Ride Along

"Temper us in fire, and we grow stronger. When we suffer, we survive."

― Cassandra Clare, City of Heavenly Fire

(Freya)

Rolling down the window, Freya seen Sam rolling out her suitcases, "Let's hit the road Chick, we are about to start our new lives as pack royalty!" Freya yelled at her best friend, laughing as Sam flipped her the bird. Mornings were not a happy time for poor Sam; the earlier it was, the nastier her attitude. Freya was usually right there with her, but there was something about surviving the cut last night that had her waking up this morning with a new view on life. Being an Omega was, of course, shitty, Gods sick joke, poor her…blah blah blah. Getting the chance to study under Theta Mark and becoming the new Lota of the pack had changed her spirits entirely. Suddenly facing a new day as pack garbage did not seem all that bad. Moving to the Pack Den with her best friend, under the watchful eyes of her Stepbrother…what bad could happen? The urge to roll her eyes at the level of sarcasm her thoughts were taking her was almost too good to pass up, but that would have to happen later. As of right now, only positive vibes were allowed to encompass her mind.

Samantha slid into the backseat of Molly's SUV with a grumble of mixed noises. Freya turned to eye the normally perky blonde with amused eyes. "Have trouble sleeping? Freya asked, not allowing Sam to answer, "I know fantasizing about sleeping within such proximity to my incredibly HOT Stepbrother must have been extremely taxing." She grinned teasingly, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

Sam's face went bright red. Freya could not decipher if it were from embarrassment or annoyance. "Freya!" Sam screeched, "Your mom is sitting right there." She crossed her arms, looking very much like an upset toddler, making the whole situation more hilarious.

Molly cleared her throat, "Come on, girls, stop your bickering. Everything is about to change for both of you." She stated. Freya sighed a little, having her bubble popped. Leave it to her mother to bring down the mood with all too real facts. "It is not every day that the inner circle invites women into the group. I do not think it has been done in over a century, let alone three females at the same time. This Pack Den will be making history. You all will have a reputation to live up to."

Freya felt her eyes widen. Indeed, this was serious; she had not thought that much about them being invited to the inner circle. The only thing she had been thinking about was training as a healer, which was selfish; of course, there were more important things to think about. Biting her bottom lip, Freya slunk down in her seat. Everything was so new and exciting. For once, she did not care about the torment that awaited her once she stepped foot into the hell she called a school. All that mattered was that she would finally be a part of something bigger than that awful place. She was finally working towards a goal instead of coasting by in life. With a renewed determination, she vowed to try and be more respectful, to be the best that she could be.

"Do you know who the other recruits are?" Sam asked softly from the back, perking up slightly.

Shrugging her shoulders, Molly smiled a little, "I think her name is Christian Day and a boy named…Tyler; I am not sure about his last name." She trailed off, but Freya felt her blood run cold, "The boy that was classified as Alpha last night." She smiled brightly.

"You have got to be fucking kidding me!" Sam exclaimed, mirroring Freya's horror. "How in the world did that motherfucker make it into the inner circle?"

Molly tisked, "Language, young lady." She shook her head at Sam.

"Sorry, Mrs. Summers," Sam mumbled, slinking back down into her seat.

With a nod of her head Molly continued, "Anyway, you know how this works, girls. This Tyler boy was classified as an Alpha, so by pack laws, he has the right to become Alpha just as much as Zander does. This year he will train with the best, the inner circle, and by the end of the year, when his training is complete, he will have the chance to challenge Zander for his position as leader of the inner circle. If Tom does not step down at that point, then he is allowed to challenge him for Alpha over the Crescent Moon pack."

Freya willed her mouth to move, to object, or make any sound at all. None came. The news was beyond awful. Here she thought that she would essentially be getting a fresh start, that all she would have to worry about would be the occasional beatings at school. Now come to find out, her bully was also going to be her den mate. An unexpected surge of laughter bubbled up and flew past her lips before she could stop it. Of course, go from not making noise to full-blown crazed laughter; that is cool. Freya bit the inside of her cheek to suppress any more outbursts. "The Gods and their whims." She echoed bitterly into the now silent car.

"Freya…I know you do not want to hear this, but I would consider myself a horrible Mother if I did not say it." She started taking a deep breath, "You are now going to be an Omega in a den of testosterone-driven men. I do not even think men is the right word, shifting horn-wolves."

Sam let out a snort, but Freya nodded rolling her eyes, "Mom, I know."

"No, you do not know, that is why I am saying this, whether you want to hear it or not." Molly was fighting back tears at this point. "Your safety is going to be constantly tested, honey. Zander will not be able to watch you the whole time and regardless of if his men are respectful normally when your heat hits…they won't be."

Sam leaned forward and put her hand on Molly's shoulder, "Don't worry Mrs.S I will watch over her." She smiled. "I'll fu-mess some…horn-wolves up if I need to. No one will touch Freya without going through me."

Freya smiled at her best friend in appreciation, "Thank you." She said softly holding back her tears. Freya could honestly not have a better person to call her friend.

Molly shook her head, "Oh girls, if only it were as simple as that." She wanted to say more, the look on her face gave away that she was about to but thankfully they were there. Freya looked straight into the mouth of the beast, the place that she would no longer think of as her refuge but as another hell hole that she would have to fight to survive in. "Good thing I wore my big girl panties today." She mused out loud and blushed a little at her mother's scold.