Feral Attachments

Chapter 24

Isla

I feel a rush of hatred run through me so strongly I clutch my stomach and recoil from the intense feeling. I'm surprised by my own emotions, until I look up at Atlas and realize that it's his hatred I'm feeling. But he's not looking at me. No, he's looking at my father. 

His eyes are dark, swirling with the black of his wolf as he looks down on the man that tormented me my entire childhood. Atlas' breathing turns erratic, fur sprouting on his arms as his talons elongate on his hands. I take a deep breath and try to still my shaking limbs and make my way to him, doing my best to appear unscathed to the monster that still haunts my nightmares. 

"Atlas." I murmur quietly as I get closer to him. His wild eyes swing to me. A flash of softness blinks through them as he looks at me, but he turns back to the man in front of him soon after. 

I don't let this deter me, moving faster as I try to get to him. I can feel that his emotions are running rampant. The attack on our pack first, and now coming face to face with the man who caused me so much suffering has his wolf out of sorts, his protective instincts on overdrive. Once I get to him, I reach out and grab his arm, pulling him towards me as I try to get his wolf under control. He stills under my touch, turning to face me. Once he is no longer facing my father, I reach out to cup his face with my hands. His eyes stop swirling with his wolf, but his face is still hard as he looks down at me. 

"Atlas." I say his name again, but it's weaker this time. Emotions I had long since thought I had dealt with swarming around my brain again. Fear, anger, sadness, disappointment, rejection. All of them come barreling back at me and for a brief moment I'm that timid girl, trapped in a house with brothers who torture me and a father who ignores me on good days and beats me on bad days. Atlas still has access to my mind and can see all of the memories flashing before his own eyes, the man standing behind him playing a leading role in each horrific scene. 

"Little wolf..." he murmurs, leaning down to press his forehead against mine. Silently asking me to stop the barrage of pain I'm putting myself through. I take a deep breath and force myself into the present, pushing back all of the unpleasant memories to the deep recesses of my mind. There's no point in dwelling on them now. They bring nothing but pain that can easily lead to a spiral into depression. 

"You're one of the females then?" my father says, his voice grating against my already frayed nerves. "Or as I like to call them 'waste of a perfectly good heat.'" he says to his fellow prisoners. They all laugh with him and I feel my face flush with embarrassment. It only takes Atlas an instant to react, turning towards my father and bashing his face with his fist. There's a sickening snap as his jaw is dislocated, but ever the proud Alpha he doesn't so much as flinch, let alone show any sign of pain. With one quick movement he pushes the bone back into place and appraises Atlas with what appears to be confusion, his eyes bouncing between us before something clicks into realization. 

"So you're one of those Alphas then?" he says with disdain. "The kind that care for their attachments?" he asks. Atlas growls again, clenching his teeth as he holds back from killing him. 

"Yes. So you would do well to mind your fucking tongue when you're on my land." he says, his voice much lower than normal as he fights his wolf for control. My father simply laughs, shaking his head in clear disappointment. 

"I suppose I should be proud, in a way. At least you found yourself a decent Alpha to attach yourself to, girl. It's more than I expected out of any of you." he says, looking in my direction. Atlas takes a step in front of me, blocking me from his view. 

"You don't talk to her. You talk to me. Are there any others out there waiting to attack us?" Atlas asks, but my father only laughs again, clearly not realizing the dire situation he's in. 

"You listen to me, pup. You may think you're in charge, but you have no idea what you're dealing with. Do you even know who I am?" my father asks, his voice dripping with the same disdain he used with any of us girls when he had to inconvenience himself by talking to us as children. Atlas scoffs and crosses his arms across his chest, not moving from in front of me. 

"I know you're a worthless, selfish, egotistical piece of shit that doesn't deserve to breathe the same air as my mate. Or to be defiling the ground in her pack by standing on the earth. So answer my fucking questions so I can kill you and be done with it." Atlas spits, his patience clearly running out. 

"Atlas." I say, grabbing onto him and trying to get his attention. There's nothing I want more than to watch the light leave that man's eyes, but all I can think of is my mother and sisters. What will become of them in a pack where the only thing protecting them is their proximity to the Alpha. "Please don't kill him." I say quietly, but my father must hear it because he bursts out laughing. 

"Look at that. I spent your whole life treating you like the dirt you are, and yet you still try to protect me. This is what I mean, boys. Females are weak, pathetic creatures. They aren't capable of thinking for themselves. They need us." he says, speaking loudly enough that our own wolves can hear him. I hear random growls and feel the tension rise amongst our pack. They clearly don't like the vitriol my father is spewing, and I am in agreement with them. 

"Your daughter is smarter than you." Atlas says, his voice much more calm now to the point that it's scaring me. 

"Excuse me?" my father asks, clearly not believing what Atlas is saying. 

"She's the reason you were caught. I was ready to chase your decoy into the forest. But she outsmarted you, urging us back to the pack. And that's why you were caught." 

It's interesting, watching the barrage of emotions transpiring over my father's face. First, humor at the idea that what Atlas has said could be true. Then confusion as his wolf senses only honesty from Atlas. Then it turns into anger, disbelief and eventually settles on rage. He begins to lose control of his own wolf, his emotions clearly becoming too much for him to handle with his simple mind. 

"Settle yourself." Atlas says, his tone almost bored as he feels he has the upper hand. 

"Or what?" my father asks, cocking his head to the side in a way that's clearly meant to be taken as a challenge. 

"Or you die." Atlas says, pushing me behind him again in a protective stance. 

"You can't kill me, remember? Or your precious little female will be upset with you. Isn't that right, Cassidy?" he asks, calling me by my older sister's name. It takes a moment for me to realize my own father doesn't know my name. And when it clicks, I can't help but laugh. 

Atlas turns to look at me, clearly confused as I laugh so hard I have to clench my stomach. It feels cathartic, in a way. Finally, for once my father's disdain for me, the hatred he carries for me just because of how I was born doesn't bother me. It entertains me. How this narrow minded man has suffered for years because he refused to look past his misconceptions and accept help of women who could have made his pack stronger, therefore making him stronger. Its' all so ridiculous and now that I've met Atlas and can see the other side of it, I realize just how much better off this world would be without him and anyone else who thinks like him. Once I've regained my composure, I stand up straight and look at my father directly in the eyes, a clear act of defiance. 

"My name is Isla." I say, before turning to Atlas. "Fuck it. Kill him, Atlas. Make it hurt." I say firmly, leaving no room for doubt. Atlas nods once before walking towards my father and preparing to shift. 

"With pleasure."