For two days the two mates didn't see each other, both hidden away in the pack house. The pack members could feel the tension between the two and everybody hoped everything would turn out well. It wasn't often human mates wouldn't work out because of each other differences and when it did, it didn't matter most of the time because the pack member in question hadn't an important position.
It wasn't only difficult for the pack members. Both Niel and Atlas could feel the pull between them two. The mark was the start of completing the mate bond and it forced them to want to be close to one another, but the irony was that they couldn't, well, Niel didn't want to be close to Atlas.
Although the words of Katherine did linger with the teenager. The past two days Niel came to the realization that all this madness was real and it had become his life. There was no way out anymore, no way back to his hometown, his school, his family.
Maybe the former Luna would be right and would things turn better if he just spend time with the Alpha. Maybe he will like Atlas then. The big guy had shown he was capable of loving and caring. But then again he wasn't gay. Niel didn't like boys, men.
It was all still very confusing for the teenager, but he could at least try to be friends with Atlas, so his life wouldn't be as miserable as it was the past weeks. Niel took a quick hot shower, put on some fresh, clean clothes, of which the shirt belonged to Atlas. The teenager hadn't any clean clothes anymore and he had found the smallest shirt that the werewolf owned and put it on. It looked still oversized on him, but fashionable oversized and not a toddler wearing his father's shirt like all the other shirts had done to him.
The guard that stood in the hallway was startled by the teenager as he hadn't left in a while. Niel moved around the packhouse quickly now he knew his way and finally after asking he found the Alpha outside talking to Levi and Ezra as the three watched over the training grounds, looking at the warriors who were busy training.
Atlas immediately turned around when he got a whiff of his mate's smell. A small smile settled on his lips when he saw Niel was calm and seemed not to be in any distress. "Hey Niel, how nice to see you," He greeted softly.
Levi and Ezra bowed their heads first towards Niel and then excused themselves while bowing their heads again to Atlas. "Hey... I hope I didn't interrupt anything."
"Oh no, it was just some quick business."
Niel was glad he chose to find Atlas before the big guy found him. Now they both could stand in a public space and if something went wrong Niel wouldn't be alone as then. Glancing at Atlas caused the memories from three days ago to resurface in his mind. A shiver ran down his spine.
Atlas noticed the space Niel let in between them and he couldn't blame his mate after everything that occurred. "How... how are you?" He asked carefully.
"Fine, I think."
Atlas nodded his head, finding his next words. "I would like to apologize for what happened... I am sorry. I should have never done that to you and there was and is no excuse for my behavior."
Niel was taken aback by the sudden and sincere apology. He didn't expect it, at least, not so soon. He had heard some explanations from Rain, something about a full moon and me needing to be more submissive because of the beast that lived inside Atlas, but the Alpha didn't speak of any of them. He took full blame.
And Atlas knew how badly he had behaved. First, he thought what he had done wasn't as severe as everybody made it seem, but after he talked to his cousin he slowly started to realize the damaged he had caused.
It was also never his intention to hurt his mate, he just needed Niel to listen to him because the only thing he wanted to do was to care for him, to love him.
"Well, apology accepted, I guess."
"Thank you Niel... I have to get going again. Do I see you at dinner?"
The teenager pondered over the question and finally he nodded his head. "I will look forward to it then," Atlas said and winked as he walked away.
Niel was ready to go inside again when he heard two guys nearby on the grass field. They had a soccer ball and were passing the ball between them. It didn't seem too serious, but Niel was intrigued and a longing to play his favorite sports game grew inside him.
He made the bold decision to walk up to them and ask, "Care if I join you guys?" Both of them immediately stopped with what they were doing and turned to Niel, their eyes widened in surprise. Their heads bowed down.
"Uh-uh, Luna, what are you doing here?" One of them asked, straight away the other slapped him and whispered, "You can't ask questions like that, idiot."
Niel held his hands up. "Hey, it's fine. I was just wondering if you were going to play a game." The teenager pointed at the ball while saying so.
"Uh, no, we are just waiting for our friends. They are in training." The two warriors in training shook their heads.
"Do you know how to play soccer?" Both again shook their heads.
"Can you do any tricks?"
"Tricks Luna?"
Niel nodded his head, "Yeah, tricks with the ball?" Again they both shook their heads.
"Can you Luna?" The first guy asked.
"Uhm, yes. And you can call me Niel... if you want." Niel knew the protocol, but he couldn't adjust to his title, yet.
"Can you show us?" The first guy was being slapped again. "What now Damon?" He yelled at Damon.
"You really going to ask that Matt?"
Niel had a feeling what was going on, something about manners, protocol and etiquette but the teenager really didn't mind. "It's fine, I can show it to you," He said before the two would bigger again.
Matt gave the ball to Niel and it was weird for the teenager to hold a soccer ball again. It had been a while. "So what do you guys do in the pack?" Niel asked as he let the ball roll between his hands, not ready to play yet.
"We are warriors in training Luna."
"How old are you guys?" Niel thought they both looked too young to train for such a serious job.
"Nineteen Luna."
That shocked the teenager. While he was just eighteen and worried about things as college and a soccer career, these guys were training to protect their community, their pack. To distract himself he threw the ball in the air and held it high with his feet.
Niel remembered how his teammates would hold contests to see who could hold the ball the longest in the air. Niel came close to two hundred times, but several of his teammates had beat that number.
When he felt more confident he let the ball roll in the air, kicked it higher to catch the ball with his neck, and went back to holding the ball high again. Niel could hear the small gasps coming from Matt and Damon.
"That's so awesome!" Matt clapped.
Niel stopped. "Do you wanna try?" He held the ball out to Matt. Hesitantly he took the ball from Niel and tried to copy his Luna's actions. Only he wasn't as successful, which caused laughter from Damon.
After his third try, Matt was fed up with his friend and stopped. "If you think it's so funny, why don't you try it out?" Damon confidently took the ball and tried as well, and failed as well. Now Matt was laughing. He stopped when he looked over his shoulder, Niel followed his gaze and he saw other young men walking up to them.
Matt turned around again and asked, "So do you know how to play?"
Ten minutes later Niel shortly explained the essence of the game to Matt, Damon and their friends, later Rain had joined as well. They had now made teams of six each, Matt, Damon, Rain and two others Niel forgot their names of, formed a team. And six other male wolves formed a team.
Niel finished up his explanation with, "So, what is important that you appoint a keeper, two defence players, two offence player and one who plays in the middle. That person helps either defence or offence when needed. One last tip, chose one person to watch out for, to stay close to. If you do that we don't all chase the ball at once and keep in position while looking out for the other team."
Then the two teams split up and Niel assigned each person from his team a person from the other team to look out for. He played as usual offense, which his other team mates didn't like. They wanted him to be a defence player as he knew the rules better, but Niel reassured them.
It felt great to be in charge of a team again and it was then Niel could feel how much he had missed it, the game but also to be captain.
"Okay everybody hands in," Niel said as he held his hand out. The others look confused but did as they were told. "After one scream as loud as you can, all right?" Uncertain nods were shared.
"All right, three... two... one. Aahhhh!" The six of them screamed. Now it was show time, Niel thought.
In the beginning, the game started off chaotic. Many still had to learn the rules and they all went after the ball, forming a constant huddle around the ball. Niel had to explain once again how to play, but the second time they started it went better.
The teenager called his team together, "Don't chase the ball, keep position and watch your opponent. Be aware of your surroundings and if you see a team player in need of help, shout. But keep position and find openings." They all nodded their heads and we tried again.
Niel shouted to Rain, as she was his fellow offense player, to pass the ball to her as she was close to the goal. With precision the ball was kicked, and Rain got the ball and scored. Niel's team cheered.
After the first goal, everybody got into the game and it was game on. Even though Niel was the best player, he had a hard time catching up with the werewolves' speed and strength. A couple of times he was easily pushed away to the ground. Often they were sorry, but Niel didn't want their apologies, he wanted to play.
Now the game was tied, each team had two points, and both teams had agreed that the next goal was the winning point. Niel saw this as his opportunity to prove he was a top soccer player. He had to make this goal. But Matt and Rain easily lost the ball over and over again. Until the ball was passed over a long distance. Just before the ball was taken by the opposite team, Niel slid over the grass field, taking the ball away while doing so. Immediately he stood up and took off.
The others were taken aback by the sudden move and weren't prepared for it. Unlike the others Niel was capable to run with the ball and not losing it, he passed the ball between the legs of his opponent, the next opponent he passed by making a diversion move and then he ran again. The teenager moved too fast for the others to realize what happened. The keeper had no idea in what corner Niel would shoot as he came running straight at him.
When the ball was in position, Niel swung his right leg and coordinated with a powerful kick the ball in the top left corner and he scored.
Cheers were heard from the other side of the field. Niel smiled, he had missed the thrill of standing on the field again. Soon he felt his body lifted up by Rain. "Fresh meat, you were killing it!" The teenager just laughed, but he was quickly put down. Niel looked at Rain and followed her gaze as she was looking at something in the distance, well, someone. It was Atlas, he and Levi were watching the game.
Everybody noticed and soon all the werewolves remained distant from Niel. "My dude Niel, you were crushing it!" Matt yelled out.
"Thanks," The teenager said flustered. "You all were very good as well."
When the high was over from the game, the warriors in training left, leaving Niel and Rain on the field. "Yo, Niel, I didn't know you were that good. I thought that soccer of yours was just a hobby, but you are a sportsman."
The teenager laughed awkwardly. "Yeah, that was what I wanted to be, a sportsman, a pro soccer player."
Rain hummed. "Well, let's get inside, dinner is almost ready." The shewolf didn't want Niel to linger on his thoughts as she knew that dream would never come true anymore.
So I would like to apologize to my readers who don't know much about soccer I hope you could kinda follow the chapter. I just kinda want to show that Niel was a good captain. Also, the chapter was meant to be a bit light-hearted after all the shit that all the characters went through.
Thank you for reading and have a nice day or night!