Levi had returned to Atlas, seeking for an explanation. "What the actual fuck was that?" He saw the Alpha and his friend standing in his office breathing heavily. Levi didn't got an response initially and he waited until the fury was out of Atlas' eyes.
It took some minutes before the Alpha had calmed down and it was right then it had dawned on him what he had done to his mate. The beast inside of him was satisfied their mate was finally marked and belonged to them, but the human side of Atlas felt remorse for what he did.
"What happened?" Levi asked again.
Atlas picked on the elastic around his wrist and when that bothered him he put is hair in a bun. "It went dark inside my head," He said lowly. "The wolf in me took over. For some time I wanted to make progress to complete the mating bond but I couldn't. I felt rejected, frustrated, angry..."
The Beta angrily sighed, "That is still no excuse to lose control like that!"
Atlas sat down behind his desk. He pondered over what had happened. Did he truly feel remorse? Or was he happy he had finally marked his mate? Atlas didn't know. But still he felt some kind of relief now he knew his mate ley in his bed marked.
"It can't be helped, it already happened."
"It can't be helped? It can't be helped?!" Levi started to shout. "That poor boy was screaming in pain Atlas!"
Atlas stood up and pointed at his Beta. "Remember your place Levi, I am your Alpha and Niel is my mate. By law I am responsible for Niel and I can decide what happens to him."
"That is an ancient law and you know it," Levi growled.
"Careful Beta Barlowe," Atlas growled back.
A silence fell between the two wolves. Levi couldn't face his friend anymore, not recognizing him, and left the room.
The next day Niel woke up early in the morning, alone. It took some time before everything came to him what happened the day before. His hand immediately shot to his neck where he could feel a bandage. His neck still hurt, but the pain was bearable. Slowly he sat up and walked over to the bathroom.
Standing in front of the mirror, he slowly took of the bandage, wanting to know what the damage was. Ever so slowly he peeled of the bandage until it was lose and Niel could see the harm that was done to him. A large bite mark showed up in his reflection between his neck and shoulder. It was swollen, red and had still some blood lingering around the wound.
Looking at the wound directly brought back the memories from yesterday, Niel flinched remembering the dark look in Atlas' eyes and the attack on his neck. His hands started to shake and his breath quickened. He stormed out of the bathroom not wanting to look at it anymore.
The teenager curled himself up on the couch and put the tv on for some background noise as he despised the silence. He didn't know for how long he sat there, but he was snapped out of his trance when a knock was being heard.
Niel stood up, preparing himself for whoever was about to come through that door. When he saw it was Rain he let go of a breath he didn't know he was holding. Relief coursed through his body as he was afraid Atlas might show up.
"Hey, is it all right if I come in?"
Niel slowly nodded and sat back down again. Rain joined him on the couch and looked worried at the teenager, glancing at the mark it pained her to see it. Something that should be so beautiful, intimate, and be pleasurable had turned in something dark and traumatic for Niel. Rain had hoped his marking would be good so the two of them would grow closer, but it did the exact opposite.
The young shewolf also saw the cruelty behind it. Soon Niel's body would want nothing more than to be close to Atlas, but his mind would be screaming out in fear. "I am so sorry," She whispered.
"I...It's not yo-your f-fault," Niel barely managed to say. His voice was gone after the screaming of yesterday.
"No, no, I could have done something, but...but I didn't know my cousin was capable of doing something like that," Rain said while pointing at the mark. "It's very bad Niel. Werewolves don't treat their mates like that, it's so, so wrong."
Niel looked at his fingers, who were fumbling with the hem of his shirt. "W-well... h-he did it."
Rain couldn't bare to see the pain, to hear the pain coming from Niel. Suddenly she stood up in an attempt to hug him, but Niel flinched away, standing up while doing so. "I am sorry, I didn't think... uhm... can I do something for you? Help you in any way?"
Niel shook his head.
"How about some food? Something to drink?... It will be good for you. I will get you something." And with that Rain fled away. She felt bad for scaring Niel, bad for not protecting him. She felt guilty, a feeling she missed from her cousin. This morning the shewolf had seen Atlas but he seemed overall well and it had angered her.
And Rain wasn't the only one who was angry. Katherine got word about what had happened and was incredibly displeased with her son. She might not be Niel's biggest fan, but Atlas had crossed a line that you as Alpha and as werewolf couldn't cross. Immediately she made way to the packhouse.
Upon entering Katherine saw Levi and yelled at him. "Levi! Where is my son?!" The Beta was surprised by the sudden visit and bowed his head. "He is in the gym Luna Katherine."
The woman headed to the basement and signalled Levi to follow her. When she arrived the shewolf ordered everybody to leave, except for the Alpha. The men looked weary but left after a pressing look from their former Luna.
Atlas was startled by the sudden entrance of his mother. "Mother, I am surprised. Why-"
"Don't act sly with me Atlas. I know what you did and it disgusts me, Atlas. Absolutely disgusts me!"
Katherine saw how her son turned irritated and annoyed, but that didn't matter to her. "Even if you are an Alpha, Atlas, that doesn't mean you can do whatever you want."
"What happens between me and Niel doesn't concern anyone, that means you too mother." The Alpha stated.
Katherine sighed. She thought she had raised her son better than this. "What happened before... before the altercation? What ticked you off?"
"I don't have to explain myself-"
The former Luna had enough. "Yes you do! The fact you don't have your wolf under control means something is wrong Atlas and it concerns me as a mother, but also as the former Luna. Don't forget your relationship affects the whole pack."
Atlas threw his towel on the ground and turned his back to his mother. "He said he hated me and didn't want to be my mate anymore and after being so patient with him I couldn't help myself anymore. It also didn't help it was a full moon."
"A full moon is no excuse anymore Atlas, you are almost thirty, you should know better than that... What was the reason for his outburst anyway?" Katherine was fed up with this. All the reasons, arguments, explanations that were given to her seemed too irrelevant, too insignificant for an outburst.
"From what I heard, he learned about my age..."
A humourless laugh escaped from the former Luna. "You forced your mark because your mate was intimidated because of your age?!" She turned around to Levi, who was waiting patiently at the entrance of the gym. "Is this true Levi?"
The Beta had his head bowed, afraid how the former Luna would react to his response. "Yes, that is true Luna Katherine."
Another humourless laugh filled the gym. "You need to fix this!" Katherine told her son. Atlas took his stuff ready to leave, to do what he was told.
"Uh-uh," The former Luna pointed at her son, "You stay here, first ponder over your own actions then you can console your mate. I will see what I can do first." And with that Katherine left the gym on search for the new Luna.
Niel was biting his nails and bouncing his leg, feeling anxious Atlas might pay a visit to him, doing God knows what. Rain tried to stay with him, but both Niel and herself had a hard time. Rain feeling to guilty and Niel trying to cover up how shaken up he was. So in the late morning the shewolf let him alone.
But being alone scared Niel as well, having no possible protection.
When he heard another knock on his door, his hear rate went through the roof. He said a low 'come in' and hoped for the best. Hoping anyone but Atlas would enter. Relief filled his body when he saw Katherine, yes, even her he would pick over Atlas.
Niel immediately stood up and bowed his head. The former Luna was impressed, she knew he had some lessons, but it seemed he was a quick learner. Maybe there was hope for him and this pack, after all, Katherine thought.
"I hope I don't catch you at the wrong time?" The former Luna sat down on the other couch and when she did so, Niel followed suit.
He shook his head as a reply to Katherine. "Good, because I need to have a word with you about... about what occurred the other day."
"O-okay," Niel responded. It pained Katherine to see the boy harmed in the way he was, especially because she knew it was caused by her son's wrongdoings. Her eyes scanned over the marks on his arm, neck, and finally the bite mark, where her eyes lingered.
"First I want to say I am sorry about what happened and the way my son treated you, hurt you is not how we werewolves treat our mates. This kind of behavior is severely judged and frowned upon." She paused and folded her hands in her lap.
The teenager was surprised by what he was hearing. He didn't expect this from Katherine. But the next words leaving the former Luna's mouth were something he could predict.
"However, every story has two sides and while I condemn the behavior of my son, that doesn't mean you are innocent either. I understand that you found out about my son's age and were shocked and to some extent, I can understand it's hard to deal with the fact you suddenly end up in a... relationship with an older guy. But, sometimes you have to make amends with the situation you end up in and you can't go screaming like a child, having a temper tantrum."
Niel turned away from Katherine, it was hard to swallow those words. He was silenced all his life and this one time he couldn't and wouldn't pick it any longer he was being told once again to suck it up, to not show his emotion, being lectured like a child.
"I was ready to be the Alpha of my own pack, but once everybody knew I was mated to another Alpha I had to give up my title and move away. We all make sacrifices, Othniel. Sacrifices that enable us to do our job... And your job is being Atlas' mate and the Luna of this pack. So, this might be a hard pill to swallow, you need to spend your time with Atlas. Try to make amends and soon when you spend more time together you will start to like each other and then this whole show, this job, doesn't feel forced." Katherine stood up and left.