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 My whole body felt numb and I couldn’t make out the words that were being shouted by my mate over the ringing in my ears. Instinctively, I moved away from the sounds of an angry wolf at my side, scrambling off of the couch and away. Taking a quick glance around the room to narrow down my options, I pinpointed my spot. Thankfully, there was a bar-style table that was lined with stools, built into the wall adjacent to the wall with the windows. I hadn’t noticed it coming in, and it was behind where we had been sitting. Glancing at the wolves on the couch, I saw that their attention was focused on their snarling Alpha and endangered Elder, so I quickly slipped between two stools and ducked into the corner closest to the wall of windows. Yet another detail I’d missed while focusing on the introductions to the Elders, was the ceiling-to-floor, cream-colored curtains that hung on this side of the window. I had no idea how they were attached, maybe to the ceiling, since I couldn
POV: Echo Twisting the lock and wrenching the door handle, I got it open a whole two inches before a hand appeared above my head, forcibly pushing it closed despite my attempts to pull it further open. Reaching around me with his other hand, he brushed my hands out of the way and flicked the lock back into place. “Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, I believe that you were about to sit on the couch and we were going to have a little chat.” He said, his voice laced with his barely contained anger as I fought an internal battle not to panic. “O-okay. L-let’s sit and ch-chat.” I said quietly, and he moved his arm from around me and motioned me towards the couch. ‘Tala, I need you to reach out to Zev and Atlas! I can’t link with anyone from the pack yet, but you can reach their wolves!’ Waiting until I was facing away from the Elder behind me to reach out to Tala, I focused on walking like normal, so he wouldn’t think anything was amiss. ‘On it! I hope Atlas is close. I don’t li
POV: Echo Relief coursed through me as we finally made our way into our bedroom. Slipping my shoes off, I slid my way under the covers of our bed, sighing as I stretched out my tense muscles. Lunch with Granny Maeve was surprisingly pleasant, and she didn’t ask a single question about my past like I’d been worried she might. Instead, she had filled the time telling me a bit more about the pack, and some of their general habits. Some of it I had come to realize on my own since arriving, like the meals in the dining hall. Other things, like the game nights they held each Saturday evening in the rec room at the pack house, I hadn’t expected. Thinking about it, the only activity that anyone in Red Stone ever seemed interested in doing together was finding some way to hurt me. Many of the wolves there were focused on their own benefit, and not on the benefit of the pack. Blood Moon’s focus on the pack seemed to make a lot more sense than everyone being out for themselves. I felt the bed
POV: Echo Raising an eyebrow, I gave Atlas a questioning look when he turned in the opposite direction of the lift from our bedroom. I’d assumed that we were going to be going to the kitchen to grab snacks and that there was probably some kind of living room with a TV that we could use like they had in Red Stone. Giving me a mischievous grin, he turned and walked into an open-style kitchenette that had a full-sized refrigerator, a large microwave, several cupboards, a counter and sink, and a small pantry. There was an island with cupboards on one side and stools on the other. The lights ran in a strip, all pointing towards the wall of cupboards, and away from the opposite end of the room. Squinting, I could just make out several couches. Chuckling, Atlas gently lowered me to my feet, taking my hand and leading me to the small pantry. When he opened it, I gaped in awe at the sheer number of bags of chips that were neatly arranged on the shelves. I had seen and smelt many of them in R
POV: Echo The movie Atlas chose was about pets, and it was both adorable and funny. By the time it ended, my cheeks felt sore from laughing and smiling. Between the movie and the delicious snacks, I feel like I am floating on happiness. It also helped that at some point during the movie, Atlas and I had gravitated from our spots on the couch and into each other’s arms. At some point, he straight-up pulled me into his lap, and I watched the rest of the movie with my head resting on his shoulder and his arms around me as I stole his snacks. As the credits rolled, we snuggled for a bit longer, enjoying the tingles and shivers of the mate bond as he occasionally kissed whichever part of me he could reach. He sighs as the advertisements for what to watch next pop up and startle us. “Should we invite the gang?” He asks, raising an eyebrow, and I nod as I realize I really want to see everyone. I never wanted to see anyone in Red Stone. I was always avoiding everyone as much as possible. A
POV: EchoIt took every ounce of Tala and my determination not to panic at the boxed-in feeling I experienced as I sat between the two strange wolves in the midst of a table full of some of the strongest wolves this pack had to offer. Uncertain if I should say anything or not, I decided to grab my bottle of water and take a sip instead.I mentally cursed myself as my hands trembled, making the water dance as I twisted the cap back in place. Keeping my eyes on my tray, I shifted uncomfortably in my seat, regretting the decision to sit there as I felt all of their curious gazes on me.“I’m so glad you joined us!” The cheerful, fiery-haired she-wolf beside me smiled widely as I turned to look at her, and I could feel the sincerity in her voice. “I’m Vesta! And that there on the other side of you is my mate, Benny!” Turning, I peeked at the male wolf beside me. He had strawberry blonde hair and the palest grey eyes I may have ever seen.“Glad you could join us, Luna!” He exclaimed warm-he