Freya's Founding: Book 2 of the Winging It Series

by Sonja Bair

  “I already have David and Alrik breathing down my neck. I don’t need you to do the same.”

  Elin looked away from me, but she was pulling at the ends of her ponytail, her tell for serious stress.

  I grabbed her hand and said softly, “Really, Elin. You need to go down to LA, set up for your show, and be a fancy-pants famous artist. I can handle myself.”

  “Okay, I will. But promise me something—you will ask Gina and her brother to find another place to crash tonight.”

  “Why?”

  “I know you don’t like to hear this, but that girl is trouble. She’s playing you, and this brother of hers doesn’t seem to be any better. I don’t trust them or their motives.”

  My nose wrinkled at her words. “You don’t even know her. I don’t know where you are getting these ideas that she is some mastermind criminal.”

  “And you have a bleeding heart for teenagers in trouble. Like David said, supernaturals grow up faster and although she may only be seventeen years old, she’s doing a slow roll on you and the rest of the werewolves.”

  “A slow roll? Really? She has some master plan she’s playing out hand by hand and not letting us see until the very end? And so she planned to get kicked out of her own family and end up living with an Alva in California and all of this somehow ties in with a Dr. Evil plan of world domination?”

  “Don’t be like that, Freya. All I’m saying is that you need to be less trusting of her.”

  There was a knock on the bedroom door. Both Elin and I jumped.

  “Freya, are you okay?” a groggy voice called out. “I think that’s your sister in there, but I wanted to make sure everything’s alright.”

  Elin raised her eyebrows at me, as if Gina knocking on the door somehow had proven her point, but I didn’t buy it.

  “Yeah, it’s Elin. Sorry she woke you up. She’s checking in before she leaves for Los Angeles today.”

  “Okay.” And I heard shuffling noises as she headed back to bed on the living room sofa.

  “See?” Elin hissed at me.

  “No,” I hissed back. “I don’t see. She checked if I was okay and then she went back to bed. I don’t see how that played into a ploy to destroy the world.”

  Elin clenched her fists in frustration. “Don’t be so naïve.”

  “I’m drawing the line there, Elin. You seriously need to clean your perspectacles,” I replied in a huff. “I am an adult. I can handle myself. Although you may not realize it, your little sister doesn’t need your help anymore.”

  “Fine. I was trying to save you some heartbreak, but you are too blockheaded to listen. I’m leaving now. Good luck with today’s meetings.” She stood up and grabbed her purse from the nightstand, where she had dumped it.

  “Yeah, good luck with your meetings too,” I said as I flopped back down onto the bed. The coffee I was holding slopped up over the side of the lid and puddled onto the fitted sheet. I ignored the mess, as it seemed to be making a point I wanted to ignore.

  My belly twisted as Elin left the room. I never liked leaving her with tension between us. She was my best friend and the world to me, but right now our respective prides were getting in the way of making up. I knew that I was right about Gina, just as Elin knew that she was right about Gina as well. The problem, I fully realized, was that only one of us could actually be right.

  After the door closed behind Elin, I tried to fall back asleep, but I was much too wound up to manage it. Instead, I twisted and turned until the sheets became a soggy, tangled mess. After about ten minutes, I gave up and got out of bed. Grabbing my cell phone, I called David.

  “Should we trust Gina?” I asked without any introductory pleasantries.

  “I’m sorry… what?” Although David seemed fully awake at this ridiculous hour, the question seemed to have caught him off-guard.

  “Elin is convinced that Gina is hiding some secret, twisted plot and shouldn’t be trusted. She barged into my bedroom this morning to warn me about Gina’s intentions.”

  There was silence on the other end of the line. Then David replied, “To answer your question, no.”

  “No? We shouldn’t trust her?”

  “Gina is now part of our pack. Part of my adopted family, in fact. I will risk life and limb for her. But that doesn’t necessarily mean I trust her.”

  That wasn’t the answer that I was expecting. For me, if someone was part of my family, I trusted them, no matter if they frustrated me occasionally. It was part and parcel of the whole family gig. After an extended pause, David continued. “I realize that there are two sides to every story, including the story from Colorado. But part of the reason that you are so fascinating to me is that you see the world in black and white. If someone is on your side, they have your complete and utter devotion and trust. You were willing to give Jia chance after chance, even after it became clear that she was out to do you harm. And now Gina is getting those same chances from you. Your gift of loyalty is amazing, but sometimes it could possibly be taken too far. For better or worse, I find it easy to separate my responsibilities from my emotions. I don’t trust Gina, but I will support her.”

  I played with a frayed edge of my blanket, deep in thought. Deciding to shelve my concerns for the moment, I changed the subject.

  “Has anyone heard from Julia and Amir since last night?”

  “I heard through the grapevine that they showed up at the hotel very early this morning. No indication of what they were doing.”

  “Are they going to cause trouble today?”

  David chuckled merrily, lightening the mood significantly. “I expect everyone to cause trouble today.”

  “Good point. I have my trouble planned, plotted, and ready to go.”

  There was another, bigger laugh on the other end of the line. “No, Freya, you don’t have to plan your trouble. Chaos travels in your wake.”

  I fell silent. His words echoed Nick’s almost perfectly.

  “Freya? I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that to be an insult. I love your chaos; it makes life so much more interesting.”

  “I suppose… I’m going to go harass the teenagers sleeping in my living room. Maybe try to get Gina to make something fancy for breakfast.”

  “Good luck with that. I remember how pleasant I was in the morning when I was a teenager.”

  We said our good-byes and I ventured into the living room. There was a mound of blankets in the middle of the floor under which I assumed Rex was sleeping. Gina’s spot on the sofa was empty. A clattering of pans in the kitchen told me where she was.

  “Morning,” I said as I grabbed a stool and sat down in the kitchen, hopefully out of her way.

  “I couldn’t keep my eyes closed after your sister left so I decided to make a frittata. Sound okay?”

  “Sounds delicious. How was your night?”

  “Meh. I kept thinking about the meeting.”

  “Why do you think your parents never came back last night?”

  “Beats me. I don’t get my parents at all.”

  “Hazard a guess. You know them better than I do.”

  Using my old wooden spoon, she scraped the bottom of the pan on the stove. The scent of caramelizing onions filled the air. “My guess is that they were somehow intimidated by the others accepting my place in the conference. Like I told you, they have this big hang-up about me trying to steal leadership from them. I think they retreated somewhere and tried to come up with a way to get me out of the meeting.”

  “What do you think they planned?”

  “I don’t think it’ll be a physical attack. David showed how kick-ass he is at fighting yesterday and I think the other werewolves would turn against them more if they hurt me. So I’m guessing that they will try to undermine any credibility that I have. Talk to people on the side, tell lies about me—you know—that sort of thing.”

  “Is there something truthful that would discredit you?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I’ve been warned by so
meone outside of the werewolf packs that you may not be trustworthy. That I should watch out for you."

  “Your sister said that, right?”

  “Maybe.”

  “Look, I don’t know Elin very well, but I can tell she’s really protective of you. And she’s your older sister, so that’s what she’s supposed to do. But I also think she might be a little jealous of me.”

  I gave her an incredulous look.

  “No, I’m serious. She used to be your only family here in San Luis. Then you get sucked into the werewolf pack, which starts to become another family. And then I show up, become part of that new family, and even move into your house. I’m kinda taking the spot of a sister. She isn’t used to sharing you like that.”

  Her words didn’t ring true, but the world had been a mixed-up place recently, so I tucked yet another conversation away to be considered later. Rex had joined us by now in the kitchen. One side of his hair stuck straight up in the air and his eyes were puffy and half-closed.

  “Thank goodness there’s someone else who isn’t a morning person. I’m getting sick of all these people who are ready to storm the castle at six in the morning,” I said, getting up and heading to the coffee machine. “Coffee anyone?” The caffeine from the earlier cup had kicked in, but I could do with more. Rex grunted an affirmative.

  “Hey Rex, I asked your sister the same question, but I’ll ask you too. What do you think your parents did after they left the meeting last night?”

  He scrubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands and stood up a bit straighter. “Gina probably said that they’re planning something against her.” He looked at me, and I nodded. “Yeah, she would. And I don’t know, maybe they were. I’m kind of the neutral party in that war. But I think the werewolf crisis is more on their mind than anything else. If she could figure out what’s going wrong and stop the forced killings, I think they would welcome her back with open arms.” Gina snorted in disbelief but didn’t add anything. “I talked to someone back in Denver last night, and they told me that Derek is having more problems controlling himself, especially since the Alphas left. My guess was that they were dealing with that situation last night.”

  Pondering the two different replies, I grabbed some mugs from the shelf and filled mine halfway with milk and added two spoonfuls of sugar. Rex and Gina both waved off the milk and sugar and took theirs black.

  The twins started some other conversation that I mostly tuned out. The frittata was now in the oven and my stomach grumbled at the delicious odors that were emanating. The words flowing around me took a more negative turn and I closed my eyes in irritation.

  “Stop squabbling, children,” I grumbled, feeling like a crusty old person.

  They both fell silent for a moment.

  “Don’t you fight with Elin?” asked Gina.

  “Not so much now, and I don’t think we ever fought as much as you guys.”

  “But being a twin is much more intense than just siblings,” Rex said.

  “Yeah, we’ve been sharing the same space since conception. Rex is almost this extension of me.” Gina added. “I think twins have this love/hate thing going on. But I really miss him when we’re apart.”

  “How do you think being in separate packs is going to work?” I asked.

  A brief look passed between the twins. I swear in that single look there was a full discussion, complete with points, counterpoints, rebuttals, and an uneasy decision.

  “We’ll do what we have to,” Rex answered, and Gina nodded in agreement.

  “Okay. Rex can stay here until the end of the conference, if that will help.” A noise of disbelief and disapproval echoed in my head which sounded exactly like Elin. I would have some explaining to do when she returned from LA.

  Chapter 20

  “Good morning, Jerry. Did you know that SLO was the first city in the country to ban smoking in public places? But don’t worry, we aren’t in city limits so you’re legal.” I walked up to the building we were renting for the second day of the meeting. He looked down at his cigarette, flicked off the ash, and only grunted.

  “And drive-thrus,” I continued, undeterred by his silence. “Can you believe that fast food drive-thrus are illegal here? It sounds crazy, but the fact that I have to get out of the car to get a value meal actually has decreased my fast-food consumption.”

  “Does all that rule-making help you guys be the Happiest City in the Country?” Jerry replied through a layer of smoke.

  “Probably not, but all the winemaking does. Tough night last night? You look rough around the edges.”

  Jerry gave a single bark of laughter that promptly turned into a coughing fit. After hocking a disgusting wad of mucus into the bushes, he answered, “Yeah, it was rough. I spent half the night as a werewolf, not because I wanted to, but because I couldn’t control myself. Henry and Carole had to physically restrain me for a couple of hours. It’s getting worse. I’m probably going to be put down like the rabid animal I am in a few days. So forgive me if I’m not in a good mood.”

  “Nothing to forgive. How is Tasha doing?”

  “Last night was probably as tough for her as it was for me. She’s more in control, but she can see the path she’s going down. The suspense of when she’s going to completely lose it is probably worse than being face to face with death.” He took a long drag on his cigarette again. “Maybe.”

  Silence hung heavy. I wanted to argue that things were going to be okay, but it seemed untruthful. I fell back on my tried and true method.

  “So this guy was in a pub and gets out some cigarette paper and some loose tobacco. He starts to roll a cigarette, but the bartender quickly comes over.

  “‘Hey man, you can’t do that,’ the bartender says.

  “‘Is it illegal here?’ the man asks.

  “‘No,’ says the bartender. ‘You just suck at it.’”

  After the joke ended, the silence continued, but this time it seemed much lighter. In fact, I may have seen the start of a smile on Jerry’s face. I touched him lightly on the arm and then turned to walk into the building.

  “Thanks,” he called after me.

  I didn’t turn around but gave him a thumbs-up behind my back.

  The conference room had appeared more than spacious when David and I booked it a couple weeks ago, but now with a roomful of supernaturals with supersized personalities, the room appeared way too small.

  Taking a deep breath, I surveyed the morning dynamics. Alrik was conversing with Viktor, but some of the other Elders were talking with the werewolves, including Julia and Amir. Better to get this conversation done sooner rather than later, I thought and headed over to tell them that Rex wanted to stay at my house while in San Luis. Before I got halfway across the room, I heard my name called, and Viktor motioned me to follow him outside. I had only talked to Viktor alone a few times in my life, and to be honest, he intimidated me a little. He oozed leadership and formality, two things which did not exactly ooze from me. I squared my shoulders and sang my self-esteem boosting song (“I Have Confidence” from The Sound of Music) in my head as I walked out to meet him.

  Pushing open the door, I surveyed the empty surroundings. David and I had picked an out-of-the-way building to rent with no close neighbors. It seemed wise to give the werewolves some space to run wild if necessary. Viktor waited alone for me by the side of the building; Jerry must have gone inside when I wasn’t looking.

  “Freya, there is something of which I must inform you.”

  “That’s never a good way to start a conversation,” I replied, stomach dropping.

  Viktor’s right eyelid twitched slightly, but whether that twitch was his version of a broad smile or his version of being supremely annoyed, I couldn’t tell.

  “Perhaps, but I…” And then, right in the middle of the sentence, the whole scene changed. An explosion of air pushed me back as a gray form flashed by me and plowed into Viktor. His entire body rocketed a few feet away from the building, landing behind a large
sage brush.

  My brain blankly buzzed for a few seconds. What in the… Then a growl and a deep cry of pain from behind the bush shook me out of my stupor and I raced over. A large gray wolf stood with his two front paws on Viktor’s back and his mouth around the back of his neck.

  Horror swamped me. It must be an out-of-control Jerry. He could have been stalking us from the side of the building and then did a running attack. I pivoted in a panic, looking for something, anything, that I could use as a weapon to get Jerry off Viktor. Nothing. I made a leap for the werewolf, hoping to knock him off. Although I collided hard with him, I didn’t have enough momentum to do anything but slide his back legs from under him. But to remain steady, he had to readjust his stance, and in that moment, Viktor pushed up and back.

  Jerry let go of his neck but then lunged toward Viktor’s face. His sharp teeth grazed the Elder’s face from temple to the jaw bone. Blood immediately poured from the wounds. Viktor managed to throw a punch, which caught the werewolf right on the solar plexus, if wolves had such a spot. The wolf took a step back, sneezed once, and lunged back toward Viktor. This time, his teeth sank into Viktor’s shoulder, precariously close to the neck. Blood squirted in pulses—the werewolf had gotten an artery. Crap, crap, crap. Viktor tried to push him off but the angle was all wrong to get a good shove and his attempts were getting weaker and weaker.

  I sprang up and wrapped my arm around the wolf’s neck. Squeezing with all my might, I tried to choke the beast. Instead, I only felt the massive muscle on the side of his neck contract, nearly bouncing my arms off. I loosened my head lock to try and get another, better, grip but within that moment the werewolf turned and lunged for my own throat. I stumbled back and tripped over my feet. I fell hard to the ground and my head crashed through the sage bush, then onto a rock. Without looking to see if the wolf was attacking, I flipped around and pried the cantaloupe-sized rock out of the ground. Turning back to the wolf, I raised the rock over my head and swung down with all my might. I could feel the reverberations of bones cracking through the rock. I had hit him in the hindquarters, and his back left leg collapsed beneath him. I raised the rock again, aiming higher. This time, the rock crushed the bones at the back of his neck. He collapsed to the ground, twitching. One more time, I raised the rock and aimed for the skull.