And You Are?

*Kash View*

My brain was foggy with sleep but I could not deny the hand that was petting my head. This cleared my head, only for me to realize I had at some point crawled on top of his royal fucking highness. I was angry at my own body betraying me. Unfortunately for Atlas, I directed that anger at him.

"I can't believe you did that. On top of that why did you not wake me when I fell asleep? Then this wouldn't have happened!" I shuffled off him and stood beside his form on the couch. "Ugh! Never mind, I will be in my room."

When I closed the door of my room, it might have been just a tad forceful. Lately, I would have woken with a small headache, but besides the extreme embarrassment, my head was fine. I knew it had to do with being so close to him. There were no nightmares last night. I feel more rested than I have in days. Everything about the mate bond screamed to accept him.

Taking in a deep breath I went to have a shower. Today was a good day to explore and I planned on doing it. A part of me did not want to scrub the scent off from my mate, it would be hard to explain to people why I did not smell like him too. Since mated pairs shared their scent. At least I did not have to explain the mating mark. Alphas in charge of packs had special ceremonies. There would be a mock marking in front of the pack, then the Alpha would properly mark them that night. Still, not having his scent on me could cause questions. Maybe that was why he was so close to me before dinner, putting his scent on me. After my internal monologue, I ended up skipping my idea of having a shower.

My clothing was easy to decide since I was already motivated on exploring. My typical jeans and a tee, after I verified it was a nice day out; I skipped grabbing a jacket. The idea I could explore had me more excited and I had a big smile on my face as I left my room. Colton and Karr were waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs.

"Do you guys not do anything but stand there? What if I was in my room for days?" Did they not have a life outside this?

Karr spoke up. "We trade after twelve hours with your night guards Luna."

"I have night guards?" There was no way to get them to drop the Luna bit right now so That was the most important thing on my mind.

"Yes of course Luna! Karr and I do need to sleep. We trade off at oh eight hundred hours and twenty hundred hours." Colton looked surprised. "Have you not met them as of yet Luna?"

This put me off. "Not yet. I have been a little preoccupied. Besides, is it really necessary for all this?"

Karr walked right up to my face with a grin. "Luna. This is the best for the packs. Having you safe keeps Alpha Atlas sane. When he is happy, all the packs are happy."

This had me wonder how great the connection between pack members was. If the Alpha was not of sound mind, would the pack be the same? He knew of a couple packs that lost their lands to a new Alpha. So then, would those members feel the loss of it, or would they be happier with a new leader that was happier and sane in mind?

This gave me lots to think about. Especially when it came to Atlas. Does this mean that I am selfish when it came to the mate bond? Would it not affect the others, if I refused him? Saying to everyone that I never wanted a mate was different than my actual feelings. This was what I said because I felt none would actually want me. Yet, here was an Alpha, who not only stated he wanted me, but has been doing his best to show this. Everything I have done, was throw it in his face with anger. Groaning when I came to this conclusion had both guards come to my side.

"Luna! Are you okay?" Karr watched me while Colton looked around for outside threats.

Nodding my head, I thought of a plan to change how I thought and to try and open my mind a little more. It was plain as day he wanted me. "What kind of desserts does Atlas like?"

"The Alpha, Luna?" Colton turned to me in surprise.

"I was going to explore a little, so maybe we can stop by the bakery and grab him something. I might have been a little rude to him this morning." I looked down at my feet. "Maybe not just this morning."

Karr laughed. "Luna. No need to be embarrassed. Alpha has proudly stated you are strong in mind."

I glared at him. "He means stubborn. That is not a complement."

Karr shook his head. "It is for him. Think of it this way. Since he came of age, he has been surrounded by she wolves that wanted status and power. Can you imagine five years of fake people. His father even tried setting him up a couple of times. Alpha has always stated that if they were not his mate, he would not proceed."

"He said this, but I do not understand what he meant." Looking back at Colton who turned away with red ears had me look back to Karr.

"He has not been with anyone physically. He has refused. Some she wolves even tried to tell him that he needed to do it for relaxation. Storming into his office to state it in barely a scrap of clothing. They are no longer in our pack lands because of this. He is a good Alpha." Karr acted like he was trying to sell him to me.

The smile on my face that he was like me in one way was refreshing. "He really is a good man."

"Of course, he the is Alpha. You are very lucky." Colton spoke up now.

As we had neared the entrance a few voices could be heard. I recognized Atlas and Zion right away. The other two I did not know. When the voices seemed angered Karr and Colton moved position to be in front of me. Unable to see below the stairs at who was causing a ruckus I had only hoped that my timing would not make things worse.

"Alpha Trent did not think he needed a reason to visit his nephew." The one voice sounded like he was trying to intimidate Zion. "Besides, as a Beta you have no say in the matters of my Alpha do you?"

"Why you..." Zion was cut off.

"Well dear uncle. I would like to say it is a pleasant surprise, but I have been very busy the last few days, and will continue to be so the coming days. It would have been better for you to have tried to make arrangements." Atlas sounded angry. My whole body wanted to stand beside him and help.

Looking at my guards I made the choice. "Can we go to Atlas please?" They just moved forward and kept there eyes on the scene before them.

When we got down near the entrance a scent of rot came to my nose and I scrunched it up. It smelled almost familiar, but I just shook my head and moved to stand beside Atlas. Zion was flanked by the palace guards and Atlas was behind him with more behind. It was almost a scene out of a movie. The two intruders, because that is the feeling I got from them, had little guards and still kept smiles on their faces.

The man who was teasing Zion was a little taller than he was but looked almost identical. Same dirty blonde hair and grey eyes. Was this a relative of his? Even so, Zion still looked like he was ready to rip his throat out.

The man just behind him was older. He had a very commanding presence and I knew right away he was an Alpha. Atlas called him uncle but he looked nothing like him. Atlas who was almost seven foot in height towered over the six-foot five man. Also, where Atlas had black hair and blue eyes, this man had green eyes and brown hair. Not even a pretty brown but muddy in colour.

As we approached his gaze turned to me. "Good day Luna. I had hoped to meet you soon. My nephew here has not said much about you I am afraid."

Looking away, I looked towards Atlas. He was tense and watching my every move. Was this one of the possessive things between Alphas. It might be worse since we have not marked and laid claim to each other. Either way it did not rub me the right way. No matter who his mate would be, he was still his own being. Standing taller he walked over to Atlas.

Once I got beside him, I grabbed his arm knowing this touch would help Atlas. It was the least I could do after my behaviour as of late. "I am not the Luna just yet. There are proper celebrations as you know. My name is Kash. You are?" My tone was no polite at all but I saw Atlas smile.

"Feisty. You should keep a better chain on him before he causes you trouble." The man actually spoke with a smile. Atlas held my hand on his arm when he felt me move forward. The uncle seen this and smirked. "Jokes aside. Why has he not joined the pack yet either?"

It became apparent the man had no wish to speak to me directly. I could feel the displeasure coming from Atlas. In fact, Atlas seemed more upset than I did with his uncle's comment. "Kash has made arrangements to do a pack pledge ceremony in a few days time. A way for his pack to say goodbye. We will arrange the rest here at a later date. I am unfortunately a tad busy with the increase of rogues on the boarders."

"I heard your mate is a good catch." The man then took the time to look me from top to bottom and back to the top. "Looks pretty enough."

"Uncle. Please stop being rude to Kash. If you are only here to test if my mate is real, you see him. We have plans today and I would like to continue with them." Atlas started to walk forward with me in tow. I was not about to complain in front of the man.

"Wait! I am sorry. Let me get to know him then."

"If you can treat him as a actual being and not a placemat then join us for dinner. If you please, we need to get going." Atlas walked past and I politely nodded at his uncle's direction.

When we were out the front doors, I felt Atlas relax. "So where are we going?"

"Oh, umm...Where were you headed?" He was rubbing the back of his neck.

I chuckled. "To be honest. I was going to have my guards take me to the bakery and get you something sweet as an apology." I let go his arm and faced him. "This is all very new to me. I have been struggling to come to terms with everything. It was not right of me to turn my anger towards you this morning. I had hoped that I could grab you something you liked." I did not add that I had no idea what he did like.

"I have business in the area. We can go there together if you like. Then if you are up to it, you can join Zion and I with the other mater." His smile was nice to see.

Before I realized it, I had forgot to answer him quick enough. "That sounds okay to me. I guess you can lead the way since I am still very unsure of where to go anyways."