Atlas

|chapter 4|

Thick fingers curl around my arm and clamp down sharply, yanking me quickly down the dark hallway. I'm still trying to recover from my encounter with Atlas, leaving me disoriented and just a little frightened. Fear is an emotion I am not accustomed to feeling, but I'm tired of deceiving myself. So, yes, I fear the Alpha. I've only experienced a touch of his personality and already he's extremely complicated.

But, I don't really have time to decide how much I hate or don't hate him because I'm being dragged into a dark room, the door shutting swiftly behind me.
Whoever brought me here has still got a painful grip on my arm and even though my reaction is late, it's damn effective. I lash out with my free arm and I'm lucky enough to land the blow squarely against their throat. There's a choking sound and immediately the grip on my wrist is released. "Ow!" Someone complains, the figure in front of me moving backwards, away from me. The voice belongs to a man, but he sounds young. He's still grumbling to himself, which gives me time to locate the light switch and illuminate the small room.

The young werewolf in front of me is holding a hand to his throat with an annoyed expression on his boyish face. He has reddish hair and dark eyes, and he's looking at me like I'm crazy. "What the hell were you thinking? You're damn lucky he didn't straight up murder you!" He tells me in a hushed tone, shaking his head.

I know he's talking about Atlas, but I don't even want to think about that right now. Every time my mind strays to that beautiful, horrible man I feel like I'm trapped in a tank that's filling with water, and I know that I'm going to drown. I'm slowly realizing that I have no way out of this and I'm trying hard to keep from panicking but I'm on the verge. I need to get out of here, today.

I was about to turn and slip out the door, but the werewolf kept talking.
"He might be planning to kill you anyway, since you're a threat to the pack." I pick my head up at this, my eyes narrowing, but I don't ask what he means. Clearly he knows that I'm the rogue his pack captured, which means he probably has a million annoying questions to ask me.
"Listen, I need you to help me get out of here," I tell him in the most commanding voice I can muster. I move toward him, my mouth drawn into a grim line. I have to get out of here before my desires get the better of me. I'm already finding it difficult to muster the control that I need if I'm going to think clearly enough to escape.
The wolf lifts his hands and shakes his head as if telling me to stop. "First of all, you're not going anywhere right now. You may be incredibly intriguing, and really attractive, but my obligation is still to my pack and The Alpha wants you here for some reason, so you should probably stick around unless you feel like being hunted again. They all think you're dangerous and the fact that I've locked myself in a room with you seems both stupid and kinda hot..." He pauses for a gulp of oxygen while his dark eyes study me momentarily before hurrying on. "By the way, my name is Cisco. What do you call yourself? Do rogues even have names?..."

All I am obligated to do is stare at the wolf, Cisco, in complete confusion while he continues to ramble. He's one of those people that won't stop talking about the most irrelevant things, I can already tell. Those people confuse me to no end, and he probably won't help me escape like I need him to, but I might as well try and get him to help. I'm so wrapped up in my thoughts that when I tune back into his monologue, I realize that he's probably asked me a question because he's staring at me expectantly.
"Um, what?" I ask, shaking my head as if to clear it.
"What is your name?" Cisco repeats, mockingly slowly, looking more amused than irritated.
"Aria," I answer dryly, pushing slender fingers through my hair, still damp from my shower. There is an eagerness lighting Cisco's face, and he looks like he's about to spring a million more questions on me. I know that I don't have much time before Shana comes looking for me, which means that I don't have time to answer his questions about how long I went without a decent shower and what I ate. No doubt the whole pack is gossiping about my arrival, and they probably think I'm some sort of dangerous wolf that should be quarantined to keep everyone safe.