Chapter Thirty-Four
Thirty-Four
Tegan
“Sit down right here, baby,” Atlas said. He supported my arm as I lowered my shaking body into the chair across from his desk.
I wasn’t shaking because I was upset, though. I was shaking from adrenaline and anger.
I didn’t know what rut was, and yeah, the whole ex-fiancée thing was a bit of a surprise—but those details were something that Atlas should have been able to tell me in his own time. Not another thing for Jade to weaponize.
Atlas sat down behind his desk and handed me a box of tissues. “Tegan, I—I’m sorry. I should have told you Jade and I were engaged before I ended things, and I should have told you more about wolven. About what we’re like when—”
I cut him off. “Atlas. Stop. You would have told me when you were ready, but Jade had to show up and put you in this position.” I blew my nose loudly, and it made the corner of Atlas’s muzzle turn up ever so slightly. “I saw how you reacted to being around her. You were terrified.”
His ears drooped and he let out a low whine. “I, uh. Yeah. I am terrified of her. She made me miserable, Tegan.” His voice was softer and meeker than I had ever heard it before. That bitch had really done a number on him.
“Well, she’s never going to bother you again. I can promise you that.” I smiled and dabbed at the corner of my eyes with another tissue.
His expression brightened and I heard the telltale thump, thump, thump of his tail smacking against the wall behind his chair. The next thing I knew, he was leaning forward, pressing his lips to mine as his claws dug into the wood of the desk to steady his burly body.
“I’m so lucky to have you in my life, sweet thing,” Atlas mumbled between kisses. He nipped my lip playfully before pulling away, and I let out a small moan.
“Shit, Tegan. Don’t do that,” he groaned, adjusting himself. “We can’t right now.”
I bit my lip and eyed him hungrily. I didn’t even know how I had a sex drive after last night. “I know we can’t, but a girl can dream.”
Atlas chuckled and sat back down in his chair. This time, he leaned over the desk, resting his head in his palms as he gazed into my eyes.
“I should probably explain a few more things about the full moon.” His tone was somber, and again his ears drooped on either side of his head.
“You don’t have to share anything with me if you’re not ready.”
“No. I want to share this with you. I want you to know this part of me.” He took a deep breath, and his muscular pecs strained against his tank top.
“When there’s a full moon, wolven get”—he paused, trying hard to find the right word—“feral. We revert to some of our base instincts. We hunt for prey, chase each other through the woods, and, well, fuck under the light of the moon. Male wolven fall into something called rut. The sex is primal, uncontrolled, rough, and, uh, it can last for hours. It’s how our kind connect with nature and with our partners.
And if we’re lucky”—another pause and Atlas looked at me thoughtfully—“that’s how we connect with our mates. ”
Confusion must have passed over my face.
“Wolven are drawn to their mate by an unknown force. For some it happens instantaneously, but for others it takes time for the urge to mate with their partner to form. That’s what I thought would happen with Jade, and it just never did.
She wasn’t my fated mate.” He bit his lip and scrubbed his hand over the back of his head.
“I know this is probably overwhelming…” He trailed off and looked away, his brows furrowed with concern.
Mates?
Was he implying what I thought he was implying?
Did Atlas think that we were mates?
“W-what happens? When you find your mate?” I whispered, my voice wavering just the slightest as my heart beat a rapid rhythm in my chest.
“Well, for wolven, one partner will bite the other and claim them. Then they’re connected.” He paused a beat before speaking. “Forever.”
My dream came to mind and heat pooled low in my belly at the thought of Atlas sinking his teeth into my skin.
Claiming me. Bonding me to him forever. Things were still so early on in our relationship that the very idea of being bonded with him for the rest of my life should have made my skin crawl, but it didn’t.
It excited me.
“I understand if this is too much for you.” His voice was heavy with distress, his eyes wide and pleading, obviously hoping that it wasn’t too much for me.
There was so much about this that was new, different even, but it wasn’t going to deter me from pursuing something with Atlas, but that’s when I remembered.
“It isn’t. But, um, during rut, would I be safe? With you?” I hated asking, but I honestly didn’t know if Atlas would be able to control himself around me when he was in that state.
Before I knew what was happening, Atlas bolted upright, his computer chair toppling to the floor with a loud crash as he made his way around the desk. He held me to his chest, his muscular arms wrapping me in a tight hug.
“Tegan, I—I would never—” His voice was strained. “I would never hurt you. At least not in a way you didn’t like,” he mumbled as he rubbed the soft fur of his face along the column of my neck. “I promise.”
I draped my arms around his scruff, reveling in the warmth of his body and the certainty of his words. I knew deep in my heart it was the truth. Just like I knew that he wouldn’t be spending another full moon with anyone else but me.