Six

One of the benefits of growing up in Upstate New York was to see how the seasons changed. Fall was Freya's favorite season by far, she loved to watch how the leaves changed from beautiful shades of green into gorgeous shades of yellow and burnt orange. Locals in the town would battle over who made the best apple cider, apple and pumpkin pie, and mead. This is something Freya always loved as she grew up, also loving that her birthday took place, in her opinion, in the most beautiful season of the year.

Freya was admiring the leaves that were starting to fall as she sat on the lawn beside the campus, Adrian sitting beside her as he drew a sketch on a wooden canvas for his print class, his brow furrowed as he focused on the drawing. Looking over at him, Freya smiled when he finished a line before he let out a breath he was holding.

"Oh my god!" He groaned, letting himself fall back as he rolled his head to look at his friend. "Remind me why I do art when it is so stressful." He grumbled, causing her to chuckled as she patted his forehead.

"Because, Adrian, we love to torture ourselves." He let out a sound of annoyance, closing his eyes as he rubbed his shoulder. "You okay?" She asked, grinning as he turned to glare at her.

"Considering I am missing a chunk of skin on my shoulder, I would say no I am not okay." He snapped, sitting up as he shoved her lightly as he moved closer before he laid his head in her lap. Freya patted his head, watching as he scrolled through his phone when her own began to ring.

"Hello?" She asked, leaning against the tree as she closed her eyes.

"Freya!"

"Wren?" Freya asked, cocking her head to the side as she glanced at the caller ID to see that it was, in fact, Wren Andersson who was calling her.

"Yes, tis I; the greatest Andersson to be born." Freya smirked, shaking her head when Adrian raised an eyebrow at her.

"What do you need, Wren?"

"Mom wanted me to call to ask if you would be willing to help her with something."

"Of course, what does she need?"

"She wanted to ask if you would help her prepare for Vetrnaete." A shocked expression fell over Freya's face as she listened to Wren, knowing how seriously the Andersson family took their traditions. "Hello?" Freya sighed, scratching her head.

"Is she sure? I mean Winternights is one of the more important celebrations for the pack." Adrian sat up at the mention of Vetrnaete, watching his friend as she began picking at the grass in front of her.

"Of course she's sure, Freya. You know she wouldn't ask you unless she was sure you could handle it. What do you say?"

"Sure, tell Claire I said yes." Adrian rolled his eyes and smirked, shaking his head as he looked over his shoulder as people walked out of the building behind them.

"Okay, I will message Kol to drive you to the house. Mom wants to talk to you about some things about the wedding rituals as well." At the mention of the wedding Freya's cheeks warmed, frowning slightly as she said goodbye to Kol's sister.

"So, have you decided then?" Adrian asked, his face still turned away from his friend as he stared at the trees.

"No, but the rituals take a while to plan so she probably wants to talk to me about it."

"Maybe, but let me just point something out." Adrian turned towards Freya, who had returned to the slideshow she was looking at on her laptop for her psychology class. "You have no ability whatsoever to say no to Claire. None at all." Freya rolled her eyes as she watching him pick up his canvas.

"Adrian, it's Claire Andersson. It's not like I have any reason to say no, I love that woman." She muttered, picking up her notebook again when a message came through on her phone. "Kol is coming to get me in an hour." Adrian nodded, patting her knee as she frowned slightly at the thought of talking about the rituals.

"It's okay, Frey. You have plenty of time to make the decision. Take as long as you need, considering it is something that will quite literally change your life." Freya looked at Adrian and smiled, squeezing his hand lightly as she nodded.

"Thank you." She whispered, only for him to shrug her off.

"It's my job to be smarter than you, so don't mention it." She rolled her eyes at him before they continued to do their work in silence.