-- Present Time --
Justin sat there while he looked blankly at the room. The story brought chills down his back and made him slightly tense. Never before had he known something like this to happen. He had never heard of such... magic. It was true some individuals had certain abilities such as visions, heightened physical abilities, healing, and slight connection to the elements. However, this was something new to him. The male frowned slightly as he pushed himself up onto his feet. Freya had been... strange to him. She was mouthy, strong, and yet she was a girl. She was embarrassed, scared, and unsure of herself here. In reality though, she was a mystery and had fangs and claws. Could she truly be who they thought she was, and if so why had she appeared now? Why could Alec touch her? If anything, would she not go to an alpha? Did it mean they were meant to win the war? No, it did not seem that simple. The Dragon War after all started because of the disruption of leadership, power, and death of the three God clans.
"We need to keep her in this clan." Alec stated as he watched Justin closely as he spoke. "You know what that means, correct?"
Justin snarled as he whipped around to the beta. For a moment, he debated on launching forward to rip out the male's throat. He was not sure why, however the idea Alec was suggesting brought anger through him. It made him sick to his stomach, yet he knew the male was correct. They had to keep her here somehow even if it meant tying her here. "You want to mate her to someone, am I correct?" The delta snarled low in his throat while narrowing his blue eyes. He watched his beta as the male picked up his book and begun to flip through the pages again. His eyes flickering along the words while debating on his words.
Alec knew he had to be careful when it came to Justin. While his delta was loyal, he was almost if not stronger than him. His morals were even stronger, and he never believed in the harsh reality of life. He believed little about the war, and the idea of forcing someone to take part was something Justin hated the most. After all, that was how he lost his spouse. Justin had watched her die... begging and begging for her to hold on. He had brought a healer to her, but there had been no time to save her life. He simply watched the life drain away. They never had pups, and in Alec's thoughts that was what saved Justin. The guilt would have eaten him alive if he had to tell his pups about their mother. The reality of war was a dark one, but at this point the Bellaroos clan could not back down. They had lost too many. Their deaths would not be in vein. Breathing out a sign, the beta leaned back again and looked over at his brother. "There are three options. We mate her to someone, we keep her prisoner, or we convince her to stay here. Which do you think is easier?" Justin growled low in his throat. His lips pulled back slightly to reveal his fangs in warning.
He felt the twitch of wishing to charge as he leaned slightly closer, but just as he did there was a knock on the door. It whipped open as a guard stepped forward. "Sir! My apologies for the interruption."
"What happened?" Alec shoved himself into a stand with his hands leaning on the desk. The guard lowered his head slightly as his ears folded against his head.
"T-The women. She s-somehow escaped." The guard forced out.
Alec smirked as he turned over to look at Justin. "I suppose that only leaves two options." However, even as he spoke Justin was already out the door and down the hallway.
---
Freya glanced behind her as she gripped the reins tighter. She could not believe her luck of slipping away and finding a horse. Not just any horse either. This beast was pure black with long smokey grey hair along his neck, chin, and hooves. Its tail was longer than a normal horse with the same bold grey. It's head looked like a horse with two curled horns along pointed ears. Scales painted its forehead, along its neck, back, and legs. It was beautiful, and she was lucky she had time to at least put reins on it. Although, she had no saddle. It mattered little though as the creature road like the wind. It moved with an unearthly swiftness that had her laughing. Who said she could not get away with a hurt ankle? They had heavily underestimated her, and she loved it. She refused to be trapped in a tiny cage even if they had helped her. Although, her chest clenched at the idea of leaving Justin behind. She had wanted to thank him and tell him a goodbye. He had been kind to her even if it was for a short time. To think so much had happened in just two days.
Pulling against the jaded reins, she slowed the creature making it whip its head upwards. Huffing and grunting, it slowed while she glanced around. Freya had gone up the mountain knowing it would be harder to follow her, but that did not mean she had any idea where she was going. She had to somehow get home or at least establish herself somewhere to figure things out. She could not just... trust these people until she was healed, stationed and armed. It was clear they had wanted something from her, otherwise why would they have handcuffed her? Brushing her tongue along her bottom lip, Freya shivered against the cold. She had brought the deer skin coat with her which she had tied closed. Her pants had been ruined, so she had grabbed some deer skin pants from the closet in the room and put those as well. She had not been able to find any shoe or socks though. At the very least, she was happy for the tie to pull back her black hair into a braid. It made it easier for her to focus and view without worry.
About two hours later, Freya had come to a small pond. A small waterfall fell into the pond which then lead itself off another cliff. The area started off with a thick grass before slowly melting into sand and mud. The water was clear though with colorful fish swimming about and a few birds that stood in the water ready to snap them up. It was a rather excellent place to rest, so she pulled the longma to the clearing and dismounted. Coming to the water, she tied the reins to a fallen tree to allow the beast to rest, drink, and graze for a bit.
The female breathed in and blew out a long sigh as she knelt by the water. Her hands cuffed slowly to take a slow sip as she closed her eyes. The taste of it was cold, refreshing, and quenched her parched throat. It almost burned down to then sooth her. Once she had enough, she leaned back and placed her ankle into the ice cold water. She hissed at the pain as she leaned her body back. It had swelled pretty bad since she had been on the road, and she knew she would have to treat it soon. The healer had done a great job wrapping it though and numbing it. Honestly, it was a relief that it had been treated so soon. She had been convinced it was broken. Having been forced to use it, she had been glad to find that was not the case.
The longma screeched making her head snap upwards and look behind her to find a beautiful pure white coyote. Golden eyes widened at the sight of it standing there with a rabbit in its mouth. The creature stared at her calmly with two pink eyes while the wind brushed against its thick snow white fur. It stood about two feet and maybe weighed around 45 pounds. Never before had she seen an albino in her life, and it looked at her with such a peaceful expression. Its eyes almost looked as if it pitied her. Slowly, it lowered its head and released the rabbit it had been holding. A salmon colored tongue slipped out from the cave of its mouth to lick clean its pink nose. Not once did it take its eyes from her, but after a few moments it finally begun to move towards her.
Freya moved back onto her knees before folding a leg under her. She winced as she tried to stand making the coyote stop. It tilted its head and forced itself into a sit as if amused. "Oh, you find this funny?" She snapped.
"Frankly, yes." The coyote spoke making the women pull back in surprise. Her eyes widened as she looked around. Yet, it was only them there. "No one else is here, duck brain. I did not heal that ankle just for you to hurt yourself again."
"M-Mouse?" Freya stuttered out in confusion.
"Who else? Get on that horse and follow me." The canine flicked its head towards the grazing creature making Freya frown. She could just as easily get away, yet something in the creature's expression told her not to. Mouse just sat there calmly as if he did not care one way or the other. She did not think he would stop her if she bolted, so why did she find herself wishing to follow him?
"Fine." She whispered and moved to stand. Just as she did, she felt the feather soft of fur. Mouse had come to her side and placed himself against her. Taking that as a cue, she gripped the fur and forced herself up. Silently, the canine helped her over to the horse. Once there, she untied the beast and mounted again. However, it was the coyote who took the reins and began to walk. Thus, Freya just gripped the hair of the beast as they moved. Neither of them seemed to be in a hurry, and it made her slightly relieved he had not lectured her further. She would not even know what to tell him. Thus, she just looked away and watched the moving of the forest.
The silence did not last long though. "Mouse, where are we going?
"To my home." He answered flatly.
"We are going up the mountain though. Isn't Bellaroos the other way?"
For a moment, the male did not answer. His ears curled back to press against his skull as his tail lowered. It was a gesture she knew well. There was something he was hiding, and it made him ashamed. It was yet another surprise when he answered her. "I am not welcome in Bellaroos." It was a simple statement that caused him to growl slowly under his breath.
Freya did not press further, but she did not have to. "My kind... snow caps are believed to be cursed. I was exiled as a pup, but I am often called back to heal."
"Exiled?" The female did not understand.
"Social exile." He clarified. His tone darkened, and he ended any further discussion as he came to a small wooden cabin. He released the reins before allowing himself to transform. The male had wrapped himself in a simple rabbit pelt around his waist. She could not see how he wasn't cold or maybe he didn't care. The male's tail twitched before whipping around to offer his hand. Freya took it without hesitation after dismounting before they moved towards the cabin. However, he left her at the door and took the longma instead. Freya said nothing to this though as she hopped further into the house to find a small kitchen and a bedroom. It was connected within the same room with only a half wall dividing them. The ground was wooden with what seemed to be a stone kitchen. There was an area for a fire pit, wood stacked up, and some cabinets. The bedroom had a small sitting area with a large rug of furs to cover the ground. A simple wooden table sat against the half wall while the raised wooden bed sat against the opposite side. It was made of a thick layer of hay and pelts for comfort.
Deciding that was the best place, Freya sat down on it and glanced around again. It looked... lonely. "Don't look at my home as if you pity me." Mouse growled as he closed the door behind him. Freya snapped her head around when she realized he had returned. Walking into the kitchen, he continued to speak. "Now, do you want to tell me why you were out here like the duck brain you are?"
Slamming the cabinets, he moved himself around the half wall to plop down in front of her. His hands grabbing her leg to place it in her lap. Freya did not stop him as he sat a small box beside himself and begun to work on her ankle. For a male that acted like he hated her, he sure did seem concerned. She looked away from him and stared at the window by the door. It was just a simple cut out, so she could still feel the wind and breath in the outside. It seemed rather counter productive to have the opening, yet she felt better with the circulation of air. "I don't want to be a prisoner, simple." She snapped back making the male grumble under his breath. Was this canine always in a terrible mood?
"Tsk." Mouse huffed at the sight of the ankle as he yanked the bandages loose and turned it over to look at it. The bruising had gotten worse. "To used to freedom? Tough. If you are going to survive this world, you need to stop being so selfish." The male lectured. Freya blinked and turned her eyes to him. She tilted her head in wonder if she heard him right. Did he know.. she was not from this world? "This is not your tiny cabin in the woods where you can do whatever you want."
"How did you... know?" Freya sat up straighter as the male's hands stilled.
"Simple, I'm the one that called you here." Mouse stated flatly before looking up at her. "Because we need you to stop this damn war."