Chapter 3: Farewell


    As morning approached, the sun began to engulf my room, causing me to let out a frustrated groan.


    Closing my eyes tightly, I pulled my nket up and over my head in an attempt to shield myself from


    the blinding light.


    I barely slept; my mind raced all night from everything that had happened the previous day. Thoughts of


    the battle surged through my brain, Mikael’s death, the Dead pack retreating, but mostly I thought


    about Alpha Cain and our encounter. I thought about how attractive he was, how his closeness made


    me wet and caused tingles to shoot through my whole body. I thought about his words, his threats and


    especially how he had let me go, but not before telling me that we would meet again; what did he mean


    by that? Also, why did he want to propose a treaty? That was the biggest unanswered question.


    Pushing aside my endless thoughts, I got up from the bed and headed for the bathroom. First, I took a


    nice long shower, washing everything away. I then got out, brushed my teeth and hair, then proceeded


    upstairs to join everyone for breakfast.


    I entered the kitchen to find mom and Ad cooking breakfast; they noticed my presence and looked at


    me. “Good morning, sweetheart.” Mom said with a smile.


    “Morning, mom,” I replied.


    Ad just looked at me and gave me a half-smile. I could tell she was still feeling very emotional


    regarding yesterday’s news; she has always been such a passionate person at times. I am the


    opposite. I nodded at her, then went into the dining room to join dad and Gunnar.


    They were sitting at the table talking, but they ceased their conversation as soon as I entered and


    looked at me.


    “Morning, dad, Gunnar,” I said in a grumbly tone. Gunnar, just looked at me and grunted; he is not a


    morning person, something we had inmon.


    “Good morning Freja, how did you sleep?” Dad questioned.


    I rubbed my face and inhaled a deep breath. “Ok, I guess.” That’s an understatement, I thought to


    myself.


    Dad didn’t reply, just gave me a curt nod. Then, after a few moments of silence, dad broke the tension


    in the air and raised the subject that we all dreaded.


    “Later today, we will hold Mikael’s cremation; the sooner we can send him off, the better. I have spoken


    to a few warriors, and they are working on assembling his pyre; once it is finished, we will gather


    everyone at the river for the ceremony.”


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    The look on my father’s face as he spoke was heartbreaking, I knew this was very hard for him, and it


    was taking everything in him to keep hisposure.


    Gunnar remained still, staring down at the table, unmoving and silent.


    I looked at dad. “Is there anything that you need me to do?” I felt as though it was my obligation to help.


    He cleared his throat. “Yes, could you help your mother and sister with preparing the food for after the


    ceremony, please? The whole pack will be there, so there are many mouths to feed.”


    “Yes, of course, I can. Anything else?”


    He sat there silent for a moment and then shook his head. Mom and Ad walked in with breakfast just


    then, which was perfect because I was starving.


    We sat there enjoying our food; very few words were spoken between us, but it was still nice to just be


    with them. Except for Gunnar, he kept stealing my food, and I swear, I was two seconds away from


    biting his damn hand off and then smacking that grin off of his face with it. I love him but also hate that


    big buffoon.


    After finishing breakfast, Gunnar and dad left to go to the main hall to prepare for Mikael’s cremation. I


    helped mom and Ad clean everything up from breakfast and prepare the food for the after ceremony


    gathering. Dad had a few other pack memberse to help with the food, which we were thankful for


    as we had so much to do and very little time left.


    We worked together in the kitchen almost inplete silence; it was ufortable and made me want


    to run. It was lunchtime now, and we were close to being done, thank fuck! I needed out of this kitchen.


    As we continued to work away, we heard the front door open and close. We all whipped our heads


    towards the door only to see that dad and Gunnar were back.


    I turned around, and dad came into the kitchen. “The funeral will begin at 3:00. Is everything ready?”


    He asked us.


    “Almost dear, we just have a few more things to finish up, but we will be done by 3:00.” Mom informed


    him with a smile.


    Dad nodded, ced a kiss on her forehead and left the kitchen. Gunnar remained in the room,


    standing there watching us, with a devious look on his face. He constantly snuck into the kitchen and


    stole food whenever mom was cooking.


    I looked at him with a brow raised. “Is there something you want, Gunnar?” I asked, suspicioncing


    my tone.


    He smiled like he was so innocent. “Nope, just.....observing, yup, observing.” Gunnar nodded his head


    rapidly.


    The man was definitely up to something; I continued working and kept a close eye on him. Finally, he


    stalked over to mom, lightly nodding his head, humming along, with his lips pursed out, acting as if he


    was just looking. Then, when mom turned to grab something, he snatched some of the cookies on the


    counter and bolted like a mad man.


    I pointed my finger at him. “Aha, I knew it! Thief! Get back here.” I hollered at him.


    Gunnar dashed out of the kitchen and out the back door,ughing like a maniac. But I was close on his


    heels; I ran up behind him and leapt onto his back.


    “I knew you were going to do that, just observing my ass! Now give the cookies back.” I demanded and


    attempted to reach around him and snatch them back.


    Before I knew it, he shoved the cookies in his mouth and groaned in satisfaction. I got down from his


    back, and he turned to face me with a massive smile on his face. I stared at him wide-eyed and mouth


    gaping.


    “Are you fucking kidding me? You are such a pig!” I said, groaning at his behaviour.


    He smiled at me with that shit-eating grin of his “Yea, maybe so, but it was worth it.” Heughed.


    I shook my head at him. “That’s it! You are banned from the kitchen.” I dered.


    Gunnar stared at me with shock. “That’s not fair! You can’t do that to me Freja, you’re breaking my


    heart,” He said with a pouty face and clutched his hands to his chest.


    “Don’t give me that look; you did this to yourself!” I huffed and crossed my arms.


    His brows shot up in surprise. “Oh really, we will see about that.”


    Gunnar then began to walk towards the house, no doubt to the kitchen. I started following him, trying to


    cut him off. “Oh, no, you don’t.” I bellowed out.


    He picked up his pace,ughing like the maniac that he is. Gunnar looked over his shoulder and stuck


    his tongue out at me. “Catch me if you can, loser.”


    I jumped on his back again, covering his eyes with my hands, in an attempt to stop him.


    Gunnar then stopped, and his shoulders slumped. “Really? Have you forgotten that we are wolves,


    right? We have a superior sense of smell, so I don’t really need my eyes.” He beamed proudly.


    “Yea, but it distracted you.” I giggled.


    He then reached up, gripped both of my hands together and held them together tightly before using his


    other hand to tickle me, knowing all too well that was my weakness.


    A shriek ofughter rose from the depths of my belly. “No…...Gunnar……stop it……no more.” After a


    moment, I finally wiggled my way free, only to fall smackdown on the ground.


    He looked down at me, roaring withughter. I narrowed my eyes and gave him a, I’m going get you for


    that, kind of look, but before I could exact my revenge, dad came outside looking rather annoyed.


    “Enough with the horsey, the both of you, and get inside, now!” He boomed.


    Gunnar straightened himself and looked towards dad. “Yes, sir.” He said quickly.


    After dad went back inside, Gunnar turned to me and extended a hand to help me up, giving me a


    I sighed. “How is he doing?” I asked.


    Gunnar looked down at me, raising a brow. “How do you think?” He scoffed, “He lost his Beta, his


    friend, Freja. He won’t admit it, but he is struggling to deal with it.” His face held a saddened expression


    with thatst sentence.


    I looked at the ground, knowing he was right and that I had asked a stupid question. I sighed heavily


    and continued inside.


    After finishing up in the kitchen with mom, Ad and the others, we headed to the main hall to set


    everything up. We arrived at the hall, and it was packed already. Everyone was in mourning and crying;


    the atmosphere was beyond depressing. I noticed Erik standing in the crowd, speaking with his


    parents; he nced in my direction and smiled. I smiled back at him and ced the food on the tables.


    Once everything was prepared, we all headed towards the river to begin the funeral. On the edge of the


    river stood the pyre; it was breathtaking. The structure was built from oak wood logs, adorned with


    Gracie oak flowers and personal items were scattered all over that loved ones had ced. In the


    middle was Mikael, wrapped in a ck nket ented with gold stitching; it was beautiful, he was


    beautiful and was taken too soon.


    Everyone gathered around as dad approached the pyre. He stood beside Mikael and nced at him


    quickly before looking away; his features looked pained.


    He then looked out at everyone gathered around. “Today, we are gathered here together, under


    unfortunate circumstances, to bid farewell to a dear husband, father, Beta and friend. Mikael was like


    no other man I’ve ever met in my lifetime; he was patient, kind, and fought with the strength and


    determination of a hundred warriors. But most of all, he cared for this pack. Mikael cared for every one


    of us. He will truly be missed but never forgotten.” Dad choked up a bit throughout his speech, but he


    kept it together as best as he could.


    After dad said his piece, Mikael’s mate, Sarah, approached the pyre, tears streaming down her face.


    She looked to my dad with a half-smile; he kissed her on the cheek and then handed her the torch.


    Pack tradition was that the deceased’s mate light the pyre and send them off to the next life. As she


    approached the pyre, more tears flowed down her face; it was clear that she was hesitant to continue


    because she knew this was goodbye and who could me her? No one wanted to do this; no one


    wanted to say goodbye to the love of their life.


    She took a deep, shuddering breath and brought the torch down, lighting the pyre on fire. She stumbled


    back and sped a hand to her mouth; dad came to her side, cing a hand on her shoulder and took


    the torch. Dad and Gunnar then pushed the pyre into the river sending Mikael off to rest and be with


    the Moon Goddess, Selene.


    We stood in silence, watching as the mes consumed Mikael’s body as he drifted down the river.


    Finally, after a few moments of silence, dad came forward, getting everyone’s attention once again.


    “Now that we have sent Mikael to rest, we will now proceed into the main hall to celebrate his life.”


    Everyone slowly began to retreat back to the hall. Erik came to my side and gripped my hand as I


    started walking. He smiled at me, and I gave him a half-smile; I just didn’t feel like genuinely smiling at


    that moment.


    It had been a few hours now, and everyone seemed to be lighting up; people wereughing a little and


    smiling, reminiscing all the good things about Mikael and the good memories that he gave us. Then,


    out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a warrior approach dad and whisper something in his ear. His


    face went still, and anger was evident on his features. Finally, he got up and stormed away, with the


    warrior at his side.


    I looked at Gunnar, who was watching as well. “Gunnar, What’s going on?” I asked him.


    His gaze remained on dad, and he just shook his head. “I don’t know, but I’ll find out.” He then quickly


    got up and followed in the direction that dad left.


    Hours passed by, and everyone was beginning to leave the hall to go back home. Mom, Ad and I


    started to clean things up, and Erik stayed to lend a hand. Thankfully, it didn’t take us long to get


    everything cleaned up, and before I knew it, we were finally back at home.


    Shortly after arriving back at the house, we were in the kitchen putting things away when we heard the


    front door burst open with a crash. We peered out of the kitchen to see dad stomping into the house,


    fury emanating off him; he didn’t even nce at us; he just continued into his office and mmed the


    door shut, causing us to jump a little.


    Gunnar entered the house a moment after, with a grim and infuriating look on his face. We all rushed


    out of the kitchen towards Gunnar, all of us wondering what the hell was going on.


    Mom was the first to speak. “What is going on? What is the matter with your father?” She questioned.


    Gunnars gaze locked with moms. “Alpha Cain was here.” He said through gritted teeth.


    Everyone’s eyes widened, and shock consumed us.


    I raised a brow. “Ok, and? What did he say? What does he want?” I asked, bing impatient; I


    needed to know, we all did.


    He closed his eyes and sucked in a deep breath. “He came here to discuss the treaty, to discuss what


    he wants in return for ending the war.” His nostrils were ring, and his chest was heaving now.


    Something was wrong, and I could feel it.


    “So……what does he want?” Mom asked hesitantly.


    I could tell that he didn’t want to tell us and struggled very hard to stay calm. His remorse-filled eyes


    then focused on me. “He wants you, Freja.”


    My eyes went impossibly wide, and a shudder of fear took hold of me, I opened my mouth to say


    something, but nothing came out.


    “What! Please tell me that is not true?” Mom asked, tears welling up in her eyes.


    Erik stepped in front of me. “No fucking way, he’s not getting her,” Erik said growling.


    “That is not your decision Erik, you will stand down and remember your position,” Gunnar said with


    ferocity.


    Ad just started crying and remained silent.


    A million things were going through my mind; I didn’t know what to do or what to say. Why did Alpha


    Cain want me? I couldn’t go with him. I had heard the stories, he would use me, torture me and


    then......no this can’t happen, I won’t let it and neither would dad, right?


    I spun on my feet and headed towards dad’s office without wasting another second. Before I could


    reach for the door handle, Gunnar gripped my elbow. “Freja, I don’t think that is a good idea right now.”


    He said sternly.


    I scoffed at him, yanked my arm from his hold and proceeded into the office. My mouth opened to say


    something but abruptly closed as I entered the room. I stood there taking in the sight before me; dad


    sat in his chair with his head resting in his hands while tightly gripping his hair. His office was trashed,


    things were shattered into pieces, and papers littered the floor. He was hurting; that much was clear. I


    shook my head and cleared my throat to get his attention.


    “Dad, please tell me this is a joke?” I asked him calmly, not wanting to upset him further.


    He slowly raised his head and looked at me; his eyes were pitch ck, fury radiating off of him in


    waves. “No, this is not a joke, Freja.”


    My brows scrunched together, anger building inside of me. “Why does Cain even want me?” I asked,


    not sure if I wanted to know the answer.


    Dad closed his eyes. “He says that you are his mate.” He replied through gritted teeth.