The War of Atlas

Punishment

                                  Griffin

         I was still sitting on the floor of the bathroom when Atlas walked in.  He noticed me and looked down with confusion. "Why are you sitting on the floor? Are you okay?"

            He stood in front of me, and I had to crane my neck to find his blue eyes.  I slowly stood up and gathered up my things. "I-I’m fine. I need to go to the pack hospital.”

            “Why?” He furrowed his brows.  “Do you think you are pregnant already?”  There was a slight smile on his face, and I felt a little bad about what I was about to tell him. 

            I shook my head. “I missed a pill, so I need the morning-after pill.”  I walked out of the bathroom with him on my heels.

            “Are you that opposed to carrying to my pup that you are willing to kill it?” He snarled as we walked into the closet.

            “For goddess sakes, Atlas.  I am not killing anything.  I just want to cleanse my system.  Oh, and we aren’t having s*x until I get more birth control.” I told him as I hurried to get some jeans and a tank top on.  “Now, where is the pack hospital?” I asked.

            He stood in the doorway of the closet with his massive arms folded.  “You aren’t going.”

            “What the f**k? I need that medication.  I am not ready for babies,” I shuddered.    

            “I am your mate, and I say you aren’t taking that medication or getting more birth control.  It's high time you start acting like a woman.”  He growled at me.

            “You may be my mate, but you do not get to dictate what happens with my body.  I don’t want babies right now.  Stop pushing the matter, or I won’t ever have them.”  I tried pushing past him, but he was like a rock and wouldn’t move.  “Please, Atlas.  Don’t do this to me.”

            “I am not doing anything to you, Griffin.  And yes, I do get a say in what happens to your body.  Your job is to be the mother of my pups.  Why is that so hard for you to realize?” He argued, and my blood boiled.

            I summoned my strength and used it to push him out of the way.  He flew backward and landed on the ground with a loud thud.  I stepped over him, and he looked up at me with an expression of shock.  “I have toppled bigger monsters than you, Atlas.”

            He got to his feet and tried blocking me from the door of the bedroom.  “Is the idea of having my pups that awful to you?” He asked almost sadly.

            “Having anyone’s pups sounds awful to me.  Trust me. I will be a terrible mother.” I said as he stepped aside and let me open the door.  “I’ll find the hospital myself,” I said as I walked out of the door and slammed the door behind me. 

            ‘You would not be a terrible mother,’ Eris chimed in.

            I scoffed out loud.  ‘No, I am pretty sure I would suck at motherhood, Eris.  No pup deserves me for a mother.’

            ‘He is your mate.  You and he are supposed to have the next generation of this pack.’ She pleaded with me.

            ‘I didn’t say I would never do it,’ I argued with my wolf. ‘Just give me a few years to get used to being the Luna of this pack.’  Eris had nothing else to say, so I hurried to find the pack hospital.  I flagged down a warrior when I reached the bottom floor.  “Can you tell me where the pack hospital is?”

            “Is everything alright, Luna?” The warrior asked me. “Should I get Alpha Atlas?”

            “No,” I replied sharply, and he flinched.  I stood at least six inches taller than him.  “Just tell me where it is, please?” I tried sounding less angry that time.  He quickly told me how to get there, and I took off.  The pack hospital was in the same compound as the gaudy packhouse.  I walked into the clean facility, and a blonde was sitting at the reception desk. 

            She looked up at me and smacked the gum in her mouth.  “What can I do for you?”

            “I need to speak with the doctor,” I demanded.

            “Do you have an appointment?” She asked lazily.

            I scoffed. “No, I just need to talk to a doctor, please.”

            “You need to make an appointment.” She responded.

            A low growl came from the back of my throat, and the blonde looked up at me again. “One more time. I need to speak with the doctor.  Either get him for me or direct me to his office,” I ordered in my royal alpha tone, and the blonde stiffened.

            She craned her neck before standing up and walking down the hall. I hated using my tone on others like that.  Moments later, the blonde following a middle-aged Latino man with grey hair and brown eyes.  He looked back at the receptionist.  “Brenda, that is not just some lady. That is our Luna.”  He turned to me with a smile and held out his hand.  “Good morning, Luna Griffin. I am Doctor Fabian Ledesma.  I want to apologize for Brenda.  She had to work the other night when you were announced.”

            Brenda walked over to her desk with her head down and sat down. 

            “It is alright, Dr. Ledesma.”

            “What can I do for you this morning?” He asked while beckoning me down the hall and into an exam room. 

            “I need the morning-after pill.  I missed a dose of my birth control and the alpha, and I had unprotected sex.” I explained to the doctor.  He scratched his smooth chin while listening.

            He let out a laugh.  “Why would you need birth control when you are mated to our alpha?  We need an heir soon, and Alpha Atlas isn’t getting any younger.”

            I rolled my eyes at him. “I don't want pups right now.  Now, can I get those pills, or do I have to go to a pharmacy?” I demanded with a low growl.

            Dr. Ledesma stiffened and let out a sigh.  “I am afraid we do not carry that medication in this hospital, Luna.  It is the duty of a she-wolf to carry her mate’s pups, and we don’t interfere with that.” 

            “Are you f*****g kidding me?  We are more than god damned broodmares!” I yelled.  “So, are you saying the pharmacy doesn’t carry the pills either?”

            He shook his head.  “You would have to leave the territory, and the next closest town is about forty miles away.”

            My fists balled up, and I punched a hole in the wall with a room-shaking growl.  The doctor backed away from me while trembling.  I glared at him through my glowing red eyes.  “There are some things that are going to change in this territory.” I scowled and stormed out of the room.

            On my way back to the packhouse, I saw my father leaning against the statue of him.  He was dressed in black jeans and a leather biker’s jacket today. His red eyes stared at me while a slight smile was spread on his scarred face. Fog surrounded us, and I realized the passing pack members didn’t notice us.

            “I am really not in the mood to talk to you right now,” I scowled as I tried to walk past only to have my arm grabbed. “Dad!” I protested while trying to get away from him.

            He turned me to face him.  “What am I going to do with you?”

            “What do you want? I need to go ask Atlas for a car, so I can drive to the nearest town to get-“

            My father put his finger against my lips. “You need to accept your role in life and have babies with your mate.”

            “Not you too!” I yelled and started to walk away from him.  “J-J-Just leave me the f**k alone!” I shouted.  Fire suddenly surrounded me, and I turned back to him as he stomped towards me.  I knew I was in trouble when I saw the anger on his face.

            He stopped in front of me, roughly grabbed my chin, and forced me to look into his eyes.  “What have I said about disrespecting me?” He hissed.

            “Sorry, sir,” I mumbled quietly.

            “What was that?” He barked.

            “I am sorry for disrespecting you, Father,” I repeated while looking him in the eyes. 

            He released my chin.  “That’s my girl.  But I have to punish you now for disrespecting me.”

            I huffed loudly, and he glared at me.  I kept my mouth shut this time.

            “For disrespecting me, you are not allowed to get those pills or go on birth control,” My father ordered.

            “DAD!” I screamed.  “You can’t do that!” I stomped my foot.

            “Quit acting like a child, Griffin.  It’s time for you to grow up.  Producing children with your mate is a part of life.”

            “I hate you,” I whispered and looked away from him.

            “No, you don’t.” He chuckled. 

            “Why are you so hellbent on ruining my life?” I felt those tears pricking at my eyes again, and I had to stiffen to keep them from falling.

            “Griffin, do you honestly think I am trying to ruin your life?  I am trying to save it.  I know you had your heart set on being the royal gamma and an elite warrior, but that is not your fate.  The sooner you figure that out, the less painful things will be.  And part of that fate is being the mother of your mate’s children.” He explained.  “Besides, I want grandchildren.”

            “You have grandchildren.  Tons of them.” I mumbled.

            He just laughed.  “I have to go now,” He held out his arms. “Can I have a hug?”

            “Hug yourself,” I snarled and tried to walk away, but he grabbed me.  I stood stiffly until he released me. I just stared at the ground, still fuming from the terms of his punishment.  Everyone was against me.

            “Bye, Griffin.” He said before disappearing and the fog lifted.

            I glared at his statue, and tears finally fell down my cheeks.  I quickly wiped them off and went towards the dining hall.  I was mildly hungry.  Figuring I would grab breakfast and then go over to the women’s gym, check it out, and set it up for the women tomorrow.

            Atlas was sitting at the alpha table with Khione and his Beta Jed.  Gamma Dalton and his mate Tracy were seated at the end of the table.  I walked over and sat beside Atlas without a word.  

            An omega walked over to me to take my breakfast order.  “Just give me a cheese omelet and some toast,” I said with the tone of defeat in my voice.

            “Did you get your pills?” Atlas said with an air of sadness.

            I glanced at him and had to keep myself from staring at him.  He was wearing a slick-looking black Armani suit.  His beard was neatly trimmed. His blue eyes sparkled as he looked at me.  “No,” I shook my head.  “Your stupid hospital doesn’t carry them.”

            “What pills?” Khione cut in.  She was cradling her newborn pup. 

            “Morning after,” I replied.  “It's not right.” I folded my arms and looked away from my mate.

            “It's not right for a female to be so resistant to her duties,” Atlas added, and I wanted to strangle him.  “You are meant to be the mother of my children, but you want to play warrior.”

            I shot a glare of death at him.  “I never played warrior, Atlas,” I hissed.  “I worked my ass off to be a warrior.  I have fought rogues and vampires, and various other monsters.  I nearly died several times saving the kingdom,” My voice slowly rose loud enough for the rest of the room to hear me.  “I fought through so many opponents and earned my way to the top! I was going to be the royal gamma and a member of the elite warriors!” I was shaking.  “And I had to give all of that up to be your f*****g broodmare!” I screamed and stood up. 

            “Griffin, calm down,” Atlas rose to his feet and reached for me.  I stepped away from him.

            Tears were threatening to fall again, and I wasn’t going to let them see my cry.  “I have things to do.” I walked away from him without looking back.  I heard him sigh loudly, but luckily he didn’t follow me.  I went up to our room, took a quick shower, and dressed in a pair of tan slacks and a white button-up shirt.  I styled my hair in a faux mohawk and put on the necklace my father gave me.

            ‘It's going to be alright, Griffin,’ Eris tried calming me down. 

            I didn’t respond to her and walked out of the room.  When I got to the bottom floor, Khione and Tracy were talking to each other.  Khione had her son in a baby carriage while Tracy’s two sons played nearby.  “Where are you going?” Khione asked me.

            “I am going to go check out the women’s gym and get it set up for tomorrow,” I replied to them.

            “Can we come?” Tracy asked. 

            I shrugged.  “It will be boring for your pups.’

            Tracy was almost as tall as me, with black hair and blue eyes.  She rubbed her growing belly.  “They can manage.” 

            “Fine,” I replied and started towards the door. 

            Tracy walked beside me.  “Look, I fully support your initiative to change this pack for the good of the females, and I want to help.  The pack I came from allowed females to train, and it strengthened all of us.  I was a warrior when I met Dalton.”

            “And then you mated and gave it all up,” I replied.

            She sighed.  “Motherhood isn’t the ball and chain you think it is, Griffin.” Her two sons were following obediently behind us.  “It's not easy, but I love the bugger.  Look at them.  They look like their Dad.”

            I sighed.  “But if you could go back to being a warrior, wouldn’t you?”

            Tracy nodded.  “And I would still be a mother.  My mother did both.  My sister does both.”

            “I know I would suck at it.  My mother wasn’t the motherly type, and I think that rubbed off on me.” I explained to her.

            Khione’s son made a whimpering noise.  “I don’t know what I would do without my little Benji,” She said while stroking his cheek.

            I looked ahead of us.  We walked into silence the rest of the way to the women’s gym.  We stood in front of a dilapidated building.  “This is it?” I said with disgust.

            We walked in, and it had the smell of mold and mildew.  It was a big room with maybe ten exercise machines and a lot of space.  Khione and Tracy led me to the locker room, which looked like it hadn’t been cleaned in ages. I felt rage growing within me as I looked around.

            There was no one working out, and the only other female in the room was an older-looking woman mopping the floor in the corner.  She saw us as we approached and leaned the mop handle against the wall.  She stepped towards us.  “Hello, Luna. I am Molly.”

            I shook her hand.  “Molly, it’s nice to meet you,” I said through gritted teeth.

            “You sound angry, Luna,” Molly stepped back from us.

            “I am angry. Not at you.  I have a feeling that the condition of this shithole is not your fault. But I am angry that this is what is passing as the women’s gym.”

            Molly sighed.  “We do what we can to keep the place clean and running.  There are two other omegas besides me.  We have asked for new equipment, but it falls on deaf ears.”

            “Who did you ask?”

            “The head omega, his name is Grayson, and I believe he answers to Beta Jed.”She explained.

            “Anyways, I don’t know if you have been informed or not, but I am going to be teaching the females self-defense here.”

            Molly shrugged.  “Why?”

            “Because everyone in this pack should know how to defend themselves, even the females.  You are free to participate.” I told her.

            Molly laughed. “No, that’s okay, Luna.  But you are free to set up.  We’ll try to get the place cleaned up better for you.”

            I shook my head and walked away from her.  I checked out the rundown machines, and half didn’t work.  Khione took me upstairs, where she thought I could hold the classes, but it was unacceptable.  “This won’t work,” I said, looking at the floor.“I need to go talk to Atlas,” I mumbled to Khione.  I stopped by Molly.  “Do you have any paper and pens anywhere?”

            She pointed to a lone desk in the corner. “There might be some in there, Luna.”

            I found a waterlogged notebook and some chewed-up pens.  I walked around and took notes of everything that needed to be fixed.  “This is going to take forever to fix.  I think we should bulldoze the whole building and start over,” I spoke out loud to Tracy and Khione while Tracy’s boys were running around the gym.

            “You are so right,” Tracy nodded her head.  “I mentioned it to Atlas and Jed a few years ago, but they laughed it off.”

            I snorted. “Well, they have me to contend with now.” I looked at my notes again. “In the meantime, I am going to make Atlas let us use one of the fields the men use.”

            “Atlas won’t go for that in a million years,” Tracy huffed.

            “I am slowly chipping away at his stubborn ass,” I snickered. I looked over at the omega.  “Thank you, Molly.”  I then started the gym while Tracy was yelling at her pups.  “I’ll talk to Atlas.  You guys don’t have to come.”

            “Atlas wants us to start planning your Luna Ceremony,” Khione interjected.

            I paused.  “Oh crap. When are we expected to do that?”  I wasn’t sure I was ready to be the Luna of Titan Mountain Pack officially. 

            “The full moon, so that’s like a week away,” Khione answered.  “There is so much to do.  I have never planned a Luna ceremony.”

            “I don’t think any of us has,” Tracy chimed in. 

            “You guys go on ahead.  I’ll catch up once I talk to my dumbass mate.”  I chuckled while Khione glared at me.

            “My brother is not a dumbass.”  She protested.  “I know you two have your differences, but he is not the monster you think he is.”

            I sighed.  “Sorry. He has his moments where he isn’t completely insufferable.”

            Khione rolled her eyes.  “Please don’t forget to come to help us plan your ceremony.” She looked at Tracy.  “We’ll be in the library.” She told me, and then they walked away.

            I turned in the opposite direction and headed towards Atlas’s office. As I got closer, I heard Atlas’s booming voice, followed by Jed and Dalton’s.  They sounded like they were having a heated discussion, and I caught the name Constantine a few times.  I knocked on the new door, and their voices stopped.

            “Come back later,” Jed yelled from the other side.

            With a huff, I opened the door and walked in.  The three males all glared at me.  “I thought he said to come back later.”  Atlas snarled at me.  He was standing next to the table with a pack map hanging up with papers and pictures everywhere.

            “I needed to discuss something with you.  But-“ I paused to look over the maps and paperwork. “Are you guys having more problems with Constantine?”  The gym was suddenly forgotten as I spotted a bloody-looking note with my name on it.  “Why is my name on that? Is he threatening the pack over me?”

            Atlas walked over to me and tried pushing me out of the office.  “It's nothing you have to worry about.  We got it under control.”

            I pushed him back and walked around him towards the table.  Jed blocked me, and I growled.  “Let me help you guys,” I turned to Atlas.  “I told you that Mars Ulta has had trouble with Constantine also.”

            Atlas grabbed my arm and pulled me hard towards the door.  “The only thing you need to worry about is your Luna ceremony. The men will worry about this.”

            “Dammit, Atlas.  Please let me help.  I don’t know s**t about planning parties.  But I do know how to fight hybrids.  And I know some things about Constantine that could be valuable to you,” I struggled to get out of his grip.

            “What do you possibly know that can be of any value to us?” Atlas sneered at me.

            I yanked my arm from his grip and glared at him.  I looked at each of the males in the room.  “For one thing, my mother was Constantine’s, fated mate,” I stated.

            “Excuse me?”