Lexie is not a warrior. In fact, Lexie is a painter. Her hands are always covered in paint. Never coming off. Always there. For Lexie, painting is an escape. An escape from her pain. She paints to avoid the darkness that is in her soul. She paints t...
Instead, he remained silent, as he stared at the broken flesh.
---
Atlas grew more silent after that.
If the thought was even possible.
He grew more angry after that.
If the thought was even possible.
And he avoided the two like his life depended upon it.
I felt anger.
Anger at Jay for what he was doing also to his son.
I couldn't understand the thoughts of the former Alpha.
I loved Jay- he had always been there for me since he was my godfather.
But I couldn't stay near him anymore because I couldn't look him in the face.
The face that now showed clear eyes and a smile.
A smile I had never seen before on Jay's face.
A smile Atlas had never been able to put on his father's face.
A smile that only she could bring out.
Jay seemed to be so caught up in the idea of her appearance, that any other thought of anyone else left his mind- even his own son.
I felt anger.
Because though Atlas had promised Jay that he would never leave him.
Jay made no such promise.
So I watched with anger as Atlas stood to the side- watching in the silence of the darkness as he relived the memory of being left behind.
Only this time it was not one parent.
It was both.
My own mother was angry.
She hated this Daisy with a passion I had never seen before.
I had to keep my hands full guarding the pack house at some points because she would try to break in to strangle the female's neck.
The whole pack hated her.
So the ultimate decision was made for them to leave.
So they left.
The final nail in Atlas's coffin.
So he left also.
Without looking back.
To a camp with no females because I think, even the sight of me, his own Beta, had him seething in anger.
Until that day.
That day, months later when I received a short, curt call from my Alpha.
Saying he had found his mate.
I remember putting my head on the table, clutching the phone so hard with my hand. And the first thought that filtered through my mind was, "that poor girl."
She was different though.
Oddly enough, the first time I saw her, my thoughts went to the image of a flightless bird.
Something that could be beautiful in the sky, but instead was clipped to forever stay on the ground.
I think, in a way, Atlas saw that same image also.
But unlike me, he didn't see clipped wings- he saw broken pairs.
And I think, he made it his mission after that- to fix them.
Paint?
I had never heard of paint before.
Not like she used them.
I thought of paint for war and battles- or for a quick layer on a house.
But paint?
She used them on paper to create images.
It was foreign and vague and I had no idea what fascinated one so much to keep doing it.
But I knew, upon instinct, that this girl needed it.
Like how Atlas needed to train to keep his rage inside, this girl needed to paint to keep her sorrow inside.
Because she had sorrow.
Her eyes were broken.
Clipped wings.
It was almost funny, in those first few weeks, to watch Atlas.
His flustered movements and confused looks.
I watched down the hall with a smile as I took in his deep breaths of courage while he stood in front of her door one day.
Courage to ask her to move into his room with him.
He hated everyone but her.
And it was a beautiful thing to be loved in a world where someone hated everything else.
I've only seen Atlas cry twice within my life.
The second time was that day.
That day when they found her.
Not even on the day when she had been taken.
Not even on the day when we went to the sight of the abduction and took in the dead bodies of our pack warriors.
Not even when we found small drops of her blood.
Not even when we scented her own father.
Not even when we lost the scent because it had been covered by another skilled warrior.
I've only seen Atlas cry twice within my life.
The second time was when he held a phone to his ear, cradling it like it was his saving grace.
As the voice on the other side said, "We found her."
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