POV: Echo Taking a deep breath, I still my hands, pick up my fork, and continue trying each of the foods on my plate. I could feel the others at the table stealing glances at me, realizing exactly what John had been insinuating with his words and glance. After a moment, Travis spoke again. “Well, Red Stone’s loss of their two top warriors is our gain! We are glad to have you among our men!” He stated, and I could hear the pride in his voice. I smile. Having hoped that they would excel here, they deserved as much for all the work they put into Red Stone. Wanting to think about anything but my life before coming to Blood Moon, I turned to Noira and Blaze. I watched for a moment as they ate, each of them unconsciously shifting with the other as they ate. I turn back to my food and sneak a peek at Atlas and watch as he does the same thing when I move. Light chatter starts up, and I listen to the varying tidbits of information that filter through their conversations. I learned that Bla
POV: Echo Flashback: Tremors wrack my body as I feel his claws sink into my shoulders as he forces me down into a seat. I swallow my gasps and whimpers as he digs them in deeper and wiggles them around, trying to elicit some form of acknowledgment from me at the level of pain he was causing me. “You will not eat from now on unless I give you permission, you little bitch!” Alpha Brady growls in my ear, and a chorus of growls and snarls ripple up and down the table in agreement as pack members watch and enjoy the pain he is inflicting. I flinch as I see a plate stop directly in front of me. Someone had slid a plate of what looked to be the leftover scraps of multiple plates full of the breakfast I’d cooked that morning. I let out the tiniest breath as he retracted his claws from my shoulders, only to inhale sharply as he grabbed a fist full of my hair and jerked my head back so that I was looking up at him. Smiling viciously, he slams the side of my head into the table hard. Using m
POV: Atlas I had completely forgotten about the abandoned lunch and pack members behind me until Noira slowly sat by Echo’s head and shifted her so that her head was no longer on the floor. I could feel Zev debating how he felt about this and reserved my own reaction until he did. When Echo tries pushing her head away again, Noira runs her hands through Echo’s hair and her lap is preventing Echo from forcefully shoving herself into the deck. Zev sees this and relaxes, and I look up to see Noira eyeing me worriedly. I nodded at her, seeing her relax at my approval, and I looked back at my mate, grabbing the hand the farthest from me to rub comfortingly. Echo’s body begins to twitch as though she is being hit repeatedly, and I am temporarily blinded by rage. Whatever nightmare she is reliving must have been terrible, based on her reaction to what she saw. I have no idea how long we have been like this, but it feels like it has been too long. “Where’s Cordelia?” I demanded, my voice d
POV: Echo Focusing on what I can remember of today, I play through it from the time I wake up until my memories just stop. Unfortunately, I don’t remember anything from the time I set my fork down and leaned back in my seat. Tala sighs and begins to fill the blanks in my memories with her own. I cringe when I hear myself share far, far more than I ever wanted any of them to ever know, and tremble at the sound of the wolves growling. Tala immediately drops the memory and pushes away the memories of various traumatic events before they can take hold again. I mentally thanked her and felt Atlas take both of my hands in his and gently squeeze them. I slowly opened my eyes to his green ones, which were filled with love and concern. I squeeze his hands in return, and he releases a heavy sigh of relief. I glanced up at Noira, then at Atlas, and indicated I was going to sit up. They helped me, and I turned and hugged Noira tightly. Hoping that she knows just how much I appreciate her being
POV: Atlas It took everything I had in me not to go running after Echo as she stumbled her way across the deck and out onto the lawn, especially when she tumbled to the ground and puked everywhere. I normally would have chased her to the ends of the Earth in a situation like this, but Tala had warned me off from following them as soon as she sensed me moving closer. I’d only made it to the bottom of the steps before she had reached out to me, to all of us, asking for two things of each of us and our wolves. One: to give Echo some space, regardless of what happens, unless she is in danger, she comes to us, or Tala and/or Echo directly asks someone to come to them. She explained she needed time to speak with Echo. She also said Echo needed a moment to come to terms with some things, as her life had changed drastically over a matter of days. Two: She wants each of us and our wolves to tell her our honest to Goddess opinions of Echo’s history and current struggles with managing her tra
POV: Echo Smiling, I sat back down at the table with the group of wolves who accepted me completely, just as I am. They had tidied up after our lunch while waiting for me to make my way back and had set aside a plate with a couple of bites of each type of food for me as I’d thrown up my lunch. I couldn’t help but smile widely at their thoughtfulness and care. As I sat to eat it, Atlas, Travis, Blaze, and James kept us all amused with tales from their childhood. Or more accurately, stories about the shenanigans they would get into, such as two of them working together to distract the kitchen workers while the other two made way with as many freshly baked desserts as they could carry. Cordelia chimed in, explaining that her talent as a healer began with her constantly having to bandage up their daily injuries. Thankfully, everyone seemed to understand that I was not prepared to discuss my flashback, and no one brought it up. Once I was finished eating my second attempt at lunch, Noira
POV: Atlas I knew the moment that Echo fell asleep that she most likely wouldn’t be waking up until morning. I was slightly worried about her missing dinner but figured her stomach was probably feeling sensitive after having eaten, thrown up, and then eaten again. Content and snuggled up with my mate for a while, I couldn’t help but feel proud. I only got up when I felt her fall into a deep sleep. I didn’t want to leave her, but I figured a quick run to the dining hall for a plate of food, and stopping at my office to grab some varying pieces of paperwork dad said he needed me to go through before he completed them, would be okay. Moving quickly and efficiently, I dished up my plate with a scoop of everything, not wanting to take the time to pick and extend my time away from Echo. I dashed to my office on the main floor, tapping twice before finding the stack of papers. Thankfully, my father thought of putting it on the coffee table with a note saying ‘Atlas, please look over, edit
POV: Atlas Taking the stairs three at a time, I made it to my room in record time. Far quicker than the old lift would have been able to get me up here, that’s for sure. Setting my coffee on the nightstand, I climbed in next to Echo and wrapped my arms around her as she twitched in her sleep. Rubbing my hands over her arms and pulling her into me so my scent can calm her, I sigh in relief as the choking fear eases almost immediately. It seemed she had only just begun the nightmare, and it hadn’t reached the real nasty parts yet, as she hadn’t taken to thrashing around the bed yet. Once she settled down, I slowly inched off the bed to grab my tray, paperwork, and coffee, before I stretched out on the bed and leaned on my pillow against the headboard. I can’t help but smile as Echo instinctively rolls over and wraps around my outstretched leg, her face only inches from my hip as she inhales my scent deeply. The fated mate bond is an intense feeling, and nothing else quite compares to