His Lost Mate

Chapter 2

Freja

Ares starts frying bacon in a pan while I just stand there holding an egg. He looks over at me and smiles, “ You don’t know how to crack an egg, do you?” I put down the egg and shake my head. He grabs the egg and hits it on the side of the metal bowl. It cracks a little where he hit it and he breaks it in half over the bowl. He grabs another one and hands it to me. “You try.” I do the same thing Ares did, but it’s not at all as graceful as him. I got egg shells in the bowl and he laughed. “It’s okay, we can get the shells out and try again,” he says.

I go through four eggs before I’m able to crack one without getting egg all over the counter and shells in the bowl. Ares moves around the kitchen doing most of the cooking. I flip the bacon a couple times and bacon grease pops on my hands. It stings but my quick healing helps. He’s stirring something in another bowl when I ask, “What are you making now?” He looks over at me with a confused look, “Pancakes, you ever have them?” Again, I shake my head. “Well you’re in for a treat!” He smiles wildly. My stomach flutters again and I put my hand on it, trying to make it stop.

“We need to talk,” Ares tells me. I get a little nervous because I know this is the part where he tells me he’s going to bring me to a cell. I guess he can tell I’m freaking out a little because he grabs my hand and says, “It’s nothing bad, I just have something to tell you. Well, a lot to tell you. We’ll talk about it over breakfast. Which is almost done. Do you want coffee?”

“I don’t know, do I want coffee?”

“Oh you want coffee.” He pours a cup and hands it to me. He watches as I take a sip. It’s hot, but once it hits my tongue it’s like heaven in a cup. “Oh that’s good stuff,” I say. He laughs, “Yeah, it’s addicting, better be careful with that stuff.”

He shoos me to the table and tells me sit. He piles food on two plates and brings them to the table, handing me one. He takes the seat across from me and says, “Dig in.” And I do. This is more food than I’m used to having. I almost don’t know where to start but the bacon smells so good it makes my mouth water. I pop a piece into my mouth and oh god, it’s the best thing I’ve ever eaten. I close my eyes and a moan slips out. I hear Ares chuckle and open my eyes to look at him. His eyes are so intense as he stares back at me.

His gaze drifts to my lips and I clear my throat. He comes out of whatever daze he’s in and I ask, “What did you want to tell me?” He puts his fork down and leans back in his chair. “Do you know who your family is?” “No, not really. I know my parents died when I was a baby. I was told they were in a car accident.” Ares growls and his eyes go dark.

“A car accident? That’s what they told you?!” He almost shouts and I sink down in my chair like a child. “No, they weren’t in a car accident. They were ambushed in the forest. They were traveling here. Our parents were friends. My dad decided to go out looking for them when they never arrived. He found them dead in the forest and no trace of you.” I’ve been lied to my whole life by my pack, and my supposed friends.

“That’s not all. What I’m about to tell you will change your life,” he says. I nod for him to continue. “You are a princess. Not only a princess though. Your ancestors are the original shifters..”

I interrupt him, “No, I’m not.”

“Yes, Freja, you are. Your family is royalty. Your blood is pure.”

“This doesn’t make any sense. My parents were omegas and they died in a car accident! You are lying!”

“Why would I lie about something like this?”

“I don’t know!”

We both stare at each other for a few minutes. I’m trying to process this information but it just doesn’t make sense. But, I have been kept in a dungeon my whole life. Treated like I was nothing. Tortured and tormented for no apparent reason.

“Why? Why would they do that to me? Twenty-two years of hell because of who my family is? WHY?!” I’m so angry I see red. I push my chair back so hard it falls over and I start pacing in the kitchen.

“Jealousy, greed, corruption just to name a few..” he says and I whip my head around to glare at him. I don’t mean to but I growl at him.

“I was a baby! What is there to be jealous of a baby?! They could have put me with another family and I would have never known!”

“Not exactly. You were born a princess but you are also of alpha blood. So you are the rightful alpha of the Blood Moon pack.”

My head can’t wrap that last bit. Alpha. Me. That’s a joke. And what’s the Blood Moon pack? That’s not the pack I came from. Who’s the alpha of that pack? I have so many questions.

“I can see you have a lot of questions but, I can’t answer all of them. You need to talk to my dad. He knows more than I do. We can go see him after breakfast. Now eat before it get cold,” he holds his hand toward my plate as if to tell me to sit.

“I’m not hungry, I’m going to talk to your dad,” I tell him and turn for the door. As I’m walking he grabs my hand and I whirl around and slap him. I instantly regret it. I back up and put my hand over my mouth, “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to do that.” I’m waiting for him to lash out but he doesn’t. He simply smiles.

“Still think you’re just an omega?”

Ares

Freja slapped the s**t out of me. I don’t think she had it in her. I’m a little proud of her. She had fire in her eyes but now all I see if fear.

“You are no omega. You are all alpha,” I tell her. “Can we please just finish our breakfast and then we can go talk to my dad. I promise.” I hold out my pinky and I can see she’s confused. “It’s a pinky-promise.” I grab her hand and loop my pinky with hers, “I promise, you will get your answers. But first, food.”

We sit back down at the table and resume eating. She doesn’t say anything until she’s finished. “Thank you for cooking.”

“You’re welcome, I’ll put these plates in the dishwasher and we can go.” I grab our plates and put them in the dishwasher. She’s already walking towards the door. I catch up to her and open the door to usher her out.

It’s the beginning of autumn so the air is a little more crisp than usual. For a human it would be chilly but shifters run hot. The cold doesn’t bother us. The leaves are starting to fall and change color. It really is a nice time of year, before the snow blankets everything. There are a few pups playing in their yards; chasing each other, playing tag, kid stuff. I smile thinking at the thought of someday having pups of my own. Does Freja want that? I’m getting way ahead of myself. I still haven’t had the mate’s conversation with her.

As we’re walking back to the pack-house I notice several pack members look our way. I know what they are thinking. They’re wondering who the strange girl is and what’s she doing with me. They will find out soon enough.

We run into to my fathers beta, Sampson, on the way to the pack-house. He’s just getting back from his brother’s pack. His brothers mate had their first baby last week, so Sampson went to visit them. “Hey Sampson, how’s the new baby?” I ask.

“Kind of looks like an alien but I’m sure he’ll be cute in due time,” he laughs and looks at Freja. She looks taken back by his words. “Freja, this is my father’s beta, Sampson. Sampson, Freja.”

“Nice to meet you Sampson,” she says quietly.

“You as well, and don’t worry, it’s not my kid. He’s my nephew so I’m allowed to give my brother a little hell,” he laughs again and winks at Freja. I growl at him and lifts his eyebrow. He holds his hands up in surrender.

I have to tell Freja she is my mate. I just don’t know how she’ll take it on top of everything she learned earlier and what she is about to learn from my father. I also have a feeling my father is going to say something about it before I get the chance. I stop walking and Freja turns and looks at me.

“What’s wrong?” She asks.

“I have to tell you something before we go in there,” I tell her. I’m more nervous than I should be and I’m not sure why. Surely she feel the mate bond. Maybe she doesn’t understand what it means. She didn’t even know what a pinky-promise was.

“Ookay,” she says worriedly.

I lead her up the steps and point to the small couch on the porch, “Have a seat, please.”

“What’s going on Ares? Did something happen with your dad? Or someone else? Is everyone okay?” She looks at me with concern.

“Do you feel anything when I touch you?”

“What?”

“Tingles?” I take her hand in mine and kneel in front of her. “Anything?”

She ponders for a moment and looks down at our intertwined hands. I rub circles into her back of her hand with my thumb and she sighs. She has a look of peace on her face.

“What is that?” She asks.

“That is the mate bond.”

“The mate bond.”

“Yes. We are mates. We were made for each other. The Moon Goddess gifts every shifter with a mate. The other half of their soul. Soulmates, if you will.” I take her hand and put it over my heart. “Can you feel my heartbeat?”

“Yes,” she says.

“Now put your other hand over your heart.” She does. “My heart and your heart beat in rhythm. Our hearts beat for each other.”

“I am your mate?”

“Yes. I knew it when I saw you in the forest.”

“That’s why my stomach flutters when you touch me. And the tingles! I do feel the tingles!” She smiles but then it fades into something else. Sorrow? “I can’t be your mate Ares. I’m way too messed up. And you deserve better.”

“Better than a princess? I don’t care how messed up you think you are. You think I’m not a little messed up? I’m a thirty year old unmated I don’t give a s**t about any of that. I want you Freja, baggage and all.”

She lifts her hand and cups my cheek. I turned into it and kissed her palm. “Please think about it. I understand you need time. Just don’t reject me Freja.”

I hold my breath waiting for her say something. Anything. I don’t expect her to just accept everything that’s been payed out in front of her. I want her to understand what’s a play. The Moon Goddess doesn’t make mistakes. Or at least that’s what we are told from a young age. Freja and I are meant to be together.

“Okay. I’ll think about it,” she finally says. I can see the resolve in her eyes. That’s all I can ask for. “Thank you. Are you ready to speak to my dad now?”

“Yes,” she says. We get up and walk into the house. Sampson is waiting for us to go to my father’s office. He looks at me with apologetic eyes. It doesn’t really bother me that he winked at Freja, but my wolf didn’t like it. I know it was harmless.

My father’s office door is open so we walk in. He looks up from his computer, “Good, you’re all here.” He walks around his desk to Freja and puts his hands on her shoulders. He looks at her for a moment and then pulls her in for a hug. Her body goes rigid and she turns head to look at me.

“Just go with it, he’s a hugger,” I chuckle and she pats his back. My dad laughs and leans back to look at her face again. “You are the splitting image of your mom,” he says.

“Really? Do you have any pictures of her?” She asks with delight written on her face.

“I do, my mate has a whole album of photos. They were best friends.”

“I’d love to see them.”

“Absolutely, but first, I understand you have a lot of questions that I may be able to answer.”

“Yes, so many questions. I don’t even know where to start.”

“How about we go to the library and I can show you your family tree?”

“You have that? Yes, I want to see it,” she says excitedly.

“Okay, let’s go then,” my father says, leading Freja out of his office. The library is actually in the center of our community. Sort of like a centerpiece. Everyone has access to it.

We get to the library and my father grabs a few books for the historic section and we all sit at a table as he flips through one. He finds what he’s looking for and turns the book to Freja.

“Here, this is your family tree. These two at the top; they were the originals. As you can see, you lineage comes directly from them. Your great-great grandparents were like kings and queens. Passing down their title to next in line with their passing. Your parents were the last to carry their title. You were born a princess. With your parents’ death, that makes you the queen. And..”

Freja closes the book. She opens her mouth to say something but then closes it again. She looks at all of us with a blank stare. Then she puts her head in her hands and her shoulders start to shake. She’s crying. I rush to her side and put my arms around her. I can feel how upset she is through the bond. My dad and Sampson both leave us and I let her cry into my chest. My heart hurts for her.

I kiss the top of her head and breathe in her scent, jasmine. “What do you need?” I ask softly.

“I don’t know. This is life changing information. It’s too much.”

“It is life changing, but for the better. Not only are you the rightful alpha of the Blood Moon pack but you’re the only heir to the thrown. Baby you are royalty, what is there to cry about that?”

“I am far from royal. More like a peasant..” before she can say anything more, I lean back to look her in the eyes and say, “Don’t you ever say that again. You are no peasant. You have a new life here, if you want it.”

“I don’t know what to do Ares. I can’t be a queen. I don’t know how to be. Wait, is there a castle?”

“That’s my girl,” I chuckle. “No one can kill your spirit. You’re not what they did to you.” I kiss her forehead and without moving away I say, “And if you want a castle, I’ll build you a castle.” She holds her pinky up and my heart nearly leaped out of my chest. I loop my pinky with hers just like we did earlier.

Freja

A queen. Alpha of a pack I know nothing about. My parents were king and queen of the shifter world. Their murders were covered up and I have a feeling I know exactly who did it too. The man who kept me locked away my entire life.

“I have to find out who killed my parents,” I say to Ares,who still has me in his arms. He’s warm and his scent fills my senses. He’s my mate. I didn’t understand the feelings I had when I was around him or the tingles when he touched me. But now it all makes sense. I can feel his emotions, I just didn’t realize that’s what it was. When Sampson winked at me, I felt anger but I wasn’t mad. Now I know, that was Ares.

“We will look into it. I have a feeling I know it did it or at the very least, orchestrated it.”

“Me too,” I say, my fist curl into his shirt as I imagine what I’m going to do to the man I once called alpha. The thought of him makes my blood boil. Ares leans back and squints his eyes, “What’s got you so angry?”

“Alpha Derrick.”

“Oh, understandable. You think he had something to do with your parent’s murder too?”

“Yes. He better pray I’m wrong because what I’m going to do to him will be far worse than everything he’s ever done to me.”

Oh, about that,” he hesitates. “Uh, my dad kind of challenged him.”

“What!” I shout.

“Yeah, last night after you and I left my dad found Derrick. The fight takes place day after tomorrow.”

“That doesn’t give us a whole lot of time to get proof that he’s the one who killed my parents. Where’s your dad? We have to put a stop to this,” I get up and take off for the door. Ares follows me as I leave the library. Heading for the pack-house, I see Alaric and Sampson outside of a coffee shop. Coffee. I could go for more coffee.

The wind picks up as I’m walking to meet them. I’m getting madder the closer I get. Leaves are swirling all around me. I hear a loud crack and a bolt of lightning shoots across the sky. Everyone stops and stares as I walk by. I get to Alaric and Sampson and they are both staring me with wide eyes.

Alaric reaches for my arm and says, “What’s wrong? Is this you?” He waves his hand indicating to the wind and the now rain. He looks worriedly past me to Ares who is trailing behind me. Ares reaches me and puts his hand on my back. The small gesture is soothing and I start to calm down. The wind and start to die down as well. That’s weird.

“Interesting,” says Ares.

“We’ll talk about that later, but for now, what’s wrong? Why do you look like you want to kill something?” Alaric asks me.

“You have to stop the challenge against Alpha Derrick. Or postpone it. Is that a thing?” I look at all three men and the all shake their heads. “Dammit, you can’t kill him. Not yet. I have to find out if he killed my parents.”

“Why don’t we go ask him?”

“Now? Shouldn’t we have some sort of plan? He’s not just going to admit that he killed then. How are we going to know if he’s telling us the truth?” These are logical questions. I want to know what he knows even if he’s the one who did it. I have to know.

“Freja, it’s really sad that you have know idea what our kind can do. Have you ever heard the phrase ‘sniffing out the liars?’” Alaric asks.

“No,” I say.

“Shifters can smell when someone lies. It’s a foul odor. Now I don’t know if that’s where the saying came from but it fits. Tell me a lie,” he says to me. I think for a moment and the only thing that comes to mind is, “I can swim really well.” Ares laughs and I elbow him in the side.

“Do you smell that?” I nod my head. “That’s a lie. Some shifters have learned to omit the truth or dodge an outright lie. I imagine Derrick is one of those shifters. We will have to corner him. He’s smart but he’s also an i***t,” Alaric says. “Oh, and you should learn to swim. What twenty-two year old doesn’t know how to swim?”

“Um, dungeon,” I say.

“Right. Anywho, we can’t just storm onto Derrick’s land and ask him. We need a game plan first. Also, Ares, your mom is coming home today. I’m picking her up at the airport in a few hours. She’s so excited to see you again Freja,” Alaric announces. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous to meet her. Will she like me? Will I live up to my family’s name?

“Don’t worry,” Ares whispers close to my ear, “she’s going to love you.”

Ares

I’ve only seen a shifter’s emotions change the weather once. It was about five years ago. I was in Italy with my mom visiting her sister. A group of shifters were in a dispute. One of them was angry enough that it started to storm. Wind and hail and heavy rain. The shifter had to be restrained and sedated. I’m assuming he didn’t have a mate or she wasn’t there to calm him down. When I put my hand on Freja’s back she started to calm down. My wolf was anxious and I needed to get to her before it got out of hand. I need to get with the elders and see what they know about this.

Elders are some of the oldest and wisest shifters. They have so much knowledge, probably because they’ve lived such long lives. We have an elder in our pack. Most big packs do. The Blood Moon pack has the oldest elder known. She is over 150 years old but she looks to in her fifties. As a shifter, we don’t age the same as humans do since our lives are much longer. We try to stay secluded as to not draw attention to our kind. We can’t exactly live in a city with humans because a shifter at the age of sixty looks more like forty.

Freja nudges me out of my thoughts, “Hmm? Sorry, I was in my own head there for a minute. What did you say?”

“I asked if we could get coffee,” she points to the coffee shop. “And you can tell me about your mom.”

“Yeah, sure.”

We grab some coffee and head back to the pack-house. I ordered for Freja because she looked lost. I got her a caramel Frappuccino and she loved it. She had half of it gone before we even got to the pack-house. She’s going to be addicted for sure. Mom will love her for her caffeine addiction alone.

“So, tell me about her. What should I expect?” Freja asks, and then starts to chew on her lip. It’s a habit I’ve noticed her doing when she’s nervous. I smooth my thumb over he lips to stop her from doing it and she sucks in a breath. Her heartbeat speeds up a little and eyes flicker with gold specks. It’s her wolf trying to come out. I haven’t seen this in her yet. She shakes her head and her eyes return to normal.

“You don’t have to be nervous. My mom is really nice. She’s the heart of the pack,” I tell her. Freja sits at the island in the kitchen and I grab a snack out of the pantry. “You hungry?” She shakes her head and I shrug, “More for me.”

“What’s her name?”

“Mom, duh.” She looks at me sarcastically and I laugh. “Lillian. Lily for short. She hates being called Lillian. Always says she feels like she’s in trouble when people calls her that.

“I like it. It’s a pretty name,” she says.

“My dad is the only person that calls her Lillian. And she’s the only person that calls him Alaric. Most people refer to him as Ric.” I think my dad uses her full name to annoy my mom but he’ll never admit to that. My parents met when they were kids. The were best friends straight away. He is fifty-two, my mom is a year younger. When they turned sixteen, the usual age that shifters are able to find their mates, they found out they were mates. They’ve been in love since. Sure they fight, but they always make up.

“How about we watch some tv,” I suggest to Freja. She seems to have been daydreaming. Her eyes were a little glossed over. “Sure,” she says. We settle on the couch and I turn the tv on.

We watch a Tombstone and she gets so immersed in it, she’s a little upset when it ends. “You’ve never seen Tombstone?” I ask her.

“No, I never really watched tv. I was only allowed in the pack-house when the pack was on what they called ‘a hunt.’ But I always had someone there with me. To make sure I didn’t try to escape. But I did anyway.”

“How many times?” I ask. I’m genuinely curious because she seems so timid but there’s a fire inside her that I want to draw out. “At least twice a year,” she says nonchalantly.

“Wow.”

“They have some of the best trackers so I was never able to get very far. Sometimes, just for fun, they would leave my cell door open to let me try and run. It was a game to them. Or training. But sometimes I wouldn’t even try. I’d just lay on my cot and wait for someone to close the door. That really pissed them off.” She yawns and stretches her legs out. I lay them across my lap. “What are we going to watch now?” She asks.

“Something funny. Bull Durham. It’s a baseball movie but it’s comical.” She lays head on the arm of the couch as the movie starts. But I’m not paying any attention to it. All I can think about is her packing hunting her. Letting her out like a dog and chasing after to her. What did they get when they caught? I’m afraid to even ask. I have to school my thoughts so I don’t alarm her to my feelings.

About half way through the movie, I look over to her and she’s out. I chuckle to myself and grab a blanket from the ottoman. I kiss her forehead and turn the movie off. I need to talk to my dad about her pack and what we’re going to do about them. They shouldn’t be allowed to stay a pack.

I find my dad in his office. Sampson is sitting across from him and they seem to be in a deep conversation. Sampson has his phone out and I glance at it. Fantasy football. I roll my eyes and tell my dad, “We need to disassemble her pack. They have no business being a pack. They should all be rogues.” I tell them what Freja to me about the hunting and they both growl. They’re just as disgusted as I am.

“I agree, son, but there are certain things that have to happen before they can be disassembled and declared rogues. We will have to notify the council,” He tells me. I growl because the council will drag their feet. They don’t care what the smaller packs do. As long as they are somewhat in line with our laws, they don’t bother them. They would rather sit in nice homes and do the bare minimum to keep their status.

“f**k the council! You know how they work. They will ‘look into it’ and find nothing wrong.”

“I know, but it’s the way it has to be done. I will notify them when I get back from the airport with your mom.”