Chapter Eleven - Kill you Fennid

Freya Rose

Two years later.

“That's it. Now come at me again, but this time when you jump at me, I want you to shift as quickly as you can. Ok?” Finnley shouted out to Tana.
I watched as Tana nodded her head at Finn. She pulled her thick dark red hair up into a ponytail, and then clicked her neck from side to side. She then stretched her arms across her chest. Once she'd finished stretching herself out, she charged at Finn. She ran across the training ground with lightning speed. Her dark red ponytail whipped around in the air behind her as she picked up speed. She then jumped high up into the air, and I pressed the button on the stop clock. She shifted as instructed, and her shift was swift. It was something Finn had been working on a lot lately. He felt like all of our shifts should be complete in less than 30 seconds, and Tana was by far his best student. She had her shift complete just as her giant front paws hit the ground.
Tana's wolf stood strong and fierce in front of Finn, she was snarling and growling at him. But I could see that he wanted her to attack him. She shook her wolf head, clearly not wanting to attack him while in his human form. Finn didn't wait any longer, he ascended and then sprinted towards Tana's wolf. As he reached her he spun around and kicked her wolf square in the face. She yelped out as she collapsed to the floor. She quickly righted herself and then charged while growling at Finn. She lunged for him and managed to clamp down onto his arm, but unfortunately for her, Finn still had one free arm. As she bit down harder, he swung himself around and then jumped onto her back. He then slid his spare arm around her neck and began to choke her.
I watched as Tana's wolf wriggled and bucked, trying to unseat Finnley, but he then locked his feet together underneath her stomach. He wasn't going anywhere. He tightened his hold around her neck making her grip on his arm loosen. I could see her wolf panic as her air supply was gradually depleting. Finn glanced at me with a disappointed look on his face. He wasn't impressed with her effort today, and I could hear the other hybrids mocking her. I shot them a scowl, and they immediately ceased their laughing. I wasn't about to let the boys think that they'd won, us girls needed to stick together. A slight smile formed on my face as I mind linked her,
“Ignite!”
Tana's wolf instantly calmed as my order filled her mind. Her wolf burst into brilliant bright orange flames, instantly causing Finn to release her. He flew backwards, dropped to the arena floor, and then frantically rolled around in the sand, trying to put out the flames. I heard the other hybrids gasp as they watched Tana's wolf extinguish her flames and then pounce onto Finn. She pinned him to the ground and then gently placed her canines around his neck. Finn reluctantly tapped the ground, admitting defeat.
I stood up from the stairs where I'd been watching the training. His arm slid around my waist, and as he leaned in behind me, I could feel his hard body pressing against my back. He swept my hair aside and then kissed my neck, and it sent glorious tingles throughout my body. His warm breath tickled my cheek as he whispered into my ear,
“You shouldn't cheat Freya, she needs to learn by herself.”
“I didn't do anything. It was all Tana this time, I swear,” I replied, struggling to keep a cheeky grin off of my face as I slowly turned around to face Mason.
I placed my arms around his neck and looked up into his stunning hazel eyes. He looked down at me with a huge grin on his face, clearly not believing my lie. Even though he knew I was lying, he went along with it anyway. He kissed my forehead and then replied,
“Ok, well I'll let you get back to it. I just came out to tell you that we're going out tonight. So, be ready for seven, ok?”
He kissed me softly, but I instantly deepened the kiss. I pulled him into me, but just as I was beginning to get lost in our kiss, I heard wolf whistles from behind me, and cheers from the male hybrids. I pulled away from Mason and rolled my eyes, he smirked at me and then slapped my ass. The guys behind us began laughing and hooting, and just to show that I was still the boss, as Mason turned to leave, I slapped his ass back. I made sure it was a stinger, and he instantly grabbed his ass cheek and rubbed it. The hybrids burst out laughing, and I winked at Mason as he raised an eyebrow at me. I knew I’d be paying for that little stunt later. I then turned around and headed over towards Finn, who had now gotten up off of the floor.
“Since when was Tana a Phoenix? And why didn't you warn me?” Finn asked me as I approached him.
He stood in front of me brushing off chard pieces of his clothing. Tana's wolf came over to greet me, and she whined at me excitedly. I scratched behind her ear and then ran my fingers through the silky soft fur on her head. I smirked at Finn as I replied,
“We only discovered it last night when we were out hunting. We came across a pack of rogues, close to the town. I'd managed to kill three of them, but when I was distracted one of them snuck up behind me. Luckily Tana spotted him, didn't you?” I asked her wolf as I stroked her head.
She howled in response, and I continued with my story,
“When Tana's wolf was wrestling the rogue, it got the better of her and had her pinned to the floor. I was busy with two others, and then just as the rogue went to rip her throat out, she burst into flames.”
“That is something I should have been informed about immediately! Her Phoenix status and the rogue attack. As your beta I need to know these things, do you hear me Freya?” He said in a raised and harsh tone.
Tana's wolf whimpered at his rant. I raised an eyebrow at him, letting him know that he'd overstepped his bounds. I then loudly addressed my hybrids,
“Everyone shift, do your patrol rounds, and then go and enjoy your peekend. Great training session today guys. I'll see you all back here nice and early Monday morning.”
They all hooted and hollered and then one by one began to shift. Tana's wolf rubbed her head against my leg, before heading over to the newly shifted guys. I watched with pride as Tana's auburn wolf ran off heading for the woods, closely followed by four more of my mega wolves. Once they had all disappeared out of sight, I addressed Finnley,
“Finn, please don't talk to me like that in front of the hybrids.”
“Freya I need to know important things like that, so that I can keep you and the pack safe,” he said in an authoritive tone.
His tone and his words pissed me off, I get that he felt protective of us, but the way he was talking, was like I didn't know how to keep my own pack safe. Like I couldn't protect myself or my children, who the fuck did he think he was? I thought as my blood began to boil. I clenched my fist, but made sure to keep my cool. Blowing up at him would just escalate the situation, and to be honest, I was going out in a few hours, and I didn't have time for Finn's dramatics.
“I appreciate your concern Finnley, but remember who you are talking to. I am your Dam, and the Luna of this pack. I decide what your place is within this pack, and if you have a problem with my leadership skills, then I suggest you challenge me the correct way, instead of trying to belittle me in front of the others,” I said firmly.
I loved Finn, but I think he was getting a little too big for his boots. Maybe it was my fault, I had begun slacking with my participation in training lately, and leaving Finn to run the pack. But I have just been so busy, Finn has no idea what it has been like for me these past two years. Azael has been so frustrated, because every single hunter that he has brought to me, hasn't made it. The last time somebody made it through the transition was seven months ago. But since then every single hunter has died or killed themselves.
“Freya, I'm sorry. I don't want to challenge you for the Alpha position, and I know that you are a capable leader. I just hate the thought of losing you, or any of our pack. After Stevie, I...” He trailed off as he began to speak about his Fianna.
I interrupted him so that he didn't have to talk about it, I knew how much it still haunted him,
“It's ok Finn, you don't have to explain. Look, I'm sorry that I have been so busy and preoccupied lately. There has been something going on, and I should have told you about it a long time ago, but I didn't want you to be a part of it all. You have been through enough, and I didn't want to bring more death and heartache into your life,” I explained honestly to him.
He furrowed his brow at me, trying to work out where I was going with this. I decided it would be better to show him, rather than try to explain what I had been doing for the past two years. I looked into his confused bright blue eyes, then said,
“Follow me. Now, don't hate me, and please don't judge me, at least not until I've had a chance to explain. Keep your eyes and ears open, and your mouth shut.”
He looked at me with even more confusion on his face, but nodded in agreement. I then walked up the stairs and into the hunter's mansion with Finnley following silently behind me. I walked him all the way through the mansion until we reached the conference room. I keyed in the code on the mirror, and then entered the room. He followed in behind me and stood in the middle of the room. I Closed the mirror behind us and then placed my palm onto it, and the whole mirror glowed red, instantly locking it down.
“What the hell? I haven't seen it do that before. What did you do?” Finnley asked with fascination as he tried to bring the keypad back up on the mirror.
He finally gave up after the fifth time and looked at me with an eyebrow raised. I smirked at him, there was so much that he didn't know. So much that he didn't know about me, and what I had been up to. I replied as I began to throw back the rug that was on the floor,
“I locked it down, the only people that can now open it, are myself and Azael.”
“What? Why would you need to lock it down?” He asked me as he turned away from the mirror.
I didn't bother to answer him, and I didn't need to, because he carried on with more questions as soon as he saw the giant steel hatch in the floor.
“What the fuck is that? Is that a secret hatch? What the hell is going on Freya?” He bombarded me with questions.
I ignored him again, and just squatted down onto the floor, and then placed my hand onto a glass panel that sat within the steel hatch. The glass slipped up into the hatch revealing a metal keypad. I typed in the security code and then waited for the beep. Once it beeped, the loud locking mechanism began to click, and I quickly stood back out of the way while the hatch opened up. It revealed a set of stairs that descended into a corridor, that ran underneath the entire conference room. I turned around and looked at Finn, he was beyond confused, but I could see his fascination and curiosity too. I then said in a low and serious voice,
“be prepared Finn, the horror that I'm about to show you, will haunt your dreams forever. Once you see what's down there, you can never un-see it.”

Mason Hart

I'd just finished getting ready in Freya's room, I'd been here for only a few peeks, but it felt so good being back with Freya. The last few years without her had been torture. The first few months were ok, I was so busy teaching Amelia how to be Fionn of the faction, that I was able to keep my mind off of Freya. But that was only during the day, at night when I was alone in my room, she was all that I could think about. Eventually, Freya crept into my mind during the day too, and that's when it started to affect my work. Hannah was the first to notice my daydreaming. On one particular day, I was sitting in the office chair staring off into the distance. I was so consumed in my thoughts of Freya, that I hadn't even noticed Hannah come into the room.
“Mason? Are you ok?” She asked quietly, and then closed the office door, making sure that no one else could hear her.
“Huh? Oh, yeah I'm fine, what's up?” I replied while shuffling some papers around trying to make myself look busy.
Hannah approached the desk, and then gently placed her hand on top of mine to cease my panicked fumbling. I looked up at her as she smiled down sympathetically at me. She then asked softly,
“You missing Freya, eh?”
I sighed heavily as I slowly sat back in my chair, letting my hand slip away from Hannah's. It felt like such a relief that I didn't have to pretend that I was ok. I replied honestly,
“More than anything. Every day is getting harder and harder, I can barely function anymore. She consumes every waking thought that I have. Even my dreams are filled with memories of her, or thoughts of the future that we could have had. I am exhausted.”
She smiled at me softly and then went to sit on the couch. She patted the seat next to her and waited for me to make my way over to her and take a seat. I slumped back onto the couch and then covered my face with my hands. I sighed heavily as I ran my hands down my face. I then stared at the floor as Hannah began to speak,
“I know exactly how you feel Mason. My Fennid left me when the girls were young. He left to do some work for the council, and then never came back.”
I could see tears beginning to well up in her eyes, but she quickly sniffed them back and then spoke again,
“I thought he was dead, but the bastard had run off with one of Kali's fucking hybrids,” she said with disgust dripping off of her every word.
I stayed silent, because I couldn't think of anything worth while to say. If I had said that he was a dick, how helpful would that be? She had probably felt every emotion and called him every name under the sun. So I just let her carry on with her story. She continued, but her agitated tone had now diminished, leaving behind a low and sympathetic tone instead,
“Look, my point is, that I understand how you feel. Even with all my anger and hate towards him, he was still my Fennid. Each day that passed by my whole being cried out for him more and more. I got to the stage where I couldn't even function.”
I listened intently, because the way Hannah was explaining how she felt, was exactly the same as I was feeling right now. I had to find out how she got rid of this feeling, because I couldn't put up with it anymore. I wanted Freya more than anything, but she's been gone for nearly two years. I’ve had no phone call from her, fuck, not even so much as a text. Wherever she is, she clearly isn't feeling how I am, or she would have been in touch with me. Hannah interrupted my thoughts as she began to speak again,
“For the sake of Imogen and Carmen, I had to find him. I could barely focus enough to take care of the girls. So, I went to the council, and I confronted Kali. I knew that it was dangerous, but I had no choice. After she killed our parents, and so many other hunters, she could have easily killed me too.”
Hannah paused, she got up off of the couch, and walked over to the drinks cabinet. She poured herself out a large whisky, and then another for me. She walked back over and handed me the drink. I silently took it from her while flashing her a slight smile. She then continued as she sat down,
“Luckily for me, Kali was more interested in reveling in my pain and misery. Because she loves drama, she was more than happy to give me his location.”
She fell silent again, and just sat there drinking her drink. I furrowed my brow, wanting to know what happened next,
“So? Did you find him?” I spat out at her, a little too enthusiastically I might add.
She turned to me, and with her eyes lightly illuminated she spat back,
“Yeah, I found the son if a bitch alright. He was shacked up with that disgusting hybrid of his,” her voice was laced with jealousy and pain.
I waited for her to continue, but she didn't, so I asked quietly,
“So, what did you do?”
She turned away from me and downed her drink. She then crushed the glass in her hand. It shattered, and then the tiny glass shards dropped to the floor. My eyes widened as I saw blood pouring out of her hand. She then replied in a raspy voice,
“I killed him, and his hybrid skank!”
My mouth dropped open, I didn't want it to, but I had no control. I was expecting her to say that she kicked his ass or something, but not that she'd killed him. I had one question pop into my head, and my mouth automatically spat it out without warning,
“How could you kill your Fennid?”
I rolled my eyes as soon as the insensitive question slipped passed my lips. I couldn't believe I had just asked her that. I mean don't get me wrong, I was beyond curious. Not that I wanted to kill Freya or anything, but I'd heard stories of hunters feeling like they had died themselves if their Fennid or Fianna passed away. I quickly added to my question, I thought that I'd already made an ass of myself, might as well get the whole question out there.
“I meant the question as, how could you physically kill him; did it not feel like you was killing yourself?” I cringed a little as I finish my deeply personal question.
She smiled softly at me, and then replied,
“It's ok Mason, I understand your curiosity, especially with how you're feeling right now. To answer your question, it was the hardest and most painful thing I have ever done in my life. But, I had no choice, I wasn't able to function without him, and my girls needed me. I was useless to them, so if killing him meant I would be ripping myself apart, it was worth every ounce of that pain, for my girls.”
I sat back onto the couch, and then knocked back my drink. I knew that she was right, but the thought of killing Freya to stop this pain, was completely out if the question. I think she saw in my face that I was having a battle inside my head, because she then stood up and said,
“He was never coming back to me, and I didn't love him anymore. But your situation is different, there is still a chance for you two. If you want to know where you stand with Freya, then go to her, find out once and for all. Then make a decision.”
I know she's right; I love Freya more than anything. I also know that I have to put the faction first, but how can I do that when I can barely get myself out of bed? I need to see her; I need to see if she feels the same way that I do. I quickly stood up, determined to hunt her down and have it out with her. I turned to Hannah and said,
“Thank you Hannah, can you let the others know that I'll be back in a few days, I need to go and find my Fianna.”
She nodded at me with a huge smile on her face. I then walked towards the office door and opened it up wide. I took a step back as Freya stood right in front of me, looking worse than I felt. She stared up at me with her beautiful blue eyes, oh God how I'd missed those eyes. She then said cautiously,
“Hi Mason, how have you been?”