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Freya lodged her foot on one of the branches and pulled herself up. Grabbing on to, then hugging a higher branch, he hoisted herself further up the tree. Her legs, now hooked around the branch steadied her balance.

Greg watched from the kitchen doorway, biting his lip, anxiously.

"Careful!" he shouted as she climbed closer to Mrs. Jones.

The stench from the dead bodies was awful and Freya had to take a moment to recompose herself. She put her sleeve to her nose and looked at the bodies. Fighting the urge to vomit, she leaned forward and extended her arm.

When she finally grasped on to the necklace, she yanked it with force and the chain fell into her hand.

"Yes," she said under her breath.

She sat in the tree, looking at the key in her hand.

When she looked back at Greg, her body froze. She saw a car parked not too far from the house and it was when she saw people by the side of the house that she signaled Greg to get back inside.

She tried to get down but her foot gave way and she let out a small yelp. And that was enough for them to see her.

"Well, lookie here," one of them said as they walked into the garden.

Freya panicked and hid the key in the back pocket of her jeans. She looked to the side for a way to escape but it was too late. She was surrounded.

They were the same people from yesterday except for their leader who wasn't among them. She recognised the man named Billy who stepped forward, his hands in his pockets.

"We were just checking up on you to see if you'd survived the night but it seems to me that," he paused, looking at the bodies. "You're doing just fine."

"Get out," she said, venomously.

"Easy," he said, holding his hands up, innocently. "What are you doing up there, anyway?"

"None of your business," she mumbled as she readjusted herself in her uncomfortable position.

"You better stop talking to us like that, human," he said, dropping his tooth pick.

Freya stayed silent and instead let her eyes drift to the closed kitchen door and then back to Billy. She wondered what she'd ever done to deserve a bunch of psychopaths stalking her and her brother.

"You know, if we wanted you dead, you'd be dead," Billy said, earning a glare from Freya. He grinned, "Just saying."

"Why are you obsessed with us?" she said, annoyed.

"Sorry, obsessed? We couldn't give a rat's ass about you humans but you have something in that house that we want."

"And that is?"

Billy clenched his jaw, he had enough of playing games with this girl. Instead he lurched forwards, jumping on to one of the branches and Freya started to scream.

He began pulling her by the leg and Freya swerved her other leg just in time to kick him in the face. "Let go of me!" she yelled. "Fucking creep!"

And then she heard loading of pistols, causing her to turn her head.

Tristan walked out and gave the men a look to which they lowered their guns. He looked at Billy's bloody nose and resisted the urge to laugh out loud.

"What are you doing?" he shook his head at him.

Billy looked insulted and went for Freya again but she just moved further away.

"Come on down, big bad wolf," Tristan said to Billy but his eyes stayed on Freya.

Just when Freya thought his eyes couldn't be more blue, he stepped into the sun. He continued watching her sitting in the tree, his eyes playful.

"Okay, so. Here's what's going to happen," he said. "You're going to quickly and calmly come out of that tree and let us inside that house or we can stay out here all day. Your pick, sweetheart."

Freya glared at Tristan to which he raised an eyebrow. "Made your decision yet?" he asked.

"I'm not letting you into the house," she said, daringly.

A ghost of a smirk rested on his face before he nodded, "Well then, you better get cosy because I'm not leaving."

Freya looked at the house for a while before looking back at Tristan. He shrugged but Freya stayed put.

"What do you want from us?" she finally asked, exasperated.

"Nothing special," Tristan replied. "Just want to see what the witch may have been hiding."

"There's literally nothing in there," Freya said.

"Well then, you won't have any problem with us having just a tiny look around then," he replied.

"Leave your weapons outside then, I'm not having you raid the house like we're criminals," she said after a long moment, remembering that they couldn't get past the barrier anyway. She would trick them, easy.

"How do we know that you're not loaded inside the house?"

"If we were," she glanced at the bodies. "This wouldn't have happened."

Tristan nodded after a moment of thought, "Guns on the grass and you, down now."

Freya climbed down the tree and walked towards the house with the men close behind when suddenly Billy pulled her back.

"What the hell?" Freya yelled.

"Tristan, she could go inside and then not let us in. Have the other one break off the charms."

Tristan told Freya to knock the door, he could smell the human on the other side.

"No," Freya said, shoving Tristan away but he barely moved.

"I told you, I just want to see the witch's room," he said.

"I'm not letting you inside the house," Freya said. "The charms are for the creatures. They don't stop humans."

Tristan pressed his lips in a thin line, his hand still on her elbow. He'd never imagined that his mate would be a human. And he certainly never imagined meeting her like this.

"Who said we're humans?"

Freya's expressions changed, her eyebrows furrowed and suddenly she felt a little nervous. "What do you mean?"

Tristan's blue eyes flashed gold and Freya almost jumped from the sight. "What are you?"

Tristan looked at her, his lips slightly tugging at the corner. "I guess you could call us the Wolves."

Freya's body was frozen but she finally found her voice, "Greg, break the charms and let us in."

No answer.

"Greg?"

"Okay, okay," he mumbled in defeat from the other side.

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