POV: Echo Suddenly feeling shy, I wrapped my arms around myself, covering my chest and eyeing the floor. Atlas slowly tugs my arms away, inhaling sharply as he takes in all of me. “Don’t hide your body from me,” His husky voice is gentle and his words firm as he raises his desire-filled eyes to mine. I shivered in anticipation, my body reacting to him in a way that it had never responded to Brady. He slowly reaches out a hand, and starting at my lips, he trails a single fingertip down my neck, over my chest, looping lightly around my nipple, which hardens on contact. He keeps going, tracing down my inner thigh until he loops up, running over my bottom, and up my back, ending where he will make his mark. The sensation is so different from anything that I’m used to. My whole-body tingles and shivers, burning slightly where his finger touched my skin. He sweeps my hair out of his way and brushes his lips against it. Heat pools between my legs again, moans escaping me as I grab his arms

POV: Echo I glanced at John before looking up at Atlas and gently nodding my head toward where he was kneeling on the floor. “Are you sure, Little Warrior? You owe him nothing, and we can leave without looking back.” He asks, hesitating. Worried that my silent request is upsetting him, I bow my head before replying, “Yes, Alpha Atlas, I am sure.” I hear him sigh as he gently tilts my head up so that I am looking at him. “Echo, please, you are my Luna. You never have to address me by my title. I am Atlas to you, my Little Warrior.” He says quietly, gazing into my eyes and practically begging to hear me say his name. “Please, Atlas,” I whispered, a small smile creeping over my lips at the pure joy resonating from his face. “I need to speak with him.” He nodded, turning serious again as he helped me hop toward the man on the floor. “Beta John,” I called to the kneeling man softly once I stood in front of him. His untamed, light brown hair hung across his face. He raised his eyes to

POV: Echo After pulling my extremely confused mate through the kitchen, I finally stopped in front of the door to the basement. “We have to go down here,” I said, opening the door and showing him the sketchy-looking basement stairs. Watching his face go from confused to concerned to a million other emotions, I debated if I really wanted him to see this part of my life. He carefully set his face into a neutral expression, suddenly showing no outward signs of his feelings. Just when I am about to tell him to forget it, that I have nothing worth retrieving, he grabs hold of me and picks me up. Carefully placing me on his front, I wrapped my legs around his waist as best I could with my splint. My arms snaked around his neck, and I held on tight, his arms wrapping under my butt and around my waist, as he descended into the basement. This carrying position had a much more significant effect on me than the previous one, as tingles shot through my arms and his scent was intoxicatingly str

POV: Echo Atlas gently pecks my lips, and I can’t help but whine at his tease of a kiss, making him smirk at just how affected I am by him already. “I know, Little Warrior, but we have already been down here long enough. We will need to head upstairs soon,” he explains. I nod, knowing he’s right. I know I am looking forward to leaving this place even more, although I feel slightly conflicted about how much I enjoy physical contact with Atlas. Even though he had explained it would feel good if I consented, and even better because he was my mate, I was still slightly embarrassed about how much I craved it, and about how forward Tala and I had been already. Blushing, I look at the stuff on my shelf, and suddenly I don’t want it anymore. None of it is usable, anyway. Just as I am about to tell him as much, there is a resounding crashing noise from the main floor, followed by the sounds of multiple wolves fighting. Eyes wide, I stare at him, hoping he knows what’s happened. “Bloody idi

POV: Echo The room erupts into the snarling, roaring, and shouting of multiple wolves as they rush into the room. Brady’s wolf slams him back into complete control, and Brady’s fingertips extend into razor-sharp claws. He digs them into my arms, dragging me upwards as he stands up. Extracting them to flip me around so that I face them, he then pulls me tightly against his chest. He grips my throat, prepared to rip it out should the need arise, while his other hand pulls up and buttons his jeans. Then he wraps his arms around me and digs his claws into me, holding me tightly. I stifled the cries of pain from his claws, tears falling silently, as I watched the men in front of me fan out. Beta John and his father, Beta Seth, stood to one side, faces pale and eyes exploding with rage as they saw my living space for the first time, and took in the scene before them. Beta Travis and Delta Blaze stood on the other side, their furious wolves just beneath the surface. The major contributor