Her Alpha Mate 19

As Margaret continued to rummage through her things, Freya leaned closer to Zack so she couldn't overhear her, "Is she always this... creepy?"

He pursed his lips, nodded, and whispered, "Last time she tried to pull my cheeks because she thought I was so cute."

Freya pursed her lips, but for an entirely different reason. She couldn't imagine this witch, who was half Zack's size, trying to pull his cheeks and cuddle him.

"Ah yes, here it's!" Margaret slammed a book down on the coffee table in front of them, causing everyone but Zack to wince. "Sorry, I forgot. Werewolf Obeisance," she said sheepishly, "Let's see. There's something in here about your blood," she quickly flipped through the pages, sending dust particles flying into the air, tickling her nose. Freya held her nose and ignored the urge to sneeze. "Your blood is special, my dear. It's a gift from the four elders themselves," she began, sitting down on the armchair in front of them.

"When you say the four elders, you mean...." Freya broke off.

"The elders are what we witches call the gods and goddesses of the magical world.
There are four of them, one for each species that exists on Earth, the first of course being the Moon Goddess. Then there's Lady Vasilia, the elder of the vampires, Lord Aidan, the Elder of the Dragons, and finally, Lord Silvius, the Elder of the Griffins. Does that make sense?"

They nodded and Margaret hummed in agreement, "Good. Hundreds of years ago, before the great war took place, the Moon Goddess summoned the Elders together to discuss how they could give back to their species. Those who lived at that time were very devoted and performed several ceremonies on behalf of the elders, so Moon Goddess wanted to give something back to them. And so the blessing of the Moon Goddess came about."

Margaret paused and showed them a picture of the four elders gathered around a cauldron, "The Moon Goddess wanted to create a new kind of blood, one that would benefit all species. Each of the elders dropped a pint of blood into the cauldron to create this new blood."

Freya nodded slowly, "And what else can my blood do besides heal?"

"Well, as you just said, your blood can heal werewolves. It can also make a dragon's fire a thousand times stronger, which means a dragon could burn an entire country to ash in seconds if it drank half a liter of your blood. A vampire can satisfy his need for blood for years with half a liter of your blood, making him almost unstoppable, but not immortal."

"And for a griffin?" asked Zack, stiffening once again.

Margaret's pale green eyes bored into Freya's as she spoke almost threateningly,

"Your blood makes griffins immortal."

Freya stared at her in shock. Was this why these griffins were after me? They wanted to be immortal? she thought.

"Immortal," Zack said slowly, as if to make sure he'd heard correctly.

"Yes, immortal, and that's why they're after you. You and the newborn baby are the only living beings with the blessing. After the great war, the griffins are threatened with extinction. I suspect they want to be immortal to make sure this never happens again."

"Um, how much blood does it take for the entire griffin species to become immortal?" asked Freya, worried.

The expression on her face frightened Freya. It was so nonchalant, as if she couldn't care about Freya.

"They'd have to suck every drop of blood from your body."

Zack growled, and Freya squeezed his hand to reassure him.

"Any other questions?" Margaret asked, ignoring the angry Alpha on her couch.

"Why does the newborn have the blessing?" spoke up Reece from the corner.

Margaret pursed her lips into her mouth thoughtfully, "I suspect that the Alpha and Beta who performed the ceremony were both blessed. Beta who performed the ceremony were both blessed, but she didn't make that clear and everyone assumed it was just the Alpha. Don't worry about him, he's the only one you've to worry about."

As if that would make things better. He didn't deserve to be born into a life of danger.

"Okay, thank you, Margaret. We'll let you know if we've any more questions," Zack said in a rush, obviously wanting to leave as soon as possible.

She smiled gently, "Of course, honey."

Before Freya knew it, he was practically running out the door and back to the pack warriors waiting outside. Zack didn't even stop to let her get up.

"Move," he barked at them. They stared at him with fearful looks, but did as he said and started running behind him at a fast pace to keep up.

Freya looked behind to meet Chance and Reece's gazes, and while Chance just shrugged, Reece shook his head as if to tell her not to talk right now. She figured it was probably for the best, because Zack was pissed.

Freya was pretty sure she could see a vein throbbing in Zack's temple. She suspected that his wolf was extremely angry, which in turn made Zack angry.

She sighed softly and managed to free her hand from his grip. Hopefully he'd calm down soon.



***


After they'd retired and dressed, they went back to camp, where pretty much everyone was asleep or keeping watch. Freya flopped down on her blanket and sighed happily. The feeling after a run was always amazing.

She closed her eyes and snuggled into the thin blanket. She didn't think Zack would welcome her under his blanket again, so she just curled up into a little ball, hoping that would keep her warm through the night.

The only problem was that she couldn't sleep. Her thoughts circled around the griffins and their blood. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw horrible images of griffins kidnapping the baby or preparing to suck her blood.

She sighed and tugged at a loose cord in the blanket.

So much for sleeping. It was probably better if she switched with one of the warriors so they could actually get some sleep.

Before she could move, however, a warm breath tickled her neck.

"No desire to cuddle tonight?" A husky voice whispered in her ear. A wave of warmth came over her as the bearskin blanket covered her body and a familiar hard chest pressed against her back. Freya turned to face Zack on the other side and sighed.

"I can't sleep," she murmured, staring into his gray eyes.

"Are you thinking about griffins?"

She nodded and tried to close her eyes again, hoping to get a little sleepy in a few moments. They were silent for a few moments before Zack spoke up again,
"How about we get to know each other?"

Freya slowly opened her eyes and smiled weakly, "How do you want to do that?"

He shrugged, "I can ask you a question and you can ask me a question. Simple."

She chuckled and nodded, "You first."

"Who's this little piece of shit, Bryant?"

"You're getting right to the point, aren't you?" Freya laughed softly, ignoring his pointed look: "He's just a stupid ex-boyfriend who cheated on me and only went out with me on a bet."

"He cheated on you?"

She yawned and nodded, "Yep."

"I'm going to beat him up next time I see him," he muttered.

"No need, Oliver took care of that a long time ago."

"How long were you together?"

"It's my turn to ask a question, remember?"

"Fine, ask."

"How many women have you dated?" she asked, since they were just talking about exes.

He snorted, "I never had time to date anyone, and that was a good thing. I would have been so distracted. And what about you? How many guys have you dated?"

"Only with Bryant. I was seventeen at the time and realized how stupid it was to date other guys, so I decided to wait until I found my mate," she said quietly.

"Funny, you've more experience than me. I haven't even had my first kiss yet, unless you count those stupid bottle flips."

Freya smiled, "Not at all. They only last a second anyway, unless you two decide to make out in the middle of the circle."

Zack snorted, "The girl who'd to kiss me was a lesbian, so there was no making out at all."

Her smile widened a little. She couldn't help but feel excited about the fact that they were both going to have their firsts together, even if it wasn't their first kiss.

She yawned again, and Zack chuckled, "Go to sleep. You look exhausted."

"I'm," she whispered, letting her eyes fall closed.

The last thing she remembered was a muscular arm wrapping around her waist, pulling her closer to the source of warmth.