The War of Atlas

Defiance

Griffin

My eyes opened at precisely five am. I was lying on top of Atlas. He had his arms tightly around me, and I had to admit the tingles from the contact felt good. Even though I was on the fence about our relationship, it was comforting to be near him. Eris was humming happily in my head at the contact. But I needed to get out of bed and attempt to do some training.

After talking to my father last night, I was determined not to let Atlas and his rules get to me. It was my life, and I was not giving up everything just to please him. Atlas did not move as I managed to get out of his hold. I rolled off the bed and went into the bathroom. I had to hand it to him. He had good taste when it came to room design. I like the dark tones of the bathroom and bedroom. It wasn't full of frills. It was functional. Exactly how I like things. I hopped into the shower and turned it to cold. Cold showers first thing in the morning woke me up and energized me for the day.

After the shower, I went into the closet and dug through my luggage I hadn't bothered to unpack yet. I found my lucky sports bra and a pair of black spandex. I combed my black hair and walked into the bedroom. Atlas was snoring away on the bed. I shook my head. 'What kind of alpha isn't up at the crack of dawn?' I mumbled to Eris.

I left the bedroom. Luckily, I had gotten a brief tour of the large packhouse from Atlas's sister yesterday and was able to find my way down to the kitchen. Omegas were milling about cooking breakfast. They froze when they saw me. I don't know if they recognized me as their luna or not. I just grabbed an apple and hurried out of the kitchen. I munched on it as I made my way towards the training grounds. It was completely silent as I looked across the vast field. There were different fields and a large building beside the fields, with one field having bleachers surrounding it. Overall it was a nice setup. I wandered towards the building and poked my head inside. It was one of the most beautiful gyms I had ever seen in my life. There was even a couple of boxing rings. And it was so clean. I was in heaven.

I spent a few more minutes drooling over the gym before going back outside. I stood by one of the fields and began to warm up. By then, males were filing onto the field. A few of them started towards me. "I will give you ten seconds to tell me who the f**k you are before we tear you to pieces for trespassing." A large male with dark tan skin and black hair snarled at me.

I dropped to the ground to do some push-ups. "Really? You and what army?" I snarked while doing my warm-up.

"Wait, you are a chick?" One of the other males asked.

"Last, I checked." I kept exercising while mostly ignoring the males.

"One more time, who the f**k are you?" The lead male asked.

I sighed and hopped to my feet. "Is that how you speak to your luna?" I tapped into my royal alpha aura, and the males all stiffened.

"Luna? I hadn't heard that Alpha Atlas had found his mate." Lead male snarled.

"Yes, I am Atlas's mate, and I am warming up, so if you don't mind, I have laps to run," I said and took off running. The males stood there watching me as I ran around the field. The lead male said something to the other males while his eyes glazed over. No doubt he was contacting my i***t of a mate. Not that I cared. I was doing me. That's what my father told me to do. I lost count of the laps I ran before Atlas finally showed up. He stood beside the lead male with his arms folded. I ran past him a few times before he spoke up.

"Griffin," He growled using his alpha tone. The joke's on him. Alpha tones from lesser alphas don't work on me. "Griffin, stop," He growled as I passed him again. I knew it must be embarrassing the hell out of him to have his mate defying him in front of other pack members.

"Say please," I replied as I ran past him again.

"Griffin, please stop," He snarled through gritted teeth as I ran towards him. I stopped in front of him. His blue eyes were almost black as he glared at me. I had a hard time not staring at his huge tattooed arms. He was wearing a pair of workout pants and a t-shirt. The t-shirt did very little to hide his muscles. I smirked as he glared at me with those icy blue eyes of his.

The mate bond was making me want him in ways that would make the devil blush. "Yes, Alpha, how can I help you?"

"What is it you think you are doing?" He asked me in a low, angry tone.

"You want me to explain running to you?" I c****d my head and looked at my nails, knowing full well I was making him angrier.

"I thought I told you, no training," He growled.

I sighed heavily. "I thought you meant no fight training. Are you saying I can't train, like at all?"

"Yes, that is what I am saying. Females have their own gym for exercise but nothing like this," Atlas explained.

"I can't train at all? Do you want me to turn into a useless tub of lard?" I screeched in a high-pitched tone.

"No, Griffin. I am not saying you can't exercise at all. You are a werewolf. You will be okay with thirty minutes a day." He reached for my arm, but I stepped back.

"THIRTY MINUTES!" I roared. "I have been training eight hours a day since I was sixteen. Are you trying to f*****g kill me?!" I screamed, eliciting stares from the warriors around us.

Atlas looked around us. "Get back to work." He barked in his alpha tone. "You need to come inside and learn how to be a proper luna."

"No! I am not giving up who I am for some chauvinistic asshole." I screamed at him.

"Griffin," He growled and grabbed me around the waist, and slung me over his shoulder. He began stomping back towards the packhouse. I punched his back with everything I had while kicking my legs. He used both arms to hold down my legs. With a snarl, I balled up my fist and punched him in the center of his back where all the nerves were. He howled with anger and pain and dropped to his knees and releasing me. I stood up in front of him. He glared up at me.

"I am not one of those females, you can just throw around like a rag doll," I smirked defiantly at him. We were next to a giant statue of my father. I looked up at the statue with a stern glare.

Atlas got to his feet. "You need to mind me, woman. I am your mate!"

I rolled my eyes with a scoff. "I get it. You have a p***s. So in your mind, you have dominion over me."

He pointed his finger at me. "I can't have you defying me in front of the pack. If they see me bending for a female even if she is my mate, then I will look weak."

I kept staring at the face of the statue. "Yeah, couldn't have you looking weak in front of the pack."

He grabbed my arm and started dragging me into the packhouse. The sparks from the contact made my body comply and let him drag me. He pulled me into his office and released me. "Sit!" He snarled and pointed at a chair in front of the large desk. I looked around the office, and it was very male. It smelled male with his tequila scent, of course.

I sat down and folded my arms while we proceeded to glare at each other. 'You have to quit defying him and learn to work with him,' Eris spoke up.

'But he isn't willing to work with me.' I replied to her.

He leaned back in his chair, and it made a squeaking noise. "I need to set the ground rules for you. This isn't a free for all like you were raised around."

"You think it was a free for all at Mars Ulta?" I scoffed. "You don't know s**t, motherfucker."

Atlas slowly closed his eyes. "The vulgar language needs to stop. You are the luna of this pack, and I need you to talk like it. No more swearing. An f-bomb here or there is permitted but not this constant spewing of the eff word."

I rolled my eyes at him, and he growled.

"Two no training means no training. The training grounds are strictly for males. If you want to run on the treadmill for a few minutes every day in the women's gym, then fine. The ladies have their aerobics classes and other activities you are welcome to attend," He explained.

"That's bullshit. Is that the plan? Keep the women folk weak so that they won't run off? I mean, do you understand how f*****g stupid it is not to teach the females even the basics of fighting? What happens if they get attacked, and there are no knights in shining armor to protect them?" I argued with him.

"No hostiles get far enough into my territory to even think of attacking the females," He snorted.

"That's arrogant thinking, Atlas. The hybrids are testing your limits. Eventually, they will find a weakness and make it far enough inwards to become a problem. I know Constantine better than you think. He will not give up. What is your beef with him anyway? I know his beef with me."

Atlas's eyes narrowed. "Constantine Drago has beef with you?"

"Yeah, but I am just a dumb female. What do I know about that sort of thing?" I looked away from him. "Are there any more bullshit rules you have to share with me?"

"Yes," He growled. "You will start dressing and acting in a way befitting of a Luna."

"And how would that be?" I looked at my fingernails while acting bored.

"Wear pretty dresses and maybe put some makeup on. No more styling your hair in a mohawk, and I would like you to grow it out to look more feminine. And we are going to look into having your tattoos removed."

"WHAT?!" I screamed and stood up, suddenly flinging the chair backward. "That is not f*****g happening. No way. No how. If you even think about trying to have my tattoos removed, I will jump off a f*****g cliff!"

Atlas was on his feet, and in a flash, he was in front of me. "Do not talk like that!" He screamed in my face.

"Then don't tell me bullshit like you want me to remove my tattoos. I put a lot of time and money into these. Why don't you remove your tattoos?" I argued.

"Because I'm a man-"

"Oh right, the p***s again!" I folded my arms. "I fought and worked my ass off to be chosen for the Royal Elite Guard, and my cousin specifically chose me to be his royal gamma, and I gave all of that up for-for-"I trailed off with a scream and turned away from him. "I can't do this, Atlas. I cannot be the prim and proper housewife you want me to be. I don't even want any f*****g pups. So just reject me so I can go back to my life!" I demanded.

"NO!" He roared and grabbed me. He spun me around and glared into my eyes. "I have waited ten long years to meet my mate. I am not rejecting you. You just need to learn how to be a woman. Then you will see it's not the end of the world to give up fighting like a man!"

I pulled out of his arms and punched him square in the jaw. "NO!" I screamed and tried leaving the office, but he grabbed me again. He pushed me up against the door and buried his nose in my neck. The tingles from the contact was making my stupid body betray me again. Eris hummed happily in my head. But I was trying to fight it.

"Do you have any idea how turned on I get when we fight?" He growled against my ear. It sent shivers down my spine as I felt his hardening erection against my backside. He thrust his hip, and I moaned. "It seems you are turned on also."

I turned myself to look him in the eyes. "I don't want-"He cut me off by smashing his lips against mine. I fought against him for a moment before wrapping my arms around his neck and leaning into him. I allowed his tongue entrance into my mouth, and we tasted each other. He kissed down my neck and nibbled at the soft skin. I scratched my nails on his bald head, and he moaned.

"f**k, that feels good," He moaned, and the next thing I knew, he was dragging me back towards his desk. He pushed me against it and bent me over. He pulled down my pants and rubbed his fingers on my clit.

I couldn't help but let out a moan of pleasure. This man did things to me. I heard him slip his own pants down and then felt his very hard c**k at my entrance. Like an i***t, I spread my legs for him, and he thrust hard into me. He grabbed my shoulders and began slamming hard into me. I screamed and moaned as he grunted. He wrapped an arm around my breasts and pulled me upwards until my back was flush against his chest. He thrust hard into me, and I moaned while reaching back to scratch my fingers on his head.

"You make me angrier than anyone in my life has ever made me," He growled against my ear while thrusting hard into me. "Why do you constantly test me?"

I just moaned my answer as he pushed me down onto the desk. He pulled out of me and lifted one of my legs onto the desk, and then slammed into me again. I screamed and moaned until I felt my walls clench. My juice flowed out all over his c**k, and moments later, he let out a growl and then released his hot seed into me. He pulled out, and I sunk to the ground just as someone knocked on the door.

"Atlas?" It sounded like his beta Jed.

"Pull your pants up," He growled at me while stuffing his d**k back into his pant.

The door started to open, but Atlas slammed it shut. "Is everything alright? I have been trying to contact you."

Atlas opened the door a crack. "Everything is fine, Jed. I was having a conversation with my mate."

"Conversation," I scoffed as I stood up and grabbed a few kleenexes, and cleaned myself off before pulling my pants back up.

"Well, are you coming to breakfast or not? Khione is asking about you guys," Jed spoke.

"We will be right there. Just go ahead and start eating," Atlas told his beta and then shut the door. He turned to me. "It's breakfast time."

"I'm not hungry," I mumbled while looking at the floor right as my stomach betrayed me.

He let out a dry laugh. "Your stomach says otherwise, sweetheart. Come eat breakfast with me, please?"

I looked up at him, and he had a softened expression on his rugged face. "Fine since you said please." He held out his hand to me and sniffed the air.

"I think we should go upstairs and shower first. You smell like-"

"You?" I smirked at him.

He nodded. We walked in silence out of the office. He tried holding my hand on our way up to his room, but I kept pulling away from him. I swear I heard a whimper come from his lips. I assumed it to be his wolf.

Once we got back to the room, we showered together in the large walk-in shower. "I like your decorating tastes," I told Atlas as we were drying off.

He lifted an eyebrow and looked around. "Really? It's not too masculine for you?"

I shook my head as we walked out of the bathroom. I rummaged through my clothes and chose a pair of black slacks and a white button-up blouse. Hopefully, it met his majesty's standards.

"I wish you would wear a dress," Atlas said from his side. He was wearing a form-fitting blue suit.

I shook my head. "I hate dresses."

"You wore a dress the other night, and you looked beautiful." He argued.

I sighed and looked him in the eyes. "I only did that to appease Aunt Syd." I put on a pair of black flats and ran a comb through my hair. I pondered what I would look like with long hair.

"I want you to wear a dress tonight for your announcement party," He told me, and I let out a loud groan.

"Atlas," I grumbled. "Can't I just wear a pantsuit?"

"Nope." He stated and held his hand out. "It's breakfast time." I let him drag me out of the closet and out of the bedroom. We walked in silence down to the dining hall. I had seen it on the tour that Khione and Tracy gave me yesterday. I had eaten a meal in there yet. We walked into the dining hall, and it was huge. It was a lot like the one at the royal palace. There were several long tables throughout the room with hundreds of people at them. The was one long table towards the front of the room where Atlas's sister and beta were sitting along with his gamma and the gamma's family. He walked to the table, and there were two elaborate seats in the center. Everyone in the room stopped eating and stood up.

"Good morning, everyone," Atlas's voice boomed through the room. "In case the rumor hasn't made it to your ears. Yes, I have met my mate." He gestured to me. "The lovely woman at my side here is my mate and Luna. Meet Griffin Lockhart." Pack members immediately began to talk. Atlas held up his hands, and they all quieted. "Griffin is a member of the royal family. I will announce her formally tonight. I would like for you all to attend. Now, let's get breakfast started." We all sat down, and everyone resumed eating.

An omega walked over to our table and bowed to us. "What would you like for breakfast, Griffin?" Atlas asked me.

I shrugged. I honestly was not hungry. "Just something light, I guess."

"You have to eat more, Griffin." Atlas countered.

"Is that another one of your bullshit rules?" I snarled at him.

He let out a deep sigh and then ran his hand down his face. "No, I just want you to eat breakfast." He looked at the omega. "Bring me a ribeye steak cooked rare with six eggs over easy. I also want a pile of home fries and four pieces of white toast."

The omega nodded. "Yes, Alpha. And for the Luna?"

"Just bring me some bacon and two eggs over easy with toast and a glass of skim milk," I told the omega.

Atlas snorted. "Seriously, that's all?"

I ignored him and looked out at the dining hall. A few female faces were glaring at me. I hadn't noticed that Khione was holding her newborn until he started making whimpering noises. "I just fed you, Benji." She said to him.

"Is my nephew giving you problems?" Atlas cooed. "Let me hold him." Khione passed the baby to Atlas, and his face lit up as he held the pup. "Khione named him Benjamin, after our father," Atlas told me.

"That's great," I said, trying not to sound completely sarcastic.

"I'm glad you aren't mad at me for using that name, Atty. I just knew that Benjamin is what I had to name him." Khione explained.

I wanted to escape. But I just stared at the table, waiting for my breakfast. Atlas nudged me. "Do you want to hold him?" He asked me. "It might help you get over your aversion to pups."

I shook my head and held up my hands. "No, no, no," I leaned away from Atlas.

"Come on, sweetheart. Surely, this will jumpstart your maternal instinct. Hold the baby." Atlas insisted.

I groaned as the pup was thrust into my arms. I sat very uncomfortably with the smelly thing in my arms. I held him away from my body."And I'm done. Someone take this away from me."

Khione got up from her seat and walked over to me to retrieve her pup.

"You looked terrified holding Benjamin," Beta Jed chimed in.

I shuddered. "I wasn't terrified. I am just not a fan of pups. Especially babies."

"You don't like babies?" Khione asked. "What kind of woman doesn't like babies?"

"Not all of us are meant to be mothers," I mumbled. I was done with this conversation. I looked around for an escape.

"What about Atlas? He has always wanted a houseful of pups. Right Atty?" Khione pushed.

"Maybe in a few years, we can find a surrogate or something," I started as a plate of food was set in front of me.

"No, child of mine is going to be birthed by a surrogate, Griffin. You are my mate and my luna. It is your duty to be the mother of my children." Atlas stated.

I scoffed loudly and pushed the food away. "Will you knock it off with that bullshit! I don't want any f*****g kids!" I shouted and stood up from the table and ran out of the dining room.

"Griffin," Atlas growled after me.

I ran out of the packhouse and stopped in front of the statue of Ares. "I know you said we needed each other. Or whatever bullshit you are justifying for us being mates. But I can't do this, Dad!" I shouted at the statue. "I can't give up everything that I am for him."

'My daughter never says 'can't,'' My father's voice said in my head. 'You have to get past your differences.'

"I CAN" T!" I screamed at the statue. "Pick someone else! I just want to go home." I felt tears prick at my eyes, but I held them back.

The smell of tequila entered my nostrils as I heard Atlas walking up behind me. I turned to him, and he looked angry. "Were you just yelling at my statue?"

I paused and glanced at the statue. I swear it was smirking at me. "Asshole," I mumbled at it. "Uh no."

"You just called it an asshole." Atlas looked between me and the statue. "Look, I know life is different than what you are used to. But you need to learn to get used to it."

I folded my arms and stared at the ground. "I don't think I can, Atlas. Not training is going to kill me. Not sparring and keeping up my skills is going to be torture. And being forced to wear dresses and act like a girly girl-"I trailed off again as I felt tears in my eyes. I turned away from Atlas. I didn't want him to see me cry.

Atlas put a hand on my shoulder and tried to get me to face him, but I refused. "I'll concede and let you run around the training fields and do your stretches. And if you want to work out more than thirty minutes in the women's gym, then fine. If that will help you."

I rubbed my eyes and turned to him. "Fine," I mumbled.

"Let's go back inside and eat our breakfast." He reached for my hand, and I pulled away from him. He sighed. I followed him silently back into the packhouse and the dining room. Most of the pack had finished their breakfast and had left to go about their duties. The ranked members were still sitting at the table. They all just stared at Atlas and me. I looked at my cold food and began picking at it. Atlas tore into his steak.

After we were finished, Atlas stood up. "Come on, Jed, Dalton. Time to get to work." He looked down at me. "I will see you later at your announcement dinner."

"What am I supposed to do all day?" I folded my arms.

Atlas snorted. "Whatever it is that women do all day?"

"I don't know what women do all day," I countered.

"We can go shopping!" Khione chimed in.

Atlas smiled at his sister. "See, you can go shopping. You need a dress for tonight."

I closed my eyes. 'I hate shopping.' I whined to Eris.

My wolf had been mostly quiet this morning. She was mad that I was resisting Atlas so much. 'Try. Just try cooperating with them. The more you yield, the more he will bend for you.'

"Sure, that sounds fun," I barely got the word fun out of my mouth.

Khione clapped her hands. "Yay, and then we can start planning your Luna ceremony."

"See, lots of fun things to do," Atlas smiled down at me.

I looked up at him with a glare. "Oh, it sounds thrilling," I used my most sarcastic tone.

Atlas leaned down and tried to kiss my lips, but I pulled away, and he wound up kissing my nose. "See you later, mate." He stood up and adjusted his jacket, and then walked out of the room with Jed and Dalton behind him.