Chapter IX

Knocking at my door made me tear my eyes off the message. Calming my redeveloping nerves, I walked over and opened the door.

"Beta Declan." I greeted, with evident surprise in my voice. I was not expecting him to be here. He wore a simple suit and a giant smile that complimented him well. Movement next to him caught my eye. I then saw a girl around my age standing next to him with a nervous smile.

"Luna," they both returned my greeting. Luna. The word haunted me. The title, Luna, had such a sexist connotation as the most important housewife. Smile, be a pretty ornament for the Alpha, have pups, and be the sweet lead she-wolf of her pack. I hated it. This was one thing Celeste and I agreed on. That pesky title was definitely not us. Hopefully, Atlas could accept that. I was not just his mate. My life consisted of more than that.

"Please, just call me Everly." I forced a smile and raised my hand to usher them in.

They both seemed confused about my discomfort with the title, but did not question it. Instead, Declan shook his head with a response. "We are heading out in a few minutes. Elianna, my mate, wanted to meet you before we head to her pack. I hope that you do not mind."

Elliana did a small wave and looked down at her feet. I could tell already that we will be great friends, because I was doing the exact thing on the inside. My smile became genuine when I stepped towards her. "It is nice to meet you, Elianna." I pulled my phone out of my pocket, going to the screen for new contacts. I then offered it to her. "Why dont you give me your number? I am going to need someone to talk to on my flight."

Her eyes lifted from her shoes, and her mouth formed a grin. "Of course!" Her small hands then took my phone, typing in her digits. "Us new girls should stick together!"

A laugh came from Declan and me while I agreed. "Exactly."

"Glad you three are getting along." A voice said a few feet down the hall. I knew who it was before I even looked at him. Atlas was wearing a suit much like Declans. His face held some bags just as mine did, but he still looked like a God walking the Earth among us peasants.

"Alpha," Elianna and Declan said in unison, like they did earlier to me.

He gave them a slight nod before coming to my side. "Good morning, Everly." He towered over me. This man was a freaking giant. He held his hands behind his back and looked at me to say something.

My mind went to the text from Josh. That would be extremely inappropriate to bring up now. Hell, that was extremely inappropriate to bring up ever. What was I supposed to say? Hey, what is wrong with your wolf? Absolutely not.

His brows furrowed a bit, and I realized I still had not responded. "Oh!" I blinked like an idiot. "Good morning, Atlas." I tried to recover this insanely awkward moment by taking my phone from Elianna and whispering a thank you.

"Well," Declan cleared his throat and grabbed ahold of his mates hand. We have a plane to catch. "I will see you two in the pack in a few days."

I tucked my lips together in a tight smile and gave them both an awkward wave as they left.

Atlas and I stood there for a few moments in silence until, of course, he broke it. "Am I making you uncomfortable?" he asked, basically demanding my gaze on him.

Celeste growled at me for making Atlas feel that way. I shook my head with my response. "No, of course not."!Technically, I was not lying. I just needed to ask a few questions when it was time. "I am just dreading this flight, and everything that waits for us at Aurora Dawn." That was definitely not a lie. It was going to be another long day to add to my endless week.

He tilted his head as he was trying to figure out what I meant. It was adorable, to say the least. Coming up empty-handed, he said, "what do you mean? I have always gotten the impression that Aurora Dawn was a gentle pack and respected the Mating Tradition."

Now it was my turn to decipher what he meant. I face palmed when it finally clicked in my head. He thought I was saying they would be angry I was leaving. "We are and we do. I just meant my parents and that first meeting with them. My Mom is a handful and my dad acts tough. Plus, he thinks he is hilarious, so you are going to have to survive the Dad jokes."

"Ah." He said, listening to me. "Our flight takes off at 3:30 p.m. I was wondering if you wanted to go to a cafe after you get everything packed?"

Cafe? Am I dreaming?

"Yes!" I shouted out in uncontrolled excitement. "Give me five minutes!"

Flinging my door back open, I ran inside and started packing everything in the bathroom. It was the only items I had that were not already put away. Atlas chuckled at me while I zoomed, throwing everything into my bag, zipping it closed.

"All done!" I turned to face him. He had not stepped foot into the suite and was leaning against the doorframe with a heart resuscitating grin.

He was respecting my boundaries, even though I set none. This made me smile back at him. Celeste and I appreciated that more than anything. We would be just fine with him as our soulmate.

"May I?" He asked to enter the suite, and I nodded for a reply. He walked over and picked up my suitcase with ease. "Which cafe did you like the best while you were out with Lux?" he questioned, leading me out of the suite and closing the door behind us.

How did he know that?

I wiped the thought away as we walked down the halls, pondering the answer. All of them had wonderful drinks but, one had the best vibe about it. The entire cafe was forest themed. It had greenery hanging everywhere you looked and everything but the machines was handmade from wood. "The Burrow."

"I was hoping you would say that." He said. When we made it outside, there was a black SUV waiting for us. He pulled open the back door and set my suitcase next to another already placed in there. My best guess was that it was his.

I audibly groaned when I remembered I was going to tell Queen Fallon and King Legacy goodbye. Atlas was next to me in a flash, grabbing my shoulders and examining me for injuries. "Whats wrong? Are you alright?"

I could not help but to giggle at him. "I am fine. I just forgot to tell the Royals bye."

His concerned face let out an exhale, "Oh," he sounded embarrassed and released me. "They are not here. They had something come up. I went to see them this morning."

"Oh, hopefully it isnt anything serious." I mumbled and walked with him to the passenger side of the vehicle. He opened my door for me and I climbed in.

Once he got in the driver's seat and pulled on his seat belt, he shook his head. "It is nothing serious. Fallons sister just had a pup this morning." His hand placed the key into the ignition and started the SUV.

We headed to The Burrow in a comfortable silence. We honestly could have just walked there, but I assumed he wanted to leave here and go straight to the airport. "You said our flight is at 3:30, right?" I asked while we pulled up to the cafe.

He turned off the SUV after putting it into park. "Yes, I was hoping we could get to Aurora Dawn at a decent hour." He said, looking over at me.

Goddess, those eyes.

"My brother has the same flight.l I informed him and got out of my seat belt.

"I did not know Josh was at the Gala. Did he find his mate?" He asked, but jumped out before I could answer. Within two seconds, he was on my side, opening the door and offering a hand to me.

"No, he didnt. He is not too worried about it, though." I answer right before grabbing his hand. When our skin touched, electricity surged through me. A gasp forced its way out of my mouth and it felt like I just breathed air for the first time. My eyes left our touching hands and landed themselves on his.

I could tell Atlas felt it too by the way he was staring at me and the way he sucked in the air between his parted lips. His hand twitched in mine and then I was nearly dragged out of my seat by him. I yelped from the fast movement but was crushed into his chest

The feeling of being this close to him was indescribable. I could hear the pounding of his heart as he held me tightly in place. I had no idea what came over him.

Not even an hour ago, he would not even enter my room without permission first. Now, he just ripped me from a car into his arms. I stood completely still as I felt his face in my hair.

Celeste told me as she paced.

Helix must be his wolf. How could he just jump into control that fast?

I inhaled slowly. Taking in his scent as I did. It was intoxicating, but I needed to get us out of the street. Altas, or rather Helix, clearly did not give a care in the world where we were.

Doing what she advised, I placed my arms around his waist. I tried my best to relax into him, but it terrified me how dominating his wolf was.

Helix sighed deeply, making my hair move as he did. Instead of retracting back into Atlas mind, Helix greeted me when he pulled away slightly. His voice sent shivers up my spine. His hand came to my face and stoked my flustered cheek.

I hesitated and just looked into the abyss that was his amber eyes. "Helix," I could not breathe. I tried but I couldnt. His power and presence overwhelmed every single nerve in my body. The bond was vibrating between us and it began to be too much.

Celeste rushed to my aid, and I let her push me out of control. She bluntly stated, moving his hand from my face.

His eyes zeroed in on us and narrowed, but before he could protest, Celeste leaned into him, putting my hand on his cheek. She commanded, lifting up and placing a kiss on his cheek. Tingles ignited on my lips as I pulled away from him, now being put in control again.

My widened eyes met Atlas normal hazel ones once I was back on my heels. We were still holding onto each other, and he looked absolutely defeated.

"I am so sorry, Everly." He said, pulling away from me completely. The guilt was apparent all over his face as he looked away from me. "I really tried to pull him back."

"It is okay." I mumbled, still blushing. My cheeks felt like they were on fire. I could not believe Celeste. I licked my lips and clasped my shaking hands together.

He was looking everywhere but at me.

My stomach twisted seeing him like this. Knowing that we both needed a distraction from what had just taken place, we needed to get inside. "So does this mean you owe me a frappuccino?" I joked, trying to lighten the mood lingering around us.

His head snapped over to me, giving me a look as if I just grew two heads. "A frappuccino? Just a frappuccino after I nearly sent you into a panic attack?"

He was being eaten alive by it. It was not necessarily his fault, but knowing how stubborn these alphas could be, I did not tell him that. It would open up a door for us to be out here longer, so instead I shrugged, walking past him to the door of The Burrow. "What can I say? I am low maintenance. Are you coming or are you waiting to leave an alpha sized dent in someones car?"

His face turned from guilt to amusement in seconds as he listened to me. "Im coming."He said, walking over and opening the door for me.

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