The rogue princess

The pack house

Freya POV

I dragged my feet towards the pack house, I knew no one here and I could tell by the pitiful and disgusted looks on the men’s faces, that I was not the sort of person they would normally associate with.

When we got to the pack house a tall, beautiful woman stood, leaning against one of the stone pillars next to the door with her arms crossed over her chest and a warm smile on her face. The smile soon faltered as she looked at Si with an open mouth.

“You have got to be kidding me? That little runt is your mate?” She let out a loud, disbelieving laugh.

“Si, what the hell? I was going to tell her myself.”

And that would be the b***h who stole our mate.

Can you blame him for choosing her over us? Look at her, she is beautiful.

Yes I can bloody well blame him. He was an impatient and selfish arsehole who didn’t wait for his true mate. We should reject him right here and now.

Well go on then. I give you full permission to take over and reject him, but I know you would never do that. I can sense how you feel about him already. And anyway, we need some friends and allies here, so I don’t think rejecting their alpha would be the brightest idea.

Of course I wouldn’t reject him, I was just saying it would serve him right if we did.

“Baby, this is Freya, my mate. She knows the situation, she knows I have a chosen mate.”

The woman stood in front of me, looking down on me from her five foot eight height. I bowed to her, not wanting any trouble. For some reason, from the minute I had stepped into the pack house, my mate was no longer my main priority and I had no intention of fighting for him.

“It is nice to meet you Luna, I will cause no trouble to you or the alpha. I promise I will not get in your way. Thank you for having me here.”

She looked at me in confusion as I bowed my head in submission to her.

“Well, I’m glad to hear that. Stay out of my way and I will not make your life too difficult.” I stood, my head still hanging low as I nodded silently.

“Nick show Freya to her room.” Zak ordered. “I believe Alex’s old room would be quite appropriate.”   

“Yes alpha.” Nick nodded before he signalled for me to follow him.

We walked up the large staircase, through wide corridors which turned into narrow hallways the further we walked through the house, until we entered a compact passageway at the far side. Nick opened the door to the room at the very end of the dimly lit passage.

I looked around the room as I entered it.

“I’m sorry it’s not more, after all you’ve been through you deserve so much more than this poky little room.”

“It’s perfect.” I smiled at him. “It’s quaint and quiet.”

“How do you stay so positive after all you’ve been through?”

“Alex helped me see that there are good people in the world. The way you spoke about him… He is a good man, he always took care of me after the beatings.”

“But he should have protected you from the beatings.”

“He was no match for my father and he knew that, there is no shame in that." I shook my head with sadness, remembering the state I had left him in when I was dragged away by my father. "If it wasn’t for Alex I would almost certainly be dead right now. The beatings my father gave me were beginning to get worse and he was no longer feeding me, he even put locks on the cupboards that had food in them. It was Alex who used to sneak me in food. And now I don’t know if he is alive or dead, my father beat him with a bat and left him. He was still breathing when my father made me kiss him goodbye, but whether he stayed that way, I cannot tell you.”

“So Alex was you knight in shining armour then?” Nick smiled and I nodded.

“Something like that.”

Nick smiled and returned my nod.

“Alex is a good man, it’s just a shame what he had to go through.” He said with sympathy in his eyes. “I better leave you to get settled in. One of the omegas will be up with a change of clothes for you. The bathroom is attached to your room, I’m afraid you will have to share with one of our warriors. I will tell him to introduce himself when he is free.” He gave me a small smile and left through the door.

I looked around the room while I waited for the spare clothes. I dragged my hand along the walls, feeling the texture of the peeling green wallpaper, walking in the direction of the pine wardrobe that stood next to the single bed. I opened the doors to the wardrobe and was overcome with the familiar scent of vanilla.

“Alex.” I whispered to myself as I ran my hand over the material of some of the shirts that had not been cleared from the room after he had left.

I took a black shirt off of one of the hangers and clenched it with my fist, holding it up to my nose to inhale the comforting vanilla scent.

I sat down on the crisp white bedspread with the material still held at my nose, a single tear rolled down my cheek, I didn’t realise how much I had missed him.

I like his scent. My wolf interrupted.

Me too. I agreed with her.

I miss him.

Me too.

I wish he was our mate.

Me too. We should use this time to get to know each other. I changed the subject, the thought of being without my knight depressed me.

I pretty much know everything about you. What do you want to know?

How about your name for starters?

Oh Goddess, did I not tell you? My name is Ray. She said apologetically.

Well, it’s nice to finally be able to hear you Ray. But why is it all of a sudden you have been able to come forward?

In all honesty… I have absolutely no idea. I thought at first it was the mate pull that brought me out of my dark hole, but now I think there is something more. Someone more important to us is here. I can feel it.

Oh great, just what I need, more surprises. I said to her sarcastically.

Don’t worry Freya, this is going to be a good one. I can feel it.

There was a small knock on the door as it opened and a petite brunette girl stuck her head around.

“Freya is it? I have your clothes, can I come in?”

I nodded and the young girl came in, her hair was in a neat bun and she was dressed in a plain black short sleeved, knee length dress and black ballerina flats.

“Hi, I’m Harriet. I’m the Omega who has be assigned to you. If you need anything, just ask.”

“Well I could do with some company right now.” I didn’t want to sound too desperate, but I truly needed to make friends in these alien surroundings.

“That I can do.” She replied with a small giggle.

She noticed the shirts hanging in the wardrobe as she looked in the direction of the open doors.

“Oh, forgive us. I shall remove them at once.”

“No, please. I want them here.”

She looked at me with a confused look.

“The scent comforts me.”

“But the alpha’s your…”

“Alex is my friend, he was the only one I had before I came here. I need to have his scent to calm me.”

“But if the alpha finds out…”

“He won’t. He doesn’t want me here, not as his mate anyway. He has his Luna, he just pities me. He won’t be bothered by such a small thing like a couple of shirts.”

“Fine, but if he does find out, I had no part in it.” She looked at me for agreement.

“I promise.” I gave her a shy smile.

“Now here.”

She passed me a small pile of items, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, a sponge, a toothbrush and some toothpaste all neatly placed on top of a couple of grey towels.

“Now I am telling you this as a friend, so please take no offence, but you absolutely reek, so go and take a shower right now!” She giggled as she nodded towards the open bathroom door. “And a word of advice, make sure you lock the door to both rooms, you don’t want any unexpected visitors while you’re in there!” She referred to the neighbouring warrior.

I nodded a smile in her direction as I got up and walked my way to the adjoining bathroom. As I got into the room, I placed the items on the closed lid of the toilet and added my new toiletries to the male ones that already resided in here. Ray began to stir again as a pleasant lingering scent encased my senses.

What is wrong with you now, it seems like any male scent will whip you into a frenzy.

I don’t know what it is, this one is just…I don’t know how to explain it. I feel so comforted by it, like it’s the one I’ve waited for my entire life.

Please don’t tell me that we have another mate.

I don’t think so, but I can’t be certain. It feels different to how I feel with Zak’s scent.

I allowed her to remain in the forefront of my mind as she basked in the feeling of contentment.

I locked the door to the other adjoining room and turned on the shower, checking the heat, I decided on a tepid temperature. I didn’t have the patience to stand around fiddling with the shower’s knobs.

I kicked off my battered plimsolls and peeled off the pieces of material that covered my modesty, thinking the only thing to do with the pieces of fabric would be to burn them.

I stepped under the water, letting it cascade over my head and shoulders, I lathered the shampoo into my long hair and got to work at cleaning the dirt from it. I rinsed the shampoo and got to work, washing it for a second time, copying my earlier routine. The aroma of coconut filled the shower when I slathered the bottom of my hair with the scented conditioner before rinsing it free. Picking up the sponge, I drizzled a liberal amount of the coconut body wash on to it. Situating the sponge against my filthy skin, I scrubbed myself clean, starting at my shoulders and making my way down. The water was almost black as I watched the remnants of my past disappear down the drain. I just hoped my future was more peaceful.

After what must have been at least half an hour of standing under the calming cascade of water, and scrubbing from head to toe at least five times, to make sure I was thoroughly clean. I grabbed the larger grey towel and wrapped it around my torso, tucking in the end to secure it in place as I began to brush my filmy teeth. At home, Alex had managed to sneak me in a toothbrush and toothpaste, but during my time on the run these past weeks, I had no dental hygiene products and I could feel the built up plaque as I swiped my tongue across my front teeth.

When I was happy with my cleanliness, I emerged back into my room to find Harriet sprawled out on her stomach, across the bed.

“Wow, well that’s better. I thought you’d gone down the plughole with how long you were in there.” She smiled and passed me the clothes, some deodorant and a soft bristled hair brush.

I went back into the bathroom and sprayed a little of the deodorant before putting on the plain white knickers and support bra, followed by the grey and pink plaid shirt dress and white opaque tights. I could see by the labels that they were children’s sizes, but that didn’t bother me, the only thing that mattered to me in that moment was that I was clean, warm and wearing clothes that actually fit properly. As I brushed through my long matted hair, I was unable to be anything but grateful to this pack, who had rescued me from my vicious father, a man who I had never truly known anything about.

I remembered to unlock the door to the opposite adjoining room before I remerged into my room, feeling like a completely different person. Myself and Harriet sat and chatted for a couple of hours before she excused herself to make the pack’s evening meal, I offered to help, but she said it would be inappropriate for the alpha’s true mate to be seen to be preparing food for those inferior to her.

I stare up at the white ceiling in boredom, counting the small cracks that have appeared over the years and wonder to myself whether Alex had done the same. The image of Alex lying unconscious on the floor had flashed through my mind countless times over the past weeks, but then it was always replaced by other images of him, his emerald green eyes, his wavy brown hair and that breath taking smile. And all those comforting images replayed through my mind now I could smell him within this room.

Hey remember we do have a mate! Ray scolded me.

A mate that doesn’t even want us.

Well you’d better get to trying to win him over then.

If he doesn’t want us then there’s nothing to be done. We have a nice room and clean clothes so stop moaning about a mate who doesn’t even acknowledge our existence.

A nice room? This little box? Don’t make me laugh, we are the rightful future Luna and we deserve a room fit for a Luna.

Wow the power has gone to your head. Keep those thoughts of yours to yourself before you get us into trouble.

I felt her retreat to the back of my head as a loud knock sounded at the door. I opened it and Nick was on the other side of it, scanning me with a smile on his face.

“Well don’t you scrub up nicely.” He said warmly.

“Yes, there was a lot of scrubbing involved.” He chuckled lightly at my remark as he held out his bent arm to me.

“Come along, supper is about to be served.” He said in a false posh accent as I linked my arm through his.

We walked back through the winding passages and corridors, following them until we reached the wider main corridor and down the stairs. When we reached the bottom, we turned right and into a room that was next to the kitchen. As we entered the room everyone sitting at the twelve seater mahogany table fell silent and stared at me with gaping mouths.

“I barely recognised you. It’s amazing what some soap and water can do to a person.”

“Freya, you remember Si.” Nick glared in his direction, which Si simply shrugged off. “And this is our head warrior, George. You have already met, but he looks slightly different without his fur. He also happens to be my brother.”

The sandy haired man nodded a greeting with a smile.

“You will meet our strongest warrior in a few minutes, he will be joining us for dinner tonight. He has been assigned to you for your safety.” George informed me to which I nodded.

“We are concerned that your father may come back for you.” Si added with a hard look on his face.

The comforting scent from the bathroom made its way into the room and to my nose. Ray began to bounce around in my head, jumping around in circles within my mind and making me dizzy.

Are you quite sure you’re a wolf and not a kangaroo?

He’s here. He’s here. Was all she replied and then she was gone, retreated to the back of my mind.

A blonde man walked into the dining room with an equally confused look on his face, matching mine. He swept back his golden, jaw length curls with his hand and let out a long sigh, shaking his head.

“Bloody wolves.” He muttered under his breath as he sat down opposite me.

“Freya, this is Billy. He will be your assigned warrior.” Si announced.

“I believe I am also your next door neighbour.” He smiled warmly at me and it instantly put me at ease.

“Nice to meet you Freya. Don’t put yourself in any unnecessary danger and we will get along just fine.” I nodded and giggled at his remark, answering a simple.

“Ok.”