“Hey Hannah,” the spunky redhead greeted her best friend at her locker, “Do you want to come over and watch a movie?”

The duo had been inseparable since kindergarten when the two bonded over their love for Strawberry Shortcake and My Little Pony. Freya’s sister Natalia was having a hard time getting Freya to let go of her legs that morning as the day before, Christian had called Freya a human and got the other kids to join in. No one wanted to play with her and often excluded her from their game of hide and seek.

It was Hannah who got up from the carpet with her Strawberry Shortcake doll and took Freya’s hand, asking her to be her friend. It was the same time that Natalia made a run for it before Freya started crying again.

Hannah looked at Freya hesitantly, her brown eyes showing uncertainty with the way she bit her bottom lip and played with her fingernails. “Umm, well, Freya, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” she spoke with little confidence. She checked behind her and looked down at the ground, unable to meet Freya’s eyes.

The halls were empty, luckily, making Freya believe Hannah’s paranoia was unreasonable. It was just the two of them, the halls quiet enough that Freya dropping her metal water bottle to the ground would replicate the sound of fireworks on Canada’s Day. They were safe from torment, however, Hannah wasn’t a target to the pack like she was, so her mistrust was more so unreasonable.

“Are you okay?” Freya asked, grabbing Hannah’s hand, “You never turn down a reason to not do homework.”

Hannah sighed, grabbing her hand back from Freya, “Freya, I think we need to talk.”

Freya giggled, “You’re making it sound like we’re breaking up.” When Hannah’s lips thinned, Freya’s heart dropped, as if reading Hannah’s mind.

“I don’t think we should be friends anymore.”

“E-excuse me?”

Hannah shook her head as if in disappointment, Freya wondered what she did to warrant such a drastic change in her behaviour. Just yesterday, the two made a pact to leave the pack together and go to school in Toronto.

“We shouldn’t hang out anymore.”

“B-but why,” Freya managed to choke out, she refused to cry at school, she didn’t want to risk any passerby from seeing fragile little Freya crying again. “D-did I do something?”

“I found my fated mate, Freya,” she said.

Freya stared at the brunette in disbelief with unshed tears, “H-how?”

This has got to be some sort of joke, you didn’t find your fated mate until you turned twenty-one and they were only sixteen, Hannah hadn’t even shifted into her wolf yet.

“A seer told him,” Hannah explained, “She told him I was his fated mate.”

Seeking a seer out was expensive, it wasn’t something common wolves like Hannah had access to, which meant her fated mate was the son of a high-ranking member.

Freya shook her head, the tears in her eyes falling as she realized this horrible revelation, “N-no…y-you can’t mean…”

Hannah crossed her arms, her expression stern as if she disapproved of Freya’s reaction, “Christian is my fated mate.”

Freya’s mind was buzzing, her chest squeezed at the thought of her best friend, well, former friend being mated to that devil. “But he’s a bully,” she whispered, not having the energy or breath to voice your concerns aloud.

Hannah glared at her, of course, she wouldn’t tolerate anyone badmouthing her fated mate, she flipped her hair over her shoulder as she leaned closer to Freya and that’s when Freya could barely recognize her. “He’s my fated mate, he loves me. You wouldn’t understand 'cause you’re a human.”

And there she said it. Freya the human who would never understand the cosmic connection the fated mates bond was. She didn’t think Hannah would stoop so low, but she guessed you could never really know a person.

As if it wasn’t enough, Hannah continued, her eyes dark and her eyebrows furrowed, her facial muscles tense as she looked at Freya in disgust. “Christian is the future Beta of the Meadow Stream Pack, making me the Beta Female. It would look improper if I was associated with a human.” She turned to leave, but not before saying over her shoulder, “Some things are just more important than others.” and with that, she left.

Leaving Freya all alone.

She blinked in what felt like forever as she recalled the day Hannah ditched her for popularity and the chance to move up in the ranks like her parents so desperately wanted. It was why they encouraged her to befriend Freya in the first place, the daughter of a Delta.

“It’s lovely to see you, Freya,” she smiled.

Freya thought Hannah hadn’t changed since they were sixteen, she still had her same baby face features with her chubby cheeks, doe eyes, and plump lips. To Freya, her former friend was typical in her eyes, she didn’t have anything special about her features as they coercively fit together with her button nose, curvy build, and chestnut hair that she cut short.

She was the typical beauty that men adored.

“It’s good to see you too,” she smiled, bowing her head to Christian as well, “Both of you. Beta Engstrom.”

Christian smiled back at her, the smile reaching his blue eyes that suddenly seemed warmer to her, like a clear sky on a crisp autumn day, she tried not to show her being taken aback at the unusual warmth he gave her. He had transformed since she last saw him, he was incredibly tall which said plenty given Freya’s own above-average height as she barely reached his shoulders. His facial features grew sharper and more rugged in contrast to the softer and boyish features he held in his youth, his hair long enough to tie into a ponytail at the nape of his neck.

“It’s nice to have you back, Freya,” he said, his voice seeming it dropped six feet since she last saw him, as he wrapped his arm around Hannah’s waist.

“I’m Georgiana!” her cousin beamed, knowing that Freya would love to avoid an awkward silence. She gestured to her mother, “And this is my mother, Alice!”

The Betas nodded, beaming, “Oh yes,” Hannah nodded, “We heard you were coming as well! It’s so great to see you two again!”

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

Hannah placed a hand around her belly, and that was when Freya noticed she was expecting, it made sense why they were in such a hurry to have a midwife now. The Betas were expecting and with Vincent without a fated mate, the Betas’ child was their chance at an heir.

Freya smiled, “How far along are you?”

Hannah giggled, “A couple of weeks.” She sighed, her smile fading, “I’m so glad you guys are here, with the war, the pack doctors are stationed at the borders and they rarely come back, we have no one taking care of the pregnant women.”

Christian’s muscles tensed as he further explained, “There’s no physical warfare, but Vincent is paranoid about being attacked unexpectedly with the rising tension, we already have a bunch of our warriors injured because someone keeps sending rogues our way.”

She nodded understandingly, “And you think it’s Land Bay or Knight?”

“We can’t say for sure, but that’s what our intel is telling us. And since we're having a big boom in births, it’s getting risky letting our doctors camp out at the borders,” he said, he pulled Hannah closer to him, smiling down at her, “I don’t want to risk Hannah’s or the others’ safety.”

She felt a pinch in her chest, a knot of envy as she unintentionally conjured her green-eyed monster as she watched the happy couple together. She knew it was foolish to want what they had or what her aunt and uncle had even though it was near impossible.

Studies about werewolves born without a wolf did not exist as many didn’t survive past their first month, therefore, the topic of the fated mates bond was irrelevant as currently, research is geared towards establishing life without a wolf.

Freya was different because she had a wolf when her mother was pregnant with her, but she died to give Freya her best chance. It was hypothesized that Freya didn’t have a fated mate given her lack of a wolf as well as her lack of primitive need for one, unlike most werewolves. However, a small minority of experts had suggested that she may have a fated mate since she had a wolf at one point, and since it was believed that the human and wolf were one, a fated mate bond would have been established.

But this was only theoretical.

She wasn’t naive to believe she had a fated mate. The God of Love and curator of fated mates, Agapian was known to be sinister and malicious, therefore, Freya had no fated mate.

Fated mates were sacred within the werewolf community, it was common practice for many to not engage in provocative behaviour as it was looked down upon to not wait for one’s fated mate. It was why The Great War was a big deal, the sacred bond was disregarded in favour of lineage and prestige when in the end, all three alphas ended up dying because they were not with their fated.

Fated mates was true love, it was a cosmic connection, a sacred bond that united two souls together for eternity. Freya always believed such a concept paralleled the love between King Pedro and Ines de Castro of Portugal, where their love extended beyond the grave and into the Heavens where it was believed they spent eternity together.

She was not deserving of such a feeling.

*****

Her office exuded comfort and serenity, it was what she would’ve decorated it as to allow expecting parents the relaxation they needed in times of excitement and stress. It would be the only place where she emphasized aesthetics and decor.

Tchaikovsky’s October: Autumn Song played on her laptop as she organized her desk, she liked the nostalgic feeling it gave her and allowed her to relax. She was quite taken aback when she was shown her office, hit with the tranquillity scent of lavender from the candles placed beside the computer screen, instantly, her hunched shoulders relaxed and her breathing steadied for the first time since she arrived.

Light showed through the large ceiling-to-floor windows, providing an ample amount of light where she didn’t need artificial ones. She believed natural light gave a boost in happy hormones that everyone needed every now and then. She planned to put some flowers at the window sill, perhaps some peonies or cattleya flowers if importing permitted, just to give the place some colour and positive energy.

She liked the soft girl vibe her office emitted, the colour schemes seeming to be white, and pink with a hint of pastel green. Her long white desk lay perpendicular to the windows and there was a tall white bookshelf behind it. She had plenty of storage space as her patient files were laid in a small filing cabinet under her desk and she had a head-to-toe closet behind her.

There was a nice consulting space beside her, with a matching neutral loveseat and armchair across from each other, with a crystal glass coffee table between. She made a mental note to add some refreshments and pamphlets, as well as some herbal tea options that were safe for pregnancy. She found that most couples felt comfortable in a setting that allowed comfort and a sense of home in comparison to the bland and strict nature of a typical doctor’s office or hospital room.

She found it quite peculiar that her space was set up to her liking and preferences, perhaps Hannah or Natalia had given their input to make Freya feel more included and at home in an attempt to convince her to stay during their trying times.

She was flattered to be considered, but she felt undeserving of such treatment as she had yet to show her performance.

She sighed as she sat at her desk chair, noting its ergonomics allowing sufficient lumbar support, she was sure living the life if they spring her with a great chair. She leaned down to pull out the filing cabinet, deciding to get a head start on reading her patients' files so she could gain an idea of what type of care plan and potential birth plan they required before setting up meetings.

She read over the notes of the pack doctors for one of the clients, because they were camped out at the borders, a different doctor made it back to the clinic each time for their care. She knew it was tough times, but inconsistent care made room for error and increased risks for complications. This one individual had an extensive history of pregnancy loss and miscarriages, with her only child making it to term being stillborn.

She noted down on her notepad that this couple most likely required extensive emotional support as well as frequent monitoring given her history as she just entered her second trimester. Sometimes talk therapy eased anxiety and managed stress, however, Freya refused to come to conclusions without consulting with the couple first. She believed it was better to gain the couple’s own perspective of their experiences. It made sense anyway, they were the best people to know about their own lived experiences.

She debated whether to have her first consults be the Betas, although she was a citizen of the pack, they didn’t know the extent of her abilities, possibly hesitant to seek her out as she was an outsider. Her train of thought was that if the Betas trusted her enough to take care of them, then others might follow.

Freya knew she had to push her own feelings away in order to do her job, it was challenging as Christian made her youth difficult and Hannah had betrayed her. She had to constantly remind herself that she was here to do a job and that they needed her, but ever since she’d accepted the job offer, her mind kept tormenting her with memories of the past, she didn’t know the last time she had a good night’s rest.

She’d close her eyes, and all she’d see were the cold blue eyes of Vincent that reminded her of the freezing temperatures of the depths of the Arctic Sea. He was Meadow Stream’s current alpha and the one who’d sent the pack kids to torment her in school. Even years ahead of her, he’d found ways to make her life a living hell, wishing every night that she was six feet under instead.

She even tried, but failed miserably as even she couldn’t even do that right.

She chastised herself for letting her mind wander, she groaned as she put her files away and leaned forward, her elbows on her knees as her hands clenched her hair. She sniffled a bit, as the memories seemed to trigger her sinuses and her chest to constrict. She counted in her head, breathed in at odd numbers and breathed out at even, it was something her aunt had talked her through when Freya first went to live with her and she had a nightmare.

She squeezed her eyes shut, the tears that were building up being pushed out as they made their way down her cheeks. Perhaps this was a bad idea, perhaps she wasn’t as strong as she thought. Maybe her aunt was wrong about the progress she had made, all she wanted to do right now was go to her and be in her arms, with her head in her lap as she sang to her.

Her body jolted at a hand on her shoulder, suddenly, the scent around her was filled with the earthy aroma of rosewood, it made her knees weak for some reason as she knew they would give out if she attempted to stand. Her fingers began tingling and her breath hitched as she felt rough fingers under her chin, lifting her head to meet the intruder.

Her grey eyes met arctic blue, and she only knew one person who held such a shade that often resembled the frosty flakes of the first snowfall.

Vincent Engstrom.

He leaned in, whispering the word she never thought she’d hear.

“Mine.”