Feral Obsession

Chapter Twenty-Eight

"So, you grew enough balls to tell her she's your mate." It was the first thing Clarice said to Atlas when she arrived at his doorstep. Atlas immediately noticed who wasn't there standing with his spymaster, and it made his stomach clench. Made his heart sink.

Rufias snorted in his head. "It's what you get for scaring her off. You can't decide to want her after terrorizing her. This is all your fault."

Atlas bit his own tongue before he could retort to either of them. He stretched his door open, inviting Clarice in. Her eyes caught on Brody who was lounging in the living room. He blinked over at Clarice with a smile and a half wave.

"She's confused, by the way. Because your bitch ass didn't explain anything to her. She's half convinced you're going to lock her away like Kierson does. And she can't drop the notion that you're going to make her a house maid. How did you screw this up? You're lucky she finds you attractive-"

"Can you shut the fuck up?" Atlas closed the door with a little too much oomph. His narrow eyes glared at Clarice as if that would do the trick, but he knew the woman in front of him. It would take more than a look to keep her quiet. "This isn't your business."

Clarice gave him a disbelieving look. "Isn't it? She's my friend-"

"No, she isn't. She's mine-"

"She can be both of ours, Atlas. I'm not trying to sleep with her. You're a bigger idiot than I thought if you didn't assume she'd become one of us. Your circle just got bigger by one. It'll no longer just be Brody and I in this house."

Atlas felt his anger, red hot in his chest. It wasn't like him to lose control, not like this. He flexed his hands and took a deep breath. Losing his shit like he was some sort of teenager was not how he ran his pack.

"Ruby is not going to become one of us. There's no need for her to join in on these meetings, Clarice."

Clarice flipped him off. Then, she gave Atlas her back as she went and flopped down on the couch next to Brody, kicking her feet up on the coffee table. Just how Atlas hated. Then, she looked over her shoulder and gave him a cold look. "She is one of us. The moment the mating bond clicked was the moment she became a part of this pack, and a part of this inner circle. If you leave her out Atlas, you'll be just as bad at Kierson."

"Atlas, c'mon. Everyone already knows she exists. Would you rather the others find out your mate is a naive, ignorant human? Or would you rather Ruby actually know about us and how we work before throwing her to the rest of the pack? She'll be their Luna whether you like it or not." Brody was trying to be sensible, but he could see that Atlas wasn't thrilled about it. Wasn't thrilled that he was being ambushed by his two best friends.

"Ruby may be my mate, but she isn't fit for this!" Atlas roared. "She's a fucking human for godsakes! What would she bring to this table right now? She has no clue the inner workings of our pack. Of any pack! Why the fuck would I force her into this role-"

"Unfortunately, the Moon Goddess is the one who forced her into this role." Clarice raised a single brow. "And if she thought Ruby can handle it, then so do I. Ruby isn't stupid, Atlas. You just need to explain what is going on. And you need to figure out her role in all of this. Pushing her aside isn't going to change anything. It'll just open the door wider for Kierson to find her again."

"Clarice has a point," Rufias pointed out, unhelpfully.

"She wants to live a normal, human life. I'm willing to give her that. That's all I want for her, to be happy and naive as a human."