Silver Lining

"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."

― Eleanor Roosevelt

(Freya)

The pitying glances from everyone around her were almost too much to take. Freya already had to work twice as hard as all the packs members, now she was going to have to fight even harder to find her place. Samantha walked up to join them, and she let out a small sigh, "Hey, congratulations on being the first Alpha female in years!" Freya exclaimed.

Samantha smiled, her cheeks a little pink, was her badass friend embarrassed? Freya laughed a little. "Thank you, a little bit of a shock, but in a good way." She clarified.

Freya nodded, "Yes, definitely a good way." She agreed and hugged her tightly.

Sam instantly relaxed and hugged her back. "How does it feel to be an Omega?" she asked sheepishly. "I must admit, I am a little curious."

Freya shrugged, "I don't really feel any different."

"I think we best be getting home." Alpha Tom stated coming up behind them, his tone was serious as he looked at her pointedly. "We have some things to talk about."

Molly nodded and Freya sucked in a deep breath. "Alright." She mumbled.

"Zander, do you have a minute?" Samantha asked coyly.

Freya looked from Sam to Zander curiously, what was going on there? Sam never acted so schoolgirlly in front of a guy before. Freya knew that Sam thought he was hot but that usually made her act more outgoing, not backwards. Zander's eyes were cold, those mesmerizing gray irises flat as he stared at her. "No, I've got a family thing, if you didn't just hear." He stated, turning to walk away without sparing her another glance.

Freya's mouth fell open a little at his crass attitude and squeezed Sam's hand in comfort. "I'll call you later, okay?" she asked.

Sam looked a little dejected but nodded, "Yeah, talk to you later girl." She smiled but it did not quite reach her eyes.

Freya caught up to Zander and punched his arm. "You could have been a little nicer to her." She shook her head.

Zander gave her a withering glance. "No, I couldn't have." Was all he said as he got in his car.

Freya watched him peel out and made her way to her mother's car, Tom and her mother following behind her.

~

Freya looked anxiously between her Mother, Tom, and Zander. All of them sat on the other side silently, Freya let out a breath of annoyance. "Alright come on, someone speak already." She demanded crossing her arms over her chest.

Molly bit her lip. "Oh honey, I am so sorry this happened to you." She let out.

Tom put his big hand over hers. "Let me talk first dear." He said softly, turning to look at Freya. "I am not sure that I did you a service by letting you stay in the pack."

Freya went white. "You aren't going to banish me now are you?" she asked quickly.

Tom held up his hand. "No, let me finish." He took a deep breath. "As an Omega life in a pack will be hard on you. You might be harassed…not only mentally but…sexually as well." Tom got out.

Freya raised a brow at her stepfather. "Okay?" she asked waiting for more. Being harassed was not anything new, she had been getting bullied her whole life.

Tom shook his head and went to speak but Zander spoke up. "You will be more submissive than you've ever been Freya, even to the extent that you would put yourself in harms way to please someone else. It is not easy being an Omega in a pack of feral men, Alpha and Beta alike. Alpha's will be able to make you want their dick without so much as lifting a finger and you'll fuck them even against your will. It is your bodies natural biology." Zander grated out harshly.

"Zander, enough." Tom stated looking at his son.

Zander stared at him right back. "No. You guys are trying to dance around the issues here, and I do not want to her to make light of this." He turned his haunting eyes to Freya once again. "You're an Omega, you will never be able to change into your wolf form, which sucks in general. You are the lowest on the chain, the weakest, and you will be treated like shit. The only happiness you might find is in a mate and that is if he does not reject you, because of what you are. These are the cold hard facts; can you live with staying apart of a pack that will ultimately alienate you?" he asked.

Freya swallowed the lump in her throat. She would never experience the shift. That was a low blow, that had been her dream since a young girl, the moment her wolf and herself would become one. The other information was just icing on top of the cake. "They already do Zander." Freya whispered softly. "I've been an outcast ever since my Father died, I have been the subject of gossip, bullying, and ridicule. None of that fazes me anymore. I would rather suffer in the pack, then suffer outside of it alone."

A looming silence filled the room. Zander stood up from his chair, his scrapped against the floor from the weight, "That's what I wanted to hear." He stated with a small smirk. "Theta Mark wants you to study under him and become his Lota and when he retires take over for him as the new Theta. Your scores were off the charts and I think you would be a great fit."

Freya blinked in surprise, a Lota. The thought of becoming a pack healer had never entered her mind before but it sounded too good to be true. Excitement buzzed under her skin and she looked up at Zander with hopeful eyes. "Are you serious?" she asked in disbelief.

Tom cleared his throat. "Are you sure that is a good idea?" he asked.

Zander nodded. "Yes. This way Freya will live at the Pack den with me, I can look out for her, and she will also receive the best medical training. It is a win win. You and Molly will not have to worry about her safety and Freya can pursue a career."

Freya could not believe her ears. Zander was offering her a haven, after all the years of avoiding her, he was willingly putting her in his vicinity. Whether it was from pity or actual genuine concern for her safety, she did not care. Freya squealed in excitement, "Thank you!" she exclaimed so giddy she jumped up and hugged Zander from across the table. Jeez, what was with her and hugging all the wrong people today? Zander's body was ridged in her embrace and she awkwardly pulled away from him. "Sorry but um thank you for this opportunity."

Zander cleared his throat, "Yeah…you deserve it." He mumbled looking pale.

Tom laughed and hugged Molly. "You and Samantha will have so much fun in the den together, you two will definitely shake things up." Tom stated with merit.

Zander bristled slightly and Freya gasped. "Samantha is coming too?" she asked looking at Zander for confirmation.

"She is, she scored the highest in basic combat, she will be training with second in command." He supplied vacantly.

Tom gave his son a weird look before turning back to her mother, what was that about? Freya would have asked but she was just so happy at that moment, she decided not to let anything else crush this feeling of joy. "I am going to go call Sam right now! Thank you all, today was pretty great after all." She practically skipped from the table to go call her best friend and tell her the news.