That night I slept beside Vidar in the guesthouse that they had prepared for my pack's arrival. It was a comfortable room with pelts on the floor, a big bed in the centre, and a fireplace which warmed us where we lay cuddled up against each other.

Tyr had insisted that it would be best because he wanted Vidar to keep an eye on my health. I didn't mind. I was happy in his arms. But being around him kept reminding me of my mother. I needed to know what happened to her, but Vidar seemed reluctant to speak about it. It was in moments like these I really missed Tyr. He was my rock when I felt lost.

"I've never seen you like this before," Vidar said and moved his arm tighter around my waist. "Is it because of what happened in the woods, or did you get these dark thoughts before?"

"When I was younger, yes. But rarely as an adult," I explained.

"Dark thoughts like those can become a sickness," he kissed my temple and gave me a concerned look. "They make your wolf weak."

I cuddled up closer to him, enjoying his warm body. Our wolves had been longing for each other for too long, and finally they were content. "I'm better now. Also, you're here and that will strengthen me."

"Your wolf is restless, Freke, you need to calm him."

"Why can't you calm him?" I whined and buried my face in his thick mane.

"What would your mother say if she knew that you act like a pup," he said, but his voice was loving and gentle.

"You still love me," I teased.

"I do," he said, "and I always will." We lay silent for a while, his fingertips moving slow and comforting up and down my arm. While I gathered my courage to ask what had been on my mind since he arrived.

"Vidar," I said with a whisper, "what happened to my mother?"

His hand stopped moving, I could feel his body tense up as I waited for his answer. "She was getting old."

"She died from old age?" I asked, knowing it wasn't true.

"No," he said with a sigh, "but some of the pack-members felt she wasn't strong enough to lead anymore."

Suddenly it felt like my heart stopped. I had never really loved my mother, because I never had the chance to get to know her after she dumped me in the hands of Tyr's father. But still, she was my mother. She had given me my life and my powers.

"Did you challenge her?" I whispered with my face hidden by his neck. "Vidar, did you kill her?"

"We decided it was best," he began, "the pack had grown unstable and they wanted change."

"We?"

"Your mother and I."

"So she was in on it?" I asked and rose to meet his eyes.

He moved his hand to my face to caress my cheek, sadness dimming his eyes. "It was her idea. She wanted me to take over."

I nodded a few times, thinking about what he had said. "She could have come here. To live her final days with me."

He sighed deeply. "I did not want to kill her, Freke, but she asked me to. You knew her, it was more of an order."

I nodded, I knew her. When her mind was stuck on something, no one could change her mind. "So, how's the pack now?"

"Restless and divided," he muttered, and I noticed how concerned he was about leaving them to come here.

I sighed and decided to sit, even though I was lying so comfortably beside him. But I felt the need to speak from my heart. "I don't want you to go back there when this is over."

"You don't want to leave Tyr, I understand," he sighed, "but it will only be for a few months. With you there, your brother will calm down and the pack will unite."

"No, you don't understand." I almost screamed out in frustration, letting my emotions flow freely. "I don't want you to go. I want you close, all the time. I don't want to see you once or twice a year. I want to see you every day!"

With those words lingering in the air, he followed my example and sat up in front of me, his waist-long hair flowing like water down his body. "And what of the pack?" he asked and placed a hand on the side of my neck.

"My brother will take care of it."

"It is not what your mother wanted."

I leaned forward and placed both hands on each side of his face, "close your eyes then, ask the spirits."

"Freke," he sighed, but his expression was soft. "Why are these humans so important to you?"

I bit my lip and looked down while sadness washed over me. "My mother abandoned me, left me with them, because it was the will of our ancestors. It can't be for nothing." I started to shake from the memories and Vidar lifted me up into his lap and reached for a blanket to cover our naked bodies. "And while my mother left me feeling abandoned, and the children of the village teased me day after day, Tyr's family accepted me like one of their own."

"I know that story, love, and that is why I've never questioned your choices to stay with them. And him." I could feel our wolves hum in contentment as he held me closer to his chest. "And I trusted our alphas' actions."

"Vidar," I whispered and spun a lock of his hair around my finger, "help me protect this village please, and when it is done, think about what I have said. I really want you to stay here with us."

"And what will Tyr say?" he asked as he let me fall backwards on the bed until my back hit the beddings and he hovered over me, his long hair creating a curtain around us.

"He will accept it," I said with confidence in my voice.

"How can you be so sure?" he asked and bent down to press his lips against mine.

"Because he loves me," I answered him simply when he ended the kiss, "and he respects you. I can tell."

"I'll think about it," were his next words, but I could barely hear them as he was kissing and nibbling on my skin as he spoke.

"Your wolf wants to stay," I said with a chuckle and I could hear him grunt the word traitor while his lips trailed down my neck.

My emotions were a mess, my wolf skittish after our meeting with Bjarke and my magic felt unstable. I hadn't grounded myself in too long, and I knew tomorrow was going to be a long day. But this night I slept better than I had in months. For once, both me and my wolf were content and I decided to enjoy every moment of it.