by Elle Boon
“You keep staring at me like that, and you’ll wake the monster,” Joni said without opening her eyes, her hands working shampoo into her hair.
He lifted both brows. “What monster?”
“The one between your legs that promises to split me in two if I’m a bad girl, or maybe that’s if I’m a good girl.” She laughed, opening her eyes. “Or maybe it’s a lollipop or an ice cream cone just waiting to be sucked, but,” she paused, tapping her lip. “That can’t be right, I already did that.”
Atlas crossed the short distance, lifting her up by the waist. “I’ll show you monster. Wrap your legs around me. We’re supposed to be conserving water here, brat.” He pressed her against the tile wall with his hips, taking her gasp into his mouth. Joni ground down on him, seeking her own pleasure.
“Yes, fuck me back, show me you like how I fuck you,” he whispered. Her hips jerked, swiveling against him.
“Damn, why does that make me horny?” she whimpered.
He shifted back slightly, watching the way his dick slid in and out of her, letting her see as well. “Because you like hearing what I’m going to do to you, with you. That’s right, move with me, just like that. Fuck, I can feel your pussy squeezing my dick, Joni, grind down on me again.” He gripped her tighter against him, his fingers digging into her ass. “Come on my cock. Let me see my beautiful, sexy, dire wolf mate, coming for me.”
“Oh yes, I’m coming.” Her eyes brightened; her teeth lengthened.
Atlas felt his bear rake to claim. He tilted his neck, needing to feel her staking her claim on him again. Sharp canines entered his muscle, making him come. He lifted her up and down, feeling her orgasm rush over her at the same time. When her rough tongue sealed the wound on his shoulder, he tugged her head to the side, sliding his own teeth into the mark he’d made. His mate, his claim.
Joni wasn’t sure her legs would hold her once Atlas pulled out of her, but they had. They finished washing up and rinsing off. Dear Goddess, the man was everything she’d dreamed a mate would be and more. Now, as she stared at herself in the mirror dressed in a pair of denim jeans, which had been distressed purposefully, and one of her favorite rock band T-shirts with her hair in a messy bun, she wondered if he felt the same. The alpha house was so much more than what she was used to with Keith and even the Mystic Wolves. The White Bear Clan were wealthy on a scale that she was sure, they’d take one look at her, and turn their noses up as if they’d stepped on something nasty.
Of course, she had money in an account her parents had no clue about, and the means to make more anywhere she decided to live. Keith and his fucking with her genetics, had made her ability to move through the inter-web like a virus, had its bonuses. Only it also had its downfalls. If she did it too much, she got nose bleeds and migraines. Which was why she hadn’t told the Mystic pack about her abilities. Not that she thought Niall would use her the way Keith had, but...gah, she hated having a secret from her mate.
“What’s the matter?” Atlas came up behind her, his arms sliding around her hips, pulling her back against him.
She shook her head, tears threatening to fall. “Nothing.” She bit her lip. “That’s a lie, which you probably know.”
He nodded. “Just say whatever it is, and we’ll deal with it together.”
So solid, her mate. She took a deep breath. Took a leap of faith. In a quiet voice, she told him how Keith had used magic, how he’d somehow manipulated her, and how she could look at a computer, think of herself inside it and be there, surfing through it. It was how the bastard had financed all that he’d done. She hadn’t been the only one, but she’d been the only survivor.
“Do you still do it? Is it a compulsion?” He turned her to face him.
She shook her head. “It’s not as easy as it had been. I started getting migraines and nose bleeds even before he was killed. For the last eight months or so, I’ve only done it so I could build a new identity.”
He put one finger under her chin, raising her face up to his. “Let’s tackle this one thing at a time. First, you don’t need a new identity anymore. Second, you don’t need to use that ability, ever again. Third, maybe since he’s dead, whatever fucked up mojo he was using is dwindling away. No matter what, we’re in this together. I love you, every piece of you. Now, you ready to go face the clan?”
Her chin shook from the effort it took her not to cry. Her mate truly meant what he’d said. Maybe, just maybe, he was right. She planned to be the best mate to him. Her wolf growled inside her, letting her know she was a badass. “Let’s do this,” she agreed.
“My sexy mate, I don’t know if I should let you walk out of here looking so fucking good. Have I told you I love your ass?” His hands caressed both cheeks.
“Let’s go, bossy bear, or we’ll never get out of here.” She pressed her face to his chest, his steady heartbeat reassuring.
“Yo, Alpha, let’s go. You got a mass of bears out in the front yard waiting for you to come out.”
“Which brother was that?” Joni asked, taking a step back, her back hitting the vanity.
“That’s Abyle. You’ll figure them out in no time.”
They walked out together, hands clasped, swinging back and forth. “If not, you think they’ll be bothered if I call them Big Bear Bro One and Two, kinda like Thing One and Thing Two?”
“Don’t even think about it,” both men said at the same time.
Joni and Atlas walked outside with Abyle and Atika flanking them. Shauny was already on the porch wearing an outfit like what Joni had on, making her feel marginally better. She scanned the faces of the crowd, seeing shock and curiosity.
Atlas stopped them on the top step of the porch, keeping their hands together. He lifted his right hand, putting two fingers in his mouth as the murmurs from the crowd increased. His whistle was loud enough, Joni feared her poor wolf hearing might’ve been damaged.
“Sorry, Achwahnaja,” he whispered, kissing her on the temple.
The crowd quieted, then a gasp had them parting.
Joni squealed for a whole other reason as she saw her friends Erica and Kyle, followed by Oakland walking through. Atlas kept her hand in his, letting her know she was to stay put and allow them to come to where they were. “We are the alpha pair. They come to us,” he said through their link.
“Did you know they were coming?” she asked, looking up at him.
“I might’ve made sure they had safe passage and a little help from a pink lady.”
“It’s good to see you both again. Erica, how’re you feeling?” he asked aloud.
“What’s the meaning of this?” A clan elder asked, stepping forward. The old male glared at the trio.
“Sage, these are friends who helped save my mate when Matilda and a couple dozen others from this clan and the Red River Clan tried to kill her and me.” Atlas released Joni’s hand, pulling her into his side.
“That’s a lie. Matilda would never,” Sage sputtered.
Atlas narrowed his eyes. “You and I both know I didn’t lie.” He recounted what had unfolded before his clan, waiting for them to quiet again. “Now, Joni is my truemate, chosen by both Goddesses. I’ll give you all a choice. Accept my mate and I, or we will leave, and you can find a new alpha. Either of my brothers would fill the shoes, probably better than me.”
While he spoke, Joni and Erica stepped off to the side of the porch with Kyle hovering close by. He could see the female wolf was almost completely healed thanks to Lula. He turned to face the crowd, his brothers protesting his suggestion of them taking his place. He grinned at their outrage.
“Oh shit,” Shauny whispered.
He turned in time to see several female bears shifting off to the side near his mate and Erica, too close for him to reach them before they could get to Joni. Time slowed as his mate shoved Erica back a dozen feet, landing on top of Kyle, her wolf ripping out of her, the pure white beast facing off against the three female grizzlies.
“Holy fuck! What is she?” Ab
yle asked.
Atlas crossed his arms over his chest, watching his mate swat a grizzly female down, then bat another away before picking up another like she was a toy. He was sure she’d go on playing with the females for hours if he let her, but he was sure her point had been made. “Joni, can you quit playing with the females now? I think they’ve learned their lesson, yes?” He looked at the crowd of bears, most smiling at the display.
Joni backhanded the first grizzly again, like she felt the female had gotten off too easy, then trotted over to the front of the crowd. Her wolf was easily twice as big as the biggest grizzly, except his dire bear. She shifted, her outfit appearing on her without a tear. “They started it,” she grumbled.
He held his hand out, waiting for her to walk up the steps to his side. “Yes, and I do believe you finished it. Anybody else want to challenge the alpha female?” He looked at the faces of his people. “Joni is a dire wolf, like I’m a dire bear, a white dire wolf, as I’m the white dire bear. What that means for this clan is this. If you want me to stay as alpha there’s going to be some changes. First, we will no longer be the White Bear Clan. I’m not sure what we’ll be called, but as you can see, my mate isn’t a bear. My cubs might be pups.”
Joni squeezed his hand. “How about The Wilder Crew? Kind of like an homage to the Wilde Crew down south? If they don’t want us, we’ll start our own crew and take in other lost ones like Erica and Kyle once were, like I was.”
He kissed her nose, then looked out at the people he’d grown up with. The clan was significantly smaller thanks to Matilda and her crazy stunt. If they continued the way they were, living in isolation, none of them would find their truemates. The White Bear Clan needed to become something new. They needed to become the Wilder Crew in order to survive.
“I’m all for it. If you go, we go,” Abyle said.
Atika walked to his other side, nodding. One by one the clan moved forward, even the three females who’d just had their asses handed to them. They’d messed with the wrong wolf, but they’d learned she was also a true alpha. She and Atlas would be what a real alpha pair was supposed to be, leading them into a future that wasn’t stifling, taking but not giving. The Wilder Crew is going to destroy the White Bear Clan in order to become what they need.
“You’re exactly what we needed,” Shauny said, pulling Joni in for a hug.
“We’ll find you a mate.” Joni looked over at Atlas talking to his brothers.
Shauny pulled away, a sad smile on her face. “Go over there. He needs you.”
The twins walked off, their backs stiff. Joni looked at Shauny then the twins, wishing she could fix them all. One step at a time. She wasn’t the alpha bitch of the Wilder Crew for nothing. She cracked her neck, then went to Atlas’s side, where she belonged. His arm slid around her, pulling her against him. “Love you, mate,” she whispered.
“Love you more,” he said, kissing her temple. “So, you ready to talk to your friends?” Atlas tipped his head toward the driveway.
Joni’s breath caught as the doors opened on a huge SUV. One by one her friends, and their mates walked up the drive, passing the bears without pause. Sky, goddess love her, actually chest bumped one of the female bear’s who’d jumped Joni.
From where she stood, she wasn’t sure if she’d be able to make the huge leap in order to intervene, but whatever the bear saw in Sky’s eyes kept her from retaliating. “Hey,” Joni said, eyeing the group of wolves.
Taryn stopped in front of her with Jett at her back. “Hey? Really, that’s all you got to say?” she growled.
Joni looked down at her friend, then over at Sky. Her heart raced. “Um, so what’s brought you all the way up here?”
“Oh, my goddess. Somebody hold me back, or I’m liable to smack a...what the hell are you now?” Taryn sniffed the air.
“That is so rude, T,” Sky nudged forward. “What our friend here is trying to say is—well, I guess what we wanted to know is, why the hell you left and what the hell were you thinking?” Sky’s purple eyes brightened.
“I made a deal with Keith and for better or worse, I kept it,” Joni said, her shoulders back, staring straight ahead. “Things were messed up inside me...because of what happened.”
Atlas rubbed his head on top of hers. “If you’d like to share your story without having to talk it out, I can help,” Atlas offered.
Joni took a deep breath. “No, I can do this. Long story short, I agreed to allow Keith to—let me experience what he did to you, only he didn’t have to physically be there. I...I let him into my mind, and I allowed him to, well, you know, whatever T suffered I did to. In exchange, he let us care for her and allowed my parents and I to live relatively unharmed.”
“What the fuck were you thinking? He could’ve killed you,” Taryn cried, tears leaking from her eyes.
“It was the only way he’d let us help you.” Joni held her hands up.
Taryn shook her head. “Bullshit, he had an agenda. He always had one, and it was never one that benefited anyone but him. Is that why...why you couldn’t shift?”
Joni looked away. She didn’t want to talk about the past or what she’d gone through. “It doesn’t matter anymore. What’s done is done. We can’t change it, right?”
Sky growled, making Atlas move forward, his arms sliding around her waist. “Would you all like to come inside?”
Jett sighed. “Sorry, man. Come on, why don’t we take this inside and remember, you both said you’d be nice. Besides, I’m pretty sure after seeing what she becomes, I’d keep her on our side,” he teased.
“Hey, I’ve got some dragon in me,” Sky said. “Besides, Lula’s the one who told us about this little meet and greet. If shit goes down, maybe the pink dragon will come and rescue us?”
Her friends’ words had them all laughing as they walked inside. Joni knew her life was forever changed. Her world was no longer going to revolve around the Mystic Wolves, but the bounds that had brought the three of them together had been forged long before she’d found her truemate. She felt a tear slide down her cheek as she realized home was no longer where she’d grown up.
“Hey, we’re only a phone call, or thought away.” Taryn slid her hand into Joni’s, linking them.
Sky grabbed her other hand. “We may not have had the easiest of lives, or got to be as close as I’d wished, but you both have always been the sisters of my heart. Even if you move to the freaking Tundra, which by the way, this far North is going to be cold as fucking Hell, which is why I’m now calling it the Tundra, you’re still my sister.”
A laugh escaped her. “I have a big ass bear to keep me warm.”
Taryn squeezed her fingers. “I guess you do. By the way, is it true about what they say about bears?”
Atlas lifted Joni up, pulling her away from her friends, saying over his shoulder. “Bears and all animals shit in the woods, females, it’s natural in our shifts, get over it,” he growled.
Joni looked over his shoulder at her friends as they walked hand-in-hand with their mates, following them into her and Atlas’s home. Yeah, she had a bumpy road getting to where she was, and knew their lives had one hell of a path still to come. With the Wilder Crew there was going to be growing pains, and these were ones she couldn’t wait to face with her bossy bear.
“I’ll show you just how bossy I am when your friends leave,” he whispered against her temple.
She wrapped her arms more securely around his neck. “You reading my mind?”
He pressed his forehead against hers. “We’re connected on a level my bear and your wolf don’t seem to want to stop. Can’t you read mine?”
She stopped thinking about her friends to realize that, yes, she could see what he’d been thinking, and immediately wished they were alone. “You better stop that, or my friends are going to be able to smell exactly what I’m thinking.”
His growl had her wolf raking at her insides. “Ah, Achwahnaja, they already know,” he murmured.
The End
Thank you for reading Atlas’s and Joni’s story. I hope you’ve loved them as much as I did. If you enjoy the Mystic Wolves check out my sexy SEALs Check out Delta Salvation now! http://bit.ly/2IWv8wXDeltaSalvation
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About Elle Boon
Elle Boon is a USA Today Bestselling Author of sexy alphas, strong heroines, and sinfully sexy romance. She lives in Middle-Merica as she likes to say...with her husband and Kally Kay her black lab and writing partner. She has two amazing kids, Jazz and Goob, and is a MiMi to one adorable little nugget named Romy, or maybe better known as RomyGirl, who has totally won over everyone who sees hers. She’s known for saying “Bless Your Heart” and dropping lots of F-bombs, but she loves where this new journey has taken her and has no plans on stopping.
She writes what she loves to read, and that’s romance, whether it’s about Navy SEALs, or paranormal beings, as long as there is a happily ever after. Her biggest hope is that after readers have read one of her stories, they fall in love with her characters as much as she did. She loves creating new worlds, and has more stories just waiting to be written. Elle believes in happily ever afters, and can guarantee you will always get one with her stories.
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