The clear blue sky was void of any clouds, the sun shined brightly as a light cool summer breeze came through, rustling the leaves of the trees that surrounded the lake. A lone leaf floated along the water, making its way towards the twin cranes that elegantly stood, whose shadows danced along the surface of the water.
Their slow steps were deliberate, gliding through the water, causing a cascade of ripples against the serene current of the water. They were the epitome of poise and precision with their grace, their sleek feathers pristine, shimmering as if golden glitter was sprinkled on them.
They stretched their wings out, preparing to take flight, their elongated necks stretched out, when suddenly, a shot could be heard from a distance and the cranes took off.
She watched as hunters rustled out of the forest, making an appearance, one had a gun and another had a bow and arrow. They were covered in camouflage, dirt all over their faces. The one with the bow and arrow aimed for the crane, his body still, and breath steady, he released the arrow and it hit one crane as the other tried to get away.
The targeted crane’s beautiful feathers were now stained with dark red, seeping out as the crane fell into the water. Their eyes closed as they made the impact, the arrow still inside them, as if it had taken over its being with its threat. What was once peaceful and calm, was now a bloody warfare.
Freya blinked multiple times to regain her focus, no time once again had passed by since Vincent had revealed the plan to strike the Knight Pack as well. She made a mental note to add this new vision to her notebook, perhaps it would help her decipher their meaning with this one, she couldn’t for the life of her figure out their meaning and their connection to the war.
Her first vision was the easiest, it was about the three wolves, it made sense that they signified the three packs, Meadow Stream, Knight, and Land Bay. The others, she had no idea, perhaps later that day she’ll arrange them in different orders to attempt to make sense of them all.
Sunlight beamed through the large windows, she thought it hit Vincent’s face perfectly, highlighting the sharp curves of his square jaw, the shadows created by the brow bones and hooded eyes made his eyes more mysterious, creating contrast against the icy specks of his iris.
She desperately wanted to run her fingers through his blonde locks, freeing them from their restricting form of being slicked back, letting some of the strands fall forward, like how they were when they were at St Mary Lake. She wanted to be in his strong arms, her ear on his chest as she listened to his steady and strong heartbeat, his woodsy scent the only thing in her mind.
Her mind and heart were playing tricks on her.
“Why are you attacking Knight?” Freya asked, clearing her throat, wanting to forget about the images of Vincent she had in her mind.
The Alpha smirked, taking delight in his devilish motives that were unbeknownst to her, “One must remain opportunistic if one wants to assert their dominance.”
Christian explained, “Knight is still a threat, we can’t risk turning our backs for a second knowing how dishonourable they are.”
Both Vincent and Ehsan nodded in agreement.
They were referring to the Battle of Abruzzi.
“Now,” Ehsan changed the subject, “Your coronation.”
“So when are you thinking of informing the pack?” she asked.
Christian rubbed the back of his neck, looking to Vincent as Ehsan’s lips thinned. Vincent rolled his eyes at them before telling her, “We will be holding off on informing the pack.”
Freya shot up, the chair almost tipping back as her nose twitched, her body heated and she had her fists clenched at her side. “Holding off?! The whole point of this freaking agreement was that you needed an Alpha Female and now you refuse to inform the pack that you have one?!”
Ehsan attempted to calm her down by placing a hand on her shoulder but she slapped it away, her teeth grinding against each other, anger and frustration flowed through her, the blood in her veins replaced with lava as she felt the urge to strangle the Alpha.
Vincent stared back at her blankly, “Stop throwing a temper tantrum.”
“Temper tantrum?!”
Christian shook his head in disappointment, “You know nothing about women.”
His icy eyes were replaced with black, “Silence,” he commanded. “Just listen.”
Freya crossed her arms, glaring at him, the nerve to use his wolf against her.
“Yeah, he clearly knows nothing about women,” his brother muttered to Ehsan.
Vincent shot his brother a glare before returning his attention to Freya, “Revealing you as Alpha Female will be held off, Freya, it must be done strategically. We’ve just declared open warfare, if your true identity is revealed, then you will be in danger and the pack will be vulnerable. It would jeopardize what we’re striving for in this union.”
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“You’re…” Freya started, her voice quiet, “You’re worried about me?”
“Oh course I’m worried about you,” he snapped. “I’m obligated to keep you safe.”
Obligation.
He continued, “We need to proceed strategically, your father is a Delta and has made it clear to be anti-war, he has a following as well, Freya.”
“We can’t risk you being taken advantage of,” Ehsan said.
“You’re worried about your authority being challenged,” Freya stated.
“After the impact an uprising had created in Land Bay, we can’t risk that here, we need to remain a united front and that starts with holding off on your reveal, understood?”
Freya nodded, unsure whether her father was capable of leading such a thing. He was correct that her father had made his anti-war opinions vocal, it didn’t help that Jonathan was a Head Warrior, they had sway in the pack, what Vincent was insinuating was not a baseless assumption.
“That about covers everything required to be discussed today, you are all dismissed,” Vincent said.
Freya nodded again, turning away but not before stealing one last glance at her fated mate, wishing for him to see her out, give her any indication of something. She looked away in disappointment and headed to the door where Ehsan was waiting for her, he patted her shoulder and said, “I’ll see you at dinner.”
She did a double take, “What? You’re joining us?” referring to her aunt, cousin, and her.
His brows drew together in confusion, “Didn’t Georgie tell you?” he asked, when Freya mirrored his expression he revealed, “We’re fated mates.”
*****
Freya sat at her desk, deciding earlier to stay late at her office to have a few moments to herself to think things through and possibly decipher what her visions meant. She lit a lavender candle beside her computer, letting the tranquil scent fill the room as she leaned her head back, closed her eyes and took in a deep breath.
So far, her visions were of the three wolves, a shield covered in blood, poppies burning, and a crane shot by an arrow. What did they mean individually?
She interpreted the wolves climbing up the mountain so far to be the three packs at war, however, she wasn’t sure what the mountain symbolized. Perhaps the increasing tensions that recently came about.
The bloody shield? It was obvious it meant war and bloodshed, it was consistent with the past, however, what did it mean for the present and future? If she could figure out the correct order of the visions, then she could determine if the shield was a representation of the past or not.
The poppies burning, she recalled when Georgie had given her pressed poppies as a graduation gift, she explained to Freya that it was a symbol of peace, wanting her to have something physical to remind Freya of her journey in healing her inner child, as her aunt put it.
They were also an emblem that was first produced to commemorate the victims of WWI, where members of the Co-operative Women’s Guild first produced it in 1933, as a reminder that “never again” will something so horrific happen again after losing their family and friends.
Clearly, it meant that peace was burning into ashes.
The fallen crane, when she watched it happen, she felt like someone was stabbing her in the chest, and twisting the knife in her. The crane was simply enjoying the amity of the lake and the forest, lively in the harmony nature provided before it was taken away from it. The crane fell to its death, tainted by the threat of the arrow, and the other crane lost a friend.
She rearranged their order in her mind, it made sense to have the wolves first, followed by the crane, then the poppies, however, whether the blood shield was last or first, she could not determine.
Before she was able to write down her interpretations, the door slammed open, making Freya jump as she looked at the intruder who dared interrupt her private time.
Her cousin smiled sheepishly, mumbling a sorry as she yelled, “Freya!” Her curls bounced as she jumped up and down, “Guess who’s coming for dinner?!”
Freya leaned back in her chair, smiling, “Ehsan?”
Georgie stopped jumping, her face fell, “You knew?”
Freya nodded, “He told me.” She sighed before asking, “How come you didn’t tell me?”
She was hurt that she had to hear it from someone else, she thought she and Georgie were closer than that.
“We thought it would be too much for you, you know, with everything going on with Vincent?” she said, however, she couldn’t meet Freya’s eyes, her gaze darted to the notebook on her desk, her posture was stiff suddenly and her lips thinned, she cleared her throat and forced out a smile, “Is that your vision notebook?”
It was odd of Georgie to change the subject from such a milestone in her life, she had been waiting for years to find her fated mate, staying up many times with Freya daydreaming about what he’d be like and the things they’d do together. She already had a Pinterest board of their future wedding, and a list of names on her phone of what she would name their children. She was there when Georgie would cry about not having found her fated mate, and the times she cried about her father not being able to meet him and see her get married.
Why didn’t she want to talk about it now that she had gotten everything she ever wanted?
Freya let it slide for now, “Yeah, it is, I was just trying to make sense of what I’ve been seeing.” She clutched the notebook to her chest, “Georgie, I’m pretty sure they’re about the war, something bad is going to happen.”
Her cousin’s eyebrows drew together as she made her way to her desk, Freya laid her notebook open and Georgie hovered over her shoulder to read Freya’s notes, mumbling Freya’s interpretations as she read. “Are you sure?” When Freya nodded, she followed with, “Then what do we do?”
Be the hero.
Before Freya could answer, there was a knock on her door, both cousins looked at the entryway to find Christian leaning against the frame, holding Freya’s keys, she knew it was hers because she painted her apartment keys pink so she’d known which one it was.
“Thank you, Beta Engstrom,” Freya said as he gave her the keys.
“You can call me Christian, Freya,” he acknowledged Georgie with a smile and nod. He started to leave, but stopped and turned around, he said nothing at first, then hesitantly said, “You know Freya, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but I think you’re on to something.”
She and Georgie stared at him, he overheard them, did he know about her powers? Her visions? Was he going to rat her out to Vincent?
He put his hands up in surrender, “You’re entitled to your secrets, I won’t ask how you know what you know, but please let me help.”
Georgie crossed her arms, raised a brow and squinted her eyes as if analyzing him, “And why should we?”
“Because my grandmother mumbled about the same things.”