by Elle Boon
“That sounds ominous, Atlas.” Atika waived a waiter down, who was quick to come over, taking the empty bottle from him, promising to return with another.
“Not ominous, just some real talk that should’ve been done weeks ago,” Atlas said. He searched the crowd for Shauny and Abyle, relaxing when he spotted both of them chatting with groups of members he recognized.
Throughout the night, he accepted more thanks and back slaps than he could count. Hell, he wasn’t sure how many cubs he kissed. At one point, he almost had a cub throw up on him and even had one female ask him if she could name her unborn after him. “Ah, I think you should name him after someone who is part of your family,” he suggested.
“You are part of our family, Alpha.” She teared up. “You...you don’t know how much it means to my family what you’ve done. Words can’t express our gratitude,” she gushed.
Atlas didn’t know what to say, luckily Shauny had overheard and saved him. As the last guest left, he felt...drained. He hadn’t done anything a good alpha wouldn’t have done. “Thank fuck that’s over.” He walked into his office, or rather the alpha office. It was possible that after he told the others what his plans were they’d all agree he wasn’t good enough for the position, or that they wouldn’t accept Joni.
“Have a seat,” he suggested, waving his hand toward the sofa and chairs situated off to the side of the room. He grabbed the bottle of bourbon he preferred and four glasses. “I think we’ll all need a drink, and Shauny, you’ll have one, too.”
“Well, if I grow hair on my chest, it’ll be your fault I don’t find a mate,” she teased, taking the glass he offered.
“Give her a double,” Abyle said, accepting his own glass and passing Atika one.
Atlas poured them each a hefty serving, then poured one for himself before taking a seat in the last chair. He looked at his twin brothers who sat side-by-side on the leather sofa, then glanced at Shauny in one of the leather chairs. “I’m not sure how much you know about my search for my truemate, but I found her in Mystic, South Dakota.” He swallowed before continuing. “Her name is Joni, and she’s a wolf.”
Silence greeted his statement.
“I like her name,” Shauny finally said.
Abyle raised his hand. “Why didn’t you claim her and bring her back here with you?”
He shook his head. “What the fuck?”
“If she’s your truemate, why didn’t you bring her back here and tell Matilda to shove her shit up her ass?” Atika asked.
A snort escaped Abyle, which made Atika laugh. “Alright, I guess shoving shit up Matilda’s ass would be hard, but you get my meaning,” Atika corrected.
“Matilda is a fucked up bitch. She’d have found some law or rule before I took the alpha title, and either killed Joni outright, or made it to where I wasn’t alpha. I had to play by her rules first,” he argued.
Shauny nodded. “I agree. However, I didn’t know she was bringing the girl here first. That was a shocker for me. I’d been keeping tabs on the alpha house, but yeah, that was a twist I hadn’t seen. So, now what?”
His mind reeled at their words. “You’re all okay with the fact my truemate is a wolf?”
Abyle downed his drink, placing it on the end table next to him. “The Goddess has blessed you with a truemate. You have any clue how lucky you are? Any of the fuckers in the clan has a problem with that, then they’ll face us. If they want you out of the clan, then we’re all out. Let them find a new alpha who can do what you’ve done in two fucking weeks. The old alpha, hell, just about any other alpha, would’ve stepped in, would’ve seen the amount of money and power they had at their fingertips, and would’ve kept it for themselves.”
Atlas squinted at his older brother. “Not you or Atika. You both would’ve done the same as I did,” he argued.
Abyle and Atika nodded, but it was Abyle who spoke up. “We would’ve tried, but they wouldn’t have followed us. We’re not the white bear that was prophesized. We don’t blame you for your heritage. Hell, I always felt a little sorry for you. If I’d have known what you’d gone through,” he choked back an angry growl. “If we’d known what they’d done to you...I wish I could’ve been a better protector to you when you were a cub. I vow to be better from now ‘til the end of time.” He pounded his fist on his chest.
Atika repeated the words, letting him know that no matter what the clan said they’d go where he led.
“I’m with you three, and after you claim Joni, she’ll be my sister as well. We’ll make our own clan if we have to.” A smile lit up her face. “I have a feeling that won’t happen, though. This clan, our clan, loves you and what you did for them when you didn’t have to.”
He wasn’t so sure, but whatever the future held, he was claiming Joni. Forbidden or not, she was his. Now he just needed to beg her forgiveness and pray she agreed.
“Well, I guess I’m going to need to go woo one reluctant wolf and hope like hell she doesn’t rip my head off for leaving her.”
“You’re too tall for her to rip your head off,” Atika said with a laugh.
Atlas wasn’t too sure if that was true, his mate was a resourceful female. He didn’t realize just how true his last thought was until the next day when he rolled into Mystic South Dakota, only to find she’d left without a trace.
****
“What the hell do you mean you have no fucking clue where one of your pack members went? Don’t you have a link with them?” he roared in Niall’s face. The alpha of the Mystic Wolves didn’t flinch at his show of dominance.
“Bear, I suggest you slow your roll before you and I get into a tumble neither of us want.” Niall’s wolf pushed at Atlas.
In a fight, Atlas knew he was the bigger, badder, Apex predator, both in size and dominance. He was not only a bear, but a white bear that was three times the size of a normal grizzly, but he was on wolf territory alone. Wolves fought in a pack, and this wolf in front of him was the alpha. If he fucked with him, he’d be taking on the entire Mystic Pack. With effort, he reigned in his temper. “I apologize for my outburst, but you must understand she’s mine,” he gritted out between his teeth.
Niall raised his brows. “Really? I don’t smell a mating on you, nor did she come to me with a request. As a matter of fact, I don’t remember getting a request for you to come onto my pack lands at all.”
Atlas was an alpha like Niall and knew the other man had a point. However, he’d not come onto pack lands for that reason. He’d been searching for his truemate, knowing as the white bear he’d be taking on the title of alpha. Intuition had drawn him to the small town of Sturgis, where he’d seen the gorgeous female Joni. She’d told him about her pack, but he’d never gone up to Mystic lands, until today, which he told Niall.
“So, you’re telling me in all the time you’d spent with one of my pack, you and she never came on our lands?” Niall poked a finger toward Atlas.
He stood to his full height, towering over the alpha wolf. “I may be many things, including a dumbass for not claiming her when I was here, but a liar I am not,” he growled.
A small grin split Niall’s lip. “I think you and I will get along just fine. Come on, let’s grab a beer inside, my mate is yelling at me for being a dumbass.”
Inside Niall’s house, Atlas couldn’t help but notice the difference between it and the one back at White Bear Clan. Here, the house was a home, instead of a show place. A young boy came running around the corner, his eyes widening when he saw Atlas.
“Yikes, you’re huge. What are you?”
Atlas squatted down. “I’m a bear,” he said, holding out his hand.
“I’m Nolan, and I’m a wolf. Nice to meet you, Mr. Bear.”
He shook the boy’s hand. “Whatcha got there?”
The kid held up the electronic device. “It’s my video game. I get to play with people all over the world, but there’s this one player who I think is a girl. She totally kicks everyone’s butt, but I think she’s from America. H
er name is Pleione, which is an odd name, but whatever, she totally kicks—butt,” he paused, looking at Niall before continuing. “Dad, can I go to grandpa and grandma’s tonight?”
Atlas froze at the name of the female character’s name. In ancient history, Pleione was the name of Atlas’s wife. “Niall, did Joni play video games?” he asked the alpha.
Niall paused at answering his son. “I don’t really know, man. Her history is kind of messed up. I’d have to ask Taryn or Sky. Why do you ask?”
He shook his head, looking at Nolan then at Niall. “What’s the name of the game you’re playing?” he asked Nolan instead of answering Niall.
Nolan named a popular game, one that even he, who didn’t play himself, had heard of. Atlas nodded, tried for a smile. “Very cool.”
“Go ask Alaina if it’s okay for you to go?” Niall ruffled his son’s hair.
Atlas waited for the kid to run out of the room, his joyous woop floated back to them, then he reappeared. “Mom said I could go as long as my room is clean.”
“Well, is it?” Niall asked.
“Duh,” Nolan quipped, before jumping into his dad’s arms. “Love you.”
The genuine warmth of the home made Atlas long for the same thing. Once the cub had gone, he and Niall settled down in the comfy living room, the alpha’s mate having waddled in with tears in her eyes. “He called me mom.”
Clearly, the cub hadn’t done that before. Niall had taken a few minutes with his mate while Atlas let his bear closer to the surface. Not that he planned to shift, but his animal could detect things that he as a man couldn’t. Joni hadn’t been to the alpha’s home, or if she had it hadn’t been recently. Not a single trace of her could he detect.
“Sorry about that,” Niall said with a happy sigh. “My son loves Alaina, but he’s never called her mom before now. She’s pregnant, which obviously makes her even more emotional.” He sat back with a grin.
“I’ll show you emotional,” Alaina hollered from the other room.
“And obviously has no issues with her hearing. Love you, mate.” Niall shifted, placing one foot on top of his other knee, a casual pose. “I can feel your bear. Now, tell me what you know about my pack member, Joni.” The order was made casually.
Atlas narrowed his eyes, sitting forward. “Where is she?”
Niall placed both feet on the floor, all sense of ease gone. “A few weeks ago, she up and left without a goodbye to anyone and nobody has seen her since. A week ago, she contacted Sky and Taryn, her two best friends, and let them know she was safe and from what they said, happy. Now, what the fuck did you do that made her run?”
His bear bristled at the accusation, but then he sat back, stunned. He’d left, that’s what he’d done. Had his leaving been the reason she had run as well? “I need to talk to her friends. Maybe she gave them a clue or told them where she was.” Desperation laced his tone but he didn’t care. He’d get on his knees and beg if he had to.
“I’ll need to ask their mates first.” Niall let out a weary sigh. “I’m afraid that’s going to be easier said than done. While Taryn might have a more amiable mate, Sky on the other hand...you might have an easier chance asking the sun not to rise in the morning,” he warned.
Atlas tilted his head to the side. “Why is that?”
“Well, it might just be easier to show, rather than tell. Come on, let’s get to it then.” Niall stood up. Alaina, I need to call a small pack meeting. You going to be okay for a few hours?”
Alaina came into the room, her hand on her distended stomach. “I think this one and I have an understanding. She’s to stay put for another month, or she’s grounded for the next twenty years.”
Niall pulled his mate into his arms. “I’m pretty sure that’s not how it works. In fact, if it did, Nolan would still be grounded.”
Atlas turned away, giving them a little privacy. Alaina looked as though she was ready to give birth at any moment, the poor female. He wasn’t sure how mother nature, or the Goddess, worked, but was happy as all get out males weren’t the ones who had to carry the young. Not that he didn’t think females weren’t gorgeous while they were pregnant. In fact, he thought they were even more radiant, but if he was honest, he didn’t think males could handle labor and delivery, let alone nine months of carrying another inside them.
“You ready? Jett said we could come on over to his and Taryn’s place since his mate and Sky are together, and Sky’s mates have agreed to meet us there.” Niall waved toward Atlas’s Escalade. “You want to drive or ride with me?”
Atlas paused. “Mates, as in plural?”
“You got a problem with that?” Niall asked with a growl.
“Not at all. If the Goddess has paired them, who am I to judge?”
Niall slapped him on the shoulder. “Good bear.”
The other wolf’s home was what he’d expected, but the wolves were a little standoffish, which he supposed shouldn’t have surprised him.
“What do you want with our girl, Atlas?”
Atlas recognized the female as Sky. Joni had pointed her out when they’d been at the movies together. She’d been hurt when the other female hadn’t spoken to her, but Atlas had been secretly glad to have had the alone time with Joni. The last thing he’d wanted to do was spend their time together chatting with others. When he felt the others staring at him, he quickly shook himself from the memory. “She’s my mate,” he stated.
“Then why the fuck did she run away without a word to any of us, and why did you not mate her while you were here before leaving for parts unknown?” Taryn growled.
As the two women got agitated, Atlas felt their mates’ wolves pushing at them. His bear raked at him to show them just who was the dominate shifter in the room, but he pushed the beast back. “I come from a clan that isn’t, or rather wasn’t as open to mixed pairings as yours. I had to make some changes before I could...claim Joni. I didn’t want to endanger her.”
A deep, rumbling growl, much fiercer than any female bear, came from the tiny female named Sky. “Whoever thinks to harm Joni has to go through me and my beasts.”
The two men standing next to her placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to calm whatever was inside her.
“Down, girl,” Taryn said with a grin. “If your outdated clan think to harm one hair on our besties head, I promise you, they’ll be sorry.”
Atlas smiled. “Duly noted and appreciated. However, before I took over as alpha, I wasn’t sure how the wind blew up there. Trust me when I say it was a shitshow. Now, all that is meaningless if we don’t know where Joni is.” Frustration ate at him.
Sky sighed. “I think that’s partly our fault, too. We, all of us, kept secrets. Her parents are assholes of the tenth degree. When I finally pulled my head out of my ass, I’m ashamed to say she’d been gone for a couple days, at least. Her egg and sperm donors seemed just as oblivious as us that she’d flown the coop, or so they said. When I pressed them as to her whereabouts, they became frantic. Like, holy-fucking-shit where the hell did she go frantic, or holy-fucking-shit I need a really good story, or the dragonish girl is going to eat me.” Sky sighed, then looked down at the floor before she continued in a subdued tone. “I think Joni kept secrets from all of us. I’ve looked for her, but she’s kind of a tech genius, similar to her parents. That was why Keith kept them in the positions they had.”
Atlas listened to Sky and Taryn outline what they knew of Joni and her family. Hearing how they were the web masters of the old pack gave him chills. His mate could’ve virtually and physically disappeared with a new identity, leaving him with no way to trace her. “Fuck me running,” he muttered.
Sky gasped. “Um, I might have an idea, but I have to warn you, she’s a wee bit strange.”
“I’m willing to try anything,” he reassured her.
Niall groaned. “Are we calling on Jenna or Lula?”
“Hey, you got a frog in your pocket, or am I doing the calling?” Sky grinned.
“Little gi
rl, you’re getting awfully big for your britches. I think your mates need to take you in hand.” Niall growled, crossing his arms over his chest, his alpha powers flaring over the room, making Sky and the others fall to their knees.
“Damn, Niall,” Raydon groaned, reaching for Sky.
“Sorry, Alpha.” Sky raised her purple eyes to Niall, then tilted her head to the side in apology.
Niall must’ve pulled his powers back as all the wolves sighed. “I think Sky meant to say she was going to reach out to Lula since Jenna was handling some family business with her mates, right, hellmouth?”
Sky’s eyes flashed a brighter purple, but she nodded. “Lula said she’d be here shortly.”
A shift in the air had Atlas looking around the room, then he noticed a petite female with pink hair appearing out of thin air.
“Well, would you look at that,” the female said, walking toward him. She sniffed the air. “Oh, he smells like alpha bear, looks like alpha bear, but he’s more. Holy buckets batman, we gots a dire bear in the room.” She paused a foot from him. “Niall, you’re a brave alpha to allow one such as him so close to your pregnant mate.”
Niall growled low and loud. “What the fuck do you mean a dire bear?”
The other wolves moved behind him, creating a wall of what, Atlas didn’t know. Hell, he’d never heard of himself, or any other white bear being referred to as such a thing. “What the hell you talking about, female?”
Lula bristled. “I’m a dragon, dire bear, not just a female. You may be big and bad, but I can eat you for breakfast,” she warned.
“Fuck me running,” he swore.