Atlas's Forbidden Wolf

by Elle Boon

  All around them, grunts and the smell of blood filled the air, but her sole focus was the grizzly in front of her. Atlas had said they’d know who the enemy was by their scent. Joni had no doubt the female in front of her was the old alpha’s mate. She was larger than the other bears Joni had faced, but that wasn’t what set her apart. This bear wore a medallion around her neck. Joni tilted her head to the side, wondering how she’d kept it on during her shift. However, before she could work it out, she was slammed into from the side. The hit felt as though a diesel had plowed into her. Before she could gain her feet, the first bear gripped her by the scruff of her neck, carrying her like a cub and took off at a clip Joni didn’t think a bear of her size could do.

  “Atlas,” she cried out through their link before a sharp pain cut into her mind and then darkness surrounded her.

  Atlas took out another traitor from his clan, his bear easily decimating the stupid males. He looked around the clearing, shocked at the amount of damage they’d wrought. When there was only one grizzly still standing, looking a little worse for wear, but clearly on their side, he sighed. “Is everyone alright?” he asked through the link.

  His bear wanted to rip every last one of them to shreds, but as the alpha he also knew he needed to give the clan closure. The sound of his mate calling out to him through their mating link had him freezing, his entire focus turning toward the road. “Did anyone see where Joni went?”

  Erica and Kyle lay on the ground closest to the edge of the clearing, the female bleeding profusely was worrisome, but his focus was on his mate. He shifted, hurrying to where they were. “What happened?”

  Kyle shifted, facing Atlas. “I’m sorry, Alpha, Erica was injured. I was batted off like a fly, and then Joni attacked, but she was blindsided by another bear from the side. They took off faster than I thought a bear could move,” Kyle swore.

  Atlas knew who had his mate. The only female who would dare try to take what was his, the bitch who wanted to be alpha. Matilda, the crazy female thought she should be the one to run the clan. “I can find her.” Even though their link was being blocked, his dire bear was connected to Joni on a level even crazy Matty couldn’t severe. Nothing could, except death, and that was something Atlas wouldn’t allow to happen.

  He searched for Lula, finding the dragon female lifting several bears into her arms at once with the Wilde Crew looking on with their mouths gaping open. “Lula, I need you,” he bellowed.

  Lula paused with her arms full. “One sec.” She disappeared, taking the entire bear clan with her. Seconds later, she reappeared, her face grim. “The White Bear Clan thanks all of you for your service and await their true alpha’s return with his truemate by his side.”

  It was the first time he’d heard Lula speak so formally and wondered how long she’d actually been gone, knowing she had a way of manipulating time. “Thank you, Lula, I owe you a debt, many debts,” he vowed.

  She shook her head. “No, you owe me nothing but to be a good mate to Joni. Now, let’s go get our girl away from the nasty beotches.” She rubbed her hands down her legs. “Getting rid of bodies is such a dirty job, but someone has to do it. Many of the ones who were here only came because she was their alpha’s mate. I would’ve saved them had they stopped when I reached out to them, but they feared her worse than they feared me.” She shrugged.

  “Lula,” he said her name with impatience. If Matilda had too much time, she’d kill Joni without remorse.

  “Alright, let’s go, bossy bear.” Lula stomped past him, grabbing his arm.

  Atlas growled. “Only Joni has the right to call me that.”

  “Fine, big ass bear, follow me,” Lula agreed.

  He could smell gas and burned rubber from where the vehicle had clearly taken off in a hurry. “Shit, we’re too late.” He hung his head.

  “Aw, don’t fret, my little bear.” Lula patted his arm. “I know which way to go.”

  His world went dark before she finished speaking, making him wonder if he should ask for something to vomit in. Less than a minute later, he blinked to find himself inside a damp cave that smelled oddly familiar. “What the hell?” he muttered.

  “Sssh, they’ll be here momentarily. They’ve actually been here for a few days staking out the place just lying in wait for you and Joni to show up, devious bear females.”

  He couldn’t deny her words. The sickening smells had his beast raking at his insides, while the man in him wanted to deny what they knew. At the sound of a vehicle, he and Lula moved further into the cave, which was such a cliché he wanted to roar his anger.

  “I’ve masked both of our scents so they wouldn’t know we’re here. However, I can’t interfere in what is to come, only you and your mate can be a party to the events that unfold.” Lula folded her arms in front of her, her words inside his head a reminder they were still linked.

  “I will forever be in your debt for what you’ve done for me and my mate, Lula. If you ever have need of me or my clan, you only have to reach out to me, and I’ll do what I can to help,” he said, placing his fist over his chest.

  Before Lula could answer, the cave’s entrance was filled with Matilda, followed by Sonya who was dragging an unconscious Joni by her hair. Atlas took a step, but Lula pressed her palm into his chest. “Wait, there is another.”

  It grated to watch his mate be treated in such a way, but he did as Lula suggested. Another minute passed, and then a huge man entered the cave, one he recognized as the father of the child bride they’d wanted him to mate with. “So, that’s the bitch your son chose over my daughter?”

  “As you can see, we’ve contained the problem.” Matilda walked toward the alpha of the Red River Clan.

  “How does this contain it? Where is your son, the alpha? How is he to mate with my daughter if he is not here and willing?” Adon Kline growled.

  Sonya stepped over Joni, seeming to not care about her in the least as she ran a hand down Adon’s chest. “Well, you see, we plan to lure my son here so you can kill him. We’ll kill his mate, and then you can mate with us, creating a triad the likes of which our clan has never seen.”

  Atlas had to shake his head at his mother’s words. They thought Adon could kill him, then the three of them take over the clan? Not only were they delusional, they clearly had been planning something like this for a while.

  Adon laughed. “Why would I mate with the two of you?”

  Matilda stepped forward. “You’d get two mates who would see to your every need. Don’t you have needs, Adon? Have you ever wanted to watch two women pleasure each other while you watched? We can give you that and more. More ecstasy than you can ever imagine,” she purred.

  Before the females could make good on what they were saying, he stepped forward. If he had to watch the woman who gave birth to him make out with another female, or male, he didn’t think he’d be able to stomach it.

  “I get to rip the throat out of that bitch Matilda,” Joni whispered through their link.

  He wanted to smile at the angry snarl in his mate’s tone. “Agreed. You need to follow my lead, Achwahnaja.”

  “They plan on killing him after he agrees to mate them. Not today or anytime soon, but once your clan accepts him. Oh, they will mourn, of course,” she sneered.

  He wanted to question her more about what she’d learned, but the trio were getting a little too handsy with each other. With deliberate loudness, he stepped into the opening. “Well, isn’t this—disturbing?”

  Chapter Fifteen

  If he could take a picture for all time, he’d have taken one of the shocked expressions on the two females’ faces at his appearance. “Hello, mother, you’re looking, scandalous.”

  His words were clearly not appreciated as she tried to cover her assets, which she’d put out for Adon’s benefit. “What the hell are you doing here, Atlas?” she asked.

  “What the hell is going on?” Adon boomed.

  Atlas tossed his head back, laughing at the entire situation. “Let�
��s see. The three of you are planning my demise, while also preparing to kill my mate. Afterward, you’ll take over as the alpha and his mates, combining both clans, making it the largest bear clan in North America. Am I close?” He allowed his bear to push forward, knowing if he had to shift he’d have to do it faster than he’d ever done before. Luckily for him, the cave was large enough for his dire bear, and Joni to shift easily and still be able to fight the three other shifters unhindered.

  “You can’t kill us, Atlas,” Matilda warned.

  He shifted closer to where Joni lay, her breathing steady as if she was still knocked out. “And why is that?” he questioned, stalling for time.

  Matilda pulled a chain from around her neck. “This gives me power over you and her. I can control your shifts, and your bear and her wolf. You see, even though you’re the great white bear, you can be brought to your knees by a bauble. Go ahead, try shifting,” she dared him.

  He wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction of shifting. If she wanted him to shift, there was a reason, which meant he would do the opposite, unless that was what she wanted him to do. Fuck, he hated riddles. Looking at the female who’d birthed him gave nothing away, her hatred toward him was the same as always. “So, mom, you like to play for the other team, huh? How’d dear old dad take that news, or was he into that kinkery too? Not that I’m judging or anything. Love is love in my mind, but you and she don’t appear to love one another.”

  “You were always a little bastard, even when you were only hours old. I hated you on sight. Most babies come out crying, but you came out quiet, looking at me like you knew what I was thinking, your eyes accusing me of past deeds. Then you’d take your punishments, and you’d look at me as if it was my fault. My fault,” she screeched, launching herself at him.

  Joni popped up off the ground, her hand wrapping around Sonya’s throat. “You are the worst excuse for a mother I’ve ever heard of. I’ve seen inside your mind and your heart. Oh, I saw what you did, what you allowed to happen to him as a child. For that alone, I, mate to Atlas, future mother to his wolf-bear cubs, sentence you to death.” Joni didn’t allow her a chance to speak, or fight. Her dire wolf rose quickly and deadly, partially shifting, ripping Sonya’s head from her body with her other hand.

  “What have you done?” Matilda screeched.

  Joni dropped what was left of Atlas’s biological mother. “Made the Earth a better place. Ready to go next, bitch?”

  Atlas seriously thought his mate was sexy as fuck in her partial shift. His own dire bear wanted to wrap his arms around their female, but he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. Adon was on the move. He knew if the male left, he’d return with his clan, maybe not today, or even in a week, but he’d always have to watch his back. With a roar that shook the cave walls, he shifted, taking the alpha down, the fight took less than thirty seconds. When he turned back, he found Joni standing over Matilda who held the strange necklace in her hands, a smirk on her face.

  “I can still stop you both,” she said.

  Joni looked to him; her form shimmered back to human. “I’m in full control of my body, how about you?”

  Atlas tried to shift back to his human self, but found he wasn’t able. “No, I’m stuck like this.”

  “Unless he wants to be a dire bear for the rest of his miserable life, I suggest you both let me go. Once I’m free of you, I’ll release him from my hold.” Matilda glared up at Joni.

  Joni pinned the other woman down with her body straddling her, but she didn’t dare take the necklace from her. “How does that work? We’re just supposed to believe if we let you go, you’ll lift the curse or whatever? Or is it proximity?”

  “My blood releases the binding,” she gasped, looking around the space.

  Lula stepped out. “I couldn’t fight the battle, but I can make her tell the truth. Now, prick her finger and take the necklace.” Lula pointed at Matilda.

  Joni grabbed the chain and yanked, uncaring of the pain it caused the female. She shifted one hand, claws bursting from the tips of her fingers. “This is so cool,” she exclaimed, amazed at the ease she was finding in her new form. While Matilda struggled beneath her, she used her pointer finger to slice open Matilda’s cheek, the blood welling up enough to soak the medallion. “Now what?” she looked at Lula.

  “Or slicing her cheek works too, I like how you work. Now you say something like, you release the dire bear, or whatever.” Lula shrugged.

  Joni wanted to strangle the tiny female, but the fact she was a dragon kept her in place. “You’re released from whatever bindings that held you, forever,” she tacked on.

  Atlas groaned, then he shifted, becoming the sexy man Joni loved. “Holy shit, I don’t ever want to be stuck in one or the other ever again.” He shut his mouth with an audible snap. “Damn, forget I said that, love.”

  She shook her head, then thinking the necklace in her hands could be dangerous, she crushed it in her palm. “Lula, can you like melt this down to nothing?”

  Lula held her hand out. “It would be an honor. I’ll also gladly melt that nasty one, if you’d like.” She tilted her head toward Matilda who’d begun to shift below Joni.

  Joni jumped backward as the female became a grizzly, huge paws swiping out trying to take off anything in her vicinity.

  Atlas pushed Joni behind him, his body shifting, claws larger than the female’s head sliced through her neck. In one swipe, he ended Matilda and her reign of terror. He turned his back, not watching as the body fell lifeless onto the dirt floor of the cave.

  Joni could see how much he hated what they’d had to do today, but deep within her mate’s heart and mind, they both knew if they hadn’t faced the battle in Texas, they’d have done so on their clan’s land. “It’s done. We can go home now, Atlas.”

  “Where is our home, Joni? Where do you want to go?” he asked.

  She walked up, wrapping her arms around the huge bear of a man who’d stolen her heart all those months ago. “My home is where you are, bossy bear. I read once that we should all count our blessings by the things we have. Well, here’s what I plan to do once we get to White Bear Clan. First, I think we need to rethink that name, since you know, I’m not a bear and not every bear there is white. It seems wrong to call it that, don’t you think? Anyhoo, back to my words of wisdom. There are those who only think to measure their wealth when they have money or things they count as worthy. However, I want to count other things. For instance, counting my garden which I plan to have by the amount of flowers I can grow. Each day that I can make you smile, or another person smile instead of cry, I plan to count that, too. Each new season I get to spend with you, I want to celebrate and count that as a blessing, instead of another season that has passed. You see, all these things are blessings I want to cherish with you, bossy bear.”

  A sniff had Joni looking past Atlas. “That was one of the loveliest things I’ve ever heard. How about I give you a lift to the clan that has yet to get renamed?” Lula exclaimed.

  “Shit, that’s gonna take some thinking,” Atlas said.

  Joni patted his hand. “We’ll figure it out. Besides, you’ve got family to help right?”

  He groaned. “Fuck, how do I tell them about this?” He waved toward the body of Sonya and Matilda.

  Lula raised her hand. “Let me handle it, mkay?”

  ****

  Joni was a little worried about letting Lula handle the explaining to Atlas’s brothers and sister, but as soon as she popped them into the middle of the alpha house where the three siblings were sitting, her fears dissipated. Not only were Abyle and Atika okay with their mother’s death, they had eyes, and clearly hearts, for the pink haired dragon.

  “You’re sure she’s not going to rise from the dead?” Shauny asked, her back to them all.

  “Nope, she’s deader than a...doornail.” Lula held up her hand. “Why do humans say that? I mean, are doornails alive? Were they ever alive? It makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. Anyhoo, must b
e going now,” she muttered, edging backward.

  “You’re ours, female,” Atika snarled.

  Lula shook her head. “Nope, not yours, or yours, but my own.”

  Before either man could reach her, Lula disappeared, leaving the room deathly quiet.

  “Well, fuck. That’s not who I thought would be our mate,” Abyle whispered.

  Atika punched a hole in the wall. “What the hell do you mean?”

  Abyle stared at the space Lula stood. “She’s not a bear.”

  Shauny turned to face them. “What is she? I couldn’t sense what exactly she was, but she seemed—off.”

  Joni looked at Atlas, waiting for him to explain. “Lula is not from Earth, boys. I think it’s best you forget about her and look for your mate or mates elsewhere.”

  His brothers turned toward him. Each lifted their lips in a snarl. “Would you have left Joni alone and found another?”

  Atlas pulled her in front of him. He’d done just that, leaving his heart in shreds and knew it was asking his brothers to do the same. However, his mate was not the same as a dragon from a realm that was inaccessible to them. Hell, the Goddess could’ve ended him for stepping one paw on her space even though Lula had taken him there. “Joni’s different from Lula. She was attainable. I...I’m not sure how to explain to you what Lula is. Hell, I’m not sure I can tell you. First things first, we need to fix this clan. I’m going to need the strength of my family to do it.”

  Abyle and Atika took deep breaths, each of them looking as if they were preparing for battle. “We will help you settle the clan. Once our job is done, we are going to find our mate.”

  Joni knew she’d do all she could to help them, but first she had to support Atlas and her new clan. “We’ll do all we can.”