Chapter 7: Flashback

Atlas’s POV

I stood on the front steps, shielding Aura, my mate from the arrogant Alpha in front of us. The events that brought me there flooded through my mind.

Only a few days ago, I’d been back at the Royal Palace, engaged in a conversation with my Beta and close friend.

“If I were you, I’d just walk right up to this pack Alpha, this…what’s his name again? Oh yeah, Sorren, and tell him who you are.” My Beta, Seson, said with a teasing grin. “Just tell him you want your family’s crest back. It’s not your fault it ended up in their pack’s museum.”

I shot him a sharp look from across my desk. As my close friend, he knew it wasn’t that simple. It was quite a predicament. “Why don’t you go fetch then, if it’s that easy?”

He knew as well as I did that the whole situation was a bit embarrassing. The family crest was a highly important artifact and I’d lost it. I didn’t really want anyone to know. I just wanted to get it back before anyone found out it was gone. The only person that knew the crest was gone was Beta Seson.

Beta Seson shrugged. “I honestly don’t see what the big deal is,” he said. It’s not like you did it on purpose. It was an accident. You dropped it while you were crushing that rebellious pack. So go and ask for it back?”

“Go and ask for it back?” I replied, rolling my eyes. “You know I can’t do that.”

I waved him off. He wasn’t being any help. Most of the time, I appreciated his nonchalance and laid back attitude. But this was a serious situation, and I felt like he failed to see the gravity of it.  

We clearly didn’t see eye to eye on this. “Go handle the pack. You’re in charge until I get back. I’ll go and take care of the crest.”

Beta Seson stood up from the table and walked away. But before he left, he glanced over his shoulder and said in a playful, dramatic tone, with a sweeping bow, “As you wish, my great Alpha King.”  

I sighed heavily. He was being sarcastic since I wasn’t the Alpha King yet. I was soon-to-be, though. That is, IF I could get that crest back.

I couldn’t believe I’d let this happen. I’d been so caught up in the fight with the rebellious pack, that I’d somehow misplaced the crest. I was a fool to have done that! How could I have been so careless? Not only did the crest hold the only key to our family vault, it was also the symbol of my rightful claim to the throne.

“Damn it,” I blurted out, slamming my hand down on my desk, causing my water glass to shake. Without the family crest, I couldn’t take my position as Apha King.

The moment I’d realized the crest was gone, Beta Seson and I had gone back to search for it. We scoured the entire area with no luck.

The crest had vanished.

Well…not ‘vanished’ exactly. I later learned that some Alpha by the name of Sorren had found it and taken it back to his pack. Apparently, he’d placed the family crest in the collection hall of his pack’s museum.

Now that I knew where it was, I had to formulate a plan to get it back. Contrary to Beta Seson’s suggestion, though, I couldn’t just go and ‘ask for it back’. So, I decided to sneak into the pack and steal it back.

Not wanting to draw attention, I’d infiltrated his pack in the middle of the night under the cover of darkness. I made it into the museum unseen, and was just about to retrieve the crest, when I was ambushed.

I guess I hadn’t been as stealth as I thought.

Bam. An arrow! Right to my chest. My chest exploded in pain. I glanced around, but didn’t see anyone. Acting fast, I leapt behind a pillar and managed to escape. But I knew I was in rough shape. The hole in my chest was radiating a red hot, sharp pain. I’d staggered down the street, ducking behind bushes. I hadn’t seen who had shot the arrow, and my enemy was still at large. He could be following me, lurking in the shadows.

I stumbled around until I found a house with a light on. I managed to climb up the front steps and knock on the door.

The Moon Goddess must have been smiling down on me that night because the woman who answered the door happened to have medical skills. She treated me, and told me that I’d been poisoned.

She was gentle and kind, with a bright smile. She bandaged me up and then took me to another location. Normally, I never would have gone with her, but my mind was foggy from the poison and my body ached.

She left, but then she came back. She was in heat, her intoxicating scent thick and heavy in the air. It was only then that I discovered the shocking truth – she was my mate, something so rare it was almost legendary.

I marked her that night. The next morning she was gone.

The whole experience had left me rattled, since I never imagined, in my entire life, that I’d be tempted by a woman, much less mark one.

Now, as I stood there on the front steps, shielding her from the obstinate and arrogant Alpha, I inhaled her scent. Yes. Our bond was undeniable.

But I still didn’t understand how that could be.

I wasn’t supposed to have a mate.

Because I was cursed.          

“Who the hell are you?” the Alpha demanded, taken aback by my roughness towards him. His eyes widened in shock. “Shit. You’re that…that thief,” he spat out.

His eyes landed on Aura, who was peeking out from behind my back. He glared at her, fury flashing across his face. “So you WERE lying!” he seethed.

He called for his warriors.

“Surround the house,” he ordered. “And seize both of them.” The warriors made a move to grab Aura. But I whipped around to face them.

I narrowed my eyes, and held my arms out, shielding her.

“You’ll have to go through me first!” I growled.