POV: Echo The idea of going to therapy and speaking to a stranger about the horrible things that I’d experienced over the last ten years was unnerving, to say very the least. The only reason I hadn’t outright turned down the idea was because Atlas said that I would only have to tell them what I was comfortable telling them. I sighed and shook my head, focussing on watching Atlas as he set out our plates on the table. Lunch with Atlas was quiet. He seemed to understand that I needed time to think and process everything from earlier. While I was still upset with myself for almost rejecting Atlas, I was working hard to ignore the voice in my head telling me he should have let me reject him. That he deserved better, and that I didn’t deserve to be anything other than a pack slave. Atlas seemed to know just when I was struggling the most, because he would randomly make small talk throughout the meal, distracting me from the spiteful words floating through my mind. I don’t know how he see
POV: Atlas Dammit, I really, truly am an idiot, a fact Zev has been reminding me of every thirty seconds. As though he had been any better, done any better. I can’t believe I had allowed myself to become so lost in the moment that I’d forgotten to watch where I was kissing, forgotten to watch for her scars. Sighing, I buried my face in my hands, with my elbows resting on the bed in front of me. It was obvious that from now on, I would have to be more aware. The second I’d accidentally touched my lips to the scar he carved into her back, she had disappeared directly into her personal hell, and there was no pulling her back out. Raising my head, I grasped her hand gently, and leaned my head back, blinking away tears as the mere memory of her terror and pain that had flooded through our ever-forming bond devastated me all over again. To think that it had only been a fraction of what she felt, that the level of pain I’d felt was only a small piece of her reality filtering through the in
POV: Echo As I was coming to, I could feel the tingles running up my arm that told me Atlas was the one holding my hand. Even though I knew he was my mate, and that he had never hurt me, the last thing I’d heard as I passed out was still replaying in the back of my mind. “You are mine, to do with as I please. Especially now that you are branded as my own!" I made sure not to give them any indication that I was awake. Panic rose as his words bounced around in my mind. I barely registered the sound of knocking on the door, or the sounds of Atlas talking. As whoever was knocking entered the room and made their way over, the scent of pine trees and peppermint slowly wafted over me. I realized that this was a new wolf that I’d not met before, and it took everything I had not to give away the fact that I was awake as they approached. When I felt someone’s hand brush against my forehead, I couldn’t control the pounding of my heart. Atlas gasped as my chest tightened with fear. I wonder
POV: Echo Fascinated, I watched as Beta Travis swiftly made his way across the room and went to scoop Gwen into a hug. He only stopped when she raised a hand, motioning for him to stop, before turning to us. “Alpha, Luna, may I be excused? Cordelia has my number to contact me should my assistance be needed, and I…” She asked, straining to ignore her mate in order to focus on her job. Atlas cut her off quickly. “Go be with your mate, Gwen! He has been looking forward to this for a long time. We will call if we need you.” He excused her, barely containing a chuckle, and Travis wasted no time scooping her up and carrying her from the room. The moment they closed the door behind them, Atlas laughed, shaking his head. I smiled shyly, looking at him, slightly confused. “That right there is the one and only reason that I would ever allow Travis or anyone to ever come barging into my room like that. Especially right now.” He explains, tucking a stray piece of hair behind my ear. Nodding
POV: Echo Blinking groggily, I stretch my arms above my head as a yawn escapes me. Rolling towards Atlas’s side of the bed, I reached out until my hands found his shirt, and used it to pull myself into his side. “Good morning to you too!” He chuckles as he kisses my forehead, wrapping his arm around me. I snuggle into him, and Tala slips a purr out of us, causing Zev to send one back. “I think our wolves like waking up like this!” Atlas murmurs, holding me impossibly closer. “I like waking up like this too,” Blushing after blurting out my thoughts, I turned my attention to his hand on my shoulder, tracing my fingertip around the outside of his hand. Groaning, I sit up, letting his hand slide down to my hip. “When does Cordelia want me to meet with Gwen?” Throwing a questioning look over my shoulder, I slowly made my way off the bed and towards my closet. “Well, about that,” he sighed, causing me to turn and look at him. “She’d like you to meet with them as soon as you’re done with
POV: Echo Curiosity builds as Atlas continued leading me towards the far side of the pack village, towards a handful of smaller houses that sit just outside of the tree line, their doors facing the rest of the pack. I know they can’t possibly be family housing, as they aren’t big enough to house more than one or two wolves at most. The houses are done up in pale pinks, yellows, greens, and blues, and the small garden beds are some of the best growing and well-maintained within the pack. The houses look like something out of a storybook, and I can’t help but stare at them in wonder. When Atlas turns towards the slightly larger green-painted house that sits directly in the middle of them all, I stop walking, bringing us to a screeching halt, and causing Atlas to turn and look at me. Staring at the house, I shiver slightly as I feel a kind of aura radiating from it that I don’t recognize. It’s strong and comes from more than one wolf. However, it is not the aura of an Alpha or any othe
POV: Echo The she-wolf who answered the door looked kind and grandmotherly, yet she still looked strong enough to knock Atlas himself on his ass. I don’t know what I was expecting, but I definitely wasn’t expecting someone so welcoming after our run-in with Elder Ignatius. “Oh! Atlas, come here you! It’s been too long since I saw you last!” She admonished Atlas gently before she quickly pulled my blushing mate into her arms and squeezed him tightly before smooching the side of his face. “And you! You must be the lovely mate, Echo, that he was telling me about!” Just as quickly, she released him and gently pulled me in for a hug that felt so wonderful it brought tears to my eyes. She seemed to understand that her hug meant far more to me than a greeting, as she held me tightly and patted my hair as I collected myself. I could feel her aura surround me with the warmth and love I’d always imagined a mother would give. Once I had taken some deep breaths and settled myself, she slowly pu
POV: Echo Shaking my head back and forth, I whimpered slightly as I was assaulted by a month’s worth of hellish memories in thirty seconds. In front of me was the wolf whose photo I’d been forced to look at every day for a month while I was beaten within an inch of my life. The photo of the wolf whose decision to leave resulted in being forced to stare at his photo in front of me while a cigarette was butted out on my shoulder. I’d only ever looked away once, and Alpha Jarrod had punched me before relighting the cigarette and putting it right back on the burn he took it off of. Atlas pulled me into his chest and rubbed my back as I trembled, inhaling his scent to help fend off the panic that was trying to crawl its way out of my chest. It didn’t take long for my breath to even out and the memories to recede, thankfully, and Atlas gently leaned me away just enough to look at me. “Are you okay, Little Warrior?” He asked, searching my face for signs of distress. Nodding, I wrapped my a
POV: Echo The day had finally come, and to say that I was nervous would be an understatement. Thankfully, Noira, Gwen, Cordelia, Granny Maeve, and Vesta had shown up at mid-afternoon to get me ready for the ceremony. It would begin as the full moon shone down on us with the Moon Goddess’s blessing. In a spare room on the first floor, they had run me a bath, filled with many things I didn’t recognize, while they prepared the room for creating ‘their masterpiece’. I was grateful to the five she-wolves who came to my aid, as I had absolutely no idea how to do anything with hair or makeup other than a few quick and practical hair styles I’d learned to keep it back while I worked. Each of them had been working their magic, and, mercifully, they had planned little ‘spa’ and snack breaks regularly to help keep me from becoming overwhelmed. I was a thousand times better than I’d ever been with my mental health, but I was so nervous about this evening, and they had not allowed Atlas and I to
POV: Echo The incident with Brady changed my outlook on life entirely. Having come into my own as a Guardian of the Light, and breaking down the rest of the block had allowed me to step free of the mental chains that were holding me back before. That’s not to say that my panic attacks and nightmares are completely gone, but I can speak without stuttering now, and have miraculously stopped flinching whenever someone moves. I felt a confidence in myself that had never existed before, and rightfully so. I’d experienced my worst nightmare. He’d done his worst, and I literally defeated him. Turned him human and banished him from the werewolf world. I was also able to identify the woman’s voice that helped me through the incident. It took some digging through the old texts in the back of the pack library and a chat with Granny Maeve to make sure I wasn’t insane before I’d believed it, of course. It turns out Guardians, being specially chosen by the Moon Goddess herself, had a direct link
POV: Echo Atlas stands up and sits me on the bed so that I’m facing him, maneuvering me as though I wasn’t growling, kicking, and pawing at him with everything I had to make him let go of me. Avoiding my attempt to nip his hand, he grips my chin and tilts my face up to force me to look at him. “Now, are you done throwing your little fit? You are sitting with me, and that is final. I need you close to keep us calm. If you do not stop, I will be forced to make you stop.” Atlas and Zev explained, and I could sense that they were merged the same as Tala and I were at that moment. “Let. Me. Go! I am not sitting with you! And you can not force me to stop!” I snarled low, narrowing my eyes, and swiping at him with my fingers curled to scratch at him. “Fine.” He growled, catching one hand and then the other before they ever touched him. Leaning forward, he easily pushed me back into the bed, pinning my arms above my head as I thrashed below him. His alpha aura rose, trying to force my wolf
POV: Atlas We made record time across the pack lands, moving as quickly as we could without exhausting ourselves entirely. It still wasn’t fast enough for me and my wolf, the only thing containing our rage being the confirmation of the bond that I was moving in the right direction, getting closer to our mate. Echo’s side of the bond was a hot mess, and the feelings coming through were jumbled and impossible to sort through. I only knew something big was going on with her, as I could feel the power within her awakening. Finally, Ragnar slowed down, cautiously approaching a dense patch of vegetation before pushing aside some plants and revealing the entrance to the cave system. Giving him a nod, I went ahead, inhaling deeply to scent the area, ears strained to pick up any sounds. Ever so faintly, I could smell the intoxicating scent of my mate that I’d been missing. Rushing in the direction it’s coming from, I just about crash face first into her as she comes stumbling out of a small
POV: Echo‘Wait’ I barely heard the faint voice, Raze gripping my hips tightly as the darkness released me into his grasp. His touch sent a shiver of disgust down my back as he smirked at me victoriously.“I told you, the likes of you will never be on equal footing with an Alpha like us!” He snarled, the darkness forming a cloud that engulfs us entirely. The shiver turned into a full-blown tremble as tendrils of dark wrapped themselves around me while Raze gripped me by the neck and pulled me into him, pressing my back into his chest as he scented my neck.Swallowing the rising bile, I bow my head submissively, falling back against him as I counted to ten slowly to bide my time, waiting for the right time. By the time I reached ten, I was coated in a layer of black mist, and the wolf behind me had just slipped his hand under my shirt. Thankfully, Tala and I are still merged, and she is able to block the flashbacks as they try to take over our senses.‘Now, child, now!’ The faint voice
POV: EchoBrady opened and closed his mouth several times, ultimately ending with him simply closing it and staring at me in awe. Spencer simply gawked at me, unable to even so much as close his mouth as he tried to understand what he’d seen. They seemed to be stuck like that as they processed, and I had a feeling it might take them a bit.I was suddenly filled with a desire to jerk my hands apart, but with the cuffs still securing my wrists to the wall, it seemed redundant. ‘Echo, follow your instincts. They will rarely steer you wrong!’ Tala’s voice rang through my head, and I was relieved that she was still with me. Mentally greeting her and showing my love, I felt the last of my fear dissipate when she told me she had already reached out to our mate and told him where to find us.Deciding to listen to Tala and trust my instincts, I took a steadying breath and wrenched my hands away from each other as hard as I could. I was waiting for the inevitable painful jerking halt as the cuf
POV: Echo The silver cuffs had created oozing sores that wrapped all the way around my wrists. No matter what I tried, I couldn’t take enough pressure off them to keep the silver from contacting my skin, and now my wounds. The wounds provided the silver with the access to my bloodstream it needed to suppress Tala and physically weaken me. It also blocked my ability to mind-link, which meant I couldn’t reach out for help. After the beating that had brought forth my Alpha aura, Brady had kicked me in the head, effectively knocking me out so that he could freak out without letting me know I’d gotten to him. He was too late though, as I’d seen the briefest flash of fear before he’d gotten to his feet just before he delivered the kick. That had been what I could only assume was hours ago, as there was no sunlight or clock in view to track the time. He hasn’t been back since I’d come to, and I was thankful for the time to orient myself and reinforce my composure. It must have been just a
POV: AtlasRagnar’s comment about underestimating your opponent definitely put a lot of the wolves at the table in their place, including me. I knew right away I had let myself get carried away in the moment and hadn’t paid enough attention to my mate.Her dismay flowed heavily through the bond before she excused herself and rushed out of the dining hall. Knowing that I was most likely a major contributor to her distress, I followed her out and wrapped her in my arms.She turned to putty in my hands as I apologized, and all thoughts of her appointment disappeared from my mind as I carried her to the lift. Until she reminded me, rather insistently, that she had to go.I knew she was right though, as I had my meeting to attend, wanting to finish the setup of the personal guard detail we’d been discussing. We’d picked the six wolves who would be rotating shifts, now we just needed to solidify their duties, shifts, when we needed more or fewer guards, etc. The finer details, so that they
POV: EchoBreakfast was filled with laughter, and a lot of jokes about me flipping Ragnar over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes. I think that most of the wolves there wouldn’t have believed I’d done it if they hadn’t been there to see it.Travis and Blaze certainly looked sceptical for a moment before everyone confirmed I’d done it. Everyone’s doubt made me feel a bit put off, but I know my small size of 5 foot nothing and being underweight weren’t helping. If I don’t think I would believe such a small wolf could flip a 6-foot 7-inch-tall wolf that was built like a brick wall, either. Shrugging it off, I simply gave a small smile to anyone who was surprised as they joined our table.“You know, one of the most dangerous things a wolf can do in a fight is to underestimate their opponent.” I looked up from my tray to find Ragnar was looking straight at me while he spoke. “Judging a wolf’s skills based on their appearance gets you killed out there. I’d have expected better of the warri