“You are forbidden from having any other romantic partners,” he declared.
Vincent’s office was simple, minimalistic even, the walls were black and his scent dominated the room, she couldn’t help but take in a deep breath when she walked in, her tense muscles relaxing at the woodsy aroma. She determined that his office matched his character, rigid and dark, the dark wood of his desk had a matching bookshelf that laid perpendicular, the only sense of lightness coming from the beige rug, the only colours coming from the full-length windows that showcased the outside.
Freya crossed her arms and leaned back against her chair as she crossed her right leg over her left, her eyebrows raised as she asked, “And does this apply to you as well?”
The nerve of this man to even consider bringing this up as if Freya was some harlot.
He stared back at her, his expression void of any emotions, not even a hint of frustration for her question, stone-cold was what reflected back. “Of course, it would be improper.”
Of course, that was his answer.
Prim and proper Vincent, the perpetrator of order, this trait of his was the reason for his disdain for her in their youth as her mere existence went against the principles of the werewolf community. She was a nonconformist in his eyes, she assumed, the free spirit, flower child when she was merely just living her life.
He had proposed spending their lunch hour establishing the rules and boundaries for their relationship, to make it clear to one another what was expected, she felt like she was negotiating a business contract. So far:
Both must commit to the welfare of the pack, fair enough, it was their duty as the Alphas.
Both must respect one another’s boundaries and autonomy. When asked for elaboration, Vincent declared that it merely meant they were entitled to their privacy and space, as if they were roommates.
Both must remain professional and respectful conduct in public and private, this includes no open conflict that potentially undermines their authority and establishes tension within the pack.
Both must engage in decision-making.
And lastly…
Both must maintain a united public front, the mere reason for this relationship in the first place. The leaders of a pack must be unified to maintain stability and order within the pack.
Politically, it was crucial for an Alpha to have his fated mate or Alpha Female as it strengthened the sense of duty and responsibility a leader had for their pack. Packs needed a ruling couple to signify unity and bond, perpetuating the ideal notions of devotion, loyalty and partnership, ultimately motivating others to strengthen their own bonds with their fated mates and other pack members.
The Meadow Stream Pack hadn’t had an Alpha Female since Vincent’s mother passed away almost two decades ago and his grandfather had ruled alone when Meadow Stream had no Alpha since Vincent’s grandmother was ill. The pack needed one, especially now during dire and uncertain times.
An alpha couple strengthened leadership and authority within the pack, they maintained order and emphasized the existing social order. That and it signified the certainty of a pack’s future through a potential heir.
They haven’t gotten to that part yet of their relations yet.
Vincent took a sip of his coffee, Freya couldn’t help but notice how incredibly handsome he looked today, she thought the light grey dress shirt he wore complimented his eyes, bringing out the shades of grey as well as its form-fitting cut that enhanced his toneness.
She played with her pearl earrings, she constantly wrestled with her emotions. Vincent was her fated mate, but he was also the reason she was miserable growing up. Would Young Freya be ashamed of her?
She always thought that she’d move away from the pack and join the human world as she was essentially one of them, cutting off all contact she had with the werewolf community, like a grown child going no contact with their toxic or narcissistic family. She used to dream of a future where she’d meet a nice human guy, get married and have the family she always wanted, keeping them all away from the life she once knew, it was the only certain future she believed herself to have anyway.
Because she never even thought she’d have a fated mate.
And now, here she was, back in the place she never wanted to be in again, in the community that once shunned her for being not like them, even though it was of no fault of her own or anyone else’s. Her past and future were in conflict and it was up to her present to make sense of it all.
But she was just Freya Laursen, she wasn’t meant to be anything or anyone significant.
She couldn’t imagine pack members looking to her for guidance with full confidence and admiration in their eyes, no matter how much she yearned for such approval. She was a fraud, suffocated by blankets by the mere thought of their weighted expectations on her.
She didn’t choose any of this.
Fate had decided that Freya would have her gift, it was fate that decided she was meant to come back to Meadow Stream, and it was fate that made Vincent her fated. It was the force that led to a myriad of events that created such a juxtaposition she was in right now.
It was fate that decided she was the hero.
Atalane, Elder Monroe, her visions, they were all signs.
Be the hero.
That was her role, wasn’t it? She had to swallow her cowardness and suck it up, she’s meant to save everyone and she couldn’t do that if she was crying in a corner. Vincent accepted her as Alpha Female, and she had to prove to him that it was not a mistake or just for convenience since she was his fated mate.
Honour and duty, that’s what was entailed in such a role.
And she must uphold such values to fulfill her obligations, didn’t she?
Vincent leaned back, his head tilted as he studied her, his gaze burning into her as if analyzing her, she noticed his eyes kept going back and forth between blue and black. He was having a battle with himself as well. Blue had won as Vincent said, “We must also disclose any confidential matter to one another.”
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She was taken aback, her eyebrows rose as she demanded, “Why?!”
The nerve, she barely knew him, did he really expect her to trust him just because they were “fated mates”?
No one other than her cousin, aunt, and the Cold Stream Pack Elders knew about her powers, they were unstable and could be taken advantage of, it was why many sorcerers and sorceresses rarely made contact with anyone outside of one of their own.
She didn’t trust him.
His forehead scrunched up as his own brows drew together, “What do you mean why? We’re in a partnership with one another and must remain transparent.”
Her nose twitched as she clenched her fists, “Trust goes both ways, you can’t expect me to be open and honest with you if you haven’t earned that trust, especially when my secrets are none of your concern.”
His lip twitches, “None of my concern?! We are partners, alphas, we have a duty to this pack and if you continue to hold information from me then how can I trust you?”
“It’s about control, I can’t risk you having something to use to have hold over me, so you can manipulate me for your own agenda.”
“You’re being ridiculous.” He growled, roughly running a hand, tousling his blonde hair, “You agreed to uphold your duty as the future Alpha Female and that means being honest with me. You can’t maintain a proper partnership if-”
“We’re not just partners,” her eyes brimmed with tears, she couldn’t control what she was saying or figure out why she was so triggered, it was as if her primitive desire for a fated mate had taken over, “We are fated mates.”
He slammed his fist into the desk, the wood cracking, she jumped back as she could’ve sworn his eyes softened at her reaction.
“I made my intentions clear from the beginning, this is merely political, I only asked you to fulfill your obligations as the rightful Alpha Female. I have told you before to not expect anything more when you agreed, the only relations we would have is when it’s time for an heir.” His eyes stared at her, cold, “Understood?”
King Henry VII married Elizabeth of York in 1486 to unite the Houses of York and Lancaster, however, Henry already made the opinion that the marriage was a horrible idea before meeting his bride-to-be. He feared for his throne, worried that Elizabeth may claim it as rightfully hers so before their union, he made sure he was crowned king.
But fate had other plans.
Considered a beauty, Elizabeth ended up winning Henry over and the two ended up living out their happily ever after.
It was even suggested that throughout their marriage, the two would exchange gifts for one another.
She gulped, steadying her voice, “Understood.”
*****
Ehsan Abbasi was an all-around nice guy, even while Freya was growing up no one ever picked on her when he was around. She remembered one time when her brother pushed her into the mud, Ehsan was there to help her up while berating her brother for his cruel treatment of her. Growing up with four younger sisters, it was no wonder he knew what to do when she was upset.
She could never understand why he was Vincent’s best friend.
Suppose there was some truth in opposites attracting given their polarizing attributes. The Head Warrior of the 1st division was tall and large, having an athletic and more muscular and bulkier build compared to Vincent. The best friends were quite opposing with Ehsan’s darker colouring and softer features compared to Vincent’s lighter and sharper ones.
That didn’t mean Freya didn’t enjoy Vincent’s features.
Not that she was paying attention.
“Look at you Freya, all grown up,” he said, pulling her into a hug, he pulled away before patting her shoulder, “It’s nice to see you again.”
Freya smiled, ignoring Vincent’s burning stare, “I missed you, Ehsan, it’s great to see you again. How’s your family?”
“My sisters are still causing trouble,” he said, “The twins are in university now.”
“That’s really nice to hear,” she said, “So much time has gone by, hasn’t it? It feels like just yesterday I was babysitting them and they were trying to convince me they had twin telepathy and kept slapping each other to see if they felt it,” she giggled.
“Time does move fast when you’re not here,” Vincent commented, taking a jab at her.
“Vincent,” Christian warned, but he backed down when Freya gave him a soft smile to let him know it was fine. “Let’s start this meeting.”
Christian leaned against the bookshelf, holding a rolled up paper as Ehsan took a seat on top of Vincent’s desk, earning a glare from Vincent but he laughed it off, calling Vincent, “Uptight twinkle toes.”
Freya couldn’t bring herself to meet Vincent’s eyes after she almost lost control of her emotions some time before, she was only still there because she was expected in the meeting with the Belta and Head Warrior of the 1st Division.
It was nice to see Ehsan again, he and his family were always kind to her when she babysat for them. She earned extra money and Ehsan let her stay for dinner a couple of times, it was no wonder Ehsan turned out the way he did with the warm and loving family he had. It made going back home after those nights so much more colder.
“As the future Alpha Female, Freya,” Christian started, “It’s imperative you begin participating in these meetings, especially with recent events.”
Freya nodded, it was obvious she had to start training for her role, however, it would be difficult since she didn’t have a mentor, the former Alpha Female to guide her. However, she was up to the challenge, she’ll figure it out.
Even though historically, the Alpha Female role was only in name, she had no formal role in the pack as an Alpha or Beta would have, however, they do since have an active presence in the lives of pack members. Their main role is essentially to take care of the welfare of the pack, it was very vague and could be interpreted differently. In Meadow Stream, the Alpha Female historically worked alongside the Alpha, taking some of the load off the Alpha as the two collaborated and worked together to ensure the welfare of the pack.
It was why Freya had to begin her studies in politics, foreign affairs and economics if she was going to lead beside Vincent.
“As you know,” Christian began, “We’ve declared open warfare with the Land Bay Pack for violating the cease-fire declaration of ‘74.”
“Wouldn’t that create tensions for you with our allies? Land Bay hasn’t formally declared open warfare against you, it would appear as if you were provoking them,” she chimed in, saying out loud what she heard other pack members had been saying.
“We,” Vincent emphasized, “have intell that it was in fact Land Bay sending the rogues to our borders, however, what wasn’t revealed to the public is their accusation of Meadow Stream kidnapping their pack members. Of course, they’re untrue and I’ve requested a formal meeting with Alpha Landvik to discuss the matter civilly,” he shrugged, “However, my request has been denied.”
“Part of the reason could be because they’re still dealing with the aftermath of the civil war and coup d'État,” Christian said, “It’s quite possible that all this could be remnants of the dictatorship of the former Alpha of Land Bay.”
With Freya’s confusion, Ehsan elaborated, “Considering you’ve been residing in the Kingdom of Neros for almost a decade, it’s natural you’re not familiar with the current happenings of the Kingdom of Roscoe. The Land Bay Pack had been under an authoritarian rule and recently, an uprising emerged, the former Alpha Landvik was executed and his son, Sebastian was declared Alpha.”
“They’re vulnerable,” Freya stated, “Why would they instigate if they just had a civil war and reorganizing their pack?”
It was like Russia entering a civil war following WWI.
“We don’t know, unfortunately,” Vincent declared, “And to be frank, I don’t care, my only concern is the wellbeing of my own pack and if its safety is being threatened, that is not something I will take lightly.”
“That brings us to our next point of discussion,” Christian said, coming to Vincent’s desk to lay out the paper, it was a map of the Kingdom of Roscoe where Meadow Stream was marked in red, Land Bay was marked in blue to the west and…
Knight marked in green to the northeast?
“Wait, why is the Knight Pack marked?”
Vincent looked at Freya in the eyes, it was the only time Freya had witnessed some sort of fire in them as he said, “Because we will strike against them as well.”