Chapter 33
Opal
“We can change the bedspread, the furniture, or anything else you want.” Atlas leaned against the doorframe as I inspected his bedroom. “I already cleaned the closet out for your stuff.”
I paused with my hand on the pine log bedframe. Everything about his bedroom was masculine and Alpha and smelled so good.
“Where do you think we can fit my cross?” I teased.
His reaction was instant. There was a jump as his cock flexed beneath his jeans. I smiled, thinking about the beautiful girth of it, and watched as his expression darkened. He took a step over the threshold, into his room where I wanted it to also smell like me.
I hate to do this now. My wolf gave me a gentle reminder.
I held up my hand and took a seat on the edge of the bed. “We need to talk.”
“We do?” Atlas almost tripped over his own feet as he came to a halt. “What…” He swallowed. “About?”
So many things.
But I started with the most pressing concern now that I was in Volk Pack and seeing it with my own eyes. “There’s not a lot of males here.”
“You noticed that.” Atlas sighed as he sat down beside me, keeping a respectful distance between the two of us. “I guess you should know what you’re getting into.”
I almost kissed him to shut him up, not sure if I really wanted to know. There’d been enough revelations for one day. I was still trying to process them all.
But if I was going to be their Luna someday, I owed it to them to care. “Whatever it is, we’ll figure it out.”
“You would too, wouldn’t you?” Atlas’s whole face lit up when he smiled at me. “But you don’t have to worry.”
I was kind of sick of hearing that today.
“The pack is pretty self-sufficient. They pride themselves on that. They…” He scratched his jaw, searching for words.
“Some of the females here are mothers, as you can tell, and a bunch of them had nowhere else to go. The majority aren’t even from around here.
They just needed a place to start fresh, far away from Alphas who have no business calling themselves that and packs that didn’t care. ”
He touched something with this story that I thought I’d long since buried. The hope of a little girl wondering what it’d be like if her mom got help.
Fate has its reasons.
And I don’t think I’d heard Atlas speak this much or this passionately about anything. I was riveted to the spot as his words came pouring out.
“My pack is strong. They take care of themselves and each other. But I worry that being strong for so long is making them forget how to be soft.”
“Is that why you think I’d fit in here?” I spoke past the emotion clogging my throat. “You think I can teach them to be soft.”
“No.” Atlas was still smiling as he shook his head. “You’re not as soft as you think you are. But I want to give you a place to be soft too. That is, if you want to be soft. Or want a place to be.”
If you don’t mount his dick right now…
I chuckled through the tears filling my eyes.
How could I ask him to do more? To take on Dorian’s problems too? My big, sweet Alpha already had the world on his shoulders.
“And while you’re busy taking care of your pack, who takes care of you?” I asked.
“Oh, I don’t need anything like that.” Atlas lowered his eyes, embarrassed.
I laced my hand through his, making a silent vow to myself to always look out for him, and also silently wishing life wasn’t so complicated.
“Can I ask you a serious question?”
He nodded.
“Why do you hate Bailey Pack so much?”
Atlas stared at our conjoined hands. “I don’t hate them, but I don’t like what they stand for. The exploitation of others, especially less dominant shifters. We had a teenage girl run off from here once and joined up with a team like Bailey’s circus. Haven’t heard from her since.”
“And you think Bailey Pack had something to do with it?” I asked.
“Not that I’m aware of.” Atlas shrugged.
“But that’s not all there is to it. Shifters who live that kind of life attract others we don’t want around here and bring about a lot of unwanted attention.
Attention we don’t need on our pack when so many are trying to live their lives in peace.
Heck, I didn’t even want to go to the show or be on camera, but the pack voted on it because it was the only way to keep an eye on Dorian to make sure he did the right thing. ”
“I’m glad you decided to go to the show.” I squeezed his hand, offering peace in that touch even as it felt like my heart was breaking.
How was I supposed to wade through this mud and get all three of us to the other side?
“Me too.” Atlas looked at my lips. A primal hunger filled that gaze.
“Lunch is ready!” Someone called from downstairs.
“Damn.” He stood and offered his hand like the gentle-wolf he was. “And here I thought we’d at least get to stain these sheets.”
I laughed as I took his offered hand, patting his large chest with tenderness. “It looks like I’m wearing off on you.”
*
“For six months, he refused to be a little boy again. So I told him that if he didn’t shift back, I’d shave him bald,” Jeannette regaled us with a story about Atlas that had me and the surrounding pups bursting into laughter.
“I’m assuming he shifted after that.” I bit down on my smile as I stole a glance of my mate.
“He did not,” Jeannette said proudly. “And I still have the pictures to prove it.”
“Can we see?”
“Yeah, show us!”
“No,” Atlas growled at the pups. “And if I ever find those photos, I’m burning the evidence.”
“Not without letting me see them first, I hope.” I winked at him.
Concern crossed his face like he was weighing whether he’d rather upset me or save his dignity, and it seemed to be heading in my favor.
I couldn’t love him any more if I tried.
“Alpha Atlas, can you come help us with this fence?” one of the females asked.
“Excuse me a second.” Atlas kissed my cheek, barely hiding the look of relief. “Don’t do any snooping when I’m gone and I’ll bring you back a piece of pie.”
I’d already been planning on obeying, but he’d gone and sweetened the deal, so I sat my butt down on a picnic bench to wait. The sun was warming the afternoon and pushing back the chill of the morning as it softened the soil under our feet.
Soon there’d be a lot more mud, but it was easy to see where the blooms would break through and how pretty this little town would be. The scenery was more open than what I was used to without the wooded hills in this valley.
But things moved slowly, like I liked. And the pack…
I stole glances without being too obvious, looking for the ones who kept to themselves, who still wore their scars a little too fresh.
Who would I have been if my mom had gotten help?
I watched the kids running around and laughing, playing together like any other pack.
Maybe I’d have grown up with other Omegas who understood what it was like to be me.
Except I wouldn’t be where I was today if I hadn’t lived my life as I did.
I smiled as Atlas heaved a pole like it weighed nothing while a pack member tacked down the wire fence. They laughed so easily around him.
Because he’s amazing. Duh.
We’re pretty lucky.
There was something bittersweet in the hardship that had brought me to this point, but that didn’t have to be all there was to my story.
I wanted this. Wanted to be a part of the healing journey for so many others. And maybe, in doing so, I’d heal a part of myself.
“He’s great, isn’t he?” Jeannette sat on the bench beside me and I started, glad she’d caught me staring at Atlas instead of everyone else.
“I like him a bit.” I smiled, hoping she’d see I was teasing.
“I think you’re going to be good for him.” She nodded.
I didn’t know why, but her approval meant a lot. “I hope so.”
“You know, his mother was a dear friend of mine. She was the one who dreamed of a pack like this, a sanctuary if you will, but it was Atlas who made it happen.” Pride shone in her eyes as she talked about Atlas. “Can I tell you a secret?”
Spill all the tea.
“Of course,” I said.
It wasn’t snooping if it was offered freely, right?
“There aren’t any pictures.” Jeannette leaned closer to whisper.
“He shifted back as soon as I pulled out the clippers, but I told him I did and snapped a photo anyway. It started as a joke, but when his parents died and he was still a growing young man, it was one thing I thought I could use to help keep him in line.”
“Was he a trouble maker?” I laughed, trying hard to picture a rebellious Atlas.
“Not at all,” Jeannette sighed. “That’s why such a silly thing was able to work so well. Atlas has always done what’s right.”
“I can see that.” I nodded.
“But don’t let his kindness fool you,” she said. “I’ve seen what he’s done—what he’ll do—to protect the members of this pack.”
A chilling breeze picked up, lifting my hair and whipping it into my eyes. I turned and found myself looking west to the direction of Dorian’s territory.
Jeannette followed my line of sight. “Terrible what those shifters do. I can’t believe they brought that trash over here.”
“Come again?” I whispered.
“You know the type. Lawless with no morals. Stealing pups and exploiting them.” Jeanette growled as her wolf flashed in her eyes.
“Bailey Pack stole someone’s pup?” I asked, trying to think if I’d seen anyone young there at all.
“My Ava.” Jeannette blinked, getting control of her beast. “Atlas says it wasn’t Bailey Pack, but they’re all the same.”
“I don’t think—”
“You mark my words,” Jeannette cut me off.
“That pack is a ticking time bomb. There’ll be parties and drugs and violence.
They’ll bring all sorts to these parts. The spotlight will follow like it always does.
Then what happens to the shifters that needed a place to hide here?
We like it quiet and out of the way for a reason. ”
My stomach dropped as her anger swirled around me, making my wolf whine. I thought of the things Atlas had said. He wasn’t being territorial against Dorian. It was his pack he needed to protect.
I looked up again, seeing the way he counted the pups like he was herding sheep even though he pretended not to care. The way he dropped everything for anyone who needed him.
It hit me then that he reminded me of my Alpha Journey. Rough edges, but soft underneath.
Journey—and the rest of my pack—didn’t like outsiders for a reason. They were a threat to their entire way of life.
And I knew blood like that ran deep.
“Does everyone else in the pack feel this way?” I asked, panic lacing my voice as I looked around and saw things with new eyes.
The fear was there. I could sense it underlying. But they put on brave faces. They were survivors.
“There’s more than a few here that’ll have to leave if word gets out this place exists.” Jeannette nodded knowingly as she leaned back against the table. “Don’t worry, though. Atlas will find a way to force Bailey Pack to move on from these parts.”
Don’t worry…
Why the hell did everyone keep telling me that?
“And we don’t blame you.” Jeannette patted my shoulder. “You’re not the first of us to fall for the wrong sort of shifter. We just ask that you protect our Alpha’s heart. He deserves to be happy and we’re all rooting for him to seal the deal.”
I touched my unmarked neck unconsciously.
She noticed. “Like I said, don’t worry. I’m sure he’ll make it official once he figures out what to do with those Bailey shifters.”
“I’m sure you’re right,” I whispered, watching as another dam pinched Atlas’s cheek and sent him my way with a piece of pie.
“I’ll leave you two lovebirds alone.” Jeannette stood, groaning as she did, and Atlas rushed to give her a hand up.
“Are you having a good time?” he asked once we were alone and the pie plate was settled on my lap.
“The best.” I pushed a piece of sugar-and-cinnamon-coated apple around with the fork, not able to stomach the idea of lifting it to my mouth.
“What’s wrong?” Atlas growled. “Did something happen?”
Is this a… tragedy? My wolf whined.
I set down the uneaten pie as I looked at my mate because, despite what they all said, it was definitely time to worry. “Excuse me for a minute. I need to make a phone call.”