**Atlas**
The whole hall was silent. I was panting as adrenaline coursed through my body. The only sound I could hear was my heart thumping against my chest.
I couldn’t believe what I had just done. I was shocked by my own action. It was as if something had taken over my body. It had happened as soon as she’d looked at me. I wondered if she hadn’t done that, I would have allowed her to place the ring on Jarin’s finger. I realised it could only be my wolf that was responsible. Seeing her in a wedding dress but it not being me who she was marrying was horrific. It felt so unbelievably wrong.
I stood, frozen to the spot. Staring into Thea’s eyes, I could not tell what she was thinking. I knew now the pendant was off, she would truly know who I was.
Jarin was the first person to break the silence. He whispered something in Thea’s ear,
**Jarin**I knew my words were going to cause one of two reactions. Dead silence, or absolute uproar.It ended up being the latter. The emotions ranged from shocked, angry and confused. People were shouting questions at me so quickly I had no idea who was asking them.“This is outrageous, how can you step down at a time like this!?”“Is Atlas even capable of being our King?”“Will you still be part of the pack?”“What if the seer is wrong and you give up your throne for nothing?!”Atlas came up behind and whispered hurriedly in my ear, “Alpha what are you doing?”I raised my hand for silence, but there was not an instant quiet like there normally would have been. I guessed that they were beginning to disregard
**Thea**We’d come out into the garden. The same one we’d walked in some weeks ago. It was quieter here than inside the castle, and it meant something to the both of us. We stood in front of each other, him holding my hands in his. The fact we could do this and not feel guilty or ashamed was such an incredible happiness.“I feel as if I am dreaming.” I whispered.“If this is a dream, then I hope I never wake up.” He replied. He moved closer to me, and placed a gentle kiss upon my lips.I wanted so much more of him, but I didn’t know how to tell him. I was so unused to being this close to him, I didn’t know how to explain that I was tired of waiting. I wanted us to have each other. Then I remembered something from the first few days of being here.“Atlas?&rdq
**Atlas**I wasn’t sure how long we stayed in the cave. To me it was just a glorious blur of making love and holding her while we slept. Now that we had marked each other and mated, the bond between us was insanely powerful. It was as if we now shared the same heart, each of us taking care to look after it for the sake of the other.I was lying beside her, looking into her eyes as we allowed our breathing to regulate back to normal.I knew she’d been a virgin, and I was worried she may now be sore.“Are you okay?”She sighed happily. “I am the most content I have ever been.”I stroked her cheek gently and kissed the corner of her mouth.“We should try mind linking.”She raised her eyebrow. “I can do that now?”
**Jarin**I looked out of the window. My view from this chamber was of the newly laid vegetable patches and cleared land for a planned orchard next year. Since I’d arrived yesterday, I found new and amazing things that Viola had achieved with our people. There was something of her spirit here, and that was something that I loved.After I’d said what I had last night she’d not reacted in the way I’d hoped, although not in the worst way either. She’d told me she needed time to think about what I’d said, and what it would mean for her. What her people would think. Of course, I understood.But I couldn’t pretend I’d hoped that she would run into my arms telling me she loved me back. I went out of the chamber in search of some breakfast. I hadn’t seen the kitchen yet, so it would be worth going if only for that.There
**Thea**Despite the impending threat, I was feeling the happiest I had ever felt in my entire life. Being with Atlas was completely magical. If we didn’t have to prepare the pack for the mage attack, we wouldn’t have left our bedroom. Still, I knew that once this part was over, we’d be able to have more time together.Yesterday had been the first day of training for the pack. It hadn’t been as productive as we’d hoped, but people were trying to control something they still didn’t truly understand.It was just after dawn, and my father and I had decided to meet before the rest of the pack came down. I knew I was close to being able to use my mage powers in wolf form, I just hadn’t cracked it yet.Asher and Bessie were coming with me. I’d grown close to them, although Asher was a bit more of a surprise. When I saw my fat
**Atlas**I followed after Thea. I knew that no matter how angry she was with me at the moment, we had to focus on what was happening right now.Jarin and Viola were waiting in the courtyard for us. It occurred to me that she didn’t have a horse. Vampires were no where near as quick as us, and I mused at how they had managed to arrive together.“Back so soon old friend.” I commented, pulling him into an embrace.“Yes. Had to check up on you of course.” He winked at me.“If you two have finished cuddling up to each other, maybe we should get started on the preparation for this attack.” I blinked at the vampire’s audacity, but Jarin merely gave a shy smile.“I quite agree…Lady Viola is it? It’s good to meet you at last. I’m Thea.” Thea extend
**Thea**“Thea! Thea! You need to wake up!”I blinked against the candle light.“What…what’s…” I began hazily.I could sense Atlas was pulling on his clothes hastily.“Thea we need to go. The mages are on their way!”I didn’t need anymore information. I sprung out of bed looking for my own clothes. They were all loose fitting to make it easier to shift. We hurried to the great hall to meet all of the others. People were coming out of every door along the passages, hurrying to the destination they needed. I briefly saw Bessie ushering a woman and her young children towards the hidden chamber Atlas had shown her yesterday. We shared a quick knowing look and continued on.When we got to the great hall, some of the Alpha’s were al
**Atlas**I became aware of a burning sensation down the entirety of my right-hand side. The pain tore through me and I winced as I tried to focus my mind on what was happening. Then the sound of the battle reached my ears. Everything came rushing back to me, and I immediately looked around for Robert. I could see him a few paces away from me on the ground. I crawled over to him and managed to gauge that he was unconscious but breathing.I began to look around me properly, and noticed that we were no longer attacking our own allies. My eyes snapped to the general who’d been performing the charm, and then I saw her. My Queen. Her attention was completely focused on the general who seemed to be infuriated. He looked as if he was trapped without anything physically trapping him. I watched as Thea stalked towards him slowly, and I realised she was going in for the kill.I made myself move
**Atlas**I became aware of a burning sensation down the entirety of my right-hand side. The pain tore through me and I winced as I tried to focus my mind on what was happening. Then the sound of the battle reached my ears. Everything came rushing back to me, and I immediately looked around for Robert. I could see him a few paces away from me on the ground. I crawled over to him and managed to gauge that he was unconscious but breathing.I began to look around me properly, and noticed that we were no longer attacking our own allies. My eyes snapped to the general who’d been performing the charm, and then I saw her. My Queen. Her attention was completely focused on the general who seemed to be infuriated. He looked as if he was trapped without anything physically trapping him. I watched as Thea stalked towards him slowly, and I realised she was going in for the kill.I made myself move
**Thea**“Thea! Thea! You need to wake up!”I blinked against the candle light.“What…what’s…” I began hazily.I could sense Atlas was pulling on his clothes hastily.“Thea we need to go. The mages are on their way!”I didn’t need anymore information. I sprung out of bed looking for my own clothes. They were all loose fitting to make it easier to shift. We hurried to the great hall to meet all of the others. People were coming out of every door along the passages, hurrying to the destination they needed. I briefly saw Bessie ushering a woman and her young children towards the hidden chamber Atlas had shown her yesterday. We shared a quick knowing look and continued on.When we got to the great hall, some of the Alpha’s were al
**Atlas**I followed after Thea. I knew that no matter how angry she was with me at the moment, we had to focus on what was happening right now.Jarin and Viola were waiting in the courtyard for us. It occurred to me that she didn’t have a horse. Vampires were no where near as quick as us, and I mused at how they had managed to arrive together.“Back so soon old friend.” I commented, pulling him into an embrace.“Yes. Had to check up on you of course.” He winked at me.“If you two have finished cuddling up to each other, maybe we should get started on the preparation for this attack.” I blinked at the vampire’s audacity, but Jarin merely gave a shy smile.“I quite agree…Lady Viola is it? It’s good to meet you at last. I’m Thea.” Thea extend
**Thea**Despite the impending threat, I was feeling the happiest I had ever felt in my entire life. Being with Atlas was completely magical. If we didn’t have to prepare the pack for the mage attack, we wouldn’t have left our bedroom. Still, I knew that once this part was over, we’d be able to have more time together.Yesterday had been the first day of training for the pack. It hadn’t been as productive as we’d hoped, but people were trying to control something they still didn’t truly understand.It was just after dawn, and my father and I had decided to meet before the rest of the pack came down. I knew I was close to being able to use my mage powers in wolf form, I just hadn’t cracked it yet.Asher and Bessie were coming with me. I’d grown close to them, although Asher was a bit more of a surprise. When I saw my fat
**Jarin**I looked out of the window. My view from this chamber was of the newly laid vegetable patches and cleared land for a planned orchard next year. Since I’d arrived yesterday, I found new and amazing things that Viola had achieved with our people. There was something of her spirit here, and that was something that I loved.After I’d said what I had last night she’d not reacted in the way I’d hoped, although not in the worst way either. She’d told me she needed time to think about what I’d said, and what it would mean for her. What her people would think. Of course, I understood.But I couldn’t pretend I’d hoped that she would run into my arms telling me she loved me back. I went out of the chamber in search of some breakfast. I hadn’t seen the kitchen yet, so it would be worth going if only for that.There
**Atlas**I wasn’t sure how long we stayed in the cave. To me it was just a glorious blur of making love and holding her while we slept. Now that we had marked each other and mated, the bond between us was insanely powerful. It was as if we now shared the same heart, each of us taking care to look after it for the sake of the other.I was lying beside her, looking into her eyes as we allowed our breathing to regulate back to normal.I knew she’d been a virgin, and I was worried she may now be sore.“Are you okay?”She sighed happily. “I am the most content I have ever been.”I stroked her cheek gently and kissed the corner of her mouth.“We should try mind linking.”She raised her eyebrow. “I can do that now?”
**Thea**We’d come out into the garden. The same one we’d walked in some weeks ago. It was quieter here than inside the castle, and it meant something to the both of us. We stood in front of each other, him holding my hands in his. The fact we could do this and not feel guilty or ashamed was such an incredible happiness.“I feel as if I am dreaming.” I whispered.“If this is a dream, then I hope I never wake up.” He replied. He moved closer to me, and placed a gentle kiss upon my lips.I wanted so much more of him, but I didn’t know how to tell him. I was so unused to being this close to him, I didn’t know how to explain that I was tired of waiting. I wanted us to have each other. Then I remembered something from the first few days of being here.“Atlas?&rdq
**Jarin**I knew my words were going to cause one of two reactions. Dead silence, or absolute uproar.It ended up being the latter. The emotions ranged from shocked, angry and confused. People were shouting questions at me so quickly I had no idea who was asking them.“This is outrageous, how can you step down at a time like this!?”“Is Atlas even capable of being our King?”“Will you still be part of the pack?”“What if the seer is wrong and you give up your throne for nothing?!”Atlas came up behind and whispered hurriedly in my ear, “Alpha what are you doing?”I raised my hand for silence, but there was not an instant quiet like there normally would have been. I guessed that they were beginning to disregard
**Atlas**The whole hall was silent. I was panting as adrenaline coursed through my body. The only sound I could hear was my heart thumping against my chest.I couldn’t believe what I had just done. I was shocked by my own action. It was as if something had taken over my body. It had happened as soon as she’d looked at me. I wondered if she hadn’t done that, I would have allowed her to place the ring on Jarin’s finger. I realised it could only be my wolf that was responsible. Seeing her in a wedding dress but it not being me who she was marrying was horrific. It felt so unbelievably wrong.I stood, frozen to the spot. Staring into Thea’s eyes, I could not tell what she was thinking. I knew now the pendant was off, she would truly know who I was.Jarin was the first person to break the silence. He whispered something in Thea’s ear,