Chapter 37
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
Chasen rushed to his brother’s side, looking down at Freja for a moment before flicking his gaze between their mother, father, and Grayson. The three of them were in on this together. There was no shock on their faces. This was planned. He couldn’t believe it. He looked down at Hunter.
“Hunter,” Chasen said quietly. Hunter glanced up at his brother. “You’re back to normal.” He gave him a weak smile. He then looked over Freja and his heart sank when he saw the location of the stake in her back.
Hunter looked back down at Freja, whose eyes slowly opened. A smile spread across her face as their eyes met.
“There are my beautiful, stormy eyes,” Freja said quietly.
“Freja.” Hunter looked at her pained expression. The stake was wedged right where her heart would be. There was no way it would have missed it. She didn’t have long to live … he had fought off the blood potion but was going to lose his mate anyway. He watched as her eyes shifted to Lita.
“Thank you,” Freja said as she winced a bit from the pain in her back. “But do you think you could take this out now?”
Lita knelt down beside Freja. “Okay, prepare yourself, alright? Make sure your wolf is ready to heal you.”
Hunter looked at his mother and Freja in confusion. What was going on?
“Ready?” Lita said as she gripped the stake. Asher knelt by Lita’s side with a thick cloth. The moment Lita pulled the stake out, he applied firm pressure to the wound.
Hunter looked at the stake, furrowing his eyebrows. He quickly glanced at everyone and could see that Chasen was just as confused as he was.
“Could someone tell me what the hell is going on?” he growled, annoyed but relieved. He thought Freja was on death's doorstep. She was wounded, but it wasn’t fatal.
Freja started to explain, but Lita rested her hand on Freja’s arm.
“Just concentrate on healing. I’ll explain.
” She looked at her son. “There was only one shot at this. When Freja and I went out to talk, we were figuring out the best way to reach you. The only thing we both agreed on was that you needed to see your mate hurt. But not just hurt … you needed to think her life was in danger. We hoped this would be enough to help you fight through the blood potion. And luckily it was. I took one of her stakes and we cut the end off of it. This way it would look like she had been stabbed through the heart. Instead, I just shoved a blunt, flat stake into her skin, creating a bloody mess but nothing life threatening.”
Hunter began to tremble slightly in relief. He let out a breath and met Freja’s gaze. She was going to be okay, and the blood potion was no longer a problem.
“So, what was it that you and dad had planned then?” Hunter looked at both of his parents kneeling across from him. He figured they must have had something up their sleeves and he wanted to hear it.
Asher smirked with a shrug. “We were going to do what we had to. If this didn’t work, your mother was going to take Freja and seal her in Elysia.
We would keep you both safe from each other while we worked on a solution.
We were hoping we could maybe work something out with one of the deities, or try to put Freja’s soul into another person.
We weren’t exactly sure what would work. ”
“So, you were going to take my mate away from me.” Hunter looked at both of his parents in annoyance.
“We were going to try to make it so you could see Freja again. Even if it had to be in a different body. An accident was bound to happen, and we were not going to let you have that on your conscience.” Lita looked at the wound on Freja’s back.
“Good, it’s already sealed over. I guess I won’t be doing any healing today.
” She then rose to her feet. “Luckily, I’m a healer, so I know exactly where to lodge the stake and cause the least amount of damage. ”
“Well, I don’t know why I wasn’t let in on any of this,” Chasen growled, his arms crossed in front of him.
“Sorry, Chasen. After Lita linked the information to me, I just quickly gave Grayson the rundown. There really wasn’t any time to go over everything with you, too.
” Asher chuckled a bit as he stood up beside Lita.
They were both relieved that everything had worked out.
Seeing their son so tormented was more than they could stand.
Freja sat up, and Hunter helped her to her feet. “I think it’s good enough that I can move around now,” Freja said as she looked over her back shoulder.
“You heal very quickly,” Lita observed, intrigued by Freja’s powers.
“That was some surge of strength there at the end,” Asher said, giving his son a crooked smile.
“Him shaking us off doesn’t count, though. He was half transformed into his new, tribrid self,” Chasen said with a grin. Honestly, he was shocked at his brother’s strength. The power that came from him was completely unexpected.
Hunter smiled, listening to their conversation, but his eyes were fixed on Freja. He cupped her cheeks, leaned his forehead onto hers and gazed at her face. He hadn’t been able to look at her and was soaking in every small detail that he could.
“So, what’s the plan now?” Grayson asked, looking at Lita and Asher.
“Well, now we’re going to take a breath and properly meet Hunter’s mate.” Lita smiled.
Hunter lifted his head away from Freja and pulled her into his chest, holding her tight. “Yes, I think a proper introduction is in order before you guys leave.”
“We can stay with you longer, Hunter. We don’t have to leave right away,” Asher said as he held Lita next to his side. They did have some planning to do, but Hunter came first. They would stay with him as long as they were needed.
“You’ve been away from Elysia for too long already.
We’ll be okay now. We’re going to take a couple of days and settle down.
Then, we’re going witch hunting. The pack can handle things from here.
” Hunter looked at his dad and smiled. He appreciated them staying for as long as they had, but the witch fight was his fight.
His parents still had a demon war to prepare for, which reminded him of something.
“So, what was it that you saw when you were traveling that you couldn’t mention to me earlier?” Hunter asked, looking down at Freja.
“I saw the original demon Mephisto.” Freja looked up into his silver eyes.
“We’re going to have a rough battle coming up soon.
Honestly, we’re going to need a strong deity in order to have a chance.
And even then, it won’t be an easy fight.
” Freja frowned, but Hunter smiled at her and reached up to rub her back.
“It’s going to be fine. Reiya has Leviathan as her summon.
I have faith in him. We’ll take down anything that’s thrown our way.
No matter how tough it is, we’ll get through it.
” Hunter's eyes then fell on his parents, his red energy flowing around him in swirling motions. He had fully unlocked his power as the King of the Werewolves and was also a tribrid now. He could feel his strength pulsing inside him, and he would unleash all of his power in the demon war. His mate was by his side, and she’d marked him.
He was riding on a high at the moment. “Let’s go back to the house and have some REAL family time now.
I want you to get to know Freja better.”
“I would like that.” Lita could already tell Freja was a strong mate who was devoted to her son, and she liked her.
Freja sat next to Hunter on the couch. He had his arm around her, holding her tightly by his side.
Jin was sitting next to Chasen in a similar fashion.
Jin was so excited to see Freja that she started crying when she heard everything was okay.
She was concerned about Ciana, too. Freja told her Ciana said she would come after she finished a couple more tasks.
The group had a relaxing evening together.
Hunter smiled in contentment. Finally, he was able to properly introduce his mate to his parents.
They were getting to know her just like they did with Jin, and they had accepted her.
She was his world, and he was finally able to show the other important people in his life how wonderful she was.
This moment was still missing Reiya and Brody, but he knew they would love her.
Reiya and Brody had already met her once. And Reiya had saved her life.
“Are you guys going home in the morning?” Chasen asked as he stuffed a few chips in his mouth.
“We were thinking about staying and helping out against the witches,” Lita said as she set her gaze on Hunter.
Hunter smiled and shook his head. “That’s alright. We’ll handle the witches. Rosa’s brother’s coven will also be helping us out. We still have the demon war coming, and I know you guys are busy preparing the fairies for that. Thank you. I appreciate it, but I can take care of the rest from here.”
Lita started to protest, but Asher gently nudged her and smiled.
The two looked at each other, and she sighed.
Asher was letting her know that she had to let go a bit.
They did have a war to prepare for, and they needed to trust that Hunter could handle his own battles.
As much as they both wanted to rip apart some witches, this one was Hunter’s battle.
They needed to do their part in preparing for the major war that was coming.
“If you change your mind, you know how to get a hold of us,” Lita said with a small smile, in defeat.
It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Hunter. It was that Chasen and Hunter were her boys.
They would always be her little boys, and she wanted to protect them, but it was their turn to lead the Black Ice Pack.
“Well then, rather than leave first thing in the morning, I guess we’ll go ahead and head home tonight.
” Asher’s eyes met Hunter’s, an unspoken understanding simmering between the two.
Hunter had almost lost his mate. They’d been apart for a while, and they needed to spend some time together.
“We’ll come back to visit again soon, though. ”
“Maybe we can all get together soon. The WHOLE family. I miss Reiya and Brody. It feels incomplete without them.” Hunter smiled sadly.
“Don’t worry. I’m sure we’ll all be able to get together soon.
And once this demon war is over, we will make sure we plan a monthly family get-together,” Lita said, smiling.
She wanted nothing more than to have all of her family together.
To see all four of her children together at once.
This was only temporary, though. Once the war was over, they would make sure they saw each other often.
Lita and Asher stood up, and Hunter walked over and hugged both of them. “Thank you for coming and staying with me during this time. It means a lot to me. Even if you did plan to steal my mate.” He chuckled in minor annoyance, thinking of that.
“We’re always here for you, son.” Asher pulled Chasen into their big hug as well. “We’re here for both of you.”
Grayson hugged both boys while Asher and Lita said their goodbyes to their sons’ mates.
“Remember, we may be separated by distance, but not by our hearts,” Lita said, her eyes misty.
“If you need us for anything at all, then you send for us,” Asher said one last time.
“We love you all,” Lita said quietly as Asher tugged her away. This was always the hard part: saying goodbye again.
Lita and Asher walked outside toward their hippogryphs, with Grayson right behind them. “This separation is only temporary, Lita,” Asher said as he rubbed her arm gently.
“Yeah, the sooner we destroy those demons, the quicker we can all be a big family again. We can visit as often as you want then,” Grayson said cheerfully.
The three of them stopped and looked at the group that was already waiting for them outside.
“Leaving without saying goodbye?” Caden smirked.
“We knew it was late and didn’t want to bother anyone.” Asher smiled at his old friends.
Kristen ran over and threw her arms around Lita. “I miss you so much.”
“I miss you too.” Lita hugged her tightly.
“Don’t worry about your boys. We’re watching over them.” Garrett patted Asher’s shoulder, then pulled him in for a hug.
Caspian walked up to Lita then. “I’ll be seeing you soon, my queen. This is just a short goodbye for us.” He gave her a small hug and then turned to Grayson. “You better keep doing your job and keep her safe.”
Grayson chuckled. “Haven’t I always?”
Caspian patted Grayson on the shoulder and smiled. “Yes, you have.”
Caden hugged both Asher and Lita, then looked back at Rosa, who nodded for him to continue. “Once everything seems settled, we’re also moving to Elysia. The pack is in good hands here, and we want to live a quieter life with you guys. Now that Susan and Sam both have mates, it’s time.”
“It’s Lita and Asher, Caden. Who says it’s a quiet life?” Grayson smirked and rubbed the back of his neck. Caden laughed loudly.
“You know …” Lita looked at Kristen. “You and Garrett are also welcome in Elysia, if you choose that. Not trying to pull you away from your sons or the pack, but I wanted you to know that you’re more than welcome.”
“Yes, Asher mentioned that to us before. It’s something we’ll have to think about. For now, we both feel like our place is here. It’ll be better when we can visit everyone more. Just need to get the demons out of the way first.” Kristen smiled as Garrett placed his arm around her.
“It might be something we decide to do once everything settles down and we all survive this apocalypse.” Garrett chuckled and the group joined him.
“Take care of yourselves, and we’ll see you soon.
” Caden looked at his old alpha and luna with a sad smile.
It was hard seeing them go, almost as hard as it would be to leave his children behind when they moved to Elysia, but it was what he and Rosa both wanted.
It was where most fairies and their mates went to live out the remainder of their lives.
Lita nodded with a smile, glancing back once more at the place she used to call home. She would be leaving part of her heart behind.
Asher helped her onto her hippogryph and the three of them set off, waving goodbye to her friends and family.
“Be safe, please,” Lita said quietly. Her whole life had been altered because of the demons. A determined gaze fell upon her face as she looked forward. She was going to put a stop to the demons so she and her family could live their lives freely.