Chapter 4- Atlas

**Atlas**

My mother, Agnes, had always been a little different. She had been well liked when she lived amongst the pack, although everyone had thought her ideas were quirky. I remember as a small child she had taken me into the human villages. No one else did this. She told me it was important to respect and understand everyone and everything in our world.

The pack had indulged her odd behaviour and strange ideas on how the pack should operate. But the last theory she’d expressed before leaving had caused problems. The other pack members had started to shun her, and my position as Beta was being questioned because she was my mother. Because of this, five years ago she decided to leave the pack and become a lone wolf.

There is a difference between a lone wolf and a rouge. Rouge’s are often thrown out of packs for being disloyal or breaking pack rules. Lone wolfs are a lot rarer because they leave the pack by choice. No one had ever left the Imperial pack by choice before. It was the strongest pack and therefore the one with the most protection. Jarin had tried to talk to her before she left, to convince her to stay. But once my mother made a decision, there was no changing her mind.

Since then, she had lived in a small cottage in the forest, not far from a human village. I knew she pretended to be human in order to be able to socialise with them. My heart gave an involuntary pang. I knew it must be lonely to be out here. Once someone left their pack, they could not return, even to visit. As Beta, it was not appropriate for me to visit a lone wolf too often, even if she was my mother. I knew she understood, but I didn’t doubt she still found it difficult to handle. After all, I was the only family she had left. My father had died in battle when I was only 12 years old. He had been a good father for the most part, but had found it difficult to show affection.

I managed to leave the castle without seeing too many people. Once I was on the outskirts of the forest, I stripped and hid my clothes in the hollow of a dead tree. I shifted into my wolf- not only was it safer, but it was also quicker to travel.

Even though we had had a good run the night before, I felt I needed this. I had so many thoughts about this hybrid that would become our Luna. That’s if we even managed to find her. I raced faster and faster, until all I could hear was the thud of my paws on the forest floor and my heart thumping against my chest. When going at top speed, I could make it to my mother’s in under an hour. The journey was easy enough, and the human roads were far enough away to not been seen unless it was the odd hunter. Even then, werewolves were so quick, most people just assumed we were a bear or a normal wolf. Before long, my mother’s cottage came into view. I slowed and went to the boulder where my mother would leave trousers and a shirt to cover myself if I ever came to visit. I shifted into my human form and dressed.

The cottage was just how you might imagine it. A small stone structure of only one level and a thatched roof. Ivy snaked its way over the outside walls and around the tiny square windows. My mother grew lavender, rosemary and other herbs in window boxes. The smell filled my nose and instantly relaxed me. I walked up to the whitewashed door and raised my fist to knock. Before I could the door opened. My mother was a stout woman with a kind face. Her now grey hair was plaited and hung at her back liked a white rope. She grinned broadly “I could smell you from a mile off! Breakfast is cooking” I looked over her shoulder to the stove where I could see bacon sizzling, I suddenly realised how hungry I was. Sensing my thoughts, she laughed “It’s not ready yet! Come here first” She said, holding out her arms. I bent over a little be able to embrace her, she squeezed me tightly. As a pulled away I could tell she would have held me longer. She sniffed as if sucking any emotions deep into her. “It’s good to see you” I commented with a half-smile. ‘Yes yes I’m sure, but I’m also sure there’s more of a purpose to you being here than just catching up” she replied amusedly. She wasn’t a stupid woman. “You’re right, let me come in and I’ll tell you all about it”.

In between mouthfuls of bacon and bread, I told her about everything had happened since last night. She sat in silence and listened to every last detail of it. After I was finished, she took a few moments to process what I had said. Then she looked me in the eyes and stated “And you’re here because you hope I may have heard of a hybrid via the village or from any of the other lone wolves.” I nodded. She took in a deep breath and began to clear up the breakfast things. My mother always busied herself with menial tasks when she was mulling something over, or when she was gearing up for a lecture. I waited to see which one I would get. She turned to me, wiping her hands on the cloth attached to her apron. “I promise not to go on about it too much, but this is exactly what I was trying to tell the pack before I left. We need to mate with other species to survive. It’s an unpopular opinion, I know. But so is extinction!” She exhaled angrily. I understood why she was pissed off. She had given up her home because she believed that the only way for us to be able to rebuild our population, was by producing children with the vampires and mages. And now, she has been told that her ex Alpha is looking for a hybrid bride. “I know mother, but unfortunately we didn’t have a seer telling us it was our only option at the time” I pointed out. “Hah! Quite frankly I’m amazed the Alpha even entertained the idea of approaching a seer in the first place!” “Perhaps that will give you an idea of how desperate we are” I replied gently. Her eyes softened. She moved back to the table and sat down. After taking a breath she turned back to me. “I can’t say I’ve heard anything from the other lone wolves. I’m unusual in the way I like to mix with the humans, so they don’t always want to tell me everything.” I smiled briefly at her own description of herself. “And as for the humans, most don’t even know or believe in supernatural beings, so wouldn’t know what a hybrid is”. She paused “But, and this may be nothing, there has been some talk from travellers and traders coming through the village about a servant girl in an inn some miles away” “What kind of talk?” I asked. “Well just that they think strange events happen when she’s around. In fact, only yesterday a man said her skirts burnt his hand when he had accidentally touched them”. I scoffed “You mean he put his hand on her arse”. She looked disapprovingly at me for being so brazen with my language. “Well yes, we all know what he really meant! The point is from what people have described it sounds like she could be a…” “mage” I said, finishing her sentence. “Yes” my mother nodded. “However, it is very unusual for a mage to be tossed out of their council and go into the world of human servitude. So, either she doesn’t know what she is, or she’s not just a mage. She’s a hybrid that’s had to conceal herself from attacks by pretending to be human”. My mother sat back in her chair and sighed “Or she is a human and people are just exaggerating in order to be able to tell a good story”. I considered the information briefly. “Well, either way I think she’s worth checking out. This man, the one with the burnt hand, is he still in the village?” “I’m not sure, but he might be, like I said, it was only yesterday” I stood up and bent over to kiss my mother on her cheek. “Thank you, you’ve been a great help” I said. “Anything for my son” She replied brightly.

As I stepped out of the cottage, I mind linked with Doran. I sent him the location of the village I was headed to and asked him to meet me as quickly as he could.