yearly Alpha reunion."

A fleeting thought crosses my mind as I sigh, mostly confused by this weird behavior: "Of course, another event which takes me by surprise because I cannot hear their mind-links."

We reach the Pack house, which is more like a huge mansion, a bit isolated from the rest of the village. My family, as well as the Beta's and Gamma's families reside here. Important guests that live too far away to travel back to their own home are also given rooms here when needed. The place is like a maze. Erik goes ahead and takes a right from the hallway, leading me in a room I used to be forbidden to enter as a child, my father's office. He opens the door and there he is, my father sitting at the desk, facing the door. My mother is standing at his right, with one hand on his shoulder. After me and Erik enter the room, Lorik, who has been standing near the door, closes it behind us. They remain standing by the door, as if keeping others from entering... or exiting. The mood of the room is dark and the air feels heavy. After a few seconds, the silence is broken:

"How dare you?!" My father grits through his teeth, looking at me, for the first time in 5 years. I barely have time to open my mouth before he cuts me off:

"How dare you do this to us?!" followed by his fist slamming the desk which makes me jump. My mother visibly grips his shoulder tighter.

But all of this only makes me more confused. "Dare do… what?" I ask carefully, maintaining the eye contact that I've longed for and confident in my innocence.

"Don't pretend you don't know!" My father gets angrier and his tone increases as he enumerates: "We keep you under our protection after everything you've done. We feed you from our resources despite pulling the Pack back. We allow you to work in a human city, and this is how you repay us?! Associating with a hunter?! He killed Hilda, you worthless scum!"

Only when he stops I realize that I was clenching my fists so tightly that I drew blood. I am deeply confused as to what he is talking about, but my mind only focuses on his frustrations. My jaw tensed and I bit my lip to stop myself from replying and making this worse. My father took a deep breath and looked at me with the disappointment that only a father could pull off, and then he said, emotionless:

"I should have just killed you 5 years ago."

My mother put her hands on her mouth, to cover the sobs and tears that were visibly challenging her.

My hand instinctively went to my pendant, which felt hot to the touch. "Perhaps he should have." I think. He could’ve reached in my chest and pulled out my heart, beating and vital, and wrung it out in his hands. It would hurt less.

However, anger soon took over my whole body and at this point, I was willing to put my life on the line just to say everything I've been holding in:

"Protection, you say?" I spat, "What protection is that when most kids of my age were bullying me, throwing me around and you'd walk by and say nothing?! I've paid for all the food that's gotten in my mouth, if you care to know, and working in the human city has made my life actually bearable compared to this community of a**holes you call "pack"."

Everyone went silent. Nobody in the Pack took the time to get to know me after I've become... lesser. I used to be a quiet and isolated teen, afraid to make any more mistakes, so my outburst was definitely unexpected. To my defense, I had a long and tiring day. Firstly, I slap the Lycan King without realizing it was him, and then I get attacked by Clare and Hilda and end up being questioned by Nicholas who might have seen werewolves. Now, there's this thing about a hunter.

My father burst a vein on his forehead, but he was still processing what was happening as his mouth was still open but no sound was coming out. Even so, I was not done:

"What the hell do you mean by associate with a hunter? I have no f*cking idea what you’re talking about but I'd surely like to meet the guy, he sounds delightful!"

I could tell this was the final straw when my father's eyes went black.

"This is the end." I think as I sigh softly and brace for what's to come. I watch as my father shifts into Stark, a wolf which used to play with me when I was small, used to let me ride him into the forest and let me play with his raven-colored soft fur when we would stop in a meadow. He's also the same wolf that has been visiting me in my nightmares for 5 years, chasing me like prey for what felt like forever.

My father's office was huge, as it usually had to accommodate a large conference table for meetings with the Elders or other Alphas. Even so, Stark made the room feel small. He was angry. His ears were laid back, his tongue was licking its lips while growling. He stayed there for a second, staring at me. I stared back, with my head up. I wanted to not feel like a prey for a moment, I guess. The black wolf began walking towards me, slowly, as a sign that I was not considered a threat. With the corner of my eyes, I noticed another black shadow. My mind had been solely focused on Stark and I didn’t notice Skadi, my mother's wolf. She was smaller in size, but agile. She jumped over the desk and bumped into Stark, sending him flying into the library on the wall. The slam was so powerful that Stark went through the wall, creating a wave of dust. There were pages floating around. While waiting for Stark to stand up, Skadi threw me a look, and I understood: "Run", she meant.

I nodded and turned towards the door. Erik and Lorik looked at each other confused, seemingly coming to a silent agreement. Erik soon began coughing violently, quickly followed by Lorik.

I took advantage of the chance they gave me and cracked open the door, as little as possible, and I ran. When I took the left turn towards the main door, I noticed Aiden making a puzzle on the kitchen table. I wished I could have stopped and explain everything to him, but I heard steps coming down the stairs. I'm assuming the guests must have become worried. Hence, instead, I chose to whisper: "Bye, Little Fire", knowing his tiny ears would instantly pick up the nickname by which only I called him.

Then, I exited the door.

Behind me, I heard more thumps and thuds, but I didn't look back.

I ran.

As long as my weak, human legs could take me.