His Lost Mate

Chapter 5

Freja

It’s been a week since I started training. I was so sore the first few days, but my body is starting to get used to it. I still have some bruises and Ares is pissed about that. He almost took off Tomas’ head because I had a bruise on my hip. He threw him to the ground and punched him a few times before Damon and another guy had him restrained and calmed down.

Tonight’s the first night of the fall festival and I’m excited to see everything lit up. I saw a few people putting up lights and more decorations around town. It all looks so pretty. There’s a hot chocolate stand that I can’t wait to try. Ares told me the woman that makes it is his aunt and she makes the best hot chocolate. He said he may be biased because she’s his aunt.

I’m anxious because Ares’ sister in going to be there tonight too. She is coming back from London while she is on break from school. Ares said she’s nice but also protective of him. I asked him why and he just shrugged. Lily got me a bunch of clothes so I wouldn’t have to wear someone else’s clothes anymore. I told her she got me way too much but she insisted. She also got me a bunch of makeup that I have no clue how to use.

I find Ares in his study reading over some files from my old pack. He looks up when I walk in and says, “Hey, what’s wrong? You look nervous and scared?”

“Well, I don’t know what to wear or how to use all that makeup your mom got me. And I’m nervous to meet your sister,” I tell him. He gets up from his desk and meets me by the door. He looks amused. “What’s so funny?”

“I’m sorry, I’m not laughing at you. I’m laughing at the situation. One: you don’t need the makeup and I’ll help you pick out your clothes. Two: you have no reason to be nervous about my sister. She is going to like you, she’ll just give you a hard time at first. I’ll tell her not to.”

“I don’t want her think I’m a sissy. Because I’m not.”

“I know you’re not,” he laughs.

“Stop laughing at me,” I swat at his chest.

“I’m sorry, baby. It’s just amusing. But you’re going to be fine. Elena really is nice. Don’t be nervous. Now, let’s go find you something to wear.”

I roll my eyes at him and he leads me to the room. He grabs a pair of skinny jeans and a grey sweater. I notice he’s wearing a grey shirt too. He finds a pair of boots. “How’s this?”

“Perfect?”

“I think so. Should I call me mom and see what she thinks?” Now he’s just patronizing me. “You can go now,” I say and he laughs.

“Festival starts in an hour. You don’t need it, but I can call my mom to help you with the makeup. I’m at a lose there.”

“Only if she doesn’t mind. I don’t want to bother here.”

“She doesn’t mind, she’s on her way.”

“I’ve got to learn that mind link thing.”

“When we are officially mated, we will be able to mind link. When, or if you join the pack, you’ll be able to mind link with the whole pack.”

Lily showed me how to put on makeup that looks natural, nothing extravagant. We talked about Elena. She told me comes off abrasive but once you get to know her, she’s really nice. She may be biased, too, because Elena is her daughter. I tried to laugh it off but I’m still nervous.

“Here’s your girl, Ares. Try to calm her nerves, or she’s going to jump out of her skin,” Lily says as she leaves.

“Speaking of jumping out of your skin, Freja we should talk about shifting. Have you ever shifted?” Ares asks me.

“Only once. Derrick forced me to shift one night for one of his hunts. I actually almost got away that night. I haven’t shifted since then because he wouldn’t let me.”

“What do you mean he wouldn’t let you? How is that possible?”

“Wolf’s bane,” is all I say. Ares growls, his eyes flicker from blue to gold like his wolf is trying to take control. He closes his eyes and takes a few deep breaths. The muscles in his jaw twitch. I reach for his balled fists and he long a long, slow breath. He opens his eyes but instead of his blue irises, they still flicker blue and gold.

“I can’t get him to concede,” he says.

“It’s okay. If you need to shift and tear something apart, do it. Just do it outside.”

“Do you want to shift with me?”

“Uh, I.. I can’t. I don’t know if I can do it. Last time I shifted, it took a really long time and it was excruciating. I blacked out halfway through it. Then I almost couldn’t shift back. Derrick had to command my shift back.”

Ares looks perplexed. “Were you part of the pack when this happened?”

“I guess not officially. He made me take the oath a few days after.”

“So it was just you and him? No one else was there?” I shake my head. “You need a pack to shift Freja. Your pack helps with your first shift. If you don’t have a pack, it’s more painful and takes longer than it would if you had a pack. I can help you if you want. As your mate, I can feel and lessen your pain.”

I don’t want to go through the pain again. It’s been years since I shifted but I can still remember what it felt like. Every bone breaking and reforming. It was over and hour of my body fighting itself. My mind fighting my wolf for control. Derrick yelling and hitting me to shift faster. It was torture.

“I will, but I need to mentally, and probably physically prepare myself. I don’t think I can do it right now. I need more time.”

“That’s understandable. But you will need to shift soon. Once all of the wolf’s bane is out of your system, you wolf will take control,” he says, still not in complete control himself.

Ares

I need to shift and go for a run but I don’t want to do it without Freja. She’s not ready to shift yet, which is understandable considering her first shift was what I would consider torture. Having your pack with your for your first shift is like having your family there. They are there to encourage you and see you through the pain. I’m not going to lie, the first shift is very painful, but it’s not supposed to be unbearable.

“How about we wait until the festival is over?” She asks.

“Okay, we can do it then. I can wait until then,” I say. “Are you ready to go?”

“Do I look okay?”

“You look beautiful,” I say and kiss her forehead. She puts her arms around my waist and looks up at me. “Your wolf wants to come out. Are you sure you’re okay? I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“I’m fine, he will calm down. I’m not upset with you, just the situation and that’s not your fault. Don’t worry, I’m okay,” I tell her. I’m also trying to convince myself that I’m okay. But I feel like I could rip something or someone apart. I have to reign in my anger. I know I’ve been on edge the past week; I tore into Tomas for leaving a bruise on Freja during training. I do need to shift but it will have to wait. “Let’s go have some fun while we can,” I tell her.

The town square looks great. There are twinkle lights everywhere and all kinds of booths from the local shops. Freja’s face lit up when we got here. I wish I could see it again for the first time and appreciate it the way she does. I see this every year, and yes it is a nice festival, but maybe I’ve just grown a little tired of it.

“Where should we go first?” Freja asks me, drawing me out of my thoughts.

“The hot coco stand,” I say with a smile and take her hand to lead the way.

We grab some hot coco and say hello to my aunt but she has a line of people waiting. We walk around and check out a few different booths. Freja stops at one that has jewelry. She picks up one of the necklaces and asks what the stone is. “That’s a moonstone,” the lady working the booth tells her.

“It’s very pretty. All of this is pretty. Do you make this all yourself?” She asks.

“Yes, I do.”

“You’re very talented.”

“Thank you, my queen.” Freja turns and looks at me with narrow eyes.

“Word gets out, sweetheart. They know who you are,” I tell her.

“You look just like your mom. There’s no mistaking who you are,” the lady laughs. She puts the necklace in a small box and hands it to Freja. “A gift for you.”

“I can’t accept this, I can’t pay you for it,” Freja says.

“It’s a gift,” she smiles, “and truth be told, I give away more jewelry than I actually sell. I don’t do it for the money. Jewelry making is fun, and see people happy makes me happy.”

Freja takes the box, “Well thank you, you’re so kind.” I can feel she’s happy but also something else. We start to walk away when my sister leaps at me out of nowhere. I barely have time to catch her.

“You’re getting slow in your old age Ares,” she says and I put her down. Now I feel Freja is angry and scared. She looks at me and then at Elena and let’s put a small growl.

“Freja, this is Elena, my sister,” I tell her. Her face pales.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to growl at you,” she tells Elena.

“Sure you did,” Elena elbows me in the rib, “got yourself a jealous one here, Ares.”

“Elena, be nice,” I tell her. She laughs and says, “I’m always nice. Freja and I will be best friends, won’t we Freja?”

Freja looks at her with suspicion, “Yeah, best friends.”

“Hey, where’s mom and dad?” Elena looks around and then she freezes and just stares. I follow her eyes to what, or who she looking at. Tomas. He sniffs the air and turns his head to Elena and they both say, “Mate.” They run to each other and start making out.

“Well that’s gross,” I say and Freja starts laughing. “It’s actually kind of funny that they are mates.”

“Why?” She asks me.

“They both had a crush on each other but they didn’t think the other knew they existed. And then Elena left for London before they were old enough to find there mates.”

“Oh, well, that’s kind of sweet. How long has she been gone?”

“Almost four years. She graduated early because she’s like a genius and got a scholarship to just about every Ivy League school you can think of. She wanted to go to college out of the states so she picked Oxford.”

“What is she going to school?”

“Chemistry or biology or something along those lines. I’ll have to ask her when she’s not dry humping Tomas,” I roll my eyes. I’m happy for them though. I’m pretty sure Tomas knew Elena was his mate before she left. He’s two years older than her, so he would have known when he turned sixteen. I don’t know why he wouldn’t have said anything, other than he thought she didn’t know he existed. Selene had her fun with those two.

We walked around for a couple hours and ate too much junk food before Freja started to yawn. We’ve been getting up early for training. I’ve been pushing her hard in the gym too. She needs to be strong and she’s getting better everyday. She’s a quick learner. I want to give her another week of training with Tomas before I put her with someone else. Tomas is a great teacher, he’s patient when Freja is not. She needs to learn how to be patient in a fight and how to observe your opponent like Tomas does. He lets his opponent strike first and observes their body; finding their weak points. Freja is smart, she will pick it up quickly.

“Are you ready to go home?” I whisper close to her ear. She smiles seductively at me and nods her head. As soon as I open the front door, she wraps her arms around my neck and kisses me. I pick her up and wrap her legs around my waist and kick the door closed. I walk to my bedroom and toss her on the bed. She giggles and tries to scoots away from me but I grab her by the ankle and pull her back to me.

I lean over her and kiss her hard. She unbuckles my belt and starts pulling at my shirt. She seems to be struggling and gets frustrated; impatient. “Baby, slow down, we’ve got all night. Let me love you.”

“Take your stupid shirt off,” she growls. “You be nice to me or I won’t give you the goods,” I say and she whines. I kiss a trail from her lips to her neck. I stop at her marking spot when she shutters. She tugs at my shirt again, this time getting it over my head. She kicks her boots off and I tear her sweater and bra off.

“Hey! I liked that sweater!” She complains.

“I’ll buy you a new one,” I say as I kiss and nip down her chest and stomach. When I reach for the button on her pants, she pushes me away. She has fire in her eyes. She pushes me back and kneels in front of me, undoing my jeans. She pushes them down and my c**k springs free. She takes it in her hand and I growl.

“Freja, what are..” I trail off as you looks my in the eyes and takes my c**k into her mouth. I have to brace myself on the bedpost as I grab the back of you head at the base of her neck. I guide her head back and forth. She moans on my c**k and I push myself into her mouth until she gags.

I feel her hands on the front of my thighs but she’s not pushing me away. I repeat the motion and she moans again. She sit back on her heels; I grab her head with both hands and push in and out of her mouth. I’m so close; I can feel myself getting harder with each thrust.

“I’m close baby, f**k, your mouth feels good,” I almost can’t get the words out I’m so close. A few more thrusts and her moans has my body buzzing with my impending orgasm. I try to pull my c**k from her mouth but she grips the back of my legs to keep me in place. That does it; I throw my head back as I empty myself into her mouth. I keep thrusting until my c**k twitches. I open my eyes and look down at her. I pull c**k out of her mouth and she wipes the c*m and spit from her chin.

“Freja, you’re going to get yourself in trouble with this mouth,” I say as I cup her chin and rub my thumb across her lips. She flicks her tongue out and sucks my thumb into her mouth. I pull her to her feet, undoing her pants, and she steps out of them. She pushes me onto the bed and straddles me, lining my c**k up to her entrance. When she lowers herself down my c**k, I groan and grab her hips. I feel like I’m gripping her hips to hard but she doesn’t complain; just keeps moving up and down slowly.

I try to increase the pace but she puts her hand on my chest to stop me. I groan again and she laughs. “Are you trying to torture me?” I ask and she laughs again.

“Payback,” she says, rolling her hips.

“Oh, you are a mean girl” I grab her hips and hold her in place. She grabs my throat and growls, her eyes turning gold as her wolf starts to take control. She tries to fight her wolf but it’s useless. I sit up and take her chin in my hand and say, “Don’t fight her, baby, just let go.”

She growls low, throws her head back and starts moving up and down on my c**k. I reach between us and strum her c**t with my thumb and she lean back a little to give me more access. The motion drive my c**k into her in a different angle, finding her g-spot. Her walls start to tighten and clench around me and I know she’s close to cumming. She rolls her hips and moans loud and long. I feel my orgasm building and my eyes zone in on her neck. The soft skin calling to my beast, needing to be marked.

My own control is slipping. I know my eyes are gold with my wolf at the surface, waiting to break through. “Ares, please,” she begs, needing to c*m and I’m all too happy to give it to her. I flip her to her back and thrust deep into to her. She moans and growls in my ear. I kiss her down her neck and lick her marking spot. She clench’s around my c**k and drags her nails down my back, not hard enough to draw blood, but hard enough to cause a little pain and pleasure. My canines lengthen as I feel my orgasm getting closer.

When she her wall clench around again, I sink my teeth into her neck. She stiffens for a second then grabs my head to hold me in place. My teeth sink further into her neck, making our bond grow deeper. She moans my name and cums. I follow her, moaning into her neck and empty my seed deep in her p***y. I withdraw my teeth from her and lick her neck to seal wound. She shivers at the action.

“I love you, Freja,” I tell her through the mind link. “I love you, Ares,” she says in return. My heart is so full and I can feel her love for me as well. I never thought that I could love someone so much. Then I saw her in the forest, scared for her life. I knew I would protect her and love her with everything I have to give. She is my everything.

Freja

All those years I spent in the dungeon or locked in a prison, I prayed the moon goddess would bless me with a mate that would love me and treat me not as a slave, but as their equal, and love and protect me. When Ares marked me, all of his feelings flowed into me and I felt everything he felt. Love and adoration. Everything I’ve ever wanted, but never got. If I ever see the moon goddess again I’m going to hug her tight and thank her until I’m blue in the face.

I’m drawn from my thoughts when Ares shifts and growls in his sleep. I put my hand on his chest and feel his heart beating fast. What is he dreaming about? He growls again, this time louder. I try to comfort him but he’s deep in his dream. I contemplate waking him up but I’m afraid it may scare him. So instead, I scoot closer to him and wrap my arm around him. I nuzzle his neck and he starts to calm down. His breathing and heart beat slow down to a normal rhythm and it lulls me to sleep.

When Ares’ alarms goes off at 4:30 I groan. “Can we skip training today?” I ask, already knowing the answer. “Nope, gotta get you big and strong so you can win the war that may or may be coming.” I groan again, “Fine, but I’m not gonna be happy about it.”

“You’ll get used to waking up early, eventually,” he tells me. He kisses my forehead and gets out of bed. He’s a morning person and I hate mornings. We go through this every morning almost. I complain about how early it is and he just kisses me and tells me I’ll get used to it. I don’t think I will ever enjoy waking up before the sun.

“Up and at ‘em baby,” he says when he walks out of the bathroom. I throw a pillow at him and he laughs and pulls the covers off of me. “If you get up now, I’ll let you take a nap later. He’s lying, he never lets me nap.

“Liar, why are you so mean to me?” I complain but he knows I don’t really mean it. So I roll off the bed like a toddler and stretch. When I pass him I swat his butt and run into the bathroom before he can retaliate. “You know you’re going to pay for that later?” He calls from the other side of the door. I grin to myself because I’m hoping he’ll take payment in the bed. He opens the door and says, “You have a dirty mind, Freja. I like it.” He winks at me and shuts the door.

I don’t see Tomas at training so I ask Ares about him. “He’s spending time with his mate,” he tells me and makes a face. “You’ll have a different partner today.” I hope he doesn’t put me with Damon. He’s huge, and scary. But he has a tell; he lifts his leg very slightly, almost unnoticeable, when he’s about to throw a kick. I noticed it the last time he sparred with Ares.

“You’ll spar with Elijah today. Watch his left jab,” he says and swats my butt. I whip my head around to glare at him and he has a big smile on his face. “That doesn’t count as payback.” I roll my eyes at him and make my way over to Elijah, who’s talking to Claire. I haven’t talked very much to either of them. Claire is intimidating. She fights with Damon a lot. She’s small, but quick and she can’t get past his guard. Elijah is graceful when he’s fighting, almost like he’s dancing with his opponent.

“So I get to take on the queen today, huh?” He says. Claire laughs and says, “Better go easy on him, he’s a cryer.” He lightly punches her arm and she jogs off to meet Damon.

“I don’t cry,” Elijah says.

“It’s okay if you do. I won’t tell anyone. Sometimes you just need a good cry,” I laugh and he rolls his eyes.

“You ready to fight?” He asks.

I nod and before I can say anything he sweeps my legs and I fall. I punch the ground and grit my teeth. That was a cheap shot. I throw an up kick at him but he catches my foot and tosses my leg to the side. I hop up quick so he doesn’t have time to pounce. When he swings his fist I duck and punch him in the ribs. He barely moves; just wraps his arms around my waist and flips me to the ground again. This time he straddles me. He’s heavy, I can’t push him off me. I start to panic. I can’t move; I start to see flashbacks of my time in the dungeon and running from my old pack.

“Think Freja, what do you do in the situation?” He asks. I try to punch at him but he blocks my fists. “You cannot shift, you’re incapacitated. You’re small, but you’re strong and smart. Figure it out, Freja.”

I try thrusting my body to get him off me but he holds me down. “Elijah,” I yell at him; my voice sounding panicked.

“You can do it, calm down and think of a way out,” he says calmly. I try to roll to my side with no avail. He punches at me with his left fist but I catch his arm with my right hand and pull him down to me. The force of my pull makes his upper body twist. Now I have a clearer shot to his back and I take it. I punch him in the kidney, maybe a little too hard because he groans. His legs loosen its grip on my waist and I slip my right leg out. I crawl onto his back and wrap my arm around his neck and squeeze. I fall to my back, bringing him back on top of me. I wrap my legs around his waist and squeeze as hard as I can.

“You’ve got him, Freja, now don’t kill hook,” Ares tells me through the mind link.

I feel Elijah’s grip on my arm loosen and his breath is coming in shallow pants. I let go of him and rolls off of me and coughs. “I’m sorry,” I start to apologize but he waves his hand. “Don’t be sorry. That was very good. But you can’t panic. In a real fight, your opponent will not stop. In war, it’s kill or be killed. You have good instincts, Freja, but you’re too scared of your own strength. You have to concur your fears, you will concur them, I’m never wrong.” He has a sly smile at that last part.

He helps me up and we spar for a while longer. He’s a very good teacher, a lot like Tomas but more serious than goofy. Ares calls for everyone to stop and we meet him at the front of the training field. I look at Elijah and he has a small bruise on his cheek. I smile to myself because I never leave bruises on Tomas, none that I can see at least.

“Tomorrow we will take the day off. It’s the last day of the festival. Spend it with your families; enjoy the day,” Ares tells everyone. “I’m sure you’ve all heard there’s a war coming. Freja received a message from the moon goddess, and of course, she did not say when or with who. I think we can all assume this war will be with Freja’s old pack. Some if their members have joined our pack but many did not. We need to be as prepared as we can for an attack at any moment. Don’t slack on your training, but try not to kill each other,” he looks me dead in eye. “Go shower,you all stink.”

Elijah pats me on the back and says, “Good work today. You’re getting better.”

“Thanks. Sorry for almost choking you out.” He laughs and we head for the gym.

“Freja, I have a meeting with my dad. It won’t take long. Meet you back at the house?” Ares says.

“Okay,” I say. He kisses me and walks toward the pack house. When I get to showers in the gym, I don’t see anyone. I thought I saw Claire walk this way. Maybe she went to her house. I turn on the shower and I’m about to take my shirt off when I feel a prick on my neck and a hand covers my mouth. I struggle for a moment but whatever was injected into me is taking affect fast. My vision blurs and the room starts to spin. My body goes limp. I try to mind link Ares but I can’t. I can’t even think. Everything goes dark as I slump into whoever has just drugged me.

When I wake up slumped in a chair, with my hands cuffed to the sides with silver cuffs. I slowly lift my head because it’s pounding from whatever drug they injected me with. My eyes are still blurry but there is no mistaking who is standing in front of me. Derrick’s brother, Theo. To his left, I’m shocked to see Claire. I pull at my hands but the silver digs into my wrists, burning my skin.

“Welcome back, Freja. Shall we spick up where we left off?” Theo says.