Chapter Four: Atlas

“Do you know why they attacked?” I asked my father.

“The one we took as a prisoner said they were there to retrieve the chosen girl, who he refused to name. He also said more would come after her. That once her true powers show, we will know why she is wanted.”

“Are you sure he is in his right mind?”

“There is an old folklore among our ancestors that states a female wolf with great power will rule over all, uniting all packs under one rule, saving our kind. Its folk lore and hasn’t been proven to be true and if someone has magical powers in my pack, I would know.”

“What if she hasn’t developed them yet, or is something so small that she doesn’t realize it’s part of the powers she posses?”

“That is a possibility, but I doubt she would be in our pack. We have no outsiders. I’ve known everyone here for years, most of them I’ve known their whole life.”

“When power is involved, it usually grows, so you might not be aware of the person,” I added.

My father nodded his head. “We’ll have to be on high alert and increase border control, and we will need to monitor all the females to see if anything is off.”

“We should probably let the neighboring packs know, in case they have the wrong pack. This will also allow us to double up patrol without spreading ourselves to thin.”

“Good thinking, Atlas. Keep this up and I won’t have any arguments about turning over the alpha position.”

I couldn’t help but smile. That was the first time my father brought up giving me the position without mentioning a mate.

“I want you to head the patrol. This will give you the chance to pick your beta.”

I nodded to acknowledge his words, but I already know who my beta is going to be. It’s going to be Luke. He comes from a line of Betas and even though his father wasn’t my father’s beta; it doesn’t mean he can’t be mine.

“I’m going to check on Eleanor. She should be resting at home by now.”

“Be careful. Don’t get involved with her if you’re not serious about her. You don’t need to be wasting your time.”

And there it is. I knew I couldn’t get away without getting the mate lecture.

“I know what I’m doing. You need to trust me.”

“I trust you, but I also know that if you’re not pushed, you won’t settle down.”

I let out a growl, warning my father to back off.

“Atlas, it’s for the best. It’s best for you and for the pack if you have a mate by the time you take over.”

“There have been single alphas before. It wouldn’t be the end of the world.”

“We don’t have time to argue about this, lets agree to disagree and you promise you will at least try to find someone this season.”

“Fine. I’ll put forth effort, but I’m not just going to mate with anyone because you want me to be mated. I’ll be home in a little while.”

I stormed out of my father’s office and out to the front yard of the pack house and took a deep breath in.

***

I stood in front of the James’ house waiting for someone to answer the door. Finally, on my third knock, Mrs. James answered. I’m sorry. I was in the kitchen and I had to wash my hands before answering.

“No need to apologize. I’m here to see Eleanor. I wanted to check on her.”

“Of course, she’s upstairs in her room. It’s the last door on the right. Bennet is up there with here.”

Of course he is. He always seems to be around lately.

I made my way up the stairs quietly; I didn’t want to disturb her if she was resting. Her bedroom door was cracked and as I went to know, I peeked in just as they were parting from a kiss. I don’t know what came over my wolf, but he came forward and let out a proactive growl.

Bennet jumped off the bed while Eleanor looked at me in disbelief.

“Out,” I commanded Ben, but he was trying to fight an order from an alpha and his fists were clenching and shaking. “I said out.”

On the second command, Ben bowed his head and quickly left the room.

“What did I walk in on?” I asked, trying to calm my wolf. I’m not sure why he is worked up over her kissing another guy.

“I….” Eleanor stuttered. “He asked if he could kiss me and I said he could. I wanted to see if there was anything between us. He wants me as a mate.”

My wolf forced out another growl as soon as she said Ben wanted to claim her.

“You are mine,” he growled back at her.

“I belong to no one and I’m free to kiss who I want. You don’t have claim over me,” she bit back.

This time, the anger was coming from me and my wolf. How dare she kiss another wolf when I want her.

I closed the distance between us and lifted her up by the arms to make her stand. Once she was firmly on the ground, I roughly claimed her mouth with mine. I hated I could smell Ben on her. I wanted her to smell like me.

I held her face between my hands and nipped at her lip until I drew blood, causing her to gasp out in pain. I ran my tongue over her lip, healing the bite with my saliva and temporary scent marking her as mine.

When I pulled away, her eyes were closed and her lips were swollen and red. When she slowly opened her eyes, I could see the gold eyes of her wolf flash in and out of her blue eyes.

“Stay away from Ben. You are mine.”

“I haven’t agreed to be with you. I barely know you.”

I let out a laugh. “We grew up together.”

“It doesn’t mean I know you. If I learned anything today, you don’t truly know a person.”

“Just don’t let him kiss you again. My wolf doesn’t like it.”

She gave me a worried look. “My wolf was way more responsive to your wolf than to Ben’s, but I still don’t think it’s fair for you to claim me and to boss him out of the room with alpha commands.”

“I’m sorry. We can discuss this later. You’re supposed to be resting. How are you feeling?”

“Health wise? Fine. Mentally, confused.”

“Get some rest. I’ll be over tomorrow to take you to breakfast. Be ready by eight.”

I spun around and left her room before she could argue.

“Is everything ok? Bennet let in a hurry,” Mrs. James inquired.

“Everything is fine. I’ll be over tomorrow to pick Eleanor up for breakfast.”

I rushed out of their house, more confused than I was angry. Fated mates weren’t a thing, but my wolf already has a bond with her’s. My wolf is already possessive and wants to kill Ben for touching her. I need time to cool off before I could do anything productive, so I let my wolf out and ran for the trees.