Chapter 8: She's My Mate

Aura’s POV

I stood there, with Atlas blocking me, so nervous I thought I was going to throw up. I prayed to the Moon Goddess, ‘please don’t let Sorren find out that Atlas is my mate.’

Sorren had Atlas on the pack’s cameras, stealing from the pack house. If he found out this…man…this…thief in his eyes…was my mate? Sorren would come unglued!

‘Please, just don’t say anything,’ I prayed silently, hoping that somehow Atlas would hear me.  

The Moon Goddess must have been listening because, to my relief, Atlas said nothing about us being mates. Instead, he just looked at Sorren, a calm and steady expression on his face.

“I didn’t come here to cause any trouble,” he said, his voice low. Sorren narrowed his eyes.

“Then step aside! This woman is under arrest, by authority of me, the Alpha!”

Atlas ignored Sorren. He slowly reached into his pocket and pulled out something. He held it out on his palm for Sorren to see.

It was a crest of some sort, with swirling blues and vibrant reds. But I didn’t recognize the symbol engraved on it.

Sorren did though.

“You stole that,” Sorren seethed, glaring at Atlas.

“I did no such thing,” Atlas replied, his voice measured. “The crest belongs to me. I am willing to make a deal with you.”

Sorren scoffed at that. He rolled his eyes. “You’re a wanted man,” Sorren said. “A thief. We have proof that you broke into our pack house and stole that crest from our museum. And you want to make a deal? Yeah right. I hardly think you’re in the position to make deals.”

Atlas tilted his head to the side and remained silent. His silence was unnerving, and it caught Sorren off guard.

“Do you even know what that is?” Sorren asked.

“Do you?” Atlas snapped back.

Sorren inhaled a sharp breath. “Of course I do,” Sorren shot back derisively. “It’s the family crest of the Alpha King’s bloodline.”

“Then why was it in your museum?” Atlas asked, his voice still low and calm.

“I found it,” Sorren replied. “Not that it’s any of business. I knew right away what it was. And we would have returned it. But no one knows where the Alpha King’s palace is. So we put it in our museum for safe keeping, in the collection hall. I was going to personally bring it to the next Alpha assembly. Although,” Sorren paused, narrowing his eyes, “I don’t know why I’m telling a criminal any of this.” He enunciated the word ‘criminal’.

Wait a minute, I thought to myself, staring at the crest. I suddenly remembered the first time Atlas told me his name. I’d had this…strange feeling, like I’d heard his name before. But I couldn’t remember where.

I looked up at Atlas, my mind reeling.

Was he…could it be…?

“I already told you,” Atlas replied. “This crest is mine. So there’s no need to bring it anywhere.”       

         

         

“Right,” Sorren said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “The crest belongs to you. So you’re the Alpha King, then? Is that what you’re trying to tell me.” He chuckled mockingly. “Sure. Okay. And I’m the Moon Goddess.”

This made the surrounding warriors chuckle.

“Look everyone,” Sorren said, waving his arms in the air. “It’s the Alpha King and I’m the Moon Goddess.”  

A shadow crossed over Atlas’ face then. His expression darkened, silencing everyone. He took one, slow step towards Sorren. Then he took another. With each step, an overwhelming aura radiated from him. It rippled through the air at first, but then it became heavy, pressing down on us, a suffocating, strong force that bent me to my knees.

My legs gave out under the weight of the aura and I collapsed.

One by one, all the warriors dropped to their knees too. No one could fight back against Atlas’ aura.

Sorren wobbled for a moment, visibly struggling against the strange force pushing down on him. But eventually, he was forced to kneel too. We all watched, wide-eyed, as Sorren was brought to his knees. Even an alpha couldn’t withstand Atlas’ aura.

“Yes,” Atlas said, looking down at Sorren. “I am the soon-to-be Alpha King, Atlas Storke. Do you believe me now?” Atlas’ face was stoic.

Sorren finally understood. He looked up at Atlas, then he bowed his head.

“I…I apologize,” Sorren stuttered. “I didn’t know. I meant you no disrespect, your highness.”

Atlas let out a cold snort, and he smiled slyly. But he didn’t respond. Instead, he turned to me. I was still on my knees, staring up at him in complete and utter awe.

He reached out his hand to me. I took it and he helped me to my feet.

Our eyes locked and my heart raced. I was stunned speechless. The injured man who had randomly appeared at my doorstep was not ONLY my mate….

He was…

The Alpha King?

How was that possible? It couldn’t be.

I looked deeply into his eyes. He held my gaze. This was unbelievable, like something right out of a fairy tale.

“You mentioned a deal earlier?” Sorren said, his voice extremely respectful this time. “Name it. And I will do my best to honor your request, your majesty.”

Atlas wrapped his arm around my shoulders.

“I want to take Aura back to the Royal Palace with me,” Atlas said.

“What?” Sorren said. “Why would you want to do that?”

My breath hitched in my throat. I had a feeling I knew what he was about to say. But before I could stop him, he said it.

“Because Aura is my mate.”