by Zana Wilder
Tavey comes bounding up to the entrance to the cave, obviously relieved to have found us. He seems oblivious to Freya's discomfort, openly staring straight at us. I growl, a low, menacing throaty rumble.
“Turn the fuck around Tavey, eyes down!”
Tavey bursts out laughing enraging me, then to make it worse, he rolls his eyes. Not very submissive of my beta. Another more serious growl escapes me.
“Seriously Aaron??” Tavey splutters “I'm mated to her best friend. And more fucking importantly, she's my bloody sister... I... I think”
The silence following his statement is deafening.
Chapter Thirty-One
Freya's POV
None of the shifters who arrive seem to think it's at all strange to be staring at a naked woman. They don't appear to feel the need to look away. It must be second nature after a while, but doesn't make me feel any less bloody self-conscious right now.
I tuck myself behind Aaron's reassuringly large frame and poke my head out sheepishly to wave a greeting. Aaron grumping about my nakedness in front of his pack makes me feel oddly happy inside. As if I belong to him, but in a good way.
Tavey drops a bombshell in his first few words; I'm his sister. I try it out for size...saying the words to myself- Tavey's my brother. Somehow it fits, just like the feeling of being with Aaron. Tavey and I got on from the moment we met – we just clicked. Was that because actually we're related?
So now I have a real proper family, and a maybe a mate? I didn't really think anyone actually felt this kind of warm glow – I thought it was just something people wrote about in books. It's definitely not something I was expecting to feel in 5 degrees centigrade, in the middle of bloody nowhere, naked, covered in blood and spunk, being stared at by a bunch of half-animals. A giggle bursts out of me into the cold air, earning me weird looks from everyone and an arched eyebrow from Aaron.
Luckily for my cringing shyness the pack tracked us down first, then drove in close by car and they carry spare clothes in their vehicles. I shrug into one of Aaron's shirts, sniffing his reassuring scent as I pull it on. On him it probably clings to his perfectly sculpted body, and doesn't wave around his knees like a flag. I grin at myself as I tug it into a makeshift dress. Won't be winning any catwalks like this!
I run a hand through my hair and wince as it meets a completely immobile tangle almost immediately. I'm pretty sure I look and smell like I've lived in a dump for a year. One that's right next to a slaughterhouse.
On the drive back to the pack's estate it's quiet, in a pleasant way – everyone caught up in their own thoughts. I take the time to look around, trying to get a perspective on Aaron, his family and his pack.
As we drive in the gates it dawns on me we're headed for the pack house – his family home. We're very likely to meet his parents, and here I am dressed in an oversized shirt with bare feet, tangled hair and blood stains still streaked across my face. Oh great! What is it with me and disastrous 'meet the family' moments?!
Aaron marches Tavey and I straight into the boardroom, ignoring the protests from the pack's secretary. I let myself be bowled along, bolstered by his strength and determination. Coming face to face with the packs council is sobering though.
A stern broad shouldered man is flanked on one side by a wild-copper haired shifter with an open looking face, and on the other by a sneering, wiry man. The rest of the council sit around the massive boardroom table, and they're all glaring at me.
A ruckus immediately breaks out with shouting and table bashing on all sides. I take an uncertain step back... I had expected far more unity, either for or against me, but not this free for all.
The sneering man is demanding I be expelled from council chambers immediately, while trying not to look threatened by Aaron striding toward him purposefully.
“SILENCE” my ears ring... the voice is inside my head and outside all at once.
The voice of the stern man fills the room. He introduces himself as Alpha Connell, and Aaron's dad. I cringe again, this is not how to make a first impression. Something crinkles around the alpha's eyes making him not quite so intimidating. He turns to introduce his beta. As soon as the beta steps forward the air fills with a weird crackling. He gently takes both my hands, and I feel Aaron beside me, restraining himself from bristling.
“My name” the beta says “is Angus. I'm Tavey's father, and I think you might be Tavey's twin, and my daughter.”
Without thinking I wrap my arms around this unknown giant of a man and squeeze with all my strength. His arms gently enfold me, only opening when Tavey joins in, squashing me in the middle.
It's very very surreal. Who the fuck was the man I've called dad all my life? Is he even related? I don't question that Angus and Tavey are my blood relatives, I can feel it. It feels good.
This number of great things shouldn't happen to me, it's like I might wake up at any moment. There is so much to talk about with my new family.
Despite Tavey's welcoming chatter he's obviously distressed. His worry, and need to find Liz is at odds with the happiness of having a brand new family member. I need to find her too – she's my best friend, and I owe her. Without her, I'd never have found myself, I'd have stayed under Marc's spell and fuck knows what would have happened. So long as we find her, she can tell me 'I told you so' about Marc until she's blue in the face, I won't care. I just need her here, safe.
Theories around what happened fly around the room, and plans for counter attacks form. I have to prompt the council to let me go get cleaned up and to find some clothes. It amuses me when they look at me a little askance, as if they can't understand why it might matter.
Aaron asks apologetically if he can leave me in his sister's care so he can stay a part of the council plans. I can see he's torn between the council and keeping me close. A bloody far cry from being abandoned by Marciel, I think to myself wryly.
I peer at Aaron's sister Aurora. I can't really put my finger on it but something seems off. After ignoring my instincts for so long I'm determined not to again. Before Aaron leaves us alone I hiss at him.
“What's wrong with her?! She feels... wrong”
He takes a deep sigh “Long story Freya, she's lost her wolf”
My eyebrows shoot up... that's even a thing?! Aaron continues, looking pensively at the floor. “The Coven separated them somehow, and we've maybe not given it the attention it deserves with everything else going on... I... don't know how to help her. Or even talk to her any more.”
I nod, seeing how troubled he is, before encouraging him back to the council rooms.
I take a deep breath before turning to the girl “Well that must be bloody awkward having him talk like you don't have ears either?!”
It earns me a slow smile. Good enough to start with I guess. Aurora shows me to Aaron's rooms, and points me in the direction of the bathroom before vanishing. I'm a little disappointed, I'd hoped to talk with the lithe young girl who moves like a shadow. It can't be easy living in a pack, and not having your wolf I muse, stripping down to climb into the shower.
I don't get far – as I walk towards the shower my blood streaked reflection catches my eye in the mirror. I'm still staring at myself when Aurora marches back in startling me. I grab a towel from her to try and cover myself, which earns me a disapproving glare.
“Most people take a shower and clean the blood off before using the towels” Aurora says quietly.
I burst out laughing, grinning at the young woman
“I think I like you already!” I declare.
Auroras eyes widen a little “thanks, I think. Now... shower!” She leaves me alone in the bathroom after squeezing my hand.
I stand, frozen on the spot as the door clicks shut. I can't be sure, but just for an instant, before the girl dropped my hand I was sure I could sense a wolf.
Once I'm showered and dressed in some of Aurora's clothes I feel more like myself. Like myself, but better than my old self. Oh it's confusing. What is not confusing, but
very very obvious is that I'm half starved and somewhere in this house I can smell cooking. My nose leads me to the kitchen.
I'm just tucking into a pile of pancakes and slurping down a steaming mug of coffee while giggling with Aurora when Aaron finally tracks me down. I'm aware of his presence in the doorway, watching, before he announces himself but Aurora seems oblivious and jumps as he starts to speak.
“Happiest I've seen you in a while sis” he grins, stealing her last bite of pancake.
I laugh watching his little sister lay into him for the theft. Aurora chases him around the bunker flailing a tea-towel and howling obscenities. After the hilarity settles, Aaron turns to me.
“How refreshed do you feel beautiful? If, and only if, you feel ready... the council have a plan” he murmurs in my ear, stroking my hair and teasing my ear lobe.
“If you keep doing that Aaron... we're not going anywhere but the bedroom, but … I owe Liz. We have to find her” I grin at him with a wicked smile, and see him swallow hard before pulling his hand away reluctantly.
“Later beautiful, it's a promise.. and a threat” His eye gleam and I feel my lady-bits tingle. This man! He's undoing me with just his words.
“We both owe Liz,” Aaron seems able to distract himself while I'm still tingling all over. Damn him!
“Tavey's been able to sense her, but even his well-honed witching powers have been too weak to mind-link her.” Aaron rushes his words, seeming uncharacteristically nervous “Tavey wants to use your twin connection to strengthen his link with Liz. He wants to use you as some kind of living battery pack” he grumbles, charmingly uncomfortable with the idea.
I'm more than game. I'm definitely not at full strength but if I can help find my best friend in anyway, then I'll damn well give it a shot.
“Can I do anything?” a mournful voice asks at my shoulder, and I look up into the suddenly sad face of Aurora “I feel so bloody useless!” the teenager stomps out the room without waiting for a reply.
After a few false starts I get the hang of what Tavey and I need to do to boost his mind-link. We accidentally boost my powers instead of Tavey's initially. There's now a hole burned in the board room floor, a partially exploded mirror and a temporarily deafened Aaron to testify that we got it a little wonky. It's a bloody steep learning curve, but by reversing what we did to boost me, I think we've come as close as we're going to.
We take a little break, coming back to it after a short meditation. I hold Tavey's head gently on either side and pour as much of my energy into him as I can, and it fucking works!
Tavey manages to reach Liz, but the communication is jumbled somehow – like they're trying to talk through a filter or a thick pane of glass. I can observe, but not interact. Liz manages to show Tavey where she's being held – no thoughts, no words, just images, but it's a start.
She's in squalid conditions, with several other shifters jammed in a cell together with no windows. Opposite her in a similar looking cell there are a few humans and we can sense, feebly, a witch somewhere in there too.
Connected to him like this I can physically feel Tavey's distress at seeing Liz like this. My energy is draining rapidly though, I've not had long enough to recharge. I just hope we get some clue as to where she is before I give out.
Liz only has snapshots from when she was kidnapped – a few blurred photo-like images from the points on their journey where Marciel slowed his fast-flow enough for her eyes to focus.
It's awful, I don't recognise anywhere. How are we ever going to track her down with this little information? A wave of despair washes over as I feel my strength slipping away. Everything fades, and I spend the last of my energy letting Tavey try to reassure Liz. The link breaks and I fade into nothingness.
When I come around my head is pounding and my mouth feels like I've eaten sand. The whole room is unnaturally bright and noisy. Aaron is alternating between worriedly patting my head far too hard and arguing full volume with Rennard. Most of the council seem far more excited than they ought to be with the tiny bit of information we have.
It takes a few moments before I realise that although I didn't recognise anywhere, Tavey did. He knows the bridge where Liz and Marciel paused – we have somewhere to start the search!
The relief is amazing. We might actually find Liz, and I won't have to boost Tavey's mind-link again. Of course I would've done it, but being the bloody 'battery pack' has drained me so much I can barely move. I drift in and out of the council's plans
“We should scout it out, take our time to ensure there's no trap. We shouldn't risk any of our fighters for the cougar until we're sure we can take the building.” Rennard whines.
The air reverberates with Tavey's fury - he and his wolf want to go right now, no delays, no caution.
“You have to be fucking kidding me?! My mate is out there, stuck in a miserable cage, like a fucking animal. Who knows what the fuck the Coven has planned for her... And you suddenly decide NOW is the time for caution?”
My head throbs wildly as the door slams behind Tavey storming out in disgust.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Freya's POV
Standing in Aaron's rooms I peer at the pictures of him as a small boy, the toy train on a shelf, and the teenage-angst laden pleather trousers hanging in the wardrobe, trying to reconcile them with the man I'm getting to know.
It's nice to get these little glimpses into who he was growing up. He's worrying me though. In the past five hours he's barely stepped into his rooms before he's stepped out again. I swear the arse is deliberately avoiding me.
I've just come through the most traumatic experience of my life, killed some people, shifted for the first time, fucked him then met his father, met my own father and acted as a human battery pack for Aaron's beta who turns out to be my brother.
I deserve a little more than him sliding away every time we get a chance to talk alone. What the hell is going on?! Any normal man would be wrapping me in cotton wool and telling me it'll all be okay. He needs to explain himself, now. I'm not going to be sidelined by a man again. When he next paces in I shut the door firmly behind him and stand with my back to it, blocking his exit.
“Aaron Varg! That is ENOUGH.”
Aaron peers at me and raises an eyebrow, looking surprised. I'm sure he's not used to being told what's what. But I don't give a fuck. This is my life.
His jaw clenches and he reaches past me for the door, but I smack his hand away.
“What the hell is going on? This morning you fucked my brains out on the cold floor of a cave, and now... now you can't stay alone in the same room as me for more than 30 seconds. You are not going anywhere until you explain yourself!”
He sighs, glancing at me warily “You're my mate Freya... my fated-mate – I know you're new to all this but... can't you feel it?”
My wolf preens. We're still getting used to each other – but she's been fucking invaluable for working out how the pack shit works. She knew – she told me he's our mate. It still sounds fucking whacko to me, but it does explain the connection I've felt with him since the first day.
“My wolf knows it, and I feel it Aaron. But that should make you want to stay with me, not fuck off whenever we're alone. Unless... do you not want a half-witch mate?”
“NO! That's not it” he grits his teeth “I'm struggling with my wolf... he's super protective of you now we have you. I'm trying hard not to mark you before you're... y'know... ready”
“But sex in a cave was allowed? You didn't need to wait then?” I can't help needle him
Aaron snorts “You seemed more than ready for that beautiful”
I shoot him a cheeky grin, he's got me there. I still don't really know what marking me means – my wolf's being super coy about it. I'm guessing the wolves get to get their kink on too?
A flicker of naughtiness creeps over me. Now, alone in his room with no-one else around, definitely feels like a good time to find out how strong Aaron's resolve is.
I sli
p my arms around his neck, biting my lip seductively, before pressing my body up against his muscled chest. Aaron's self restraint lasts a few seconds and he scoops me up, squealing, and deposits me firmly on the silky sheets.
“You don't know what you just let yourself in for beautiful” he growls.
Pinned under his weight, with him pressed up hard against me I feel my fangs lengthen and a shiver goes through my whole body. Aaron captures my mouth in his, before groaning and giving it up to work his way down the length of my body with little kisses.
“You need to stop this now Freya, if you're not ready... I can't hold back if we keep going...”
I need this. I arch my back upwards...
“Yeeeeuck” a yell shatters the moment “I do NOT need to see my sister” Tavey pauses searching for the words “...'sexying'. It's just wrong! You two should get a bloody room.”
“We had one!” I yell in unison with Aaron, before he groans and rolls off, leaving me bereft.
Tavey ignores our protests and plonks himself down on Aaron's bed, directly between us, looking intense.
“Our scouts already reached the bridge we saw in Liz's mind-link... and they think they've tracked Liz's location! There's a bothy which is way more active than you'd expect in the off-season... and its only about 15 miles from the bridge!” Tavey explains excitedly. “Lyell, our grizzly tech, has this natty new toy for heat imagining. There are lots of heat spots bunched together in a small space inside the bothy - that would fit with the prisoners in the holding cells.”
I'm distracted by his description “Why is he always grizzly?”
Tavey and Aaron pause to look at me askance and I feel like I've somehow asked a stupid question.
“Uh. No. Lyell is a grizzly.”
That doesn't really help... I raise an eyebrow at them and wait for a better explanation.
“He's a bear!” Tavey exclaims “not a wolf-shifter, a bear-shifter, a GRIZZLY bear, okay? But, he's as loyal to the pack as any. Long story. Now... can we move our arses and save Liz?! I need your help with the council Aaron – they're being stubborn!”