Feral Attachments

Chapter 23

Isla

"How was your day?" I ask Atlas as he wanders through the house into the kitchen where I'm trying out a new recipe. 

"Fine. Exhausting. Lonely. Why can't you just come with me all day?" he asks, walking up behind me and wrapping his arms around my waist. He tucks his face into my neck and takes a deep breath, I smile and still, letting him hold me for as long as he likes. 

"Why should I come with you? Maybe you should follow me around all day." I tease as he kisses my head and goes to sit at the table to watch me. 

"You're right. Your job is much more important than mine, after all." he says, shrugging as he watches me chop up vegetables. I look up at him to gauge his seriousness, but don't detect any mocking. Only honesty. 

"And why would you say that?" I ask, throwing a chunk of radish at him to catch in his mouth. He does, his chewing making a loud crunching sound as he thinks on my question. 

"As much as protecting the pack from outside dangers is important, what's the point if they're all miserable." he says, and I stop chopping to listen to him. "A pack is made up from the inside. That's where a Luna shines. Building relationships, helping people grow. I could keep each and every one of them safe. But you help make them happy." he finishes and I feel my heart grow impossibly larger for this man. 

"You have no idea how much it means to me. That you believe that." I say, my voice wobbly with emotion. Atlas chuckles and stands, walking towards me and pulling me into his chest. 

"You have no idea how much it means that you chose me." he says quietly, kissing my head as we stand in contented quiet. 

The next moment Atlas goes rigid in my arms. I pull away to look up at him, but his eyes are far away and I realize he's mind linking. I stand quietly and wait until it passes. When it does, he growls loudly and takes off towards the door. 

"Attack at the north corner. I'll be back." he says succinctly, stripping to shift. 

"I'll come with you." I say firmly, following him towards the door. He stops suddenly and turns to look at me, a hard look on his face. I ignore it and continue preparing to shift. 

"Isla..." he starts but I shake my head. 

"Atlas." I respond, pinning him with a glare. He lets out an exasperated sigh and continues towards the door. 

"I don't suppose there would be any point in arguing with you?" he asks as we step out onto the porch. 

I respond by jumping in the air and shifting. I take off on a run as soon as my paws hit the ground. It only a takes a few moments for Atlas to catch up to me. He runs next to me, surprising me. I figured he would want to take the lead. 

As we near the north corner, the sounds of fighting emerge from the trees. Growls, heavy breathing, even the snapping of bones rings out through what would otherwise be a peaceful evening. Atlas charges ahead when he hears it, not wanting to delay his arrival a moment longer. 

Once I break through the tree line, I'm met with a violent scene. Wolves covered in blood, the sticky substance glinting in the moonlight against the matted fur of the injured. Atlas lets out a fearsome growl before launching himself at a rogue wolf. It only takes him a moment to kill the other wolf. It whines a terrible sound before falling limp on the ground, the thud of it hitting the earth with finality causes the other enemy wolves to turn their attention to Atlas. Once they see the Alpha, they turn and run, heading in the opposite direction of the pack. 

Something seems wrong about the movement. They all go in such synchrony that it seems planned. Atlas begins to go after them when I call to him in his mind.