Chapter 21
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Hunter introduced Freja to everyone in the room, explaining to her that these were his closest group of pack members.
“That was some amazing fighting the other day,” Sam offered, with Renee at his side. He wanted to make their new luna feel welcome, and he was very impressed with her skills.
“I guess this means you are the new Queen of the Werewolves, if Hunter is the King,” Winston said with a grin.
“I wonder how that will work.”
Everyone looked at Susan, who only shrugged. “I mean, what with her not being a werewolf. I wonder how the other packs will take to her being their Queen.”
“About that.” Hunter’s lips curled up in a smile. “She is also a werewolf now, too. I guess when I marked her, I turned her into a werewolf. She is now one amazing tribrid … the most powerful luna the werewolves have ever seen, and that is including my mother.”
“No way!” Jin bounced up in front of Freja. “That is amazing! Is it because she’s your mate? Or is it anyone that you decide to mark? If you mark me, will I turn into a werewolf too?” A strong arm swooped around Jin and pulled her into his embrace.
Chasen growled lowly. “He gets those fangs anywhere near your neck, and there’s going to be trouble.” Jin flashed a smile up at him and giggled.
“I’m guessing it’s maybe because of what Susan mentioned.
My Queen would need to be a werewolf. Now, I don’t know if it’s mate specific or not, but this is something interesting.
If a werewolf takes a human mate and they want to become a werewolf, I could always see if I can change them.
I think I could mark their wrist instead of their neck.
Not sure if it would work, but maybe it’s something we can try one day.
” Hunter was intrigued by the idea. There were times human mates wished they were a werewolf so bad, just to share the same long life as the one they loved.
Maybe now it would be possible. As the first werewolf king, he had a lot to learn.
“Can I see your wolf, Freja? Please?” Jin begged as she bounced back in front of Freja.
Freja smiled and laughed quietly, shaking her head. “You really haven’t changed at all, have you, Jin?”
Jin smiled and looked at Freja. “You haven’t changed as much as you think you have, either.
” Jin could see the pained look in Freja’s eyes and she reached for her hand, grabbing the one that was not intertwined with Hunters.
“Freja, you’re still you. I see you. You were always one to overthink back then, and you’re doing it again now.
” Jin giggled and winked at her. She might have followed a path of vengeance, but she knew Freja.
She would have only killed those who deserved it.
She liked to hide behind a facade, pretending to be stronger than she was.
She even did it as a child. The truth was that Freja was actually a very sweet person.
She loved her parents deeply and was just severely wounded.
Freja needed a family, a constant in her life to keep her grounded.
She had that now, here … with Hunter. She just needed to open her heart and fully accept it.
Jin was going to help her see that she was the same Freja.
The girl who protected baby bird eggs from a snake.
The girl who cried when Jin skinned her knee.
The girl who secretly loved cute and cuddly things.
Freja’s eyes watered but she didn’t say anything.
Jin believed in her more than she believed in herself.
Inwardly, Jin’s words stirred a part of her that she hadn’t allowed herself to feel since she was a child.
She squeezed Jin’s hand and offered her a small smile.
She would try. She would try to be the person that Jin could see.
Who knows, maybe she still was that person.
Maybe she could be a demon killer and that person.
“Let’s go see your wolf.” Jin tugged on her gently.
“I guess it isn’t official until I shift, right?” A genuine smile reached Freja’s lips as she felt Hunter’s warm hand squeeze hers. She tilted her head and met his kind eyes.
“I’d like to meet your wolf, too.” Hunter looked at the others. “We’re heading to my personal training grounds for her first shift. You’re welcome to join us if you wish.”
“I’m coming. I can’t wait to see what her werewolf looks like!” Sam said in excitement and Renee nodded.
“Count us in, too. I want to see what kind of werewolf gets created by our alpha,” Adam said, and Winston grinned in excitement.
“Sues?” Hunter asked, already knowing Chasen and Jin were coming.
Susan’s shoulders lowered in a small sigh.
A small smile spread over her face. It hurt because she really liked Hunter.
But Freja was his mate, and she would have to accept that, even though she’d hoped maybe she was Hunter’s mate.
She had her own mate out there somewhere.
She needed to be happy for him, and she wanted to accept her new luna as well.
She nodded. “Of course. I want to see her as well. I wonder what a tribrid will look like.”
Freja looked at Jin and bit her bottom lip. “I hope I don’t mess this all up.”
Hunter gently tugged her toward the door. “You’ll do just fine, Freja. I’ll be with you every step of the way. Trust me.”
Freja smiled and leaned into his touch. She did trust him. Just like his sister, she could sense he was very caring and trustworthy.
Freja stood in the center of a large, grassy field. The others stayed a few feet away while Hunter kept his arm around her. She felt a bit nervous and didn’t know what to expect, despite the fact that Hunter had given her a step by step rundown of everything that he knew about shifting.
“Freja, you will need to concentrate on your wolf, Ember. Allow her to come forward and push yourself back. She can also help guide you.” Hunter reached his hand up and tucked Freja’s hair behind her ear.
He was enjoying touching her every opportunity he could, keeping his arm on her, too.
He needed the touch of his mate. He wasn’t going to force things, but he still needed to touch her.
It helped keep him calm and it would calm her as well.
Tonight would be a challenge. He wasn’t sure what to do about sleeping arrangements, but he would come back to that later.
Right now, he was going to help his mate shift.
Ember, Freja called out, inviting the wolf to speak to her. Ready to try shifting?
Tell them not to be alarmed. We may look a bit different than they’re used to, Ember answered her.
Great … something else that makes me a freak, Freja thought to herself wryly.
She looked into Hunter’s stormy eyes. “Ember said that we might look a bit different than you’re used to, so don’t be alarmed.
” She watched a grin spread over Hunter’s face.
He leaned forward, brushing his hot lips against her forehead, and she briefly shut her eyes at the contact.
Her body tingled from his touch, and she felt an involuntary shudder ripple over her.
She looked back into his eyes as he pulled away.
“I would never be alarmed by how your wolf looks.” Hunter took a small step back to give her some room to shift comfortably, but not too much room. He wanted to be close in case she needed him.
How different are we going to look? You looked normal to me in my head.
We’re different. We’re a witch, vampire, and werewolf combination. I’ll be a bit different in certain aspects. Don’t feel ashamed of us. We’re powerful, Freja. Ember knew how Freja felt about being an outcast in the werewolf world. Trust me. We are exactly what is needed as the werewolf queen.
Well, I guess if it helps us fight demons better, then I’m all for it, Freja said, her confidence returning. She needed to embrace what she'd become. She was already a lethal assassin. Now she was something far more dangerous.
Freja closed her eyes and drifted backward in her mind, feeling for Ember’s presence. She could see the burnt red fur of her wolf as she rushed toward her. As the wolf got closer, she ran through Freja, going forward while Freja remained back.
At that moment, Freja felt her body begin to change. She had a high pain tolerance, but it was still enough pain to make her face contort. She didn’t make a sound, though. Her hands changed into paws as she fell to the ground, her feet doing the same. She opened her eyes. Things were a bit blurry.
Freja was never one to step completely back, instead taking the lead with Ember.
Looking up, she could see the widened eyes of those around them.
She glanced at Hunter, whose eyes were also studying her intently.
He looked surprised but not afraid of her.
She looked down at her paws, expecting to see red fur.
Instead, even she looked at herself in a bit of shock.
Her body had small waves of flames coming off of her.
Are we on fire? Freja didn’t feel like she was burning alive or anything, but she did have flames emanating from her.
It’s a shield. We aren’t on fire. It’s like the equivalent of thorn mail. It protects us and injures others.
Injures others? Will this hurt everyone who gets close to us, then? Freja did not know how she felt about it.
The shield works based on our consciousness. We can injure who we wish and allow who we want to get close. Ember sat.
Freja furrowed her brows. Hold up. Time out, wolf. This is still my body. I’m in charge. I will use your body, but I’m staying in charge at all times.
You are in charge, but I usually take over our movements jointly when I’m out, Ember snorted out a bit indignantly.
No. I’m staying in charge at all times. Freja pushed herself forward a bit more, feeling pain as she did.
Both she and Ember did, as she tried to force things.
Ember began shaking her head, whimpering and pawing at her face, feeling the pain inside.
She saw movement out of the corner of her eye and let out a low warning growl to whoever was approaching.
She didn’t realize until after that it was Hunter, their mate.
“Hunter, don’t,” Chasen said. He didn’t know what to think of the flaming wolf, but it had just growled at Hunter, something unusual for a mate to do. Hunter looked back at Chasen and smirked, shaking his head. As if he was afraid of his mate.
Hunter wasn’t sure if the flames would burn him, but he could see his mate was in pain and he wanted to help. He reached out and rested his hand on her head. Easy. It’s okay.
Ember and Freja both stared out at him through her emerald green eyes. Freja was not about to give up the pilot seat. Even if Ember obeyed her, that wasn’t who she was. Ember, this doesn’t work this way. At least not now. I don’t know about later.
I guess it’s because of your vampire self that this is even possible. Ember sighed. The wolf and vampire had merged together, giving Freja full access to the front of her mind even in shifted form.
Freja felt Ember stand aside in her consciousness, still in the front but more in the copilot seat this time while Freja took control.
She was curious about herself. She wanted to see what she could do and how fast she could run.
Without saying anything, she pulled away from Hunter’s touch and took off running.
The trees blurred past her in beautiful shades of brown and green.
She felt the dirt sift through her claws as she pushed off from the ground.
Soon, she found herself in a small meadow, the tall weeds swaying in the wind, greeting her as she entered it.
She finally stopped and just stood there, listening to the sounds of the world.
All her senses were heightened. Inwardly, she smiled.
She’d felt so free while she was running.
She was faster than she’d imagined, too.
Her ears twitched as she heard the sound of paws running in her direction. The sound stopped as it got closer. The scent of her mate drifted to her on the breeze.
She turned around and looked at her mate, a beautiful gray wolf that was sizably larger than her.
The wolf walked up beside her, his dominant aura almost crushing her as he approached.
He nuzzled against her, and she leaned into him.
The two sat side by side as they looked out over the horizon.
Everything was changing so fast, and she was trying to catch up.
However, sitting with him right now gave her a feeling she’d craved and longed for. Being next to him felt like home.