Page 64 of Met Your Mate

Nothing.

"Freya!" I shout, stomping out of her room and throwing Luke's door open without care.

"The fuck?" my brother grumbles, covering his eyes with his forearm.

Seeing no signs of Freya or her scent in his room, I rush to Elliott and Casey's. They offer me similar grumbles, but I yell for everyone to get the fuck up, projecting my voice through the hallway, so Lucas gets his ass out of bed too.

Every door I pass gets busted down and sniff checked to no avail. She's not in the office, the living room, basement, or the goddamn kitchen.

Slamming my hands on the grey marble island in the kitchen, I squeeze my eyes shut and focus on the bonds in my chest that are rising with anxiety.

I should have been working to strengthen the tethers instead of enjoying the peace without the constant aching tug to save them from the hell we were held captive in.

"Fuck!" I roar, hanging my head. "Focus," I mumble to myself.

Weaving through the tethers buzzing through my ribs and soul, I grit my teeth and push the guys away, only to find absolutely fucking nothing from Freya.

"Not nothing," Lucas informs me as he struts into the kitchen. "Hold her tether, brother. She isn't silent."

I must have spoken my woes out loud. Taking his advice, I grab onto the bond with my omega, feeling the bite mark on my neck throb with pleasure the more I coax her toward me.

There you are.

Wonderment fills me as I feel her soft bond flowing gently through the others.

"She's..." I start, but can’t find the words to describe it.

Lucas smiles and nods at the large window over the sink. "Our sweet girl is content."

Then I see her. Sitting crisscross on the garden swing, Freya relaxes in the fenced in back yard. Platinum locks in a messy bun, little wisps of hair flying about in the breeze, her head is tipped to the orange sky.

I can't see her expression or what she's wearing, giving my anxiety ammo to still sizzle beneath the surface.

"Let’s go see what she's up to," Lucas says to me and starts for the patio door.

Casey and Elliott settle on the outdoor couch on our little porch and let me know they'll wait there for us. It's a good move, one that is selfless. I can feel how much they want to check on her. Eli more so because Casey still needs to be fully bonded into the pack, but their worry is there too.

I smile when Casey all but falls into his alpha's arm for snuggles. I'm happy for them, truly. We all had worries while trapped in those cells, and their relationship was one I wasn't sure of after all the trauma.

Instead, they seem similar to when I met them at the academy. Elliott looks a bit more relaxed, actually.

A choked gasp from further into the yard where the small garden rests along the white fence snaps me back to the present.

"Sorry, sweetheart," I hear Lucas apologize sheepishly as I finally follow my brother down the porch steps. "Scooch over."

She does as he asks, putting him on her left side. Making sure to approach on her left side instead of her right like Lucas, Freya hears me and gives me a beautiful smile as I come around in front of them.

It's not a large yard by any means. Just enough for a descent sized porch to eat dinner on, a small garden with a swing, a shed and some space for a swing-set some day.

Lucas takes a seat beside Freya, who is just releasing her throat with a relieved breath.

"It's fine. You just snuck up on me," she explains, settling back again.

Lucas smirks, draping an arm around her shoulders. "Maybe I'll put in a rock border around the garden so my steps are louder."

Freya rolls her eyes, and I think my shoulders release eight fucking tons of tension. "You can't do that. It's not our place to make changes to."

I lean against the tree beside them, enjoying their banter even though she scared the shit out of me.

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