The Rogue Queen

Chapter 8

Did he just say he wanted us? Hera asked in disbelief.

I believe he did. What the hell does that mean?

Ugh, that he wants us?

But he wants a fated mate.

OK, what he meant to say was that he wanted our body or us for a night? I don't know, ask him what he means, I don't speak boy and I can't think while he's shirtless!! It's distracting, I just want to lick every ridge of that stomach!

Why are you so gross and s*x mad?

Oliver stood there willing Freya to respond in some sort of way, to say anything. He hadn't meant to blurt that out to her, and even he didn't really know what he meant by it. He had been confused by his feelings ever since he met her.

"Son, I won't be responsible for your aunt barging into your room if you're not here in five minutes." Mike's laughing voice came through loud and clear via the mindlink to Oliver.

"Be right with you." Oliver responded to his uncle with a frown and then remembered that Freya was watching him.

"That was my uncle, they're waiting on us, we better go." He took a step forward and opened the door, expecting her to follow him. He stopped to look at her when she didn't motion to move. A smirk upon her face, a smirk that he very much wanted to wipe away with a kiss.

"Shouldn't you put on a shirt first? Not that I mind the view, but they might." Freya laughed as the corners of her smirk became a smile.

Oliver looked down at the shirt in his hand and pulled it over his head without another word.

Idiot! Gunnar chortled and not for the first time, Oliver wondered if it was possible to strangle his wolf. Normally his moves were slick and smooth, yet here he was all over the place, Ferya had him in some sort of vice grip and he didn't know how or why, and he was sure she didn't even realise herself. With the other she wolves, there hadn't really been much dancing around like this. He hadn't needed to make much effort to get them into bed. He was always clear to them that it was s*x, and he wanted his fated mate. And every time, there was usually some sort of drama as every wolf thought she would be the one with beer flavoured n*****s that would change his mind, and he would make them his Luna.

He'd never met one who didn't want a mate, nor one who stood tall when being rejected by their fated mate. Sure, she could be lying about not wanting a mate, but Oliver didn't think so, Freya didn't seem like she wanted to or needed to play games. Muscle memory took him to the dining room, the smell of lentil and ham soup wafted through the door that was slightly ajar, causing him to smile. It was his favourite, Sarah always made it when he came back. When he was a boy, she used to make it for him when he missed home or felt unwell.

His uncle and aunt were already sitting beside each other at one end of the long table. Four bowls were set out, a dinner roll on the plate next to them, and in the middle, one of Sarah's elaborate three tier China stands was filled with finger sandwiches and cakes. Normally Oliver had occupied the seat at the head of the table since he took over the pack but today Sarah had him sitting beside Freya, the large leather bound folders were sprawled in front of his usual space. Sarah smiled and stood as he came into the room, Freya following behind. He pulled out the chair for Freya to sit down before leaning across and giving his aunt a brief kiss on the cheek.

"I imagine you want to give me a grilling aunt Sarah." He said with a cheeky grin, 'but first let's talk about ceremony plans, get business out of the way."

"Of course dear' Sarah replied with a wry smile that let Freya know that it would be her getting a grilling alongside Oliver.

An Omega began to ladle soup into the bowls silently, Oliver nodded his head in thanks as Freya shifted in her seat feeling uncomfortable at being served. She knew the others would pick up on it.

"Thank you," she said quietly to the Omega who kept her head bowed.

"I want to invite all of the Omegas in the pack to the ceremony, give them all the night off, we can bring in other Omegas from other packs to provide service on the night, we'll pay them of course. Any Silver Spring Omega who would prefer to work will be given double pay and time off in lieu for the evening. I also don't want my guests separated. Ranked members will mix and be treated the same as Omegas." Oliver said casually whilst looking to see how his aunt and uncle would react.

Freya listened intently to his instructions. He was indeed putting his money where his mouth was.

"Of course dear, I'm sure the Omegas will appreciate the gesture.' Sarah replied as she took down notes.

'I want to implement this rule going forward, any pack events I want all of the Omegas included if they choose to be. I'd be grateful if you could work with Stacey and Axl to ensure they can put this into practice. I also want to give the Omegas more options in their homes. At the moment, there are married quarters within the packhouse and the Omega building for those unmated. I want to build an Omega village with houses of varying sizes so that communal living is optional."

Freya had to stop her jaw from falling open. She shovelled a spoon of hot soup in burning her tongue in the process. She grabbed the glass of cold water in front of her in haste to dull the burning sensation. Oliver turned his head and frowned slightly at her before turning back to his aunt.

"I'm proud of you. These changes…they're long overdue, they're changes I should have made. Goddess knows that this kingdom has a long history of division that needs changing. You're going to make an excellent Alpha." Mike said, his eyes slightly glassy, causing Sarah to put a hand onto his knee. Oliver developed a lump in his throat, his uncle was a kind man and Alpha, but he wasn't usually one for words like this, so it meant a lot to them.

'I want to make this pack as attractive and welcoming to any wolf who wants to join. I was reminded recently that perhaps we haven't opened our arms as wide as we should or could have to those who fled from the south." Oliver glanced at Freya, she chewed her lip in response, a lump forming in her own throat.

Is he serious? Hera asked, neither her nor Freya were used to being treated like this, every encounter was treated with suspicion.

He sure sounds it. I…I think I believe him.

Well, heck, what a development! He's hot, and he's trying to change the packs! Where do we sign up?

"Which pack are you from Freya?" Sarah asked as she hovered her delicate fingers over the sandwiches, trying to decide which one to take.

"I'm training at the Red Mountain Pack." Freya replied.

You and I both know that's not what she was asking! Hera rolled her eyes.

"I lived in the Capital before that, I don't have a pack, I fled from the Southern Kingdom as a child, I lost my Omega parents when the illness took over." Freya knew that she was deliberately provocative in her answer. She already knew that they wanted to know who their nephew had brought here, and that would include her rank. She studied their faces, waiting for the negative reaction that she knew was coming. Only it didn't come. Both had looks of sympathy on their faces, not the horror she had expected.

"I'm sorry to hear that, I…I had family in the south that perished." Sarah said, melancholy evident in her voice.

Mike placed his hand over his mates and gently squeezed it.

"Many from the North had friends and family in the Southern Kingdom. These divisions weren't always as deep. A great many good people were lost in the South. And I'm sorry for your loss. What happened in the South, it shouldn't have happened."

That struck Freya as an odd thing to say. The way the people in the North talked, it was as though there was deep hatred and the brink of war between the two kingdoms for as long as it had existed. To hear that people had friends and family in opposite Kingdoms was a revelation to her."

Makes sense to me, Moon Goddess didn't place land or pack boundaries on fated mates.

True, I've just never heard anyone else talk about the South with anything but contempt. And what did he mean by it shouldn't have happened?

"Did you hear about the latest rogue attack at Red Mountain?" Oliver asked, distracting Freya from her pondering.

'I did, Matteo called to let me know to have warriors on the , we've had the odd sighting, but they're staying on the border for now. It's a good job the Luna wasn't harmed." Mike said with a shake of his head.

"We have Freya to thank for that. She took the rogues on by herself. She's an incredible warrior."

Mike raised his eyebrows slightly before dropping them quickly. It was clear he was as curious as his mate as to the status of Freya and Oliver.

"It's a pity we can't get drones over there." Mike sighed.

"Drones?" Freya asked.

Oliver nodded. "We've been trying for years to get drones above the Southern Kingdom, just to give us an idea of how many rogues we're dealing with and what the state of the lands are like. Unbelievably their air defences have somehow survived, as soon as anything enters their airspace it's shot down. Even the commercial flights flying to the continent need to ascend higher than usual to avoid being shot down."

"How have their air defences survived this long?" Freya was shocked. It had been years since the Kingdom fell. "Even if they had been automated they should have run out of ammunition by now?"

'Correct, there's some theories." Oliver said as he took a bite out of a ham and salad sandwich.

"Oliver." Mike cautioned and Oliver sent him a warning glance.

"I've not squared it off fully with Matteo yet, but I want to offer you a job in Silver Inc, in our Strategy and Analysis division."

"Me?" Freya couldn't hide the shock in her voice as she turned to him. Oliver was amused at her shock, she didn't realise her worth or her skills and that there had been fierce debate about where she would be placed due to that fact.

"You'll work to Iain of course, but I think you'll be an asset, Leon agrees with me. So you might as well know everything now, you'll know it all soon enough." Oliver said, his shoulders stiff as though he was full of tension that Freya couldn't understand. He knew why his uncle was hesitant, Silver Inc held many secrets for the North, many of them his father's secrets and they didn't usually allow outsiders to join, only the most talented and gifted wolves were offered jobs there. Even Oliver himself didn't know all what Silver Inc held and he wasn't sure that he wanted to go digging and find them out now he was in charge. He knew very well that some things should stay buried.

"Well that changes things." Mike rubbed his beard as though thinking over his next words carefully. "You must be showing a tremendous amount of promise at that training camp", Freya noticed Sarah frown as Mike let out a small sigh, and she knew that his wife had scalded him via the mindlink.

Mike continued, "We know that some of those who came from the south returned to the south at some point. They've never returned to the North, so we've no idea if they've been killed by the rogues, fallen to the virus or if they're the ones still manning the Southern defence."

"People have gone back? Why?" Freya had no idea why anyone would want to go to the South. It had nothing to offer anyone but death and destruction.

"You don't remember the south, or at least very little of it I'd guess." Sarah spoke in a soft and even tone but even so Freya felt like she was a child being scalded, "but others lived there a long time, remembered their homes and their families, some probably just wanted to go home and others to know what happened to their loved ones. I know the thought has crossed my mind over the years."

Freya was flooded with guilt, she hadn't really bothered to ask much about the South and what had happened. She had never really asked Ethan about her parents. She realised that she should have, that actually she had so many questions.

We've spent the majority of our lives in the North, it's hardly surprising that we don't feel a connection to the South. Hera said, trying to make her feel better. Her parents were a subject that Freya didn't like to dwell on.

Hera, this could change everything for us, if there's people in the South, we could have somewhere to go if things don't work at Red Mountain.

Didn't you hear the part where they said nobody has ever returned?

Lunch hadn't exactly been how Oliver had planned. He hadn't expected the conversation to take this turn. He expected the grilling about Freya but not to go so deep about the South. In truth he hadn't known his aunt and uncle had friends or family who lived there.

Mike cleared his throat loudly, "Matteo tells me that your Beta found his mate and then rejected her. Do you have any idea what that i***t was thinking rejecting a gift from the Moon Goddess?" He knew his uncle was making an attempt to change the subject away from the Southern Kingdom and Freya. Mike disliked Iain and had advocated to let Oliver pick his own, more suited Beta but had been overruled and now the poor man was about to be horrified when he realised he had just turned it squarely back to her.

"I was an Omega and a Southern rogue, most unsuitable for a mate of a ranked member." Freya said with a laugh and a smile. Looks of horror spread across Sarah and Mike's faces when they realised his error. "Oh don't worry, I was glad to be rejected by him. The feeling was mutual, and actually I think the rejection hurt him more than it did me." Freya laughed louder this time causing Oliver to smirk.

'It's true, she had shrugged off that rejection like I've never seen before, whereas Iain, well he writhed in pain in front of the whole training camp. Serves him right." Oliver laughed and he felt the tension leave the room. Sarah had a look of sympathy towards Freya, and he knew exactly what his aunt was thinking. "Aunt Sarah, I'll help you take these back to Luna's office" he motioned to the binders, "we're going to take one of the cars back to Red Mountain, but I wanted to show Freya something before we get on our way."