The War of Atlas

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                                Atlas

“Where is Griffin, your majesty?” I asked King Rodney, doing my best not to snarl at him. I was standing in front of the palace waiting for my mate. She was supposed to meet me five minutes ago. We needed to get on the road back to Titan Mountain. Jed had just called me to say about twenty hybrids had attacked the pack.

Fortunately, my warriors prevailed and killed most of the fuckers, but I needed to be there. Constantine had also left a message for me. I paced in front of my SUV while Dalton leaned against it.

“She will be here momentarily, Alpha,” The King assured me.

“Tell her to hurry,” I snarled and sighed. “I am sorry, I am on edge,” I told the king.

The king nodded. He had been nearby while I was speaking to Jed on the phone. “Do I need to send some of my warriors to assist your pack?”

“Not yet. I think we can handle it.” I replied to him.

“Just keep me in the loop, Alpha,” King Rodney told me.

I nodded to him just as Griffin emerged from the palace with Queen Sydney and Prince Aaron. My mate looked hot wearing a pair of black jeans and a black tank top with a skull. The tank top allowed her to show off her muscular and tattooed arms. She and the prince were carrying luggage. Her piercing red eyes looked right at me as they stopped in front of me. She set her bags down. “I am sorry it took so long, Alpha Wylde,” She mumbled.

“Seriously, Griffin, we have seen each other naked. There is no need for the title. You are my mate and my luna,” I leaned towards her, and she backed up. I let out an exasperated sigh and turned to my warrior, who was standing by the SUV. “Put her luggage in the car,” I told him.

He bowed, “Yes, alpha.”

I looked over at Griffin, who was whispering to the queen. Prince Aaron slapped my arm, and I looked down at him. He is a big male, but I am about twice his size and five inches taller. “Yes, your highness?”

“I guess it goes without saying that if you hurt Griffin in any way, we will make your life miserable,” He smirked. “Right, Dad?”

King Rodney nodded. “Right, son.” He reached for Griffin and pulled her into a hug.

I had to repress a growl. He is her cousin and our king. But I still didn’t like to see other males touching my mate. “We have to get going, your majesty,” I hated to rush the king.

He released Griffin. “You behave yourself, Missy.” King Rodney touched her cheek. “And try not to castrate, Alpha Atlas.”

Griffin gave him a small smile. “I won’t make any promises, Uncle Roddy.” She turned to Prince Aaron, and they hugged briefly before she stepped toward me. My warrior opened the door of the SUV, and she slid into it. I slid in beside her. Dalton sat upfront with the warrior while another SUV full of more warriors would follow behind us.

Griffin sat as far from me as she could get and pulled her phone from a backpack and a pair of headphones. She started putting them in her ears, and I grabbed her arm. She tried to pull her arm from me.

“You are acting like you don’t want to go with me.” I sighed.

She looked at me with those red eyes. “I’m not acting, Atlas.”

“We are mates. That means you are meant to come to live with my pack and become my luna.” I stated.

She sniffled, and I swear I saw tears threatening to fall from her eyes. She turned away from me. “I am not ready to give up everything I ever worked for only to be some brainless house slave. But beings more powerful than me insist that this is what we need each other and that I need to give this my all. So here I am.” I hated the sound of defeat in her tone.

“You will not be some mindless house slave, Griffin. You will be the Luna of one of the strongest packs in the kingdom. Ares himself even blessed us,” I explained to her.

“Ares,” She muttered and stroked a chain with the male symbol around her neck.

“You will be my partner and the mother of our future. You should be proud of that,” I tried reaching for her, but she pulled away again. “You are sitting there acting like I am going to torture you.”

She turned her red eyes on me again. “Not letting me train or be the warrior that is in my blood will be torture. I have been training every day of my life since I was seven. It will kill me not to do that anymore. So yes, you are going to be torturing me. And you say I am your partner, but am I your equal?” I opened my mouth to reply, but she just chuckled. “Exactly. The last thing I wanted for a mate was someone like you. You may be a good f**k, but that’s it. And as for being a mother. I doubt that will ever happen.”

I just sat there and listening to her rant. I wasn’t sure what to say to her. “It won’t be as bad as you think, Griffin. Trust me. And you are a woman. Being a mother is what you are supposed to be.”

A low growl rumbled out of her, and she put her headphones in her ears and cranked her music loud. ‘That conversation went nowhere.’ Hyperion grumbled in my head. ‘Now, Eris won’t talk to me.’

I folded my arms and started towards the front of the vehicle. Dalton glanced back at me. “What?” I snarled at my gamma.

“Do you want my opinion?” He glanced back at me.

“No, but you are going to give it to me anyway. So speak.”

He sighed heavily. “I think you should let her train. Most males do not make it anywhere close to being chosen for the elite royal guard. And Griffin not only made it in, she was set to lead them while also being the royal gamma.”

“So?”

“Dude, she is strong enough to be a warrior.” He sputtered.

I glanced at Griffin, and she was staring out the window and not appearing to hear what Dalton was saying. “We have our traditions and laws for a reason, Dalton. My mate is not going to fight ever.” I nearly growled.

Dalton shook his head and faced forward.

We rode the rest of the way back home in silence. I watched some shows on Hulu while Griffin just listened to music. From what I heard, we had a similar taste in music. I wasn’t the least bit surprised she was into old-school metal. I stared at the tattoos on her arms. She had depictions of Greek warriors on her arm and a tattoo of the male symbol. There was the name Justine near her shoulder. I never thought I would like the look of sleeves on a female, but she wore her tatts well. I wanted to reach out and trace them.

‘Do it,’ Hyperion urged in my head. I ignored him and turned my attention back to my phone. Hours later, we finally made it home. I felt so relieved when he drove over the border and into my homeland. Griffin seemed to be looking around as we passed through the town. Then we passed the training field, and she seemed very fascinated by it. She pulled her headphones out.

“You guys are using the Gunnar technique.” She stated.

“We just added it last year,” Dalton responded to her. “You know of it?”

She snorted. “Know it? Who do you think talked the king into employing it for the royal army? He was hesitant about it but was pleased with the results.” She glanced at me and frowned. “I guess I have to master the art of napkin folding and flower arranging now.”

“You’d probably be good at it,” I retorted with a chuckle trying to lighten her mood. The packhouse came into view, and she looked at it with curiosity. “What do you think of your new home?”

“I’ve seen bigger,” She mumbled.

I leaned over to her. “I doubt you have seen bigger,” I growl seductively.

She scowled and then elbowed me. “I meant the house.”

“I know. But I didn’t.”

She rolled her eyes and sighed. The SUV stopped in front of the house. Jed and my sister were waiting outside with Dalton’s mate Tracy and their two sons. Khione was holding a bundle in her arms, and I was excited to meet my nephew. We filed out of the vehicle, and I attempted to put my arm around my mate to present her, but she just pulled away from me.

I shook Jed’s hand. “How are things, bro?”

“We have a handle on things for now. Casualties were minimal.” He replied while eyeing Griffin.

“Griffin, this is my beta and brother-in-law, Jed Springer,” I said as Jed shook her hand. We stepped down the line and smiled at my baby sister. She gave me a half hug as I look at the chubby pup in her arms. “Aww, he is more handsome in person, Khione.” I kissed her cheek.

“Thank you, Atty. He has been eager to meet his Uncle Atlas.” Khione cooed. She looked at Griffin with a broad smile. “Hi, I’m Khione.”

Griffin nodded. “Griffin.” She presented a hand to Khione to shake.

“Do you want to hold the baby?” Khione asked my mate. Griffin threw her hands up and shook her head vigorously.

“I want to hold him,” I told my sister, who was frowning at Griffin’s reaction. I reached for my nephew, and Khione placed him in my arms. “Hey, buddy. Aren’t you a handsome pup?”

Dalton’s mate Tracy stepped towards Griffin. “Hello, Griffin. I am Tracy, Dalton’s mate,” She indicated her two sons. “This is Noah and Sean, our sons.” She rubbed her belly. “And this will be son number three.”

Griffin shook Tracy’s hand. “Nice to meet you, Tracy.”

“We hope you and Atlas have pups soon,” Tracy said to my mate, whose eyes nearly popped out of her head.

“No, no, no,” Griffin backed away. “Maybe like in ten years.”

Tracy frowned at Griffin. “Oh, come on. Pups are a blessing.”

Jed leaned towards me. “We really should go discuss the attack, Atlas. Constantine left you a message.”

Griffin looked towards us. “Constantine attacked you?”

“That’s nothing you need to worry about,” I told her. “Khione, why don’t you and Tracy show Griffin to our room and show her around. I’ll meet up with you in a bit.” I handed my nephew back to my sister. “I can’t believe you made such a handsome pup with Jed.” I gestured to my best friend.

“Ha! You are just upset that I knocked up your sister.” Jed snorted. “Now, when are you going to knock up this one?” He pointed to Griffin.

I glanced at my mate, who was glaring at my Beta. I knew deep down that my mate was more than capable of taking out my Beta. “We are still working on our relationship, Jed. Let’s go to the office,” I looked over at Dalton. “You are coming to Dal.”

“Come on, Griffin. We have your party to plan.” Khione smiled at her.

Griffin narrowed her eyes at her. “Plan? What party?”

“Why, Atty wants to announce you as his mate and Luna tomorrow night. We have so much to plan for. Come on. Oh, and we need to get you a dress.”

Griffin made an audible groan and glared at me. “I don’t know how to plan a party.”

“It’s a good time to learn, Griffin. You will be planning parties as my Luna. Khione will teach you, and Tracy will help.” I told my mate. I swear her red eyes were beginning to glow. “Also, Khione planned a nice welcome home dinner for me. So that means dress nice for dinner. That means wear a dress.”

Tracy clasped Griffin’s hand while Khione clasped the other one. “It will be fun, Griffin,” Khione sang while dragging my angry mate away.

I let out the breath I was holding and started into the packhouse towards my office. “Dude, she looked pissed,” Dalton mumbled.

“She isn’t used to acting like a female,” I told him. “Her family shouldn’t have let her train, and now she thinks she is a male,” I grumbled as we walked into my office. The scent of Cuban cigars hit me, and I nearly fell over. I sat behind my desk and saw a bloody piece of paper sitting on a platter. “Is this the message?” I asked Jed, and he nodded. I read it and my blood nearly boiled. “How the hell does that asshole know I have a mate?”

Jed sat in his usual spot in front of my desk. “My best guess is there are rats in King Rodney’s palace. Surely someone heard and told Constantine.”

“He is threatening to take her and use her against me.” I crumpled the note and tossed it into the trash. “Now about the attack. You said there were about twenty. Were they all hybrids?”

“We believe so. Some of them ran off when we got the upper hand. The ones who were killed seemed to be weak, though. Like they turned omegas,” Jed explained.

“Did you capture any?” I asked.

Jed shook his head. “No, they were either killed or ran off. I sent Dallas and Remington after the runners, but I haven’t heard from them yet.”

I ran my hand down my face as my office door opened, and Griffin burst in. I let out an irritated growl. “You don’t knock before you enter an office?”

“I have pertinent information about Constantine Drago. You should know,” She stopped in front of my desk.

I shook my head. “Griffin, I know you think you are a warrior. But those days of your family humoring you are over. You no longer need to worry yourself over these things. Go plan your party, sweetheart and let the men discuss the attack.”

She scoffed loudly. “I am not a f*****g party planner, Atlas. I am a f*****g warrior. War is in my blood. I know things about Constantine that I think will help you. Help our pack.”

“Baby, you have your role, and I have mine. Now, go back to helping my sister plan your party.” I told her and watched as her eyes glowed red again.

“f**k you!” She screamed and stormed out of my office, slamming the door behind her so hard it splintered.

“That door is solid oak. How did she splinter it?” Jed asked with astonishment. “Also, were her eyes glowing?”

I took a deep breath. “Let’s get back to work, guys.”

Hours later, it was nearly dinner time. The guys and I went into my study with the large humidor and bar. I poured them some scotch as we waited for dinner to be served. Khione had the omegas make us pork tenderloin roast with veggies and rice. My mouth watered at the thought. Pork is most definitely my favorite meat. My head omega Rosie walked into the room.

She bowed to me. “Alpha, dinner is ready.”

I smiled at the older woman. “Thank you, Rosie.” I looked at Dalton and Jed. “Let’s go eat, gentlemen.”

We walked towards the dining room. Pack members were filing inside. They all greeted us as they walked by. The three of us waited at the bottom of the stairs for our mates. Khione came down first wearing a silver dress with white heels. She had her black hair braided and sitting on her shoulder. “You look beautiful, Khione,” I said to my sister. She squeezed my hand and then went to Jed, who kissed her. Next, Tracy came down the stairs in a blue dress. I saw Dalton swell with pride at her. I looked up and waited for Griffin to come down the stairs, but she didn’t show up. “Where is Griffin?”

Khione looked at Tracy. “Your mate is a stubborn mule,” My sister replied.

“That doesn’t answer my question, Khione. Where is she?” I repressed a growl.

Khione flipped her hand towards the stairs. “She says she isn’t hungry.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose. “You guys go on ahead and start dinner,” I directed them and then started up the stairs. My anger boiled. My mate is going to be the death of me. I got to the top floor where my suite is. As I neared my bedroom, I could hear Griffin talking to someone.

“I can’t do this, father,” I heard her saying as I eavesdropped. “I know you said we needed each other. But I just-“She trailed off. “But Dad-“ She yelled.

I walked into the room, and she was sitting on the couch in the sitting area. There was no one else in the room, and she wasn't holding a phone in her hands. “Who are you talking to?”

Her red eyes flicked to me. “My father.”

“I don’t see a phone.” I walked towards her. “It’s dinner time, and I would like to walk in with my mate.”

She folded her arms and leaned against the couch. “I’m not hungry.”

“I can’t have you starving yourself. Now, get dressed, and so we can eat dinner with our pack.” I reached for her.

“I am not hungry,” She repeated with anger.

“I don’t care. Get your ass dressed and come eat dinner with our pack.” I repeated with venom.

“I am dressed.” She stood up.

I sighed heavily. “I mean gt dressed in something nice.”

“Ugh, I don’t want to. It's just f*****g dinner.”

“We dress up for dinner here, Griffin. Now put on a pretty dress and some makeup. Try to look female. It won’t kill you.” I was having a hard time not losing my temper.

She looked at her nails. “No.”

“GET YOUR ASS OFF THE COUCH!” I roared.

She stood up and got into my face. “NO!”

I grabbed her arm and held it tight. “YOU WILL DO WHAT I SAY! I AM YOUR MATE!”

She ripped her arm out of my hold. “YOU DO NOT f*****g OWN ME, ATLAS!”

A large, room-shaking growl rumbled out of me as I felt Hyperion pushing himself forward. “Don’t test me, Griffin. I don’t believe in hitting females. But so help me, Griffin. I will find another way to make you do as I say.”

“f**k OFF!” She screamed in my face.

I grabbed her chin roughly. “I hate it when you cuss. Such a beautiful woman should not be using such ugly words.” I pressed my lips to hers.

She resisted for a second and then melted into me. I wrapped my arms around her and held her tight. The kiss deepened for a second, and Hyperion howled with happiness. The heat between us rose, and then suddenly, Griffin pulled away from me. She struggled out of my hold and turned away from me. “Ugh, I hate that my body keeps betraying me and making me succumb to this stupid bond.”

“So, you are saying you didn’t like that kiss?” I smirked.

She wrapped her arms around her body and sat on the couch.

“Come on, Griffin, just come to dinner with me.”I was pleading with a female.

“No,” She said quietly. “Just leave me alone.”

I sighed in defeat. “I will never leave you alone. Quit fighting this.” I walked out of the room while Hyperion whimper. ‘What the hell is this woman doing to me?’

‘The mate bond is a wonder.’ Hyperion snickered.

I couldn’t believe how she was affecting me. I went down to the dining room and ate dinner with my friends and sister. I didn’t have much to say. After dinner, I went back up to my suite and found Griffin already in bed, sound asleep. I wasn’t ready for bed, so I sat on the couch and watched wrestling for a few hours. After I was tired of wrestling, I showered and got ready for bed. I slid into the bed and stared at Griffin’s muscular back. She had even more tattoos on her back that went all the way down to her butt. She had a few on her legs too. ‘I think she has more tattoos than I do.’

I reached out to trace the tattoos on her back, and she shuddered from the tingles on her skin. She rolled over and wrapped her arms around me. Her eyes were still closed, so I assumed she was asleep. I let her lay her head on my bare chest. It didn’t take long for me to fall asleep with her in my arms.

The following day I woke up alone in bed. I sat up and looked around. “Griffin?” I called and got up. I sniffed the air, and her scent was faint. I got out of bed and looked in the bathroom and closet. She was nowhere in the room. I pulled on a t-shirt over my shorts and started to walk out of my room to search for my mate when I felt someone trying to mind link me. I lowered my wall. ‘What?’ I snarled.

‘Sorry, Alpha,’ Came the voice of my head trainer, Rolston. ‘Some dude-looking chick is down here running laps. She said she is your mate.’

I let out an annoyed sigh. ‘She is telling the truth. I will be down in a minute, Rolston.’ I shook my head and threw on a pair of workout pants, and then walked out of my room to go and confront my mate. It was time I set some ground rules for her.