The leaves were slipping off from Freya's body as she was falling and unfortunately for her, she couldn't do anything to help her.
"No, this can't be happening now! Please, dear moon goddess..." She gritted her teeth wishing for a miracle to happen and save her from getting exposed in the presence of those who clearly didn't like her.
"Now, I'm feeling embarrassed on her behalf!"
"Why would anyone dress in leaves, anyway? So shameless." The whispers from the pack members grew louder, and Freya could feel many eyes looking at her.
Just at that dire moment, before the leaves could finally slip off, Freya felt something warm getting wrapped on her body. A large jacket had been draped around her shoulders, covering her down to her thighs.
"Who is that...?" Freya's eyes widened as she looked up to see who had come to her rescue.
It was a tall, well-built man with brown eyes and dark hair similar to Alpha Grimfang, but his demeanor was completely different. Where the Alpha was cold and intimidating, this man appeared warm and kind.
"Are you alright?" He asked softly, sounding so gentle as he turned her around and started buttoning the jacket to ensure she was properly covered.
Freya's eyes blinked in shock, taken aback by the sudden kind gesture.
"I..." She tried to form words but couldn't find her voice.
Meanwhile, Alpha Grimfang, who was standing a few feet away, simply had his cold gaze fixed on Freya, looking so irritated.
He didn't show even a hint of concern or protectiveness that one would expect from a mate. Instead, his jaw was clenched, and his eyes made it clear that he was viewing her presence as nothing but an embarrassment.
"Yes, thank you." Freya finally managed to reply to the man, pulling the jacket tighter around herself as her face turned red with humiliation.
Before the man could respond, Alpha Grimfang's voice echoed across the area, silencing everyone instantly.
"Don't you all have duties to attend to? Or you will stand here all day, looking like you have just seen an alien?" He barked.
Immediately, the pack members started to scurry away, they didn't need to be told twice.
Satisfied by the reaction, the Alpha's cold gaze then shifted to Freya, and she seemed to tremble a bit, as if she was shrinking under his scrutiny.
"I hate how he seems to intimidate me this much..." She thought with annoyance and swallowed hard.
After a second of just narrowing his eyes on her without saying a word, Alpha Grimfang turned to the guards at the door.
"Take her to the dungeon!" He ordered and Freya's lips parted in shock. The other man who had given her the jacket also furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.
"Kade, what is..." He was going to ask what the problem was, facing his brother but the Alpha cut him short with a raise of his right palm.
"What are you doing?" Freya blurted out but it was as if she hadn't spoken. Instead of replying her, the Alpha kept addressing the guards.
"Tell the head of warriors to interrogate her with any method possible to get the answers I need. I need to be sure I haven't brought in a rogue sent in by enemies." He ordered the guards, saying the last part more to himself.
Freya's jaw was almost touching the ground at his declaration. She clenched her fists then quickly went to stand before him so he wouldn't ignore her again.
"Why did you bring me here when you don't trust me?" She demanded, her chin lifted angrily, letting her eyes hold his by force.
That elicited a response from the Alpha then. He scrunched up his nose in disgust as he took a step closer to her, menacingly, expecting Freya to step backward out of fear, but the young woman held her own against him.
His jaw tightened at that open rebellion and his eyes blinked just once as if to say he would teach her what she didn't know.
"How can I, an Alpha that has thousands of pack members under his care, trust a rogue I just met?" He asked her and Freya was so tempted to yell in his face that he should because she was his mate but for some reasons, she couldn't find her voice.
She swallowed hard as she glared at him.
Alpha Grimfang waited a split second for her response then scoffed when she couldn't open her mouth and faced the guards.
"Carry out my orders!" He said sharply then started to walk away, into the manor, leaving Freya glaring at his retreating figure.
The Alpha's nice brother's eyes held sympathy for Freya but he just stood still, watching the event unfold, there was nothing he could do.
"Let's not do this the hard way." One of the guards walked up to Freya and said.
She breathed in heavily then nodded curtly at the guard.
Then, she was led away.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
An hour later, Freya was standing in the small, dirty dungeon and she wasn't alone. There were cockroaches every corner to keep her company as she awaited her trial.
"That arrogant cruel Alpha!" She spat out the words with utter disgust.
"What the hell is he actually planning? Am I going to be tried like a criminal? Why did he have to bring me to his pack if that was just his plan all along?" Her fists were clenching and unclenching as she wonder aloud, the cockroaches running back and forth as if they were dancing to her echoing voice.
Freya heaved a heavy sigh as she slowly sank onto the cold ground. Her eyes scanned the space and that brought the remembrance of her hut. The one she had lived in, in the wilderness.
"It's been ten years since I've seen a real room..." Freya mumbled with a small sad smile as she looked around the dungeon.
"If he thinks I'm going to feel sad or uncomfortable in this space, then the joke is on him because this is even better than what I used to live in, in the wilderness." She chuckled dryly and shifted comfortably on the ground.
Having nothing to do and just staring into space, Freya's mind began recounting the events of the day.
"Everything really unfolded so quickly today... From almost getting burnt to finding my mate and coming to this pack. Why today of all day?"
"It's my eighteenth birthday..." She muttered, blinking back tears. Then
her thoughts somehow drifted to her father.
"Why was she the one to die and not you?" His words from that terrible night echoed in her mind, as fresh and painful as if he had just spoken them.
A tear escaped from her right eye followed by another one from the left. And like that, she began to weep quietly.
After some seconds, the emotional exhaustion of the day finally got to her, and despite wanting to stay alert in the unfamiliar place, her eyelids grew heavy. Within minutes, she had fallen into a deep sleep and ventured into the dreamland.
~~~~~~~~~
In her dream, Freya found herself standing beside the same river from ten years ago. But this time, something was different.
The water shone with a mysterious silver light, and strange items like dry skulls, bleeding eyes dancing beneath its surface, as if they were beckoning to her.
"Why am I back here?" Freya wanted to ask but could only think in her head. Her mouth refused to open.
The wind blew wildly and she could see some figures moving in the trees, beings that didn't look fully human nor wolf. Some had legs without heads, while some had heads without eyes.
"Help me, anybody!" She tried to yell but her tongue felt tied. Then they started to whisper in a language she didn't understand, yet she could feel it in her bones, somehow.
"The moonbane!" She heard a voice shouted from the river and that seemed to hit her like a physical blow. She was sent flying backwards.
"Help me!" Freya screamed, then she jolted awake.
She frantically looked around her surroundings and exhaled sharply when she realized she had been dreaming.
"I'm okay, it's just a stupid dream!" She tried to calm herself down, while panting heavily.
However, unknown to her, a crescent-like mark was slowing appearing on her forehead, its glow intensifying as it grew. Only when it became fully grown did Freya feel it.
"What the hell?" She yelled in pain as she felt like someone just hit her forehead, harshly with hammer. And it didn't stop there. The sensation continued as if the hammer kept hitting her, like it wanted to prove a point.
"What is happening to me?" She grunted as she clutched her head, writhing in pain.
"Am... I...d... dying?"