Her Alpha Mate 13

Freya's father just stared at the older man in disbelief, "You can't be serious, Lucas, werewolves haven't had anything to do with griffins in ages."

"I can detect that smell from anywhere.
I may be old, but I'll never forget the smell of griffins. I hate those creatures," Lucas said, staring at the rogues.

During this exchange of words, Freya was silent and confused. She'd no idea what griffins were, but everyone else seemed to have a clue, as their grim looks showed. She took a step back toward Zack and leaned forward slightly so he could hear her.

"What're griffins?" she whispered, looking at him out of the corner of her eye. His head turned toward her and a frown formed on his face.

"You don't know what griffins are?"

She shook her head.

"Did your parents ever tell you the story about the Great War? The one where werewolves fought creatures that were part eagle, part lion? Those creatures were griffins."

Her mouth dropped open, "That story was true? I thought they only told that to scare children."

Her mother had told her the story many times before. It all started with a griffin killing a werewolf that was wandering in the mountains where the griffins lived. The werewolves became enraged and attacked the griffins, leading to a two-month war between the two species. In the end, after losing so many of their kind, the griffins surrendered and disappeared. After this war, no one saw them again.

Zack shook his head and turned back to the conversation her father was having with Lucas.

"If there are still griffins, why are they attacking us now? They've had decades to get their revenge, haven't they?" her father asked.

"I don't know," Lucas shrugged.

"I don't think they're out for revenge," Zack interrupted, "If they were, why would they use rogues? Rogues are werewolves, after all. It would make more sense if they killed the rogues themselves."

She stared at the dead rogues as if they would give her the answer. Zack was right - if the Griffins wanted revenge on the werewolves, why didn't they kill the rogues?

Her wolf stirred in her head and she began to pace back and forth in thought. 'What do you think about it?'

'Chance said that mate's father went to a witch. The witch said something about rogues and the blessing of the moon goddess. You're blessed. Rogues want you.'

Freya's face paled as her wolf continued to piece things together. If Aurora was going in the right direction, that meant the griffins wanted something from Freya. What could they possibly want? Her blood only healed werewolves, it wouldn't benefit them in any way.

"Freya, sweetie, what's wrong?"

Freya snapped out of her daze as her father stood before her with a worried expression on his face. His mouth suddenly felt very dry and his heart began to pound in her ears. She started to panic.

"The-the villains, they," she stuttered hastily, her head spinning around the dead wolves again. Her father looked confused, but she continued to panic. It was as if she expected the rogues to come back to life and take her away.

A warm hand pressed against her stiff back, causing her to relax almost immediately. Zack gently massaged her lower back, trying to give her some comfort with the mate bond.

"Calm down, Freya," he murmured, "just talk slowly. Don't panic."

She moistened her lips and turned to him with a determined look on her face. "Your father was looking at what the witches had to say about the villains, right?"

He seemed a little confused, but nodded anyway.

"They said something about gold and the blessing of the Moon Goddess, right?"

"Shit," her father muttered when he realized what she was getting at, rubbing his face in frustration, "of all the people they go after, they've to go after my puppy?"

Beta Damien patted him on the back, "Nathan, we all knew a situation like this could happen. How many people are blessed by the moon goddess? That was the reason we kept Freya's gift a secret."

"What's her blessing?" asked Zack curiously, staring at her as if she were some kind of specimen.

That was one reason she liked to keep her blessing a secret. People stared at her like she was some kind of creature from Pluto. She'd even heard a few pack members call her a freak because her blood was a different color. It wasn't that she wasn't proud of her blessing, it was more that she didn't like people asking her questions or spreading nonsensical rumors.

Her father pursed his lips and gave her a small smile, "Do you want to explain it to him, sweetie? We'll take care of the villains in the meantime."

She nodded and grabbed Zack's hand to pull him back to the pack. He followed obediently, but she felt his gaze on her, moving up and down her body. She wanted to tremble, but then it would have been obvious that she was being touched by him. When they reached the cabin they were in before, she let go of his hand and dropped onto the couch with a sigh, throwing the baseball bat onto the carpet.

"So," he broke off, picking up his clothes from where he'd dropped them. She let him dress at his leisure and turned when he said he was done, only to be surprised by his hoodie lying in front of her face. A curious look formed on his face, and he shrugged, "Your jacket and shirt are torn on the back." she said.

She hesitantly took it and put it on, trying not to enjoy the lingering scent of him too much. He smelled like cologne and fabric softener, though that was probably because he'd washed the hoodie. A soft creak sounded as he sat back down on the couch across from her, eyeing her appreciatively.

"So," Zack said in a firm voice, "what do you've that these griffins want?"

"I don't. As far as I know, my blessing only works on werewolves. You know, a few years ago, my grandparents decided to have a ceremony in honor of the Moon Goddess."

"The ceremony where they make fire and recite ancient scriptures?" he asked, amazed. As simple as it sounded, the ceremony was very elaborate and had to be perfect. From what her parents had told her, the Moon Goddess would punish the pack if anything went wrong during the ceremony. That's why some wolves were hesitant to perform such ceremonies, but her grandparents wanted to take the risk.

"Yes, and the Moon Goddess was very pleased with their efforts and decided to bless them. She told them that their first grandchild would have a heart of gold. The only problem was that she never said what I could do with a heart of gold. I found out that I could heal when I was about five years old, but that was all. I don't know if there are any other uses for it."

She paused to let him process everything, resisting the urge to laugh at his expression. He looked like she'd told him his hair was on fire, but she couldn't blame him. This whole thing was bizarre.

"Let me get this straight," he gulped, "Your heart is real gold."

She nodded slowly.

"But isn't that too heavy? How can you...?" he broke off and stared wide-eyed at her chest, as if he could see through the fabric.

"It doesn't feel heavy. I suppose it feels like a normal heart."

"So you're basically like Rapunzel in that movie, Strangled or something, except you use your blood instead of your hair."

"Tangled," she corrected, "and as far as I know, yes."

He pursed his lips, "Have you tried healing other species just to see?"

"The Elders had me try it on a vampire. It didn't work."

He scratched the stubble from his face and stared at the coffee table, lost in thought.

"Then what do the Griffins want with you?" he muttered rhetorically. She bit her lip and thought about it herself. Obviously there was something the Griffins knew that they didn't.

Zack stood up and ran a hand through his hair, "I'll see if there's a witch nearby who could help. Maybe she knows more about your blessing."

She stood up as well, "Fine, but please don't start talking about my blessing in front of anyone. You can tell Chance and Reece, but no one else. The last thing I need is people trying to kill me to get my heart."

He gave her a curt nod and marched to the door before pausing. She froze in his seat as he turned and gave her a small smile: "Thank you for telling me."

She shrugged, "You would have figured it out eventually."

He looked like he was about to say something else, but someone pressed her mind link.

'Freya, Beta Damien's mate is in labor.'

She'd have liked to throw her hands over her head. Everything was happening so fast, and she wasn't sure if having a newborn puppy in the midst of everything was a good idea.

"Is everything okay?" he asked, as a worried expression flitted across his face.

She sighed, "I've to go to the hospital again. Beta Damien's mate has gone into labor."

"Why do you've to go?"

She smiled slightly, "I'm a midwife. Just like my mother."

"Oh."

She cleared her throat awkwardly and headed for the door, "I'll see you later then."

He nodded and opened the door for her. She thanked him and quickly made her way back to the pack hospital.

The firm footsteps behind her told her that Zack was right behind her. As she reached for the doorknob to enter the pack hospital, the door opened abruptly, causing her to take a step back and collide with the person.

Her eyes widened at the sight of the man standing before her. She wanted to bury herself in the dirt. Why did he have to show up now of all times? Her wolf wanted to tear him to pieces.

"Freya," he breathed with a smile, as if they were on good terms.

She stared at him sharply. "Bryant."