Chapter Five: Ellie

I was just kissed twice in less than twenty minutes. I had my first kiss and one of the best kisses I’ll probably ever have. The kiss with Ben was nothing compared to Atlas. My whole body lit up when Atlas touched me.

“Ellie, is everything ok?” my mother asked as she appeared in my doorway.

“Everything is fine.”

“I heard Atlas yell at Ben.”

I let out a sigh. “He felt a little threatened by Ben. He wants to take me out and Ben asked me to be his mate, or at least think about being his mate.”

My mother gave me a smile. “I always knew Bennet liked you. I’ve been secretly hoping you two would mate.”

“I don’t think I want to mate with Ben. I feel some kind of pull to Atlas.”

“That will wear off. It’s because he’s an alpha and showing you attention. Other girls probably feel that way about him, too.”

I don’t know why my mother feels the need to be harsh about Atlas, but I don’t like.

“Ben is a safer choice for you. He can give you a pleasant life.”

“What if I don’t want Ben?”

“Sometimes the person you least expect is the person who is the best option for you. Just look at me and your father. Our relationship was arranged, and we grew to love each other and have five wonderful pups.”

“I’m not you and I don’t want to be forced to be with someone that I don’t have feelings for.”

My mother let out a sigh before speaking again. “We’ll talk about this later, but right now you need your rest because Atlas will be here in the morning to pick you up, and I want to make sure you’re well enough to go.”

“I feel fine. My head barely hurts anymore.”

That’s a lie. It does hurt, but she doesn’t need to know that.

“Next time maybe you won’t try to fight rogues. They did not train you to fight. As a female wolf, your job is to take care of the pack.”

I let out a huff. “Times have changed. There are female warriors, there are females who never mate. Mating isn’t the most important thing on this planet.”

“You’ll learn to stop fighting it and if you are smart, you’ll settled down with Bennet.”

Those were the last words my mother said before she left my room and shut the door behind. I threw myself on the bed and huffed out.

I don’t remember her being this uptight about mating with my older brothers. She doesn’t even bring it up to Henry and Finn anymore. She just focuses on me, which isn’t fair. There is so much I want to do before settling down with a mate.

***

“I thought I said to be ready by eight?”

I slowly opened my eyes and realized Atlas was standing in my room, staring at me.

“I’m sorry I feel asleep without setting my alarm. If you give me twenty minutes, I can be ready to go.”

Atlas smiled at me. “Take all the time you need. If we miss breakfast, we can have brunch or we can do something until lunch.”

“You’re in a different mood today.”

“I didn’t come over and see you kissing another wolf.”

“You still don’t own me. I can kiss who I want.”

Atlas let out a growl before hovering over me.

“Don’t make me angry, little one.” His eye changed colors showing that his wolf was taking over. “Go get ready so we can leave.”

Part of me thought it was funny that he is annoyed, but the other part was confused. I don’t understand what is going on here. I still have to figure out how I over powered the rogue. I need nothing else to complicate my life. I just want to lie low and continue my studies and live the way I want to.

As promised, I was ready to go in twenty minutes. I didn’t bother dressing up. I put on a bit of makeup and a nice shirt, but I figured if it’s breakfast, I don’t need to look at my finest. Besides, if he likes me, he shouldn’t care how I dress.

“I’m ready.”

“Thank goddess,” I heard Atlas mumble. He quickly took my hand led me to the front door.

“I’ll be back later,” I yelled to my mother.

Once we got to the car, I couldn’t help but laugh. “Was she interrogating you?”

“More than that. She sounds like my father.”

“Oh. Was she telling you I needed to find someone I could mate with and I don’t need to be wasting my time with dating?”

“Kind of, only she said I should probably start looking for a mate seriously because an alpha without a mate can be seen as weak.”

“She’s trying to get under your skin. She thinks I should be with Ben. Apparently, she had this entire plan about how I would be mated to him after the first mating season.”

Atlas let out a growl.

“Relax, I will not mate with anyone anytime soon.”

I saw his shoulders physically relax at my statement.

“What is going on with us? Why are you possessive suddenly?”

“I don’t know. My wolf has a pull towards you. I don’t know how to explain it. He gets angry when he sees you with another wolf. He wants you as his.”

“My wolf preferred your wolf over Ben’s. The feelings she let out were so intense.”

“So it’s not just me?”

I shook my head no.

“How are you so calm?”

“I’m not an alpha. My wolf doesn’t feel the need to dominate to claim what’s mine.”

“Are you saying I’m yours?” Atlas said with a smirk.

“You know what I mean. Can we just get to this place? I’m starving.”

He took me to a breakfast place in town where the humans hangout. I don’t go into town often because my mother is afraid I’ll be caught and she will never see me again.

“Do you come here a lot?”

“I used to, before I left. They have the best biscuits and gravy.”

“I don’t leave the pack very often.”

“We will have to change that. You need to venture out. Adventure is the best way to educate yourself.”

“My mother would have a heart attack.”

Atlas led me to a booth in the corner and gestured for me to take a seat. The place was bustling with conversations and it felt freeing to be off of the pack’s land.

My mother has always been overbearing to me. She has double standards. My brothers could be free and do no wrong, while I had to tell her where I was going and who I was with at all times.

“Are you feeling better?” Atlas asked.

“I am. The extra rest I got helped. I felt good as new when I woke up, even though I wasn’t ready to wake up.”

“You probably think I should have left you alone.”

“Kind of, but I’m also thankful to be getting food.”

We gave our order to the waitress. I let Atlas order for me since he knew what was good and our conversation continued to flow easily.

“Can I ask you something about the attacks yesterday?” Atlas asked.

“Sure.”

“I heard you killed one of them, but you’re not trained.”

I shrugged my shoulders. “I guess I was lucky. I used the rogue’s weight against him and got the upper hand. Do you know why they attacked?”

“They said they were after someone, but the one we caught wouldn’t say who.”

“Do you have an idea?”

Atlas shook his head no. “My father thinks they have the wrong pack, that who they are looking for is in a neighboring pack.”

“Either way, I hope we have no more issues. It was scary.”

“Next time, I want you to get to safety as well. I wasn’t thinking when I asked you to help.”

“I’m glad I helped. I shuffled some people to the pack house. Maybe I should start training. I already workout.”

“I can teach you. We could start tomorrow morning.”

I smiled at him before agreeing. Maybe spending the extra time with him won’t be so bad.