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freyannalynnburke · 3 months

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“An edible?” Freya asked, her confusion clear on her face as she looked around the room. Apparently everyone else already had a sense of what was going on, something about a chocolate Ember had given to Max but it hadn’t just been chocolate. She watched as the redhead sank a bit in her seat, looking sheepish as she averted her gaze to looking anywhere but at the top of her girlfriend’s head at this point. Eveleen looked as though she was trying, and failing, to be mad about the situation while Anne was positively delighted by it. Coal, on the other hand, seemed mildly amused but also somehow… frustrated. He sighed, shaking his head as he reached out, prodding Ember’s knee through a tear in her jeans.

“You can’t give people drugs if they don’t know they’re drugs.” Coal chided at last, having found the words he was searching for. He was disappointed in his sister, having thought she knew better, but at the same time.. Well, it was kind of funny. What little he knew of Max, Coal figured the Slytherin could use a bit of loosening up in general but giving him an edible without his knowledge wasn’t exactly the best way to go about it. What if he was allergic? Or what if he had a bad reaction to the weed like Eveleen had that time she’d eaten chocolate from his pocket without realizing what was in it? That had been a rough couple of days for the brunette. Not to mention how much it tended to affect a werewolf, at least, judging by how Ember had reacted the first time he’d seen her smoke after she’d been turned. It was stronger for some reason, taking less than it used to for her to get properly high. Whatever it was, Coal was sure that giving Max a chocolate hadn’t exactly been the best of ideas, but it had definitely been a very Ember thing to do. She didn’t always think things through, his sister.

“Drugs?!” Freya’s voice went up in pitch, her turquoise eyes widening in surprise and shock as she turned her head to look at Max’s face better now. His pupils were shifting, fear flickering on his visage as realization dawned on him. She stared at him for a few moments before she turned her gaze back to the rest of the room’s occupants, taking in their reactions to the situation. Ember was really sunken in her chair now, Anne was grinning widely like this was the funniest thing she’d seen in years, Eveleen was making a good attempt at appearing stern and failing miserably, and Coal released the kind of sigh a parent might have when disappointed in their child for something they’d done yet again despite previous warnings not to. No one seemed exceptionally worried, which was reassuring. At least, it was until Max was attempting to stand up, his face pale with panic. No. This was not okay. Not in the slightest. Not if Max wasn’t alright with it and by the looks of things, he certainly wasn’t. Her boyfriend wasn’t the type to get too involved in doing things that might get him in a lot of trouble. Well, aside from doing her, but that was different and completely warranted considering exactly how much she desired him on a daily basis and they were always as careful as they could be to find places where no one would barge in on them. Most of the time.

The tiny blonde’s hands flew out as Max’s shins hit the coffee table, knocking over the tea service and spilling hot water onto the rug beneath. She rose to her feet, grabbing at the back of his shirt and tugging him back down onto the couch where he would be safer. Standing up didn’t seem like the best of ideas at the moment, not when he looked about ready to end up on his ass the moment he had stood up. She carefully pulled him to sit again, wrapping her arms around his shoulders tightly, kissing at his cheek to reassure him that everything would be alright but not entirely sure what else she could do to possibly help. Anne’s idea of making things better was for everyone to do these edible things, which Eveleen didn’t look too keen on. Freya tightened her grip on Max as he squished himself closer to her, mumbling something about Aito. She frowned, but then he repeated himself, saying that he needed the other Slytherin but Freya was more concerned over his mention of his heart beating too fast. She turned her face, concern written all over it. “Greening out?”

“It’s just an anxiety attack caused by the weed. He’ll be alright.” Coal explained much more gently than he might have speaking to someone he barely knew. He rose to his feet, careful to avoid the puddle of hot water now soaking into the rug under the coffee table. He pointed a finger at Ember. “You. Go use that nose of yours to find Aito so you can explain to him how you’re responsible for drugging his best mate. Anne, Eveleen’s left side beside drawer. If you bring me my tin and papers, you can have one, one, chocolate. Beautiful… We’re going to need more tea. I’ll make the snacks.”

Ember groaned but pushed up from her seat, grumbling about bossy big brothers but otherwise not arguing. The last thing she wanted to do was deal with Aito Bellamy and, in doing so, his girlfriend. It wasn’t that she disliked Alkawari, they got on just fine, but the other girl was intense, especially when it came to Aito and she wasn’t all too fond of other women paying him any kind of attention. Ember supposed she could understand that to a certain level. She would have probably gotten violent if anyone had tried to lay hands on her Annie. She strode for the door, shoved her feet into her sneakers and left the tower. It wouldn’t take her too long to track Aito down. He had a very distinct scent to him that was a strange combination of white rice and seaweed that she usually associated with sushi. She did feel bad about giving Max the chocolate, but she had genuinely thought it might help him chill out a bit, at least enough to deal with the conversation. She hadn’t expected it to have the opposite affect, especially when Max was bigger than her and should have been able to handle the entire piece of chocolate. Her legs carried her quickly, giving a sniff every now and then as she ran down the hallway, using her nose to track down Aito. It was even easier once she ran across Alka also very distinct scent of something earthy and spicy that she couldn’t entirely identify aside from it simply being ‘Alka’. The couple was, thankfully, not very far from the Heads’ dorms, sitting in the library at a table where it appeared they were supposed to be studying and failing miserably because they had, once again, become distracted by drawing on one another. There was always pen on the both of them, as though it was something they did so often they never had time inbetween to ever wash it completely off. She skidded to a stop before she ran into their table, not bothering with any kind of greeting. “Max is in trouble.”

“What? What happened?” Aito asked, stiffening as he looked up from where he was drawing a cute little baby dragon on Alka’s left bicep. “Where? Is he okay?”

“Well, no… yes… I might’ve sort’ve given him an edible and he didn’t know it was an edible…”

“Aw fuck… He’s greening out, isn’t he? C’mon, love.” Aito shoved all of the books and papers from the table haphazardly into his bag, grabbed Alkawari’s hand and tugged her to her feet. He had seen Max more than once when he’d partaken in the rare joint they would pass around the dorm and there were usually only two results to it. Either Max passed out hard in his bad or he became too anxious to function. His long legs easily kept up with the shorter redhead as she led the way out of the library and back down the hall. “What the hell possessed you to give him a fucking edible, Stonefyre?”

“Freya had questions about the whole, y’know… awoo-thing. So we thought, let’s have a nice lil’ chat, but he was freaking out about that and I thought maybe it would help him chill.”

“Max doesn’t know the definition of ‘chill.’ The closest thing he has is tea, crumpets, and good manga.” Aito groaned, his pace picking up out of worry. He kept a tight hold on his girlfriend’s hand as Ember broke into a bit of a run and he followed suit.

“Are you sure this will help?” Freya asked as Coal poured a new cup of tea for Max. She was still holding on to her boyfriend, his head having sunk down to rest on her chest where he had buried his face away from the world. She stroked one hand gently through his dark locks, rocking ever so slightly as if that could make him feel better. He had started shaking a bit, as though he was cold without actually being so. It was if he was… vibrating under her touch or something. The door to the dorms opened and she released a slight sigh of relief at the sight of her boyfriend’s best mate. He’d know what to do, he’d known Max longer than any of the rest of them. Ember retreated to the other love seat where Anne was already carefully rolling weed into papers with Coal’s permission, a bit of chocolate lingering on her lips. Aito came right to the couch, crouching down in front of it. Freya released her hold on Max, prodding him gently to get him to sit up. “My dearest heart, Aito is here.”

“Hey buddy.” Aito reached out, his large, long fingered hands cupping either side of Max’s face with absolute gentleness despite the lingering amusement in his voice. “Rough day?”

How to Date a Werewolf 101

“We’re doing a what?” Ember asked in confusion, her eyebrows raising upwards, bits of sleep-crust still attached to the edges of her eyelids. It was a bright, sunny, Sunday afternoon and she had been having her usual nap squished into Eveleen’s bed with her two best mates when they had started talking over her head in that way they had. Even though Eveleen and Coal had been trying to whisper, it had still been plenty loud enough for Ember’s ears to pick up, waking her from her comfortable slumber. She had lifted her head from the comfort of Eveleen’s bicep before stretching, limbs lengthening, unable to stay in one position now that she was awake. The Gryffindor rubbed at her eyes, clearing them before wiping at the dried bit of drool on her cheek. A gentle breeze was flowing in through the open window’s of the Head Girl’s dorm room, the curtains dancing in it as it filled the room with the fresh scents of springtime. Flowers had begun to sprout up around the grounds, the leaves on the trees were budding, not quite unfurled in patches of that bright, fresh new green that came every year until they deepened a bit with added nutrients. The few clouds floating across the wide blue sky were puffy, remnants of yesterday’s rainfall that had left everything seeming even more vibrant when the sun had risen that morning. Ember had gotten a good fly in that morning, Anne heading off to spend some time with Charles as she usually did on Sundays. It was the one day a week when Ember was allowed to show up to Eveleen’s without really knocking on the door so long as it was after noon so that she wasn’t going to walk in on or interrupt anything she didn’t want to see. She was fine with her best mate dating her brother, but the redhead definitely didn’t want a repeat of the time she had found out about it in the first place. That had been… awkward.

“A triple date with Max and Freya.” Coal repeated with a yawn of his own. He rolled over, reaching for his discarded t-shirt on the floor to pull on over his beanied head. It got stuck for a moment, making him slightly like a headless turtle before he managed to get it tugged all the way down. The collar was fraying and a hole was starting to form under one armpit, but nothing he couldn’t repair with a simple wave of his wand at this point in life. Meghan had sent along a few new things for him since Christmas but he was growing so fast even those had begun to get a bit tight in the shoulders. He would have to remember to enlarge them a bit when he had a chance, but it wasn’t exactly a spell he was great at. Maybe Eveleen could do it, she was more skilled at those types of things. Even his boots were beginning to feel less roomy than they had when he’d first gotten them, even if they were still in good shape for being his main pair of shoes for the last several months. Coal wasn’t sure when he was going to stop growing, but from what he’d been told, his Da had been tall too. The Hufflepuff lifted his arms upwards, arching his back to stretch himself out a bit. It was difficult for him sometimes, being squashed into bed with the two girls who always managed to take up the majority of the mattress without seeming to even try. As if there was no space in the world for anyone else when they were together, even if Coal knew that wasn’t exactly true. At least, not intentionally.

“Because…?” The Gryffindor prompted, kicking away the blankets to reveal bare legs, her jeans lost somewhere at the foot of the bed where she had wiggled out of them, never liking leaving too much on when she was trying to sleep. She didn’t give a single care about Eveleen or Coal seeing her underwear, though she wore a t-shirt instead of a tank-top like she used to. It covered up the scars on her back that she refused to show to anyone except for Anne who had seen them by mistake. It was still an uncomfortable thing for Ember, but she had gotten a bit better about leaving her shirt off where her girlfriend was concerned. Anne made things easier though as well. She had even agreed to come home with Ember for the spring holidays instead of going back to the Cathers’ farm. The Gryffindor wanted to show the blonde the gardens when they were really beginning to come out instead of just the beds that were there in the winter time and the greenhouses that didn’t have nearly as much variety. She could nearly smell the overturned earth, feel the softness of freshly bloomed rose petals, and the warmth of the sun on her face.

“Because Freya wants more information on werewolves that you can’t just find in a book.” Coal sighed and dug a hand beneath the blankets now on the foot of the bed, located the denim fabric that were Ember’s jeans and tossed them at her face. They landed on target, making the Gryffindor grumble as she pulled them free, further messing up her already pretty tousled locks but she didn’t argue about the silent request to put them on. She slid her feet in and wiggled until she had the high enough to button.

“And Max has been awkward about it.” Ember nodded in acknowledgment, knowing how difficult it had been for her buddy to explain certain things to his girlfriend. The number of questions the tiny Ravenclaw had was… astronomical. It wasn’t that Max was unwilling for Freya to understand, but it was something that was hard for him to deal with in general so it wasn’t always the easiest of conversations to have for him. It would probably be easier on him to have some back up. Besides, if it was supposed to be a triple date, then Anne would definitely be there which meant Ember would always be willing to be involved. “What time?”

……………….

Freya was nervous. Her heart was beating quickly in her chest as she tugged at the hem of her shirt, not entirely used to wearing something that definitely wasn’t a dress. She had wanted to put on something relatively normal for tonight instead of her usual attire or school uniform. It was just a simple white t-shirt, nothing remotely fancy about it, but what was really throwing her off were the jeans she had donned to go with it. In all her life, Freya had never, not once, worn pants before. She had worn plenty of long bloomers, but nothing remotely anywhere near the tight-fitting denim that now felt like it was painting her legs but in a strange, freeing kind of way. She didn’t have to worry about tripping over a skirt, or shoving her feet into shoes with heels that would, eventually, begin to cause her pain if she had to walk too much. Instead, she sat down on the edge of her bed and stared at the bright red, high topped sneakers she had picked out with Andrea. Tying the laces was something she was still slow at, but getting better at doing with practice the few times she had tried them on. She only messed up once and had to restart on the first one tonight before locating the new red hoodie she had yet to wear. The tiny blonde pulled it on over her shoulders and zipped it up until just the collar of her shirt was showing underneath it, reveling in how much… easier it was. It was soft and warm, much simpler to work with than a cloak. And it had pockets so she didn’t have to carry her bag like she usually would have. With a sigh, Freya checked the mirror and tugged her hair back a bit, clipping it out of her face with a barrette shaped like a strawberry before she was fully satisfied. It wasn’t as if going to see Max was a new thing any longer, she saw him every single day and in plenty of different states of undress as well. Just thinking of such things brought a pink tinge to her cheeks but tonight wasn’t about sex. It was about information she was longing to know and being around other people who could help answer her questions. She wasn’t as familiar with this particular group as she could have been aside from Eveleen, but when she was with Max, during the free time they had, she relished in spending it alone. Just the two of them. That was nice, simple, easy. She didn’t have to worry about putting up a mask with Max, to hide away bits of herself beneath the facade of who she was ‘supposed’ to be as opposed to who she actually was. It would be good for her to try and do that with more than just him and, occasionally, Andrea.

“Right then.” Freya spoke to herself in the mirror before turning around and grabbing up the small notebook she had left on her bed along with a… a pen. That was the right name for it. Like a quill, but much simpler to use. She intended on taking notes, or at least trying to. If she struggled, she’d just see if Max could help take them for her, considering she usually spelled things wrong most of the time. As nervous as she was, Freya was also quite excited. She had tried, multiple times, to talk to Max about werewolf things, but he always got a bit antsy, uncomfortable. His stutter would increase and he wouldn’t meet her eyes as much, like he was genuinely embarrassed by trying to explain certain things to her. As usual when she was having a problem, Freya had found Eveleen, seeking advice on how to better broach the subject without making Max feel so out of sorts. She had tried letting him talk about it without prompting, but he never did. She had tried asking the occasional question and leaving it at that so as not to put him so much on the spot all at once. Eventually though, Eveleen had suggested she try talking to more than just Max and how about they get together as a group with Anne and Ember. Freya had liked that idea even less. She didn’t know Anne or Ember very well aside from what she had seen of them back in February on the full moon and then the morning after the one in March when she had met Anne and Eveleen at the gate to wait for the pair of werewolves to trek their way back up to the school. There hadn’t been much talking among the three of them and Freya had quickly taken Max’s hand, leading him back to the castle for a shower before rubbing his back until he fell asleep like she had on the previous post full moon morning. She’d barely paid any mind to the way the other tiny blonde girl had hoisted her girlfriend onto her back and hauled her back up to the castle with Eveleen fawning over new scratches and bruises received in the night. It wasn’t that they had been mean to her or anything, but Freya had been much too focused on Max to hold much in the way of conversation.

Now she was going to be spending actual time with them. Socially. On purpose. As herself and not the porcelain doll her parents expected her to be one-hundred percent of the time.

Freya reminded herself that if it was too much, they could just leave but also, it was just a quiet get together with a few other people. There would be snacks and drinks. They could just talk and hang out, like normal teenagers. Not like at one of her parents’ parties. Still though, Freya didn’t just head up the stairs to knock on the door to the Head Student’s quarters when she got there. Instead, she waited for Max, face lighting up with a smile when she spotted him coming down the hallway. “Max!” She waved, rising up onto her toes, always just as excited to see him every single time they got together.

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freyannalynnburke · 5 months

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freyannalynnburke · 10 months

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Ember rolled yer eyes, shooting Max an understanding smile as he reminded her of what he had done to even get to Freya in the first place. She shrugged, not the least bit put off by it, eyes boring into his with a simple, “As if I’ve never dislocated anything on my own before.” before blocking him out. She was happy that Max ate the chocolate, not giving him even a hint of what it contained. He was a tall boy, it shouldn’t affect him too severely aside from maybe calming his nerves down a little bit. Not like that time Eveleen had eaten one truffle right after the other and then regretted it for the next two days of paranoia that had put her completely off edibles and weed in general for quite a long time following. Ember had found solace in the drug the same way her brother did, helping sooth her enough that she could relax when she was feeling particularly anxious or putting her to sleep when her brain simply would not shut down. She hadn’t had much of that struggle since she’d started dating Anne though, enjoying the little blonde’s company in bed with her every night. The full moon was the only thing that ever kept them apart at night now. Ember needed the physical contact to sleep better, to curled up with her face buried against Anne’s neck while her girlfriend pressed fingernails along her scalp and kisses to her temple, the calm beating of her heart soothing Ember’s soul in a way nothing else seemed to be able to. Even as she returned to her chair, Anne was there, reaching for her hand and placing it on top of her head, an unspoken request. Ember was all to happy to graze her fingers through those honey colored locks, to give Anne the same attention she desired on a regular basis. They were always touching, Anne and Ember, always meshed somehow.

Freya frowned, unhappy that Anne didn’t have a definite answer to her question, but what she did provide didn’t sound good. She hated it, the idea of Max being all by his lonesome, struggling through those long, usually cold nights with no one at his side to keep him company. To deal with the change completely alone when she already knew how much he desired to be around others in general. To be with her, Aito, Alka, Andrea and Ember. He was likely used to it, that lonely feeling on those nights when separated from those he loved and the very thought of it made her heart ache a thousand times over, wishing there was more she could do to help him. The pair of werewolves returned though, the redhead with a small smile on her face and Max looking just as overwhelmed as he had when he’d left the room in the first place. She welcomed his hand on her thigh, covering what she could with her own as she glanced up at him as he finally spoke. Asking what the question had been in the first place. Anne answered and then Max, to his credit, began to speak.

The blonde watched her boyfriend’s face, the way his expressions changed as he explained exactly how lonely it had been being on his own, how finally getting a pack member had helped bring him some comfort. Her turquoise eyes flitted over to Ember, watching the way the girl’s hands, knuckles kind of dirty, swept gently through the other Gryffindor’s hair, October eyes full of gentle affection. How had Freya been jealous of her before? When it was so clear on her face how much she adored Anne? There was silence for a few long moments, no one quite knowing what to say before Max continued, causing Freya to look up at him again. Her hand tightened on top of his as he began to tell them about how he had first changed, what had happened in the first place to cause it. His father had bitten him, just changed enough to pass on the disease but it hadn’t affected him until he had hit puberty. He had been at home, twelve, the same year Freya had come to Hogwarts for the first time. He didn’t mention when exactly it had occurred, over the summer or a break, but it didn’t really matter did it? His own mother had had to stun him and then… lock him up in the cellar. The tiny Ravenclaw shuddered at the very idea of it, of her poor Max being knocked unconscious only to wake up hours later someplace damp and dusty with little idea of what had happened to him. The fact that, when he went home, he still had to go down into that cellar on the full moons, to go through the very painful looking change alone once again. Freya couldn’t even begin to imagine what it must had been like, to be so very young and to have to cope with something like that all by yourself. She knew that the change was excruciating, had seen it for herself, and how positively exhausted Max was afterward. It also pained her to know that Max would not have received the kind of comfort he’d probably needed after that first night. That his mother had most likely disregarded him the same way she always had, the same way her own parents neglected her. She knew enough about Max’s childhood that he too, had not received the kind of affection a child needs growing up. It was something they shared, a reason why they were as close as they were after such a short stint of time together. Now, as Max opened up and shared even more of himself with her, with their friends… Freya felt an even stronger sense of connection to him. Not because she would ever understand what it was like to be a werewolf, but because he was presenting them with the trust it took in order to share this with them. To allow some of his guard down.

The idea that he felt as if he should be locked in that cellar regularly pained Freya and she grasped onto his hand tighter, leaning into him. She hated that, the very fact that he thought so little of himself. No one deserved to be locked away like that. She understood doing it on the full moon, for the safety of himself and the people around him but that didn’t make it any easier to bear for her. When he graduated, was that what he had to go back to doing? To being stuck in that cellar with nowhere to run, to let his energy out? To suffer alone when there was no way she would be able to get to him, to see him in order to bring him the kind of comfort she had given him the previous two aftermaths?

“We’re not going to be separated.” Ember stated in response to Max’s suggestion of it. Her eyes blazed as her grip tightened slightly in Anne’s hair. “We’ll find someplace. Either mine or yours or elsewhere where it’s safe, but I’m not…” Ember frowned, knowing all too well that she wasn’t about to allow Max to shift on his own ever again, not if she could help it. She had her Uncle Alphie back home but Max didn’t have anyone. “I’m not doing this shit without you, Max. You hear me?” Her eyes, sharper than usual, bore into his, an order. She would track him down and show up on his doorstep if she needed to, but she wasn’t about to be away from him for any full moon in the foreseeable future.

A sibling. Freya drank in those two words with relish, her eyes shifting from Max to Ember and back again. The Gryffindor was no different to him than Andrea. She had absolutely nothing to worry about, on either end. She smiled gently then, fully moving herself back until she was squished into Max’s side as she had earlier, nuzzling against him affectionately. She was so happy he was opening up, talking to them like this. “Max, thank you…” Freya wasn’t sure how else to say it, so she rose up a bit, pecking him on the lips. His breath smelt sweet, like chocolate. “Have you been eating sweets without me?”

“I uh, might’ve given him some chocolate.” Ember admitted, her eyes shifting sideways. Coal stared at her for a second and then at Max, his eyes shifting, reading the slight guilt on his sister’s face…

“Ember, you didn’t.”

“What?”

“You did, didn’t you?” Coal grimaced, face falling into one large hand with a groan. Of course she had… Of course. It was written all over that freckled face and those eyes, so like his, refusing to look at him.

“I’ve no idea what you’re talking about.”

How to Date a Werewolf 101

……………….

Now she was going to be spending actual time with them. Socially. On purpose. As herself and not the porcelain doll her parents expected her to be one-hundred percent of the time.

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freyannalynnburke · 10 months

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“Harder to throw up when you’ve got nothing in your stomach.” Ember whispered, knowing Max would hear her just fine with a quiet voice that she didn’t necessarily want to carry down into the common area of the tower. She knew he would understand what she meant, the severe lack of appetite that had plagued her in those first few months of being bitten, of not being able to stomach more than a few bites at a time without growing nauseous. He had been there for that, the process of learning how to deal with one another ending up being more simple than either had anticipated. As Ember was female, it had been much easier for Max to accept her presence in his territory that first full moon they had met up. A bond had formed between them after that, primal, a need for some kind of emotional connection to another of their kind, the same way real wolves roamed together rather than alone. They had fought at first, when Ember had needed to protect Anne from him, but it had become apparent after their initial spat that, though Max was wilder and had much more experience, Ember was more of the alpha mentality. They had run through the night together, that weird bond of theirs forming until they were, tentatively, curling up near one another in the shack to sleep until morning. Now they would run themselves until they tired and then retreat to snuggle close together, neither minding the closeness or added warmth they got from the other. Not when their relationship was something much more akin to siblings than anything else. Having someone else to be with, to understand what she was going through without actually having to talk about it, had helped Ember. She knew, in a way, that her presence had also helped Max, at least to not feel so alone on those long nights. “You know I… did other things. To cope.”

The redhead grimaced, looking down at the long gloves she wore on her arms, keeping the scars that lingered there covered up. She felt Max’s emotions crash over her as if they were her own. The terrified sensation of harming someone he loved, of allowing the monster inside to take over and not being able to control it. It was harder for Max because he had no way of stopping himself, no way of keeping his mind as his own even with the Wolfsbane potion in his system. It didn’t help him the same way it helped her, allowing her to keep herself still in her head instead of acting purely on a wolf’s instinct. Ember closed her eyes, accepting the images Max pressed into her mind. A woman, yelling at a man she couldn’t see while he begged, pleaded, near tears, as he asked to please be allowed back, to see his son. The memory was a bit blurry, not clear, but it was very old, something from Max’s earlier childhood, probably further back than anything Ember could remember herself of her own. His parents, she realized, her stomach aching at the garbled words being thrown back and forth. The Gryffindor turned her head, looking up to meet Max’s gaze through the crack in the door, two very different shades of blue piercing into one another. She didn’t say a word as she sent her own memory to him, pressing away the bad one to one that was much more recent. Low set, close to the floor in the shack, her own eyes staring across the room to where Max, big and furry, was rolling onto his back, tongue lolled out, belly presented to a shocked looking Freya. Even in his wolf form, he had loved her, meant her no harm as that one word flowed through his mind and Ember was unable to ignore it because he was nearly screaming it with joy in his head. Mate.

It was something Ember hadn’t shown him before, this image of him, of how he had appeared and acted around the tiny blonde he had taken to loving so very much. She knew he had memories of his own from that night, but they would be slightly broken, imperfect. She pressed the love that had emanated from him in that moment at him, the way he had wagged his tail for Freya, had been full of such adoration it had seeped through their bond. “I don’t think you’d hurt her… But we just have to make sure they stay inside. I’ve already told Anne about a million times that if I catch her sneaking out on a full moon again, she’s not getting sex for a week, and that is a very long time for her. As long as we keep them away from us, they’ll be alright. I can’t… I can’t tell you how to make it better or easier, I just know what’s worked for me. Talking to Anne and Eveleen and Coal helps me. Maybe talking to Freya will help you.”

Pushing up from the floor, Ember glanced around the room until her eyes fell on the nightstand beside Eveleen’s bed. She crossed to it, tugged the drawer open and dug inside until she found what she was looking for… Two bags, both white but one was labeled for Eveleen and the other belonged to Coal. Labels because they contained very similar and yet different things. She opened up Coal’s bag, tugging out a chocolate truffle, the sugar and cocoa hiding the underlying musky scent that, to be honest, was elsewhere in the room as well. Maybe… Well, it might help. At least to calm him down a bit… Ember shoved the bag back into the drawer and returned to the bathroom. She gave the door a gentle tug, opening it a little further before she was presenting the small treat in the palm of one freckled hand. “Also chocolate. Eat it, ‘leen says it’s good for the soul and gives you uh… happy brain chemicals or whatever. Then we should go back down, they’ll be wondering where we got off to. And you don’t want Freya to think you’re pooping.”

Back down in the common area, Freya had leaned forward on the love seat, her eyes glued to Anne as the other blonde spoke. Her attention was completely taken at the moment, her pen moving slowly over her small notebook, biting down on her tongue as it peeked out a bit between her lips. She had to pause a couple of times, trying to spell words that she didn’t have memorized but ended up doing them phonetically instead. At least she would be able to understand them, and Max could always help her rewrite them later if need be. It wasn’t exactly necessary though, considering these notes were for her alone anyway. Her heart ached at the information about the Gryffindor’s father and brother. How they had both been bitten and changed, the same wolf had attacked them. Probably around the same time then. How had that come about? Freya wondered, though Anne was already moving on, speaking about the breeding habits of werewolves and the Ravenclaw was quickly distracted from her curiosity about the girl’s family. She completely missed the joke that had Eveleen grinning into her teacup and Coal snorting from beside her, his hands stilling for a moment on the piece of wood he had taken back up. He was making something, though she couldn’t tell from her seat what it was. Something small, delicate. It resembled the little wooden animal carvings that decorated the mantle above the fireplace, all of them surprisingly detailed. Had he made all of them? Eveleen’s boyfriend must be good with his hands despite the large size of them. Max had large hands too…

“I see.” The Ravenclaw nodded in understanding at the explanation as to why Max and Charles had to be separated. It made perfect sense to her that two males from different packs wouldn’t get along, especially if one had already claimed a specific bit of land as their roaming grounds. Sending Charles home prevented a fight, but what about next year? Max would no longer be at the school and she knew that both Anne and Charles were in her year. Would he still go home or would he be able to take over the forest? What did Max do on the summer holidays for the full moon? Where did he go to change then? Freya hadn’t asked him that one yet, but it came to her now. She hoped he had someplace nice to run and to sleep when he got tired. The Ravenclaw tried not to think too much about the summer, about next year when Max wouldn’t be here with her. She didn’t even like to think about the spring break that would be coming up all too soon and she would have to return home for the near two weeks. There would be too many balls to attend, as there always were in the spring time. It was when most matches were made for future couples, whether it be through some kind of prearranged ideal like a lot of the older school pureblooded families preferred, or for actual love that somehow blossomed despite the dismal affairs. Freya was sure her father had probably shortened the list of potential suitors for her once again. She wished to mark off every name and burn it, to tell him she had already made her own decision regarding the person she desired for herself. Her parents would never, in a million years, humor such thoughts. She was ‘too young’ to have a say in such matters. They knew what was best for her, what would secure her for the future and benefit their blood line to the fullest. And Freya wanted none of it.

“Is there a possibility, hypothetically of course, that the lack of a pack could be detrimental to a werewolf’s well being? I know that we, as humans, are social animals, but so are wolves.” Freya asked, wondering if that could possibly be part of why Max got so closed up when it came to talking about this. She knew it was a sore subject for him, that he disliked that part of himself but could it be he had never had anyone to talk to about it before? At least, not someone who was willing to sit and listen the way she was or would understand what it was like to actual be affected the way Charles and his father had each other. To go so many years just… dealing with it alone. It made her heart ache to think of Max doing so. She knew he had Aito, but if he was so unwilling to open up about it in general, she doubted he’d spoken much to Aito about it either. Her eyes flickered slightly to the now empty space Max had been sitting in… How long had he been gone for? Freya wasn’t entirely sure, she’d become quite engrossed in this conversation. Should she go check on him?

How to Date a Werewolf 101

……………….

Now she was going to be spending actual time with them. Socially. On purpose. As herself and not the porcelain doll her parents expected her to be one-hundred percent of the time.

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freyannalynnburke · 11 months

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Freya barely noticed her tea as Max set the cup down in front of her, making sure she had plenty of cream and sugar added into it the way she actually liked it as opposed to how she had been trained to take it by her family. When she’d been younger, it hadn’t been an issue, little children loved sugar, but once she’d hit about seven or eight, her mother had begun to chide her privately. A lady takes no sugar or only one lump and never any cream for it might rest upon her hips or rear in an unattractive manner. Freya had to do her best not to make faces over the bitterness of the tea she’d had to drink after that, only sipping at it to be polite. Max had noticed her wincing once, when she’d forgotten to mask her expression, and inquired if she needed more sugar. She’d explained then, that she wasn’t allowed any more sugar and he’d then proceeded to take her tea away and put more anyway, insisting that if she was going to drink it, she might as well actually enjoy it. Little by little, Max was breaking down those boundaries Freya had been given, showing her that it was okay for her to do things the way she wanted to rather than the way she’d been taught. Her corsets had disappeared to the bottom of her trunk, her dresses with so many buttons in the back soon joining them for the simpler things that were easier for her to put on. Today she had opted for no heels. For sneakers and a hoodie, for her first pair of jeans and a t-shirt, things that made her comfortable and able to move with so much more ease than she’d ever done so before. She didn’t have to worry about making sure her skirts didn’t ride up too high on her legs or the numerous number of underthings she was supposed to be wearing. She had less layers on now than she usually did even in the summertime at home!

The Ravenclaw’s eyes were bright as she spoke, asking so many questions at once that it probably made it difficult for them to be answered. Her turquoise orbs flitted from Max to Eveleen, then Anne who was flipping through pages of a large hand-written book that seemed to contain all sorts of information that Freya couldn’t read from where she was at the moment. She opened her mouth, about to apologize for asking so very many things all at once when Max shifted beside her. The blonde turned her head as her boyfriend rose rapidly from the couch, his face pale as he spoke, voice staggering over Eveleen’s name and then inquiring about the bathroom. Freya frowned at this, her brow furrowing with worry as her boyfriend headed off in the direction indicated, her eyes trailing after him. She wanted to follow after him, to inquire why he had suddenly decided he needed to use the toilet when they had only just begun the conversation but then, Freya was also aware that Max was probably uncomfortable right now. He had a hard time when it was just the two of them and she was inquiring about werewolf related things, that was the whole reason for this meeting in the first place. The way he stumbled and rushed out of the common area… Freya’s heart ached, eyes shifting awkwardly down to her lap where she still held her notebook and pen. She didn’t want to make Max uncomfortable, didn’t want to put pressure on him… but her own curiosity, her need to help him, to be there for him, to understand… It was overwhelming. She loved him so much, with every single ounce of her being. There was nothing she wouldn’t do for him if she was able.

“Yes, of course. One at a time. I do apologize.” Freya agreed at last with a nod, readjusting herself on the love seat so that she was sitting up more now without Max to lean on. Her eyes flitted over the others in the room, waiting as Eveleen inquired about an answer for any of the questions the younger Ravenclaw had just asked. It was Anne who spoke up, mentioning that her father, a Muggle, was a werewolf as well. Freya’s eyes widened in surprise, having not expected that. She had never heard of a Muggle being turned, thus her inquiry in the first place, but she hadn’t been expecting the answer she’d gotten. If Anne’s father was a werewolf, had survived the attack despite being a Muggle… “Is that why your brother is affected? Can it be passed from a parent to a child?” Freya asked, needing to know the circumstances around how Anne’s family had come to contain not one, but two werewolves. It fascinated her. Did that mean any children of Max’s would potentially be affected as well? “Why don’t Max and Charles get along?”

Ember frowned, her own discomfort with the conversation, with so many questions all at once, not showing on her face so much as it did in the sudden stiffness of her body. She had stopped brushing Anne’s hair when Max had risen from his seat, her senses picking up on his emotions through both his scent and body language. He was uncomfortable, nervous, heart beating too fast as he made for Eveleen’s bathroom. She shifted slightly as Anne began to speak, answering one of the little Ravenclaw’s questions, careful not to kick her girlfriend as she pulled her leg free from where she had tossed it over the arm of the chair. The Gryffindor pushed to her own feet, stroking a gentle hand along the top of her precious Annie’s head as she did so. “Be right back.” Ember murmured, her eyes bouncing over to Eveleen to indicate that she would be back, but Max… She had to check on him. Had to make sure he knew there was someone here who understood how difficult this situation could be. Knowing Max, he probably wanted time to recenter himself, to calm the nerves she had noticed coursing through him, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t make sure he was alright. Freya was in the throes of ‘research brain’ as Ember called it when Anne got distracted in her insatiable need for knowledge and she wouldn’t understand anyway. No one could, not unless they had the beast lingering underneath the surface of their skin.

Padding quietly into Eveleen’s room, Ember shut the door behind her, her bare feet cold against the stone of the floor but not uncomfortably so. She didn’t bother knocking on the bathroom door, knowing Max would hear her without needing to announce herself, would know who it was by her scent alone. Instead, she slid to sit down against the wall just outside the door, leaning her head back as her left hand went to fiddle with the key hanging from the chain around her neck. “It’s harder.” The redhead started, her voice gentle as she spoke. “In the beginning. All of the questions. Sometimes I thought I might just… wring her neck to get her to stop, but it got easier. It felt better, opening up, letting her in. Letting them all in. It’s still not easy and some days are a lot harder than the others, but… They mean well.” Ember sighed, turning her head to glance towards the door. “I can’t pretend I know what it’s like for you, dealing with it for so long by yourself, but… But you’re not alone anymore, Max. You have me and the others. You have Freya. We all see the way she looks at you, like you personally painted the stars or something. She loves you and she’s doing this for you, no matter how difficult it is or how you see yourself. Even if we… if we can’t love ourselves, we can at least love them, do this for them.”

How to Date a Werewolf 101

……………….

Now she was going to be spending actual time with them. Socially. On purpose. As herself and not the porcelain doll her parents expected her to be one-hundred percent of the time.

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freyannalynnburke · 11 months

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Freya lifted her arms, accepting Max’s hug with a tight one of her own, squishing her face to his chest before he was pulling back just enough to give her a gentle peck on the lips. She beamed up at him, watching the way his eyes looked her over, hoping he wouldn’t dislike the jeans she’d picked out for tonight. Max never told her what she could or couldn’t wear, he encouraged her to simply just… be. To let her simply be just herself, in whatever way she wanted to. Her own turquoise orbs sparkled with delight, the apples of her cheeks pink with excitement and nerves as she shoved both of her hands into the front pockets of her hoodie, wiggling them and tugging the fabric forward to show them to Max. “I am comfortable. Look how oh so many pockets I have, my Max!” She pulled her shirts up a bit to show him the ones on her jeans as well, the pale plain of her stomach peeking out a bit as she did so, a stark contrast to the denim of her jeans. “Six! And a half with this little one here, but I’m not quite positive on what its intended purpose is. I’ve put a couple of sweets in it for now.” Freya stated the last part quietly, hand beside her mouth as though what she was telling him was some kind of great secret. She giggled, nearly dancing in place on her toes before she was going still.

The small Ravenclaw watched as her boyfriend crouched down to carefully redo the already falling apart laces on her sneakers, pulling them to the right tightness and length so that they would be much less likely to come undone or be tripped upon. Freya watched with rapt attention, following the movements of his fingers in the same manner she used when he was working with her on her homework, teaching her, helping her. She was doing much better in her classes now than she had been at the beginning of the year. With Max’s help, Freya had an easier time understanding the material, catching up with her peers even if her spelling still wasn’t exactly where it should have been at her age. She was working on it, but after getting back one particularly badly marked up essay where the professor had gone through and corrected a bunch of stuff in red ink, she’d been quite angry with herself. The blonde had been upset enough to start ripping it up, calling herself stupid through tears until Max was there, removing the parchment from her fingers and pulling her into a tight hug to help calm her down. She hadn’t known at the time why it was so much more difficult for her to get her words right than it was for everyone else. She was sixteen, she should have been able to do something as simple as spell. The Slytherin had kissed the tears off her face and lifted her chin, reassuring her that it wasn’t her fault she was dyslexic, it was just how her brain interpreted the written word. It was the first time he’d given her that word, the one that explained why she couldn’t read as well as her peers. Apparently, it was something Muggles had long since figured out but the wizarding world was vastly behind on and her being home schooled hadn’t helped matters. So Max read aloud to her, helped her make sure her notes were in order, and proofread for her to search for spelling mistakes.

“Thank you, my dearest heart.” Freya smiled at her shoelaces and at Max, her small fingers interlacing with his automatically as he took her hand in his. She swung their arms between them, eyes still lingering on his face as she tended to do whenever they’d been apart for what felt like much too long even if it had only been an afternoon of classes and him having to work with one of his other tutorees. She liked the way his hair fell slightly into his eyes, just passing the top rim of his glasses, the way his lips looked so soft and tempting, and how very tall her was compared to her, giving her a sense of safety. Max wasn’t nearly as gangly as he appeared in his robes that covered up the lean muscle she knew was hidden underneath. She quickened her pace to keep up with him as they went up the stairs, knocking on the door at the very top. It wasn’t the first time Freya had been up here, but it was the first time she was coming with Max, and to see more than just Eveleen for a private conversation as she had in the past.

“Good evening, Eveleen.” Freya greeted brightly as the Head Girl opened the door to let them inside. She looked down at her high-tops, with their laces just fixed by Max and frowned for a moment. It was rare she had ever been someplace where it was required for her to remove her shoes, it simply wasn’t something one did. Her mother would have had an aneurysm if Freya had done so much as come out of her bed chamber with only stockings on. Still, the blonde bent, carefully undoing her laces, knowing Max would help her if she needed him to when it was time to leave, and removed her feet, setting the bright red shoes off to one side with the others currently beside the door. They weren’t all placed as neatly though, some looking as if they’d been kicked off in a hurry. A pair of trainers jumbled up with what looked like riding boots, and another, quite large, pair of boots that had been knocked over. Freya took Max’s hand back as they crossed the room, her eyes roving over the crackling fire and the other inhabitants that had joined them for this… information session, she supposed it could be called.

Ember had taken up residence in the only armchair, having no issue if her girlfriend wanted to sit in her lap, but Anne had chosen to stick to the floor where she had easier access to the coffee table for her journal. The redhead had leaned against the arm, one leg on the floor beside her girlfriend, the other slung up over the other arm as she pulled honey colored locks onto her thigh, carefully running a wooden hairbrush through them, pausing whenever she got to a knot to pull it apart with her fingers. Her feet were bare, toenails painted her favorite shade of light blue, eyes only momentarily glancing up as Max and Freya entered. She nodded in greeting, not needing much in the way of words to say hi to her pack mate before returning her attention to Anne’s hair. She was… uncomfortable with this meeting. It wasn’t exactly that she was unwilling to help answer Freya’s questions, but more that she didn’t exactly enjoy talking about the ‘whole werewolf thing’ in general. It was one thing with Anne, who had an intense need for knowledge if only to further her quest for a cure, and Eveleen and Coal, who were her best mates, but she didn’t exactly know Freya aside from what she gleaned from Max’s head on the full moons. More than she needed to actually, but she supposed Max felt the same way about her thinking of Anne when they were wolves. There was no privacy, no secrets, just a silent understanding and an agreement not to bring certain things up when they changed back.

“Hey guys.” Coal attempted to be welcoming, his head raising up, his usual resting scowl of a face rising to force an unnatural smile that always came when he didn’t just do it naturally. He was content on one of the love seats, feet on the floor, one big toe peeking out from a hole in his mismatched socks. His legs were spread, elbows resting on his thighs as he leaned over the bin set in front of him to catch the bits coming off of the small piece of wood he was currently whittling. Coal was not good with strangers and never had been, but these were friends, new ones that had come into their lives through unfortunate circumstances. They were all connected through the pair of werewolves in the room, though Coal knew there was also a kind of friendliness between his girlfriend and Max’s.

“Hi.” Freya sat down on the love seat next to Max, squishing herself into his side automatically, never liking to put any space between them if she could help it. She probably would her flopped onto his lap if the circumstances had been different, but she wasn’t entirely sure how their current company would feel about such a blatant show of affection. So she settled for squashing instead, her head resting on Max’s arm as Eveleen brought the tea over, setting it down on the coffee table. She had met Anne and Ember before, but had only ever seen Coal around school every now and then. She had known that he was Eveleen’s boyfriend, but she had never realized just how big he was. Even now, he seemed to take up a good portion of the small couch without even meaning to and did he ever take that hat off his head? The Hufflepuff’s face softened though as he reached up, touching Eveleen’s arm with a much more real smile now.

“Thanks, beautiful.” Coal put his knife and wood down on the table, reaching to pour a cup. He added the cream and sugar before setting it aside, not for himself, but for Eveleen, before he was making his own. He offered the pot to Max and Freya, large hand moving to grab up an apple that he threw at his sister’s head with somewhat of a command. “Eat.”

Ember caught the apple, stared down at it for a moment, and then bit into it right over the stem, not seeming to care of she swallowed the small twig. She chewed and swallowed before holding the apple in her mouth, sucking at the juice a bit as she started to pick a particularly nasty knot out of Anne’s hair. It had been a few days since she had last brushed it out, but they had been busy doing other, much more amusing things and stupid homework.

“So…” Freya started, not entirely sure how to do this or if they should have some kind of small talk before they got into the real reason they were all here. She took a deep breath, looking around the room and then up at Max for a moment. She shifted slightly, tugging the small notepad she had brought out of her back pocket and the pen from her hoodie, ready to take notes. “Are your senses increased or is that just around the full moon? How fast can you run? Do you shift right after you get bitten or does it take until the next month? What’s it feel like when you shift? How many werewolves are there, are there more here at school? Can Muggles be affected? Can you communicate with all werewolves when changed or just the ones in your pack? Why does wolfsbane work for some and not for others?” Freya took a breath and would have kept going if she hadn’t realized that she should probably actually give them time to answer instead of just asking question after question without giving any of them a chance to catch up with all of the information her brain was seeking. She couldn’t help it. Her curiosity sometimes got the better of her and she simply could not contain herself, especially when it came to things she cared about. Namely, in this case, Max. She wanted to know everything possible, to understand him better, maybe help him when things were tough. She already knew the change exhausted him, that helping him take a shower and giving him a massage as he fell asleep helped, but were there other things she could do?

How to Date a Werewolf 101

……………….

Now she was going to be spending actual time with them. Socially. On purpose. As herself and not the porcelain doll her parents expected her to be one-hundred percent of the time.

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freyannalynnburke · 1 year

Text

How to Date a Werewolf 101

……………….

Now she was going to be spending actual time with them. Socially. On purpose. As herself and not the porcelain doll her parents expected her to be one-hundred percent of the time.

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freyannalynnburke · 2 years

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Freya continued to try and dry Max off, reaching every part of him that she could with the towel she had kept in her hands after wrapping him a bit. She bent, running it down each of his legs in turn, meticulously patting in the way she had been shown growing up as it was ‘more gentle on the skin’. She rose slowly, making her way back up, only pausing when she reached the bit of wrapped towel that hung partway down his thighs, enough to cover everything it needed to. She frowned for only a moment before she started patting at that towel as well, getting what she could of him without actually reaching under his towel. She was being good despite her eyes lingering lower even as she began to straighten up completely until she was rising a bit on her toes, trying to get at his shoulders and neck better. Her brow had furrows, face set with a serious kind of determination that she didn’t usually get unless she was working on a particularly difficult piece of schoolwork or trying to figure out how to sneak her favorite strawberry decked pastries out of the kitchen in the middle of the night when she was at home. Her hands went still, clutching the towel in her fingers, as Max carefully rested his hands upon her shoulders, his palms warm and tender, his touch ever soft with her. Freya finally looked up then, meeting his icy eyes with her own Caribbean blue ones, blinking as if only just realizing he was there and not just some statue she was supposed to be cleaning. She refocused as he brought one of the remaining warm towels around her, swathing her in the fabric. It was only then that Freya shivered, feeling the cold now that Max was better taken care of. Her eyes closed, the press of his lips warm against her forehead even if they felt a bit chapped from being out in the woods in the middle of winter.

The tiny Ravenclaw pulled her towel tighter around herself with a nod, smiling up at him and picking up the basket of their clothes and the lotion she had chosen out for him. It had a subtle, gentle scent of strawberries in it, that could, within the first hour or so of being put on, covered up the rose scent of her soap that would continue to linger on her body and hair in an intentional kind of way. Roses are feminine, her mother would say, but you had to wait for them to unfurl themselves, to bloom at the proper time to have the scent at it’s most delicious level. She loved roses and the scent, and while Freya didn’t particularly mind it, she much preferred other things that her mother would not have fully approved of. Ladies were not supposed to smell like sparkling strawberry smoothies or sweet orange-vanilla. The type of woman a man would want to marry had to be appealing to them in all of the ways possible. Freya definitely had all of the physical aspects down with that, though, the rest of her still needed ‘some polishing’ in places. Minor things though, the things her parents could see when she was at home. Both of them would have died of shame and embarrassment if they could see her at the moment, naked with a young man with nothing but towels to cover themselves up with. Even more so if they ever found out she was no longer an innocent maiden waiting for the proper marriage to partake in the kinds of things she had done with Max in the greenhouse. Over and over and over again until they had run out of condoms. They had slept occasionally, napping but limited, neither one able to fully fall asleep comfortably with the idea that if they didn’t stay up, they would most certainly be caught in a very compromising position and both of their respective parents written to. Freya would have been pulled from the school as soon as that letter was read. She didn’t know what kind of response Max’s mother would have to that kind of information about her son. Would she be upset? Or would she simply let it go like she had done with so many other things throughout Max’s childhood? They had talked about it occasionally, digging deeper into one another, sharing things they had dealt with while growing up. There had been sympathy and empathy between them, gentle kisses and caresses, reassurance that they were no longer alone. At least, for now. Frey knew that things might change in the future, that once she hit seventeen… If she was lucky she’d get to attend her seventh year and then? She didn’t even want to begin to think about it. She wanted to just stay here in the present, to enjoy all the time she got with her beloved Slytherin while she had it. At some point, she would have to voice her fears to him, to let him know that she was worried about what would happen once she hit what was considered adulthood by the wizarding world where even arranged marriages had become mostly a thing of the past except for among the more old fashioned elite pure-blooded families.

“Yes.” Freya replied, giving Max a gentle smile, holding her towel around her with one hand and grasping onto his wrist with the other, leaving him his fingers free in case his own towel decided it wanted to make an untimely descent to the floor. The dorm room was quiet still, the sun fully risen now but anyone still lingering in the room fully asleep behind their bed curtains or doing whatever with a silencing charm around them. Freya had placed her own on her bed and then tested it, finding it worked well and gave her and Max all the more privacy for the occasional times she would bring him here instead for a cuddle, having whole conversations about anything and everything and eventually falling asleep together if they didn’t have to go do something, like head to their separate classes to actually do some learning at school. She pulled back her curtain and climbed up, reaching a hand out to Max despite him not really needing any help to get up onto her bed. The curtains were drawn, but they still had plenty of light from the glass roof above, the sun filtering down through the panels, creating rainbows in thicker places that intentionally acted as prisms. She scooted over on the bed, towards the foot in the corner giving Max ample space to get comfortable. “Lie down, my dearest. I shall give you a proper massage whilst you rest.” Freya coaxed gently, towel still wrapped around her tightly, her hair dripping down into it. She shuddered a bit and shifted to pull open the curtain at the foot of her bed to get to her trunk. She withdrew one of her warmer nightgowns, a completely white flannel thing trimmed with lace and ruffles that had had her roommates laughing and saying it looked like something their grans would wear. Freya tugged it on and pulled her hair upwards, getting it off her body so it wasn’t so bothersome wetting her clothes and making her cold. She found one of her few hair ties and locked it into place, unruly and unrefined on top of her head, but much more comfortable in the lopsided bun. She didn’t bother with underthings, simply closing the curtain back up again. She knew Max’s clothes would still be clean enough for him to wear when it was time, having not gone through the forest with him last night, but for now, she didn’t mention it, preferring to be able to touch his skin as much as possible now that she’d discovered how nice it was. Once her had stopped dripping so much, she’d probably discard her nightie as well just to simply lie naked curled around once another.

Bending, Freya reached for the basket that had been set on the floor next to the bed, pulling the bottle of lotion up with her and undoing the glass cork on top. Strawberries wafted around her, mild but sweet with a kind of green-leafy undertone. She placed a bit on her hand before shifting around to place the bottle on a shelf above her headboard for easy access without having to constantly close and open it. Her hands, chilly with the lotion, found Max’s back. Instead of just rubbing around his bruising with dittany, she pressed along his back, trying to find any hard bits lingering where his muscles had become much too tense and needed soothing. “Let me know if it hurts, my love. I do not wish to cause you any unneeded pain.”

Skeletons in the Closet

It was nearly sunrise by the time Max rose, his bones already aching with the change that was mere minutes away. He took in his surroundings, aware first of his packmate with her head still in the lap of of her mate sleeping soundly. The fire was almost dead in the hearth, but warmth had been trapped in the room and under blankets combining with the gentle snores of those around him to make the shack quite cozy. He didn’t want to leave quite yet, comfortable curled around his own mate under the blankets, but he knew enough at this point in his shift to know he needed to go find his bag with his clothes in it. It was always like this for Max, in the last hour or so of being in his wolf form, just when his body would begin to ache he’d gain back some semblance of his human thinking.

Max turned his head, pressing his snout into the warmth of Freya’s neck. Of Freya, his sweet girl, his truest love. She knew now of Max’s unfortunate affliction, of the shame he had wished to keep from her as long as he could. She had remained with him though, despite knowing of the beast that lived within Max. Despite how such knowledge frightened her. Max didn’t know what to make of that just yet, still too wolfish to think deeply on the subject, but he could anticipate how very heavy the weight of this would press upon once he had his skin back. Now the two twined around each other beneath the blankets, her fragile mortal form curled in on itself burried in the circle of Max’s lupin body.

She clung to his dark fur not seeming to mind it was a monster she was holding on to, what would she say to him though when he turned back though? Freya had given all of herself to Max two nights before, and she had thought he had given all of himself to her. He had given all of himself except this one terrible secret, but now he had been exposed and no amount of gentleness and restraint would be enough to cover up the truth of what he was to Freya any longer. Max gave a soft whine as his haunches began to burn and the purple of dawn slipped over the horizon. I was time for Max to face the music.

The dark wolf lapped at Freya’s face till aqua eyes were fluttering back open, staring back at Max. He watched emotions shift her face before she was rising to her feet, rewrapping her tattered cloak around her. Max watched, ears flat against his skull in shame and anxiety. He circled her before pressing his head into her hand searching for security. She obliged him, but it did little to settle Max. He nudged her towards the door and then out by pulling gently at her cloak with his muzzle. He lead her back to where he smelled his bag, able to easily follow his own familiar scent through the forest. He staid close to Freya the entire time though, his side pressed into her hips, brushing against each other as they walked. By the time they made it to the tree line where Max had left his bag, sunrise had begun and fire erupted over the wolf. Max cried out and back pedaled, trying to hide himself amongst the trees as he fell to his side, writhing on the ground. Max whimpered despite the familiarity of the pain. Long course fur was pulled back under his skin, claws shrunk and limbs receded all in a burning, all consuming pain until Max was a man of flesh once again, curled tightly around himself.

Max breathed heavily as the heat of the shift settled, the burning fading to an ache as he became aware of the injuries he had sustained in his wolf form. His entire left side was tender, but nothing was as sore as the ribs their, which the Slytherin would find was black and blue all over. It hurt so much he barely felt the competing sting of the scrapes and slices from the unforgiving brush of the forbidden forest. Max finally uncoiled, rolling onto his back and then sitting up, his breathing still labored as tiredness overcame him body and mind. He was very worn, as he always tended to be after a shift, but there was still much to do, bridges to mend, Max reminded himself as his eyes found Freya, his bag in her hands, eyes fixed on Max.

“I’m sorry.” Max uttered, throat strained and dry as it tried to remember what was necessary in order to speak, “I’m so sorry.”

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freyannalynnburke · 3 years

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Freya nodded, allowing Mac to reach for the soap and the cloth, not minding the idea of him washing her up. Her own body probably wasn’t nearly as dirty as his, but she hadn’t made it out of the forest completely unscathed either. She had scratches from branches and thorns, bits of twig in her hair where it had caught, and smudges where her clothing hadn’t been able to protect her skin from the dust and grime of the woods and Shrieking Shack. She was tired as well, but she had, thankfully, managed to get a few hours of sleep using Max’s warm, furred body as a pillow under her head on the floor. It had not been particularly comfortable to sleep on a floor and Freya had decided it was not her favorite place to be, but at least it had been warm and safe despite the fact that there had been two werewolves present at the time as well. She closed her eyes, allowing herself to simply feel the warmth of Max against her even as he began to run the washcloth over her skin. The soap lathered nicely clearing her pale skin as it left behind the gentle scent of soft roses. It was ridiculously fancy and overly expensive stuff, hand crafted and infused with moisturizing potions to help protect her delicate skin. There were matching lotions in her toiletry basket that she was supposed to use afterwards in addition to the sunscreen her parents wanted her to put on every morning while getting ready for the day. She liked the lotions well enough and figured maybe she’d use them on Max once they got back to her bed. Perhaps give him a proper massage with them.

As Max began to wash her, Freya relaxed, lifting her face so that he could go over it, cleaning away the filth of the night. She lifted her arms for him and didn’t shy away from him when he began to scrub at her torso. Max was gentle with her, as always, politely washing her breasts but not playing with them despite the fact that Freya would have been perfectly fine if he had wanted to. It was nice, having Max wash her, but also much more intimate than she had ever imagined such things to be. The water fell down over them, rinsing away the suds, letting them concentrate around the drain and then spiral downwards. Freya raised one leg properly and then the other as she nuzzled her face into Max’s neck, kissing at it gently in her need to constantly be showing him some kind of affection. Her hand came up once she was clean, patting at his cheek and lifting her head to press a quick peck to his lips. “Max… You will never, for even a moment, lose me. You are my most precious, most beloved, most important, dearest heart. There is nothing, not a single thing, that could ever make me hate you. I love you, eternally. My heart is always yours, whatever happens in this life, that will never change. You are my Max, my one and only, truest love. My Max is kind, gentle, affectionate, brilliant, and the most wonderful person I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. You being a werewolf doesn’t change any of that.”

Freya lingered on Max’s lap as long as she could, but she knew it their time in the shower was limited. Max was tired, she was tired, and they both needed to get some decent rest before lunch if they could. So, despite her own desire to continue sitting under the hot water, letting it rain down on her back, Freya finally slid herself off of Max’s lap and reached for his hands. She gave him a gentle tug upwards, reaching to turn off the water even though the steam continued to linger around them. “Come, dearest.”

The Ravenclaw pulled open the curtain and reached for the warm towels that she had set aside for them. She wrapped one tightly around Max, before using the second to start in on trying to dry off his hair a bit, forgetting herself in the process, her focus too on Max to think about drying her own body off. When she was content with Max’s state, Freya stepped out of the shower, dripping all over the floor as she pushed the curtain the rest of the way back. She returned, bending to pick up her bucket and carry it back over to her cubby, plucking out one of her favorite lotions in the process. She shoved the basket into its home before turning to look at Max, giving a slight shiver as she waited for him. “Let’s get you to bed. I’ll give you a massage and you can go to sleep. I’ll wake you for lunch or, if you’re still tired, my love, I can fetch something and bring it back up for you to have later when you’re ready.”

Skeletons in the Closet

“I’m sorry.” Max uttered, throat strained and dry as it tried to remember what was necessary in order to speak, “I’m so sorry.”

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Freya shivered slightly as she got used to the water, her body adjusting to the temperature after a moment. She usually put it on a higher heat but Max was taller than her and she hadn’t wanted to burn him, so the water cooled down a bit before it could reach her properly. She grabbed the knob, turning it just a tiny bit and feeling a bit better at it warmed around her slightly. She returned her gaze to Max, watching as he stood under the water, letting it fall over him properly as he leaned into the wall. Freya frowned, worried about him but knowing how exhausted as he was, it wasn’t exactly surprising that he needed a little extra support. They hadn’t slept much the night before and most definitely not very much the previous day either. If Freya had known Max would be up almost up all night, she might not have been so zealous about having a copious amount of sex with him no matter how much she had enjoyed it. It had been the best thing she had ever experience, physically at least. Emotionally it only came in second place to the first time Max had told her he loved her. She had never felt so at peace as she had at that moment, with the realization that someone genuinely cared about her as a person as opposed to what they thought she might be good for. Having someone in her life that wanted what was best for her was so much better than just having her parents who were focused on who they could marry her off to. Her affection for Max only grew stronger every day and his being a werewolf hadn’t changed that. She found herself still gazing at him with even more love than she had the day before, concern for his well being coming more to the forefront.

The Ravenclaw smiled against Max’s hands, tilting her head back ever so slightly as he bent to kiss her head. Her hair was drenched already, sticking to her skin but she didn’t mind it. She reached up, hugging him around the chest before she was reaching for his shoulders, pressing him backwards a bit towards the bench. “You’d do the same for me. Sit, my love. You look about ready to fall over.”

Freya reached for her toiletry kit, pulling out a half-used bar of pink soap that contained a gentle floral scent to it. She got it wet and pressed it to Max’s chest, rubbing it up to a good lather before she began to scrub at him properly, hoping the steam from the water would keep him warm enough. She ran the soap over his shoulders, pressing away dirt and sticky sap from his skin where it had gathered, trying to get every inch of him that she could reach. She moved lower, working down his arms and then downwards, pressing along the sides of his thighs. She paused at his knees, crouching to inspect his legs, making sure he wasn’t too beat up before she rose again, trying and failing to ignore the length poking out from between his thighs. Freya gulped looking down at Max’s lap for a moment, her eyes dashing between his penis and his face, unable to fully keep her attention on her task. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath as she clenched her own thighs together, trying to quell the wave of sudden desire that had begun to tingle between them. She shook her head and grabbed at her bucket again, pulling out her strawberry scented shampoo. The blonde poured a glob into her hand and pressed it to the top of Max’s head.

Freya was gentle as she began running her fingertips over her boyfriend’s scalp, not knowing if he might have any abrasions hidden underneath his dark hair. Every now and then she pulled out a bit of leaf or a small twig, getting rid of the debris of the forest until she was quite certain she hadn’t missed anything. Her hands pressed Max’s hair back, keeping the suds from rolling down his face and instead, aiming them for his back. She bent her head then, pressing a gentle kiss to his lips. Her own skin was still a bit smudged with dirt, but more of the water had pressed it away, leaving her legs and feet a bit scratched up from running through the woods. She didn’t focus on herself though, her attention entirely on Max at the moment. She continued to run her hands through his hair, not caring that it was probably time to rinse off and get them both to bed for a good long rest. Instead, she simply wanted to gaze at his face just a little bit longer, to drink in how handsome he was and feel that genuine happiness that filled her every single time she saw him.

“I love you, Max.” Freya promised, leaning to kiss him again. “You’re my everything.”

Moving, Freya shifted herself to sit down sideways on Max’s lap, leaning sideways against his chest as she wrapped an arm around the back of his neck to hold on. She sighed, happily snuggling up against him as she relished the sensation of his skin against her own despite the wetness of it. He was warm against her as she reached up, pressing his hair back again to try and keep the shampoo out of his eyes. “We should probably rinse you off, but I don’t particularly want to move right now.”

Skeletons in the Closet

“I’m sorry.” Max uttered, throat strained and dry as it tried to remember what was necessary in order to speak, “I’m so sorry.”

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Freya sighed, reaching up to flick a bit of sweaty hair off of Max’s forehead, her smile soft as she gazed up at him. She hoped he believed her, because in all of her heart Freya knew that what she said was the truth. There really was nothing about Max that could have made her stop loving him. He could anger her, make her frustrated, annoy her and a whole slew of other things but Freya would never, ever, in her entire life, think of something as horrendous as not loving Max. He filled her heart with so much joy, bringing her that warmth and affection she had craved for so many years and especially after making love to one another, Freya found herself completely besotted by the boy in front of her. Nothing could change that, not even the new knowledge of his awful curse. The Ravenclaw knew him better than that. There was a remarkably kind, gentle, intelligent, and compassionate person inside of Max that outweighed any beast that lingered underneath and was forced to appear once every twenty-eight days. If Freya had to explain this to Max over and over again, every single day for the rest of their lives, she would. If only to reassure him that everything between them was alright. He was her dearest heart and she simply could not see herself ever living in a world without him, even if that kind of thing was looming ever closer the nearer they got to her seventeenth birthday. She would have to tell him soon… to make sure he knew of the complications they would surely face in the coming months if her parents decided to marry her off instead of allowing her to finish school. For the moment though, there were more important things to worry about. Like getting her boyfriend healed and washed up properly.

The Ravenclaw stepped back as Max did, letting him get to his bag. She watched as he extracted the worn out case he kept his glasses in, smiling as he replaced them upon his face. As handsome as Max looked without them, Freya found that Max was just as stunning with them on. Some people might not have liked glasses and a lot of the purebloods Freya knew would actually get their eyes magically fixed in order to not have to wear them. They looked nice on Max, even if they did get in the way sometimes when she was trying to kiss him. She may or may not have accidentally broken them once or twice already in her haste to get her lips on Max but, well, they were easily repaired at least. The tiny blonde reached up, straightening them out a bit as Max put his case away and took his bag from her. She welcomed his arm around her shoulders and wrapped her own about his waist, staying close together as they headed out of the woods and onto the open grounds. The sun was about half risen now, peeking out from behind the mountains and giving the world around them a golden glow even with the snow and mud.

The walk back up to the castle wasn’t too long but Freya found herself grateful for the warmth of the building on her poor bare toes. Her shoes would need some deep cleaning after all of this, caked with mud and grime and old leaves that stuck to the arches. Freya could think of such things later though. She kept a hold on Max as they started upstairs, forgoing the Hospital Wing on the first floor and instead traveling all the way up to the seventh where they found themselves standing at the bottom of the stairs to Ravenclaw. Freya figured perhaps Max was dropping her off and she was about to protest such an idea when he asked, instead, if she would heal him. Her blue eyes widened a bit, but Freya nodded, always willing to do what she could to help heal her boyfriend. He had done the same for her last month after all, after the incident with Zach dragging her down the hall and the fight that had been started by it.

“Of course, my love.” Freya agreed readily, certain that if Max taught her the spell she’d be able to do it fairly easy. She was much better with wand-work than she was at anything that required more… well, book-work. Potions, Herbology, Arithmancy… they were subjects she struggled in. Spells were much more straight forward. You thought about what you wanted, made the correct movement and recited the proper words. Freya had always been good at those things, excelling more readily in Charms, Transfiguration, and DADA. Max was a good teacher as well. He’d be able to show her with ease how it was done. “Come.”

Freya took Max’s hand tight in her own and started up the stairs. They wound around to the door, but the riddle was the same as it had been yesterday, so Freya was able to answer it without any trouble. She entered the common room, finding it empty with the fire burning low in the grate. Most would be asleep still or, if they were early risers, seeking out breakfast, already in the library, or out on the Quidditch pitch. Others slept well past lunch time on the weekends when they could and stayed up well into the wee hours of the morning before going to bed. Freya led Max up the stairs to the girls dorms, not bothering with worrying over bringing her boyfriend to her room. It was rare anyone ever said anything about such things, not really caring so long as the guest wasn’t rude. Freya never spoke up when other girls brought people home with them to their beds, and in turn, they said nothing when she did the same on occasion. Her bed was off to one side, close to the door to the bathroom and beneath a pretty window. Overhead the ceiling opened up into a dome of glass as well, one that Freya always stared upwards at at night for long periods of time before she’d draw the top covering of her bed closed to keep out the light of the morning sun.

Freya slipped off her shoes and tossed her cloak on top of her trunk before she climbed onto her bed, beckoning Max to join her as he had done before. The curtains were pulled around them but plenty of light still filtered in from above, giving them their own private little sunlit paradise. In the light Freya could better see Max’s face. He looked completely worn out, like he had been through hell and back in one night alone. Her heart ached for him as she reached out with gentle hands, tugging his remaining shirt up off of his body so that she could much more easily access the bruising on his side. She drew her wand, starting with the scraps first, allowing Max to teach her the pronunciation and movement for the healing spell beforehand. It was easy and soon, she had taken care of what she could see on his top half, hands moving carefully over his skin as she looked him over, making sure there was nothing but that nasty bruise left. If there was anything lower, she’d get it later. Perhaps when he was asleep.

“This might hurt.” Freya whispered as she dug into Max’s bag and pulled out the jar of dittany. She had felt the sting of it against her own skin weeks ago when Max had healed a bruise on her wrist, but hers had been quite mild compared to his. “Lie down for me, sweetheart.”

Freya waited for Max to obey before she was uncapping the lid of the dittany. She pulled some of the medicinal fluid up into the dropper and carefully dripped it onto Max’s side, right in the center where the bruising was the worst. She recapped the lid and reached out with both hands, gently moving the oily substance across her boyfriend’s skin, pressing it along to the edges of his discolored skin and trying not to get distracted by the way his muscles looked in the light of dawn, his pale skin taking on a slightly golden hue. She was as tender as she could be, her touch light, using mostly her finger tips to spread the dittany around. Thankfully, the bruising began to ebb, looking better already even as the dittany started to dry from under her own skin. It would probably take another round or two in order to heal it completely but Freya knew they should wait a while to see how much it worked before applying more. In the meantime, she reached for Max’s hand, beckoning him to sit back up.

“I know you’re tire, my dearest heart, but you’re absolutely filthy.” Freya sighed. She pushed back the curtains on her bed a bit and moved to her trunk, popping it open to extract her current favorite set of pajamas. Just a soft red tank top and a pair of black, strawberry printed shorts with a bit of ruffling fringe on the edges. She found a basic hair tie in her accessories tote and then located her slippers, tucking her feet into them. Holding her things in one arm, Freya reached for Max with the other, offering him a hand up. “Let’s get you clean.”

Without waiting for an answer, Freya tugged on Max and led him for the bathroom. It was empty, not a single soul currently inhabiting the place. She retrieved her toiletries from her cubby and moved to the back of it, where a line of showers sat side by side with tall walls and thick dark curtains for privacy. They were spacious things, each with a built in smooth stone bench and a waterproof shelf in case one wanted to read whilst getting clean. Freya turned the water on in the last, most private one at the end, letting it heat up as she tugged towels out from a cupboard sat in the wall nearby. They were large, soft bronze colored preheated things and would stay hot for at least another hour before they would cool back down to a regular temperature. Freya hung them up on a hook outside her chosen shower stall and then began to disrobe, slipping her clothing off with ease. There was no one to see her but Max and he had already touched every last inch of her skin so she wasn’t the least bit shy about it any more. Her own body was slightly scratched up, mostly from underbrush, thistles and branches, but she paid them no mind as she pulled back the curtain and stepped into the shower, holding it open for Max to join her. “It’s alright, my darling. Here, look, you can even sit down if you need to. Some of the girls like to take a steam that way.”

Skeletons in the Closet

“I’m sorry.” Max uttered, throat strained and dry as it tried to remember what was necessary in order to speak, “I’m so sorry.”

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freyannalynnburke · 3 years

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Freya didn’t pause in her attempts to dress Max. To her, the world was currently freezing, the wind blowing through the woods still harsh despite the mild coverage of the trees. Her hands moved rapidly, doing her best to get her boyfriend clothed so that he wouldn’t turn into some kind of ice sculpture, although, he would have made an absolutely stunning one in her eyes. Especially if one were to carve him naked. Freya pressed that thought from her mind, knowing she needed to focus, chiding herself for getting lost in the idea of a nude Max. If it hadn’t been so cold out, she probably would have insisted upon him staying naked and then joined him, but alas, it was winter and well, they didn’t have a single condom left anyway. There would be no way they could partake in her new favorite activity without one. Besides, Max was obviously in no state to be having sex right now. She knew she hadn’t slept well at all, so she was certain he must feel around the same. That, and there was the complication of the bruising on his right side that needed to be taken care of quite soon before it could potentially grow worse.

The tiny blonde only stopped moving when Max’s voice finally reached her, her name leaving his lips as his hands landed on her shoulders, helping to still her nervous energy. She looked up at him, aqua eyes swimming with concern for his well being, certain he was going to freeze out here if she didn’t get enough clothes on him fast enough. Despite the weather though, Max’s skin was hot to the touch, almost like he had a fever but not quite the same. She frowned as he explained that he didn’t need her cloak, tugging it from himself and swinging it so that it wrapped back around her instead. Freya released her hold on him, grabbing her cloak to press it tightly to her, relishing having the warmth of it back around her even with the tears in it. If it couldn’t be properly repaired, what would she tell her mother had happened to it? Perhaps a dorm mate’s cat? Freya’s eyes looked over Max’s face, her hands reaching for him gently as she brushed sweaty fringe off his forehead where it had gotten a bit stuck onto the skin. She rose as Max did, moving out of the way so he could finish dressing himself. She felt better once he was pressing his second foot back into his trainers, the correct one this time, and she crouched down to tie it for him. Freya needed to do something, anything, to help him and in that moment, it was as simple as fastening loose shoelaces, though he probably could have done it faster himself.

Freya tightened the laces carefully and then rose back up, her hand reaching for Max’s, wanting to take it in order to head back up to the school, but she paused as her boyfriend spoke. His voice was sullen, heavy with a kind of despair she had never heard him use before. It was like his heart was full of sadness and immediately, Freya wanted to fix it. She needed to make him feel better, to hear him laugh, see his smile, and watch the way his eyes lit up every time. Max’s happiness had quickly become more important to the Ravenclaw than her own, giving her a sense of purpose she had lacked previously. Life was better when you had someone to genuinely care about who felt the same way.

Max seemed certain that Freya should have been angry at him, and in a way, Freya was she supposed. She was mad that he hadn’t told her beforehand that he was a werewolf, but at the same time, she had already kind of chatted with that Anne girl about it. The other blonde had told her not to be too angry with him, that it wasn’t an easy thing to share, and that was something Freya could understand. There was such a stigma when it came to werewolves, especially among the older pureblooded families. They were seen as something ‘other’. Not human, not wolf, but another being entirely that couldn’t be trusted. Werewolves were diseased beasts and according to her parents, should all be rounded up and killed. However, Freya had never had the same sense her parents did when it came to most things, and this was definitely one of them. Sure, she had always kind of feared werewolves, but that was a logical thing to do. They could be dangerous, especially the wilder ones who lived in a more animal-like manner and of course, during the full moons. But Max? Freya knew him. She had nothing to fear from her boyfriend and even last night, when he’d been changed, he hadn’t harmed her at all. The initial shock and chase had been terrifying and he could have easily killed her and Anne in the shack when he’d cornered them. Instead, he had stuck closely to her side, attached to her in the same manner a loyal dog might have been. He had only wanted to be with her which was how Freya felt all the time about Max. She never wanted to leave him for even a moment unless she absolutely had to.

“Maximus Octavian Mendes, if you think anything about you could ever possibly disgust me then you are sorely mistaken.” Freya stated adamantly, her hands reaching up to cup his cheeks gently. She met his icy eyes with her own Caribbean shaded ones full of determination. She pressed her palms tight to his face, tugging him lower as she rose onto her tip-toes, meeting his lips with her own. The gloss had long ago worn off back in the greenhouse and she hadn’t bothered to replace it, but the skin still smelt vaguely of cherries anyway. Her press was strong but only momentary before she was slipping back down, wrapping her arms around his torso instead so she could hold tightly to him, careful not to press too hard on his left side. “I must admit, I am a bit displeased that you didn’t confide me in previously, but I am fully aware of why it would be quite difficult to reveal something like that. It’s not exactly something most would be comfortable with, but Max, I love you. You are the dearest heart to my soul, my truest love and I don’t want you ever thinking for even half a moment that anything could ever vanquish that. Is that understood?”

Freya was firm with her words, tilting her head back to glare up at Max in a manner that dared him to argue with her. If he so much as tried, he would lose and that was that. Freya wasn’t about to hear any of it. He was hers, and that was all that mattered. Even if he was a werewolf, Freya could never have bared so much as the thought of losing him over something like that. She released him, reaching down to start shoving things back into his bag before shouldering it and taking his hand. “Come now, we must get you healed and then, a shower, I should think. I’ll wash you. And a nap, at least until lunch.”

Skeletons in the Closet

“I’m sorry.” Max uttered, throat strained and dry as it tried to remember what was necessary in order to speak, “I’m so sorry.”

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