Chapter Thirty-Seven
Two days passed without new sightings or smells in the air.
The twins were often outside, doing patrols, but Freya didn’t want to feel cooped up at the Alpha’s house.
A gilded cage was still a cage, after all, and she argued she’d already spent enough time in jail without having committed any crime.
The twins didn’t want her outside, but both Luna and Evelyn stood their ground: Freya wouldn’t be a prisoner inside her own world.
Reluctantly, the Alpha agreed to assign two more soldiers to escort her, since the strange smells all seemed to be directed at her.
He was, however, adamant that Freya could not leave the house without being accompanied by her mates.
So, instead of going to work with Tanya, she was now in a sleek black car with two shifters by her side.
School had already started, and Tara was attending the local high school, where Jon was also teaching, and the teenager was exhilarated by the new school environment, smaller than the one she’d left behind, but no less exuberant.
Human students mingled with shifters, none the wiser about them.
She’d also given a lot of thought regarding the whole “back to school” thing again and was seriously considering getting her GED. She didn’t know what she wanted to do in the future but, then again, there was no rush. She was working, she had a home, and she was happy for the first time in forever.
Even so, she called the principal’s office, under the guise she’d been in an accident following her parents’ death and that she wanted to get her GED. The woman on the other side sympathetically provided all the information she needed, which lead her to enroll in some online classes.
Alpha’s house had a swimming pool, and Freya used it during the afternoons when the water was warmer. She still wore a full swimsuit but was getting more confident by the day.
The twins continued working at the gym, besides whatever the hell it was they did for their uncle; sometimes, she only had one of them for the night, others, she had none. Which was why their time together was so precious.
Her newfound confidence in herself also allowed them to explore sexual paths that had been hidden from her or forgotten.
Declan had a more dominant streak than Ciaran, but each had their own way of making her feel like putty in their hands.
She was happy, she felt safe and she loved and was loved in return.
It was easy to forget that there were still rogues around.
Another full moon arrived, and the Alpha took precautions related to Freya’s safety.
Now that they were mated, there was no danger of the wolves attacking her, but still, a shifter needed its better part to keep him under control, and Freya had no wolf of her own to contain the two beasts.
He kept his animal part severely contained, with all the power an Alpha could muster, and watched as his nephews shifted into their wolves, and how Freya was reacting.
The slightest discomfort from her side would make him imprison the two wolves.
But Freya was astonished of how ... domestic ...
the two beasts seemed. She couldn’t see her husbands in their animal form, but they were there, somewhere.
They both nuzzled her neck with their snouts, the same way Ciaran and Declan did in their human form, and settled near her, like a giant furry blanket.
That’s how they passed the first night of the full moon, while all their pack was outside, on the ritual grounds.
The day that went to hell started normally.
They got up, had breakfast together, and went to the gym.
The day was slow, as the students only filled the classes during the afternoons, and usually the mornings were taken by housewives or elders.
Freya didn’t know if all the elders that came to gym were shifters or not, but some seemed pretty in shape for older guys.
The desk phone rang, and she picked it up, professional as ever.
“Frey? Come outside, I have something to show you.” The call had some noise in the background making it harder for her to know who was calling, and she frowned.
“What? Who is this?”
“Tara, who else?” asked the teenager impatiently.
“Shouldn’t you be at school?”
“I was, but I skipped the last hour. It was gymnastics, not that I need anything of the sort, anyway. Come outside.”
She shook her head, amused. That girl was a real catch ... and she'd get into trouble if her cousins or uncle found out she was skipping school.
She hung up and looked at the clock. Declan left after taking her to the gym, and Tanya and Ciaran were both in the middle of their training. Nobody would miss her for five minutes.
She left, and once outside, she looked around. The parking lot was full, but then again, so was the coffee shop next to the gym. Where was that girl?
“Hey, Freya!” someone called and she looked around. Near the corner of the building, a slight frame was waving, trying to catch her attention.
“What are you doing there?” she asked, but then she frowned.
That wasn’t Tara. In fact, if it weren’t for the baseball cap and sports jacket, she wouldn’t even guess the person was a teenager.
The first wave of apprehension washed over her when she realized she had been lured out of the gym ... and out of safety.
In the next second, a hand covered her mouth, and a rough arm grabbed her head and slammed it against the building wall, growling, “It’s about time, bitch.”
Darkness started to creep in the corner of her sight, but she fought to stay conscious. Trying to remember the self-defense classes the twins gave her, she tried to kick her assailant, bite, elbow...
“Stupid bitch.”
With two more slams into the wall, Freya lost the battle to stay conscious. When the darkness took her, her last thoughts were of sorrow...