The War of Atlas

Disobedience

Atlas

“You look beautiful,” I said as I pressed my lips to Griffin’s. She was dressed in a fiery red jumpsuit, and as hot as she looked, she had disobeyed me. I had asked her to wear a dress. I pull away from her. “However,” I held up my hands, and Griffin c****d her head. “You disobeyed me.”

She narrowed her eyes at me. “What the f**k are you talking about?”

If I wasn’t already irritated at her disobedience, my anger rose from her use of foul language. I looked into her red eyes. “I asked you to wear a dress tonight.”

She rolled her eyes and folded her muscular arms across her chest. “And I told you that I hate dresses. You don’t get to police my body Atlas.”

A growl fell out of me. “It's not policing your body, Griffin. For Goddess sake, I told you to wear a dress. That means you wear a dress.”

“If I asked you to wear green lederhosen, would you have done it?” She snarled back at me.

“No, of course not. Don’t be ridiculous.” I scoffed at her.

She huffed loudly. “So, why is it okay for you to tell me what to wear?”

“Because I am the man,” I replied to her.

“Not much of one.” She mumbled.

I stepped towards her with my eyes narrowed. Hyperion was at the surface, and I was holding him back but barely. “Maybe, if you tried to stop acting like one, you would see how much of a man I am.”

“Are you two going to stand there fighting all night?” Jed said from beside us.

Griffin looked like she was arguing with her wolf. Her eyes were glazed over. “Griffin,” I called other, and she just glared at me with those red eyes now glowing. “Look, can we just pretend we are on the same level for a few hours.”

She shook her head, and her eyes stopped glowing. “Whatever,” She grumbled.

I reached for her hand, and she denied me. With a growl, I stepped towards her and demanded she let me grab her hand. “Let me hold your hand!” I demanded.

Her eyes started to glow red again as she placed her hand into mine. I could feel heat coming from her. Not because she was aroused but real heat and anger. She smirked, and suddenly, it got cool again.

The four of us walked in silence down to the dining hall for the ceremony. Flowers were lining the hall, and I noticed Griffin looking around. “Did you arrange the flowers, Khione?” She asked my sister.

Khione, who was walking ahead of us with Jed, nodded. “Do you like them?”

“Sure,” Griffin smiled at my sister. “I mean, they are okay for flowers.”

My sister giggled. “I’ll take that as a compliment, sis.”

I was surprised when Griffin giggled back at my sister. I did not expect such a light sound to come out of my mate.

When she saw I noticed she immediately stopped and put on her warrior's face again. I had to admit I liked seeing Griffin’s lighter side.

The dining hall came into view, and there were two omegas dressed in tuxes standing guard at the door. They opened the doors for us. We were joined by my gamma and his mate just inside. The dining hall had been decorated with more flowers and banners in our pack’s colors, black and red.

“I like your pack colors,” I heard Griffin remark. I wasn’t sure who she was addressing.

“Really?” I asked with a snort.

She shrugged. “Black and red are my favorite colors.”

We walked around the perimeter of the room. Round tables with silk tablecloths had been set up, and pack members sat patiently awaiting our arrival. Lower ranked members were gathered around the room or outside, where the announcement would be shown on a movie screen. We reached the raised platform that had been set up as a stage. Gamma Dalton and his mate Tracy stepped onto the stage first, followed by Jed and my sister. Finally, it was Griffin and me. The pack clapped as I let go of Griffin’s hand and stepped towards the microphone.

“Good evening, Titan Mountain Pack. It is my pleasure as your alpha to see you all here tonight as I officially introduce my mate and your next Luna.” I announced, and they clapped again. I looked back at Griffin. My mate stood tall and stoic and showed off every bit of the royal blood flowing in her veins. I motioned for her to step towards me. I wrapped my arm around her waist. “I, Alpha Atlas Bane Wylde, am pleased to announce,” I paused, “What is your middle name?” I whispered to her.

“Eloise.” She replied, and I had to repress a chuckle.

“Really?” I whispered. She lifted an eyebrow at me. I shook my head and turned my attention back to the pack. “I, Alpha Atlas Bane Wylde, am pleased to announce Griffin Eloise Lockhart as my mate and Luna. May you all show her tremendous respect, for she is a member of the royal family.” I said as my pack clapped again. I released Griffin and leaned into her. “Say a few words,” I whispered.

I watched her smirk at me and then step towards the microphone, and the applause died down. “Good evening Titan Mountain. As your alpha just announced, my name is Griffin Lockhart. I come to you from the Mars Ulta Pack. I am the daughter of Justine Lockhart and a father whose identity I cannot yet reveal to you. My grandfather is Elder Arthur Lockhart, and I am a cousin of King Rodney Lockhart.” She paused and glanced back at me. I shrugged and gestured for her to keep going. “Okay, enough with the family tree,” She chuckled, which elicited a few dry chuckles.

I looked out at the pack, and they were hanging on her every word. That made me proud. Griffin cleared her throat.

“As you next Luna, I vow to bring this pack into the twenty-first century. It’s time for equality for all members,” She spoke, and I felt my blood boil.

‘What the hell is she talking about?’ Jed mind linked me. I looked at my sister, and she was smiling as Griffin spoke.

“One of the first tasks I have for this pack is to start by training the female members of this pack. It's time that everyone in the pack knows how to defend themselves.” She announced.

My fists clenched, and I wanted to rip her away from the microphone, but I had to maintain some decorum. She glanced back at me with that smirk I wanted to slap off her face. I know she felt my anger.

“So, starting on Friday, any female over eighteen that wishes to learn basic self-defense meet me at the women’s gym at ten am.” She announced and looked back at me for a second, and I was the one seeing red.

‘Is she going to do that?’ Jed asked with a bit of alarm.

“I look forward to bringing more changes to his pack to make it stronger and more modern. Thank you.” She stepped back to applause. It seemed the females were clapping the loudest.

I grabbed her hand tightly as I glared at her. “Enjoy the beautiful dinner that your beta female, my little sister. Khione Wylde has planned. The Luna and I have to step out for a moment.” I said through gritted teeth. I didn’t give Griffin a chance to protest and stormed off the stage dragging her behind me.

Jed tapped me on the shoulder. “Where are you going?”

“Outside!” I growled at him. “Hold down the fort till we get back,” I ordered and continued dragging my mate away from the stage. I pulled her out of one of the side doors away from the pack members that were outside. We stopped near the Ares statue she liked arguing with. I released her hand and just stared at her. She had her arms folded and was feigning looking at her nails. “What the everlasting f**k, did you think you were doing in there?”

“Oh, look who’s being a potty mouth,” She said in a calm mocking tone. That only enraged me further.

“I told you that females do not train. You will have to take back what you said!” I growled at her.

She looked me in the eye, daring to defy Hyperion and me. “No. I will not take it back.”

“What are you trying to achieve here, Griffin?!” I yelled while she remained calm.

She glanced up at the statue and smirked at it. “You want me to be the Luna of this pack, right?” She started in her cold tone.

“I didn’t ask for you to be my Luna, but the Goddess saw fit to pair us together. And I am trying to understand her wisdom,” I grumbled.

She let out a dry laugh while glancing at the damn statue again. “It wasn’t Selene that paired us together, Atlas.” She stepped towards me.

“There is no one else who pairs wolves together,” I explained to her.

“That’s what I thought too.” She snorted.

“Then who? Who paired us together? Because I would like to have a very long talk with them.” I snarled.

She let out another laugh. “You and me both.” She folded her arms. “But anyways, I am your Luna. I am also their Luna,” She pointed towards the packhouse. “And as Luna, it is my job to protect and guide them. But it's also my job to teach them. Teaching the females to defend themselves will strengthen the pack. You may think no hostiles will ever get this far into the territory, right?” She asked me.”

“I don’t think that, Griffin. I know that,” I replied with all of my confidence.

“But they penetrated this far before, right? Khione told me what happened to your parents,” She started, and I let out a wall-shaking growl.

“You are in dangerous territory,” I stepped towards her with a finger pointed towards her, but she did not flinch.”

“Khione told me that your mother was attacked near the school. That’s pretty far into the territory, isn’t it?”

I gritted my teeth. “That is none of your business.” I hissed.

“Hybrids attacked your mother in front of your ten-year-old brother, am I right?” The more she spoke and pushed, I got angrier. She had no right to use my parents’ deaths against me. “They attacked, and because she was unable to defend herself, it caused your father to falter. Had your mother known how to defend herself, she could have held them off. If she knew how to defend herself, both of your parents would still be alive.”

“SHUT THE f**k UP!” I roared in her face, but she didn’t flinch. She just stared at me with those cold, calculating red eyes. “YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT!” I screamed, and she stepped back. I balled up my fists.

“I know exactly what I am talking about, Atlas. You may not think so because I have a v****a, and in your narrow mind, that means I only know s**t about birthing and taking care of pups,” She kept pushing. “It's because of your pack’s archaic thinking that your parents are dead.”

A primal roar burst out of my throat as Hyperion was no longer able to take her defiance. “I SAID SHUT THE f**k UP ABOUT MY PARENTS!” The walls around us shook. Even the Ares statue rocked on its foundation. Still, Griffin did not flinch. She just stared at me with those red eyes. I raised my fist, prepared to hit her, and she just kept that gaze.

“Hit me, Atlas. I can see you want to. That is what males like you do, right? Beat your females into submission,” She challenged me. “I’m sure your patron God would be thrilled to see you beating your mate in front of him.”

With a roar, I turned and punched the concrete base on the statue. Blood leaked out of my fist as cracks shot up to the statue. Hyperion finally pushed himself forward and took one hard look at our mate, who stood so defiant in front of us. Her eyes glancing at the face of the damn statue. With one more growl of frustration, I turned away from her and ran towards the trees, shifting into my white wolf. My expensive suit shredded and left pieces all over the ground. Hyperion moved his limbs as fast as they would go. I was one of the only male white wolves in existence.

The trees blurred as we ran. We ran for what felt like hours until I was sure all of the anger was gone. But it would never be gone. Hyperion stopped at the peak of a waterfall near the edge of the territory. Sitting on his haunches, my wolf let out a dominant howl. ‘What are we going to do, Hyperion?’

‘About what?’ He asked.

‘Griffin.’

He huffed. ‘She is our mate.’

‘Unfortunately. You can’t tell me that you want such a defiant mate.’ I stated. ‘She pushes all of our buttons and infuriates us.’

‘And you are totally falling for her,’ Hyperion countered.

I hated that my wolf was right. No matter what I thought of Griffin, I could not deny my heart. She made me angrier than anyone I had ever met. I wanted her to submit and obey. But it was clear she would never be that kind of female. She would never be the soft, obedient Luna that my mother had been.

‘Who paired us together, Hyperion? If it wasn’t Selene, then who?’

My wolf was silent for a moment. ‘I am not allowed to say, Atlas.’

‘Dammit, Hyperion. Stop being cryptic and just tell me.’

‘I am not being cryptic.’ He countered. ‘Just trust their wisdom.’

‘Fuck.’ I sighed. We sat at the top of the waterfall for a few more minutes before deciding to go back to the packhouse. I shifted as I reached the porch. The statue of Ares seemed to be staring at me with a smirk. “What are you looking at?” I snarled. I swear that thing’s eyes blinked. I walked naked towards the door to the dining hall and noticed clothes sitting on a bench. From their scent, Griffin had placed them there, a pair of slacks and a button-up shirt. I put them on and walked into the hall.

Most of the pack had finished eating and were gone. But the ones remaining looked up at me wearily as I walked towards the alpha table. Griffin was sitting next to my sister and Tracy laughing with them. As soon as they saw me, they quieted. I sat down in my seat, and within seconds an omega poured me some wine. “Thank you for the clothes,” I mumbled at Griffin.

She nodded at me with a faint smile. “I figured you would want something other than basketball shorts.” She took a sip of wine and turned to my sister and Tracy.

Khione looked past her at me. ‘I’m sorry, I told Griffin about our parents.’ She mind linked me while giving me a sympathetic look.

‘I’m not mad at you, Khione,’ I replied to her. I could never be mad or stay mad at Khione. She was always the sunshine in my life, and I could never diminish that.

‘Are you going to stop the females from training, though?’ She asked.

I sighed loudly. ‘I’d rather not discuss that now, Khione.’

Her eyes went back to looking at Griffin. My mate kept herself facing away from me. Someone placed a plate of food in front of me, but I had no appetite. It looked good, though. I managed to eat a few bites before I couldn’t eat anymore. I stood up. “Goodnight, everyone,” I said and walked away before anyone could say anything. I glanced back to see Griffin watching me leave.

I turned away from her and walked out of the dining hall. I ambled towards my office in a fog of my mind. I felt a soft hand on mine, and a perfumed scent assaulted my senses. I looked to see Taffy or Tabby, whatever pawing at my arm. “What do you want?”

“I heard you and your Luna,” She said ‘luna’ with disgust. “Arguing. I thought maybe you could use some comfort from a real woman.”

I looked down at her, wearing a tight dress and gobs of makeup on her face and long braided hair. Her breasts were thrust up and nearly spilling out of the dress she was wearing.

‘Don’t do it, Atlas,’ Hyperion growled in my head.

I clasped Taffy’s hand and tugged her towards my office, and pulled her inside. I walked over to the couch while unzipping the pants and pulling my massive d**k out. I used one finger to beckon Taffy towards me. “Suck me dry,” I ordered as I sat on the couch.

She knelt in front of me and clasped my limp d**k. I felt nothing as she began to lick up and down my shaft. No matter how much she sucked and licked, my d**k barely responded while Hyperion threw a fit in my head. I started to feel a slight pain in my chest but ignored it. “Come on, Taffy, can’t you suck it better than that?”

“My name is Tawny,” She whined. “And I am trying.”

I looked down to see tears in her eyes as she went back to sloppily licking my d**k. I leaned my head on the couch and looked up at the ceiling. I was ready to push Taffy off of me when someone kicked in the door of my office. I looked over to see my enraged mate storm in. Her eyes were glowing red like fire. No, they were fire. She stomped her way towards me until she was in front of us. Taffy stopped sucking and sneered at Griffin, who ignored her.

“So, is this how it's going to be every time we have an argument?” Griffin said while looking me in the eyes.