Stray Echo

Did We…?

POV: Echo

I’m not sure how long we sat there for, but eventually, my sobs turned into hiccups, and my eyes ran out of tears. Atlas sat with me the whole time, rubbing my back and allowing me to let it all out.

Feeling like a limp noodle, I rested my head on Atlas’s warm chest, listening to his steady heartbeat to calm myself. Seeing that I had finally cried myself out, Atlas leaned in and kissed the top of my head before resting his chin on it.

“Would you like to take a bath, Little Mate?” He asks after a bit, pulling away just enough to look down at me. I frown, trying to think of what sitting in frigid water would do to help me right now, when Tala nudges me. ‘I’d be willing to bet that the Alpha of the pack has a hot water tap in his bathroom!’

I smile and nod at Atlas, desperate to feel what a hot bath feels like. I’m sure I’d had one before, but it would have been during the time before Red Stone, the time I can’t remember. My head fell back onto his chest, and I glared at the bathroom door, wondering how I was going to get all the way over there and back like this.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got you. I will carry you, Little Warrior. You just relax, and I will do the rest.” Even though I felt like all I’d done for the last while was lay unconscious or sleep, I was so exhausted I could barely hum at him in agreement.

Chuckling, he carries me to the bathroom and sits on the edge of the tub with me in his lap. I gasp as I slip slightly while he is leaning down to put in the plug, and he tightens his grip before he turns on the taps.

I don’t even have the strength to protest when he pulls his shirt off me and eases me, completely naked, into the steamy water. At some point, he’d put soap in because there was a layer of fluffy white bubbles across the top of the water. I can’t help but grin and blow lightly at the bubbles. I blink and I can hear Atlas murmuring beside the tub, talking to himself, or maybe to his wolf.

“I’d better get in there with her. She looks like she is going to pass out any second. The last thing we need is for her to drown in the bath.” I heard clothing hit the floor, and he climbed into the massive tub behind me.

Before I can do or even say anything, he pulls me between his legs with my back against his chest. Thankfully, the tub is deep enough that the bubbles hide anything there is to see anyway, and he’s already seen me naked, regardless. But something about him seeing me naked not during a medical examination seems more blush-inducing.

I wake up to the sounds of birds chirping in the early morning sun. When I open my eyes, I can see the sunlight shining through the balcony doors and the varying windows in the room, in just such a way as to light up the aviary. The birds flit around happily, singing their songs as they go. I smiled as I stretched, rolling over and winding up face-to-face with Atlas.

“Oh!” I squeaked, startled by his closeness, and that he was very obviously wide awake and had been watching me sleep. My face turns a vibrant shade of pink as I realize I am covered by little more than a sheet under which I am completely naked.

Eyes wide, I stared at him in shock, trying to remember what happened leading up to this. I remember waking at dawn, my crying fit, and Atlas offering to run me a bath. After we enter the bathroom, though, I only catch vague flashes of being bathed by someone in the most glorious and warm bath I have ever experienced. I also vaguely remember someone, Atlas, I think, climbing into the tub with me. Feeling incredibly shy and uncomfortable, I looked away before trying to speak.

“I-What… Why am I…? Were you…? Did you…? Did we…?” I slowly try to ask what had happened, but I was so embarrassed and concerned that I could hardly think of how to say it, and finally decided on the bluntest and most direct approach.

“Did you climb into my bath with me? Did you do… anything to me while I was asleep? Why am I naked?” I spit out the questions rapidly, while even more blood rushed to my cheeks.

“Oh! Goddess no! I wouldn’t do something like that to you while you were in that state!” Atlas’s face had paled, and he looked completely flabbergasted that I’d thought something had happened. “You were so exhausted. Once you’d stopped crying, I ran you a bath. Once I got you into the tub, though, I could tell you were going to fall asleep! I knew the hospital scent was bothering you, and I could feel how tense your body was once you’d calmed down again.”

“I knew you needed a bit of a soak, so I stripped down to my underwear and climbed into the bath with you to keep you from drowning and to help you wash up. I kept my underwear on so you’d be more comfortable, but even if I was naked, I wouldn’t have done anything like that!” I can feel his sincerity through the bond and sighed in relief.

“As soon as you leaned against me, you passed out, so I had to wash you the best I could on my own. I tried to be thorough, but not… inappropriate, so I merely ran a cloth lightly over certain areas, if you know what I mean. Then I pulled the plug, toweled you dry, and laid you in bed. You looked so calm and content that I didn’t risk waking you by trying to dress you and tossed a sheet over you, so you didn’t get too warm.”

Based on the slight blush that crept up his cheekbones, and the look of horror on his face, I can tell the idea of touching me in any way that was or could be deemed as s****l in nature while I was incapacitated like that made him uncomfortable.

I stared at him for a moment and struggled to understand how this Alpha was so different from the previous one I’d spent time with up to that point in my life. One who would take what he wanted when he wanted and would knock me out to make it easier. And one who blushed at the thought of wiping me in the wrong spot with a cloth while bathing me. I smile shyly at Atlas, appreciating just how different he is from Brady. He smiles back and pulls me into his warm embrace.

“Remember, Little Mate, I would never, I will never, do anything like that to you without your consent!”