“Do you think it’s a good idea to go back to a warzone?” Georgie asked.

“Of course, it isn’t,” Freya responded, a bit drowsy. “That’s why I told you it was safer that you stayed in Cold Stream.”

Although in the Sleeper Plus class, Freya had sleep deprivation all caused by the lumpy and hard seats, confined spaces, and screaming children. Now, she sympathized with all the parents on the train, their children were just expressing what adults had to keep inside. Adventures were fun, but being stuck on a train for more than forty-eight hours was not ideal for her circulatory system…

And her motion sickness.

The air around her felt thick and she just wanted to scream in frustration, not a fan of being confined or restricted. However, the view was nice as she laid her head back, staring at the scenery in an attempt to force her brain and senses into getting along rather than giving each other mixed signals.

She truly envied those who could enjoy a trip rather than worry about throwing up their lunch at the smell of garlic or broccoli.

She stared at the scenery as the train crossed the Canadian Prairies. Vastly stretched out, Freya admired the serenity and tranquillity of the grasslands and acres of golden wheat. They passed hills and valleys, the grasslands expanding out to the horizon, the blue sky blending with shades of yellow, orange, and red as it transitioned into the night.

Freya hoped to see some stars, as they were far enough away from their stop in Saskatoon, there were never any opportunities to see any constellations when she spent half of her week in Toronto conducting clinical trials.

The trio had opted to take the Via Rail to Kamploops and drive to the Meadow Stream Pack, all expenses paid as her aunt and Georgie wanted an adventure. She didn’t have the heart to deny them their wishes as ever since her uncle, Georgie’s father was killed in battle some years ago, her aunt and Georgie rarely left their pack, let alone the province.

“We do things together,” her aunt said, putting her reading glasses on her head as she put down her book, The Duke and I. She squeezed Freya’s hand, a twinkle in her grey eyes as she smiled at her, “As a family.”

Her aunt had managed to age beautifully despite the pain she always held inside, her joy was always evident and contagious with the laugh lines that always adorned the corners of her eyes, her smile and soothing voice, and her little giggle that always made you believe that everything was going to be okay.

She pulled Freya in her arms, allowing her head to rest on her shoulder where her calming, sweet and fruity scent of jasmine allowed her tensed shoulders to relax, her heartbeat to steady, and unclench her jaw.

She remembered when she and Georgie were young and they still lived in Meadow Stream, people often asked if they were mother and daughter as they shared the same colouring. Her aunt’s auburn hair matched Freya’s own, hers with streaks of silver that laid elegantly in a low bun as the nape of her neck, with some of the strands framing her face. She liked the idea of Georgie being her sister and her aunt her mother, she never felt this much warmth and security as she did the past nine years.

She noticed Georgie picking at her nail polish as she nodded in agreement that they were family, and it was just what they did. “Maybe…” her cousin mumbled, “Maybe we could visit the memorial.”

Freya had the strength to tuck Georgie’s dark curls behind her ear, knowing that they were only doing this for her, going back to the place where her aunt lost her fated mate and her cousin lost her father. “That’s a great idea, Georgie.”

“A better idea would’ve been to end the war,” she muttered, rolling her eyes.

She wondered if others shared the same sentiment, it wasn’t surprising that Georgie held some bitterness and resentment towards Meadow Stream, Knight, and Land Bay for continuing the war after one hundred and fifty years.

It was the reason her father died.

The Battle of Abruzzi.

Freya liked to compare the start of the war to the romance and marriage between Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, as Henry’s desperation for a legitimate son and Anne’s refusal to become a royal mistress. The issue of succession had driven the King to separate from Rome and establish the Church of England.

It paralleled with The Great War within the Kingdom of Roscoe as the notions of legitimate succession, pride, and honour drove the devastating war that killed many.

It was said that the war started because of a fated mate rejection, where the Alpha of the Land Bay Pack had rejected his fated mate, a hybrid werewolf from the Meadow Stream Pack. It was believed that because she was a hybrid, especially a werewolf-sorceress hybrid, he and his pack believed she was unfit.

Under the council’s guidance, the Alpha of the Land Bay Pack had claimed a chosen mate, the daughter of a Delta from the Knight Pack, claiming her impeccable lineage and genes were a better fit to produce a proper heir.

But that only made things worse.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

Because the Alpha Female of Land Bay was the Alpha of the Knight Pack’s fated mate.

The werewolves of Meadow Stream were offended that their pack member wasn’t good enough for Land Bay, and the werewolves of Knight were furious that Land Bay had taken away their rightful Alpha Female.

War was declared, and Meadow Stream and Knight allied.

One couple had ultimately triggered a war that no one believed would last a hundred and fifty years.

*****

Freya stood in front of the obstacle course, watching as the others crawled under barbed wire and climbed up ropes or rock towers, or walking across a rope bridge.

Sweat dripped down her forehead, its saltiness stinging the cut lip she got that morning when she looked at a Delta’s daughter wrong. The sun beamed down on them as the clear skies failed to cover some of the light. A warm breeze came through, rustling the leaves on the trees all around them. You could hear some of the girls shriek as their partner pushed them in the mud to go under the barbed wires while others hissed in pain from their rope burns.

She stood at the sidelines alone, her well-worn faded blue cap and the tree she was leaning against providing some sort of shade. She was thankful that her sister, Natalia nagged her enough to wear a bucket full of sunscreen, knowing that she burned easily with her pale skin and red hair.

The bulky warrior in charge of training the teenage wolves stood beside her with his clipboard in hand, occasionally jotting down everyone’s progress. He gulped down some water before telling Freya, “You might have better luck next year, kid,” wiping the sweat on the back of his neck as he tied his curly locks into a simple updo.

No one wanted to be partnered with a human.

She sighed, knowing that he was only trying to make her feel better, but even he knew the truth. At least, he was subtle about it. It was a waste of resources to train Freya in basic defence because she didn’t have a wolf. She believed it didn’t make sense, complaining to her politician father that because she didn’t have a wolf was a good reason to train her. But her father countered her by saying that she was a liability during training, with no wolf, she had no healing abilities.

The other parents didn’t want to get into conflict because their kid hurt a Delta’s daughter.

Her head whipped back from the impact, the substance cold, soft, and somewhat sticky. She wiped it off, spitting whatever it was out, coughing in between. Her hands were on her knees as she heaved as she heard snickers and laughter all around her and the warrior in charge telling them to shut up.

She finally looked up and saw Christian and her brother, Jonathan laughing as they had mud in their hand. Thankfully it was mud and not some sort of feces they’d found in the woods.

“Laursen! Engstrom!” the warrior yelled, “That’s ten laps around the premises!”

Christian Engstrom, future Beta of the Meadow Stream Pack and her brother, Jonathan, prodigal warrior as her father liked to put it were having their daily dose of “What Will Make Freya Cry Today? - Episode 999”.

Christian’s icy blue eyes glared at her, blaming her for them getting in trouble as he ran a hand through his long brown locks in frustration. His muscles flexed and Freya feared what would become of her if she made the mistake of being alone in a hallway when they went back to school for the next period.

In contrast, her brother smirked at her, the grey eyes that matched Freya’s own glistening as she knew he had a sinister plan, one that required their father. She shivered as she thought about what he’d do to her. Use Freya for sparing practice? That was what he managed to convince their father to let him do the last time Freya got him in trouble.

Maybe she’ll sleep in the woods tonight.

No, that was worse, they’d find her with their tracking skills.

She had no chance, Jonathan’s wolf had no familial bond with her. Because Jonathan shifted early at sixteen, it was believed that his wolf was primitive from being underdeveloped. Their father believed him to be a prodigy, the pride and joy of the Laursen name as it made him top of the warrior class.

“Freya! We’re here!” She jolted awake to Georgie aggressively shaking her and screaming in her ear. Even though her senses were at the same level as a human's, her ears were still sensitive for some reason. Weird.

She jumped when her aunt placed her hand on her shoulder, although groggy, her body remembered the fight or flight response that often occurred when she was in the pack, her own body reacting as if it was being attacked even though her mind was saying something else.

It was as if her mind and body were at war themselves.

They passed a large green sign on the highway, welcoming them to The Meadow Stream Pack as they reached Marysville. She leaned against the window of the car, watching as they passed by the tall Douglas Firs that shadowed them from the piercing sunrise. She tried not to focus on the scent of strawberries that the driver had bought from Bath and Body Works, usually, she had no problems with the scent, but her motion sickness played a cruel trick on her by reminding her of her breakfast, an omelette with an English muffin.

She forced herself to go back to sleep, not wanting Meadow Stream's first impression of her being back would be of her not able to keep her food down. Oh, the scandal that would cause as they would assume the worst with her slim figure.

She bounced her leg, her heartbeat tachycardiac and her breathing constrained. She had to pull it together. Christian was now a Beta and her brother a Head Warrior.

Betas were the Alpha’s right-hand man, often a child of the Alpha family, most likely the second-born male or a male cousin, like Christian was. This wasn’t law, however, but a practice many werewolf packs followed. Theoretically, anyone could be chosen as a Beta if the Pack Elders agreed according to the wellness of the pack.

Freya thought of Betas as glorified Deltas with a pretty title, they essentially did the same role in most packs, them being the head of the defence sector.

It was terrifying that Christian was the head of Defense.

Warriors were the protectors of the packs, like each pack’s own little army just like how a dukedom would have their own knights. It was quite a prestigious title to be a warrior, as in their werewolf culture, protecting their own was highly valued. It was quite laughable given her experience, a statement that was preached but not practiced. Being the Head Warrior, like her brother Jonathan who’d just recently received such a title, was basically equivalent to a Delta, which made their father proud.

It was truly horrifying.

The car stopped, and the trio got out and Freya was met by two individuals she wasn’t prepared to see.

Hannah and Christian.