Chapter 3 The Awakening

• Freya looked at her friend's weary but stubborn face. She won't get anything out of the woman.
• "Where is Ciri? I haven't seen her; she usually hangs onto her mother like a Koala. Is she okay?
• "Mhh, she is okay, so do not worry, remember what the priestess said. Your health is really important. You need to rest, hmm?" Ophelia said.
• "Yeah, right! Rest when I'm stuck in the middle of nowhere outside the pack. Why can't I go home again?" Freya was not feeling good at all. "Stop treating me like a cub or some crippled wolf, because I'm not."
• Okay, maybe she was angry.
• "I'm putting you to bed now." Ophelia's voice was shaky.
• "No, Philly do not use it on me, you know I hate it when you..."
• Ophelia muttered incoherently under her breath and held Freya's hand till Freya's eyes rolled back, and she fell into a deep sleep.
• Letting Freya lie asleep carefully, Ophelia burst into tears and ran out of the room. She hated that she couldn't run a rampage on Silas and Ciri. She wanted to tear them limp for doing such an unbelievable thing to her best friend.
• The priestess had told the Alpha that they had to do a deep cleansing to atone for the rejection. Rejecting one's mate was a huge deal for werewolves. It was like tearing off your skin. The cutting of the bond was the most painful part; the rejected one could be crippled or die off. The bond was so strong because the Moon goddess was the one who chose Mate for the werewolves, and they were as loyal to their mates as themselves as they were bonded in the soul.
• There were only very few instances in the history of the Vermillion pack that one had rejected their mates, and all of the rejected ones never ended well over the century. In the three cases, she recalled, one had gone insane, the other went into a vegetative state, and the other had his soul ripped apart, causing him to die on the spot.
• She hated that Ciri had betrayed her sister in the worst possible way. But she was going to protect her friend at all costs.
• ……….
• Freya flipped her eyes open, and she was met with a pitch-black room. She had been awake for a while now; if Ophelia were in the room, she would notice that Freya no longer had a clueless expression; her eyes were void and cold.
• She could hear hushed voices in the distance, very familiar voices.
• Mother. Father.
• She carefully stepped down from the bed and tiptoed to the window; the voices became more precise.
• "We have to decide what to do with her!" That was her father's voice.
• With who?
• "Garvin, she is our daughter too!" That was Elena, her mother.
• "But Ciri is our blood, we can't forsake her for Freya, especially now that she carries the heir of the soon-to-be 'Alpha' . This could be my chance to gain an upper hand in the pack's council and you know that!" Freya never heard her father sound so harsh.
• "Garvin, we promised to take care of Freya." Elena sounded stressed out and tired.
• "Not when she will cost us the unity of our family," Garvin's voice retorted sharply.
• "You want us to throw her out to the rogues?" Elena sounded shattered.
• "Or risk losing your actual daughter," Garvin said finally.
• Freya heard disappearing footsteps and another approaching the door. She immediately lay on the bed and shut her eyes. She regulated her breathing and assumed a sleeping position.
• The door creaked open, and soft footsteps approached her bed. A smooth, flowery scent filled Freya's nostrils.
• Mother.
• "My sweet Cub." A soft hand cupped her face.
• "Mother will have to let you go, I'm sorry, we have to end on this note. You are a good Cub, too bad destiny has something else in store." Elena sniffed sadly as she held the hand of the 'sleeping' Freya.
• Freya could hear Elena's sniffs as she sobbed quietly, but she gritted her teeth and remained still.
• "Here," Elena whispered.
• Freya felt a cold sensation on her wrist as something slipped into it.
• "This will protect you from any harm, my Cub. You have to forgive Mother. Ah, I can't believe I'm talking to a sleeping child. Elena, you are losing it." Elena snorted and wiped her tear-filled eyes.
• Her shaky hand caressed Freya's pale face. "Good luck, Cub."
• Freya flipped her eyes open when she knew Elena was leaving. The woman's frame seemed more aged in just a few hours. She could see the woman's hands trembling as she left; the barely lit room felt empty as the lady walked away.
• Freya's eye held unfathomable thoughts.
• She glanced at her wrist to see a bracelet around her wrist.
• A protection spell.
• A lone tear slipped down her eyes.
• At least her supposed Mother protected her to the end, right?
• She had forgotten what had happened when she first woke up, but the memory of her bloody wedding had rushed back so vividly.
• Silas.
• Cirila.
• She remembered it all. His dead eyes, Cirila's pitiful tears, the pack members' uproar, her heartbreak, her soul, the words of the priestess, she remembered.
• It's funny how her life was on track two nights ago. It's a comfortable lie.
• Now, she just figured that she was not her Parents' child. Everything about her life was a lie.
• A depreciating smile flitted her lips. She had no strength left to cry, scream, or trash around. She had to leave, and she knew it. Her wounds had healed, and that was only because she was special. She had always known, and only Ophelia knew of her peculiarity. She had even kept the secret to the last.
• Ophelia.
• After the discussion she had just heard, she knew she had to escape from wherever this was. She had to because she didn't know what her 'father' had in store as a method of getting rid of her.
• Freya sat upright with all the strength she could muster. She propped her legs forward and folded them beneath her. She shut out her senses and tried to connect with Ophelia.
• 'Philly!'
• There was silence.
• She opened her eyes and shut them again, taking a deep breath. Telepathy requires concentration, deep concentration.
• Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in.
• 'Ophelia, can you hear me?'
• 'Frey, you are awake!' Ophelia's voice rang in her head.
• Finally!
• 'Yes, I am.' Freya answered.
• There was silence among the friends as they were comfortably in their heads.
• 'I left later. Your mother came by, so I had to leave. I stank, ' Ophelia said.
• 'Ohh, I know,' Freya hummed.
• 'You remember now, don't you?' Ophelia asked rhetorically.
• 'Mhh,' Freya hummed.
• 'I'm sorry we lied, the priestess said to let you remember on your pace, and truthfully I didn't want you to remember the ghastly incident, if you'd let me,I can wipe the memory out of your mind completely. You are free to stay at my family cabin if you do not feel comfortable at yours—'
• 'Philly, it's fine. I am fine, and I understandably do not want to recall,' Freya's voice cracked as she interrupted her friend.
• 'I need your help; I'm in danger, big one. My father wants to get rid of me,' Freya started.
• 'What? No! That's not possible. They had been worried sick of you.' Ophelia's surprise was evident.
• 'What if I told you that I am not my parents' daughter? And that they have to protect Ciri and their family peace because my presence at this point is a threat? Will you believe me then?'
• 'This is too much info; hown, How did you come up with such assumption? Your hair is enough proof that you are your mother's daughter! It's Silver! Think about it.'
• 'I overheard them arguing, and Mother came into the room and confirmed it when she thought I was asleep, father wants to silently wipe me out.'
• 'Holy goddess Selena!' Ophelia hissed. She was shocked. The entire information was too sudden. But then, what if Freya was hallucinating?
• 'I'm not hallucinating philly! Please, I need you to help me, can you get me out of here? I don't know where this is, I'm literally in the middle of nowhere, I owe you one, I promise.' Freya pleaded.
• 'you invaded my thoughts!' Ophelia snorted.
• 'you casted a spell on me earlier, remember? We are even' Freya cooed.
• 'I'll make my way to you now, but you have to promise to be careful, survey your environment, if what you say is true, then Garvin might place watch wolfs around!'
• 'Aye, Captain!' Freya replied.
• She flipped her eyes open, disconnected from Ophelia.
• She was glad Ophelia had agreed to help her. Now, all she had to do was wait. She snuck out of the cabin, and for the first time, she realized that the cabin was in the woods.
• Great.
• She concentrated her senses to survey the perimeters.
• No sign of life. Well, except for the greenery and the crickets.
• She snuck back into the cabin and sat patiently waiting for her friend.
• After a long time, there was a quick rap on the window.
• 'Frey!' A whisper came.