I Am the Alpha and the Omega

Freya's Vision

The pack had finished clearing the remnants of the wedding festivities and swiftly returned back to attending the usual order of pack business. Felix spent the rest of his day catching up with his Beta, Gamma, the warriors as well as spending time in his office where there lay a mountain of paperwork that required his attention. His Beta Guy and Gamma Hans were busy running errands and keeping to training schedules respectively. There were Alphas visiting that evening to talk about the growing rogue problem and so they also needed to brief themselves and prepare for the meeting.

Freya having brought the pack house back to order, visited the orphanage and childrens' centre to catch up on outstanding work. Surprisingly, there wasn't much to do there, so she went and visited the medical centre to check on how how everyone was faring. She bumped into Azalea in the corridor and greeted her affectionately.

"How are you Luna?" Azalea asked sweetly, bowing.

"I'm well Azalea thank you. How are you doing? How is that mate of yours Alex adapting to the pack?"

Azalea blushed when Alex's name was mentioned.

"Alex is doing well, he has fully thrown himself into pack and warrior training and has made some friends. He is still keeping to his punishment and taking it on the chin. He is very good to me, I cannot imagine a life without him now."

Freya nodded in approval. It had been decided by Felix and Pierce that to cure Alex of his arrogance and inject a little humility in him he should serve in various parts of the pack in addition to his training. He was currently working in the kitchens for a month, then in the hospital, school and orphanage. He was taking it in his stride and had changed his outlook on everything. Alastair was bound to a similar punishment but at home in Persemnon.

"Is everything ok here? Do you need any support here at the hospital or the medical walk-in centre?"

"No we are doing well actually, not many emergencies, just the usual suspects," Azalea chuckled, rolling her eyes.

Freya smiled and took her leave after visiting a few of the terminal patients and the children's ward. After the hospital visits, mind-linking Esme that she was on her way, Freya walked to the woods where she shifted into her silvery grey wolf and took a small dirt road out of the pack towards the mountains which led her to Esme's cottage. Esme's home was a quaint little place, made of grey and white stone. Surrounding her cottage was a verandah that continued all the way around the property. There were wind chimes, dreamcatchers, talismans and various other trinkets that hung in the verandah and the chimney had wisps of pale green and yellow smoke billowing out which was nothing unusual. As Freya approached the house she shifted back, put her attire on and knocked on the door three times. Hearing the faint patter of footsteps, the door creaked open and the icy grey eyes that greeted her softened in their expression and welcomed her inside.

"Esme-ki," said Freya bowing.

"Luna," replied Esme, lowering her head in response.

"I have come to talk to you about our visions and Kiona's training, but I am sure you knew that."

Esme nodded and beckoned Freya to follow her into the kitchen where there was some ayahuasca tea brewing. Freya looked around at the kitchen in wonder. She remembered the many lessons she took here with Esme and her husband. They were both gifted human seers with faerie blood in their lineage which granted them the gift of long life.

Freya started the lessons after she had her first vision that came true. She was eleven years old and foresaw an accident happening at school where her science teacher was reaching for some chemicals and a bottle of acid fell on his head.. She remembered his pained expression and how she'd rushed over to help him but to no avail. She woke up in a sweat worrying why she saw one of her school teachers in her dream and something so awful happen to him. Freya casually mentioned it to her mother who a couple of weeks late found out that the very same incident occurred exactly as Freya described it. While Freya was horrified, her mother was proud that her greatly revered Alverii gift was passed on to her child. Her obsession with her visions eventually drove her mad before she died. The poor teacher recovered but was permanently disfigured to this day.

"Freya!" called Esme motioning to the table, snapping Freya out of the daze.

They both took a seat at the kitchen table and Esme poured cups of tea for both of them. Freya inhaled the yellow-green vapour coming off the tea and her eyes became a dark blue. Esme held her hand comfortingly.

"Freya, before I can answer your questions I need to understand your visions, I will share mine and you will share yours so we can try and untangle this web of confusion. I'll be with you every step of the way," Esme explained squeezing her hand.

Freya wasn't sure if she was ready for this. It had been years since she last had a vision because she was suppressing them with herbal tea that Esme had brewed for her. She hadn't had time to take her tea yesterday or today which left her feeling vulnerable. The ayahuasca tea is a herbal tea used for healing but is also used by shamans to aid seers in understanding and interpreting their visions by enabling their body to accept them more readily. Seers don't need the tea to see the visions but it helps calm them a little during the process. Anaya, Freya's wolf, purred gently.

"It's ok Freya we've got this! We are both here with you, nothing will happen," Anaya reassured her.

Esme got up and lit a few sticks of sandalwood incense that stood placed around the room and as the fumes enveloped them she motioned Freya to drink with her. Freya nodded. Cupping the bowl in her hands, she took a tentative sip from it. The warmth from the tea gave her some comfort. Again, the pair of them took another sip, a larger one this time and waited for a few minutes for the tea to take its effect. Esme, not wanting to lose momentum indicated to Freya to empty her cup which Esme quickly refilled and did the same with her cup. As the incense fumes and the tea vapours swirled around them, Esme took Freya's hands in hers and Freya's eyes gradually became paler and paler until they were completely white.

It was a dark night, the clouds were obscuring the moon and the stars. Freya found herself in the middle of a field with a forest to one side and could make out quite some distance away there were buildings by the tree line marking the border of the field. As she stood deathly still, she could make out some sounds emanating from the buildings and only the odd owl or two out on a hunt. She slowly crept towards the buildings and as she drew closer she could see there were three barns. Beyond the tree line and barns, lay a road which she could see was being patrolled by guards. Two of the barns appeared to be dilapidated and the furthest one at the other end of the courtyard was where she could hear the sounds coming from. The courtyard spanned a good few hundred metres and on approach, she could see there were more guards posted outside. Although the guards couldn't see Freya, she should be careful not to make a sound or move anything that would raise suspicion. She couldn't be sure what timeline she was in; it could be the past, present or the future. She soundlessly slipped past the guards and slid through the open door.

The passageway ahead split into two, one to the left and the other to the right. It appeared both led to the same main storage area of the barn. As she stepped in, the heavy smell of alcohol, cigarettes and s*x filled the air. There was a large gathering of wolves, some were sat on tables drinking and gambling, others were just talking amongst themselves. She wasn't quite sure if they were rogues or not. There were some female wolves who were serving the drinks, while others were involved more intimate physical activities. The women looked miserable. Most of them were dressed, if you could call it that, wearing clothes that barely covered their modesty.

"Come here sweetheart, I'll show you a good time." A man grabbed one of the girls who screamed as he pulled her onto his lap and started groping her. His hands lifted up her dress and he started playing with her, fingering her shamelessly in front of his comrades who cheered. Freya looked at the men in disgust, but quickly realised there was nothing she could do, she felt helpless.

She came across another table where it looked like a meeting was being held. The men around the table were not drinking or indulging in of the other activities but intensely looking at the maps and at the man sat at the head of the table. It was too dark to see his face but Freya could sense he was an Alpha male. She stepped a little closer to look at the maps because it was too dark. Before she could take a peek, through the dim light, the Alpha's face she couldn't see suddenly shot up, she felt he was looking directly at her. She felt naked and vulnerable as his dark face gazed, burning holes into her.

"Kill them! Kill them all!" came his reply.

Freya put her hand over her mouth to prevent a gasp from escaping and shuddered, blinking her eyes a few times. She looked up to see Esme's wide silver eyes meeting hers.

"Did you see that Esme?"

Esme nodded slowly and poured their cups of tea back into the pot and placed the pot onto the stove.

"I saw it all Freya, I have seen something similar and like you I haven't managed to see the maps. I did manage to work out that this is likely to be the future. The trees have not yet started to turn, but in the vision they have. Autumn is approaching," Esme calmly replied.

"We can't be sure though can we? What else have you seen? What did you see in Kio's future?"

"I need to meditate on it again my child. I promise I will have more to tell you tomorrow morning."

Freya nodded.

"How is Kio progressing in her training?"

"She is very young, but strong. I can sense she has the strength and the abilities to see but whether she is a seer only time can tell. She has a much higher chance than Ariadne. I have been teaching her the basic elemental spells which she has picked up well but she has to be patient and control her anger."

"What can I do to help her?"

"Give her lots of love, practise with her and encourage her to meditate. Do it with her, she will take to it more."

"Thank you Esme, I will see you tomorrow morning," Freya bade her farewell and walked back to the pack house on foot as it was a lovely day.

Later that evening, Felix had received word that Ariadne had reached Persemnia safely which gave him peace. He also just received news from Guy that the Alphas who were meant to be visiting today had been held up and would now be coming tomorrow. He heaved a sigh of relief packing up his work; leaving his study he noticed Freya was sat outside on the swing in the verandah, looking out at the gardens.

"Are you ok my love?" he asked sitting beside her and pulling her close to him.

Freya snuggled into his chest, grateful for the warmth and comforting sparks she felt with him. She took a deep breath and went for it.

"Felix, I need to talk to you about the pack and Kiona."