Chapter Six ~ Peaceful Slumber

Freya Rose

It had been nearly a week since Tristan woke up, and he was almost fully healed. The pack was still grieving the loss of Jessie, but life was gradually returning to some sort of normality. Landon, of course, wasn't doing too well at all. He had decided to take it upon himself to torture, I mean “question” the vampire that the pack had taken prisoner. I felt a bit sorry for the guy to be perfectly honest, I mean I hated vampires as much as the next supernatural being. They were parasites after all, but the guy seemed okay to me.

I'd been into the basement a few times to ask him a few questions of my own. Mine were actually questions and not torture, and he'd always been more than happy to answer me. I guess he'd heard stories about what I was, and it scared the crap out of him. He told me anything and everything I needed to know. We had built up a weird sort of relationship. I wouldn't exactly call it a friendship as such, but he was fun to talk to, he reminded me a lot of Evan. Oh God, I do miss that idiot.

So, the vamp prisoner guys name was Leonard, but he insisted that I called him Leo, so Leo it was. Landon had really made a mess of poor Leo. He had cuts and bruises, broken bones, and a few fingers missing, the dude was a walking freak show. The last session Landon had with Leo, was last night, and he had been told by Alpha Aiden to give it a rest for a few days, to let Leo heal a bit, then start again.

I had no idea what information they wanted from Leo, and I couldn't exactly ask Landon outright. Landon hadn't even looked at me since the clinic. Every time I walked into a room, he walked right back out of it. Tyler had told me not to pay any attention to him, but it was hard. I knew that Landon believed that I was to blame for Jessie's death. To him, I was the cause of all the pain he was going through. So yeah, not feeling bad about it all was pretty much impossible.

Cassie, hadn't come over to the Cole's house at all, and from what Tyler said, she had barricaded herself in Jessie's room and refused to leave it. Missy and Grayson were beside themselves. They were trying to grieve for Jessie, and struggling to help Cassie all at the same time. Tyler had been going over there as much as he could, but she wouldn't even talk to him through the door, let alone see him. He had tried everything, sitting outside Jessie's room, he even slept outside it a few nights back. He had tried mind linking Cass and tried calling her, she was just shutting everyone out. I felt so bad for all of them, the whole family was falling apart.

I had been there for Tyler, listening to him and being a shoulder to cry on, I mean the poor guy felt helpless, and to top it all off, he was getting waves upon waves of the pain and grief that Cassie was feeling. That mate bond could be a cruel jerk sometimes. Clara had been okay with me; we had a chat or two and she felt bad for messing up my face and shouting at me. To be honest with what I had done to her son lately, I had no moral high ground left to perch on. So, I forgave her and told her the truth about me running away, that it was because I was scared of losing Tristan. She was right at the time, about me not being strong enough, I wasn't anywhere near strong enough for her son, or to ever be a Luna of the pack.

But now that had changed, the wolves had started to avoid me around the town, house and forest. I guess having a hunter that was descendant from angels walking around your back garden, would have anyone on edge. I didn't mind though, I kinda liked the powerful feeling it gave me. Is that wrong? Ah, who cares, it beats feeling like I'm useless, or that I am a weakling that has to be protected by the pack.

I loved knowing that I could kick ass all by myself now, and to be honest, I had begun to love fighting. I guess it was part and parcel of being a hunter, getting off on the kill. Sick I know, oh well it's not like I care a shit. So yeah all was cool with Clara.

Now for Aiden, well what could I say, he called me into his office last night for a chat. He told me that he didn't want Tristan knowing that I was a hunter, well at least not yet. He had ordered all of the pack to keep it a secret, I didn't understand why, so I bluntly asked him. His answer upset me, and pissed me off to be honest. It took all the strength I had, not to ascend and smash his head through the wall, but I was a good girl and controlled myself. I'm getting pretty good at that now, if I do say so myself.

His answer was that Tristan was going to be Alpha in less than three weeks’ time, and he needed to find his Luna. I had remembered that Clara told me that if Tristan refused to turn me, then Aiden or herself would do it for him, so I continued to listen to him. He said that since I was a hunter it was not ‘proper’ for me to be a Luna of a pack. I know, say what you really mean, right? What Aiden really means is, that he doesn't want me to be Luna of his pack, why can't people just say what they really mean? Gawh.

So, then he went on to say that either I needed to find a way to break up with Tristan, or he would hold parties and invite every werewolf girl who was over the age of eighteen. He would send invitations out to other packs all around the country, and then keep on having these parties until Tristan's mate was finally found. He said he didn't want Tristan knowing about me, just in case Tristan chose me over the pack. Then he laid it on thick about pack tradition, and true mates, and depriving his son of pure happiness, blah, blah, blah. Basically, I would be ruining Tristan's life forever, by telling him and making him leave his life, and pack, for me. I was so fucking livid, I began to argue with him, but he then threatened to tell Tristan about me sleeping with Mason.

I tried to deny it, but Aiden said that the tracker followed us to the bathroom, and he had heard everything. Then it was confirmed when we came out of the bathroom smelling of sex. Ewww, I know, gross right, but he had me by the short and curlies. I was sure Tristan would leave me if he found out I'd cheated on him. I had no choice but to play Aiden's games, well at least until I found a way around them, that was.

I also spoke to Beta Dylan and found out, that Nathaniel the vampire that had brought me the message from Balan, well, he had gotten away. He made it to the river before Beta Dylan could catch him, and then in all the chaos of the fight he slipped away. He also said that Balan was the one who had attacked Tristan, and by the time Aiden found him, he was unconscious on the riverbank. Prince Balan was nowhere to be seen.

That slimy fucking snake, if he ever manages to grow a pair of balls and face me, I'm going to rip his fucking face off. Any who, enough of them nasty thoughts, or I'm going to ascend my ass off right here and now.

Luckily, we hadn't heard from, or seen anything of the vampires since, well except for Leo of course, but the others had steered clear, for now at least. It worried me a bit though, I had a feeling that they were planning something, I had no idea what, but it was niggling at me. On a plus side though, with my new-found hunter skills I could now keep Balan out of my dreams. So, sleep had been a lot less crowded lately and no more nightmares. My granddad was doing good, nana was as crazy and as foul-mouthed as ever, and my mom had decided I needed an eighteenth birthday party. With all that had happened lately, it was the last thing I wanted, but she was super excited about it. I also think she wanted to make it up to me, for not telling me years ago about me being a hunter. I was letting her get on with it, and it was planned for next Saturday. She told me not to worry, as she was sorting it all. I apparently just had to turn up and look gorgeous.

Damien had been calling me every day and I was starting to really like the guy. He had the same sense of humor as I did, and he seemed to really care about me, okay, minus the being absent all of my life part. He was trying, and that was all I could ask of him. He was answering any questions I had about being a hunter, and I dunno, it was going good so far. Although I hadn't told my mom that I was speaking to him, I think she would blow a gasket. Evan text me too, he sent a lot of jokes, most of them dirty. As soon as he wrote Angel cakes, I ignored him until he begged me to reply, I found it hilarious.

I hadn't asked about Mason and neither of them had offered any sort of information. I thought if he was doing better, they would have said something, but as they hadn't I was assuming that he was still hurting and angry with me. So, I didn’t ask, as I didn't want to make things worse for him. Tristan was healing well and he had been amazing. Everything was back to normal with him, well apart from the fact that me, and the entire pack, were lying to him. He was so happy that I chose to move into the pool house with him, and we had been living like a loved-up couple for days now.

Well, that's almost right, I hadn't been able to be with him, you know, like intimately. Not because I had cheated, well that was not entirely true, that was a little part of why I hadn't been able to. But the main reason was that I was really scared of ascending when I got too excited. It was fine the first two days because he was still pretty sore, so he was perfectly happy with us just cuddling all night, but yesterday he left a few hints, and today he had been all over me. I had to keep making up excuses to leave the room. I mean I had a two-hour bath this morning just to hide away, then I spoke to my mom for over an hour on the phone.

I then even faked having my period which he wasn't bothered by at all, so I had to change tactics and now I'm pretending that the food I cooked last night has given me food poisoning. He tried to say that the food didn't affect him, so I just blurted out something about him having an iron stomach because he's a wolf, then cried at him about me being a worthless human being. It worked and he felt awful, he tried comforting me but then got handsy and grabbed my ass. To get out of the situation, I dry heaved, and then ran upstairs to the bathroom and locked myself in.

That is where I was right now, I was sitting on the bathroom floor, hiding away from my boyfriend, pretending I had food poisoning and occasionally having to make puking noises, and then throw a glass of water down the toilet to make it sound authentic. Hmph, fuck my life.

Knock, knock, knock.

“Freya, baby? Do you want me to call the doctor out?” Tristan asked me softly through the bathroom door.

I rolled my eyes, and shouted back,

“No! It's fine baby, it'll pass eventually, oh no... Urgh, blarrrgghhh.” I gagged, and pretended to throw up, then threw a glass of water down the toilet.

“Are you sure you don't want me in there to help you? I don't mind,” he asked lovingly.

This dude is too darn cute, I thought to myself.

“No, I don't want you seeing me like this, I just need to be left alone,” I replied while pretending to snivel.

“Freya, I don't care about how you look. I love you and want to take care of you, please open the door baby,” he begged me sounding concerned but with a little hint of annoyance.

Oh God, this isn't working, think Freya think! Oh, that might work, I suddenly had an idea.

“T, can you do me a couple of favors please?” I asked in a pitiful and sad voice.

“Yes, anything babe,” he replied tentatively.

Yes! It's working.

“Well, I was supposed to go and check on Tyler today to make sure he's doing okay. Oh, and then I was going to go over to my mom's to help with the party planning. Would you be able to go instead for me please?” I said in a whining voice.

It was silent out there for a few minutes, I guessed he was arguing with himself about how to reply. I knew usually he would have said 'piss off I am not babysitting my brother, and no fucking way am I doing girly stuff with your mom', but as I was sick and upset, I knew he wanted to make me feel better.

As the time ticked by, I sat there on the bathroom floor trying my hardest not to burst out laughing. I even had to bite down on a towel at one point to stop myself from laughing when I imagined him picking out cakes and party decorations with my mom. My mom would just be sitting there blabbering on, absolutely loving it, and he would be wanting to pull his own teeth out through sheer boredom.

“Uh, you sure I can't ring them and reschedule?” He asked cautiously.

“NO!” I shouted back through the door adding a, “urgh, bluurggghhh,” and a splash of water for added effect.

“Okay, okay I'm going, you have your phone on you right?” He asked in a huff.

“Yeah,” I replied in a light tone.

“Call me straight away if you need me for anything, and I mean anything! I'll come back home immediately, okay?” He said with hope in his voice. I squashed that hope instantly, like a little tiny bug,

“I won't need anything, thanks, babe, bye, love you.”

I tried to keep back a giggle when I heard him huff.

“Love you too baby, hope you feel better soon,” he said lovingly as he walked away.

I heard the front door slam and I sighed with relief.

Thank Christ for that, I can finally leave this bathroom now, I thought to myself while feeling quite happy with my acting skills. I stood up and went to leave the bathroom. Oh, damn it, now I need a pee. I went for a pee then got dressed and left the pool house.

I'd made my way into the main house and down into the basement. I'd decided to go and visit Leo while Tristan was away. He didn't like me going down there, he thought it was dangerous because I was a human and could be drawn in by vampires and their siren skills. But we all know that isn't quite the case, now is it? Their powers had no effect on me at all these days, especially now that I knew how to control my hunter powers.

“Hunter!” Leo shouted out excitedly.

“Shhh vampire scum, you want the wolves to hear you?” I said with a chuckle.

“I suppose not,” he replied like a sad child.

“I thought I'd let you know, that Landon has been told to lay off of you for a few days, so that you can heal up a bit,” I told him while pulling up a stool to sit in front of his cage.

“Thanks, Freya. To be honest, I could do with a few days off. It might give me a chance to grow my fingers back.”

He wiggled his blood-crusted stumps at me. He is so gross, but super funny, I thought as I tried to hold back a giggle.

“What? They'll really grow back?” I asked with intrigue.

“No, you idiot! I'm a vampire, not a fucking gecko,” he mocked as he chuckled at my gullibility.

“Well, how was I supposed to know, I'm new to all of this supernatural stuff, you damn jerk,” I whined and scowl at him in a playful way, and he couldn't help but laugh along with me. “Right, well I best be off before someone notices that I'm down here. I'll try and pop back tonight, okay?” I asked him as I put the stool back exactly where I found it.

“Thank you for letting me know, Freya. I can get some sleep now, knowing that he's not going to pop in halfway through and wake me up with holy water again,” he said it like he was used to his sad way of life.

I really felt sorry for him as I watched him fold his small blanket up, and then lay his head down on it. It could give him much comfort on the concrete floor.

“I'll try to sneak you in a blanket and pillow later on, okay, Leo?” I let him know as I began to leave. He smiled at me in appreciation then closed his eyes.

I got back into the pool house and decided I fancied a nap. I ran upstairs and changed into my shorts and t-shirt. I then jumped into the bed and stretched out in the middle of it like a starfish. Ahhh, that feels so good, I was so used to being bear hugged each night by Tristan, he pulled me in really close to his chest like I was going to disappear into thin air if he didn't keep a hold of me. It was very suffocating, but it did make me feel very safe. It was strange that I hated it, but I also loved it at the same time.

I began to drift off, when I suddenly heard my phone buzz on the bedside table, I was so nearly asleep, that I couldn't be bothered to look at it. If it's that important, they'll contact me back, I thought to myself. Darkness began to embrace me, and a peaceful silence filled my mind. Since being able to keep Balan out of my dreams, they had been so fun and happy. This dream was visions of Tristan and I in wolf form, running through meadows and chasing after our little pups. I was enjoying it so much, but I guess my subconscious knew that someone was in my bedroom and I began to slowly stir.

“Freya wake up! Who the fuck is Mason?” Tristan's voice boomed at me and instantly woke me from my peaceful slumber.