Atlas #4
“No,” I growl, shuffling in the dirt until he lifts the chair easily, setting me back upright. I take the chance to snap at his hands when he brushes my face off. “But I’m sure you feel self-important enough to tell me.”
His face lifts in a huff of laughter, “Spicy little Omega, I can see why Fury likes you so much. Anthony has always been into women with personality.” A jolt of jealousy sears me, and I bare my teeth at Brynn.
I don’t like hearing about my mate and his previous attachments.
Sure, I know they all had them; heck, Lucas had two Omegas before me, and has made it clear that he and Prue were intimate too, even if they’re only close friends now.
But it doesn’t mean that I like hearing about it.
Brynn—just like I thought—is too wrapped up in his own thoughts to bother seeing how his words affect me, and he moves on, rocking back to crouch on his haunches, distant and cold as he continues, “Wolves born from shifter pairings are stronger, they can shift faster; they’re bigger, stronger, everything that normal Alphas aren’t.
A whole pack of us, we could take over, throw the fucking council out of their big fancy seats.
Wolves make up the majority. Why shouldn’t we be in charge?
And of course, when I heard about a wolf shifter in the auctions, I just had to pay for the best to come and find you. ”
“Anna…” I breathe, eyes screwing shut, thinking about all the times that she had hit me, backhanded me for every complaint, but never once did she throw me out of the facility or contact my father to take me back.
She had clung to me with her everything so that I wouldn’t be moved again by the higher-ups running the auctions. Fuck, how didn’t I see it?
“And what part did Butcher play in this?”
“Butcher was an added complication,” He frowned, eyebrows bunching as he regarded me at last, “What do you know about him?”
“He’s a monster, takes Omegas from the facilities, and they’re never seen again. He was working with Anna, too.”
A harsh bark of laughter tears from the Alpha, his head tipping back as I writhe in the chair again, tugging at my bindings.
Outside the shack, a wolf howls, and there's some scuffling. I guess they’re getting tired of waiting for their Cardinal to come out and throw me to them.
“Oh no, Butcher has nothing to do with us. He wanted you, something awful, but the big bears got some other bug up his ass about Omegas of the shifting variety. No idea why he wanted you, he’d split you in two, little thing like you, huh?
” Oh wonderful. Just another loose end that we’d need to tie up before the heat hits, though, from the flaming need licking at my core, we don’t have much time left.
As soon as the haze hits, I’ll be receptive to bonding bites, and I do not want to be stuck in this fucking shack with this asshole when that happens.
My ears twitch at the sound of the fighting outside increasing, shouts come from somewhere far off, and then there’s an almighty BANG.
Brynn’s sly little smirk drops like a rock, head snapping to the doorway as the distinct sound of a shotgun cocking echoes through the carnage, starting in earnest. It’s my turn to grin at him, a low chuckle leaving me as I feel my shoulders heave in a relieved breath.
“Oh, Brynn, you fucked up. You fucked up big time.” My neck twists with his slap, the stinging ache of his palm brightening my cheek with pain.
I can barely feel it over the burning heat already singing through me, and I laugh at him, spitting out the blood from biting my tongue.
Pinching my cheeks between his fingers, he squeezes, spitting through his fangs, the shift starting to pull at him as he jerks my head around, tipping the chair until I’m concerned I’m going to be eating the floor again.
“How?! You whore, you’re already bonded? How else would they find you?” He snarls, voice crackling as fur sprouts from the back of his hands, claws piercing through the ends of his fingers.
But I’m not scared, they’re here, just like they promised.
Something roars outside, something that isn’t a wolf, and I almost close my eyes and sob at the bear.
Oberon must have come too, except… As a smaller brown-coated lump barrels through the wooden walls like they’re made of paper, my eyes widen.
Fuck, it’s Butcher. Is he taking his chance with the chaos?
Except he doesn’t even bother me as a massive paw swipes at Brynn, the wolf soaring through the air and through the other side of the shack with a yelp.
Then there's a giant of a man in front of me, pulling a knife from god knows where, and I fight, jumping back on the chair, crashing to the ground again as the battle rages on around us. Shotgun blasts sound out, and the ATV engine fires as the wheels kick up dirt. There’s too much going on, and in the panic, I don’t even try to scream for help, just thrash and fight and kick, my brain flying into survival mode, lashing out at the enemy next to me.
Then, like sense has kicked in, I fill my lungs and howl, the sound wailing through the area like a siren.
“Christ woman, stop fighting, I’m here to help.
” Butcher snaps, the knife nicking me as he tries to saw at the rope around my wrist, but with all the wriggling, and now the slick blood, he can’t seem to catch where he needs.
“Fucking blunt knife, I’d be better off chewing them open.
Come on, we need you safe first.” Then he lifts the whole chair.
The whole fucking chair, with me still attached like it's nothing more than a sack of potatoes, clinging to me as he sprints from the shack just in time for Brynn’s wolf to come snarling back through the same hole he’d made on his exit.
What in the seven holy hells is going on here?
I wish I knew, watching the complete and utter carnage around us whilst this mountainous man carries me away. Slipping free with the blood lubricating the way, I swing for Butcher, my fist crunching against his nose. Meeting the ground again, I get my first true look at the battlefield around me.
What. The. Fuck.
There must be at least twenty wolves here.
In the air, there's some sort of giant eagle circling and screaming, occasionally diving into the fray to pick at wolves attacking the lion and polar bear at the far edge of the tree line. Prue, Nate, and Oberon are fighting as fiercely as though I were one of their own pack, though they’re being pushed back with the many on Brynn’s side.
Next to me, said wolf has pounced at Butcher again as he tears into the grizzly bear we’ve seen.
My mouth is dropping open, surveying the mess.
Blood sprays as claws catch or teeth find purchase.
I think I hear a very human yelp as the ATV comes flying at us, taking the rough terrain like it’s made to, and a hand catches me, yanking me into the back as it passes.
Falling into the welcoming arms of my sweet Beta, his face sprayed with crimson, and shotgun propped next to him as Clay guns it towards the ranch.
But everything’s… A little fuzzy. Goddess, it’s hot here, there’s too much going on, and I need…
What do I need? Teddy’s fingers soothe through my tangled hair, his lips finding my temple.
“Clay, she’s burning up. And there’s fur.
” He calls to the man in the front seat, but I can’t think past his warm coffee scent flowing through me and flooding my panties for him.
Clay groans in the front seat, his own peppery perfume clouding my senses too.
They smell so good together, maybe it wouldn’t be too much to have them again, just like I did this morning?
Yesterday? Whatever, I just want to be pinned between them.
A whine slips free, and a sharp bark comes from the front.
“Settle, Omega!” But there is no order in it, no power behind his words, just worry as I whimper and pout.
Turning back to the Beta, I nip at the skin of his neck.
His heavy panting against my ear means he likes it, right?
Maybe he’ll let my Alpha mark him again too, so we can all be a pack for definite, attached forever…
No. No, why am I..? Fuck. This isn’t good.
My choices are between here and there—trying to fuck Clay as he drives through the trees, dodging back and forth, or back into the fight where one of Brynn’s wolves might get to me.
I need to go… Need to be away from them.
A sharp noise cuts through our worry, and with a last kiss on Teddy’s cheek, I toss myself sideways against him, throwing him off balance as I tumble out of the back of the vehicle.
Shifting as I hit the dirt, I yelp in pain, but I can’t be near them if I go into heat, my scent would lead our enemies right to us, and no matter how much I…
No matter how much I love them, I won’t let them risk being killed because my heat is here.
They’re only human, and Brynn’s right—they’re weaker, they wouldn’t stand a chance if any of the shifters came after me.
The wolves, maybe. A good shotgun would take out a wolf shifter at close range, but what if it is Butcher?
“SKYE!” Comes the scream from the ATV, the brake lights glaring through the trees as I take off with a mournful howl.
If I can just lead the others away, I can give the rest a fighting chance.
It’s me they are after anyway, right? All of this is because I’m an Omega and can shift.
Cursing my grandmother for passing this to me, I howl again, the sound echoing through the woods, and the noise of the fight growing louder as I charge back towards it, hoping that I’d be distracting for long enough to get Nat, Prue, and Obi out.
A pitch black wolf steps out of the trees, practically foaming at the mouth, coat damp with blood, pale gray eyes wild with hunger as he spots me. He takes a second, scenting the air before licking his lips and charging towards me.
Another wolf intercepts him, catching his throat in their lethal teeth and tearing it out, but the blood doesn’t stain half as bad on the new entry to this race. No, it doesn’t show up as clearly on the thick red and tan fur, his head cocking at me, ears pricked.
Fury.
My Cardinal, my Alpha, is here. And he’s not going to let me do this alone. The haze drifts back again, and instead of running towards him, I turn my tail and start a dance as old as time.