Stray Echo

Music

POV: Echo

I couldn’t seem to tear my eyes away from his as I watched Zev flicker in and out of Atlas’s eyes. Based on the waves of furious auras from the Alpha, Beta, and Delta, they are all struggling equally with their wolves at this moment. It takes every ounce of my willpower not to bow in submission.

Closing my eyes, I try to ignore them as they work to gain control while they watch me like a hawk. I hope they will get bored after a while and keep driving, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Breaking the silence, it’s Beta Travis who speaks first.

“Luna Echo, are you saying that in the ten years you have been in the Red Stone pack, you have been locked in the house the entire time? Treated as a slave and forced to clean, while never once being given any form of recreation other than chores and varying forms of abuse?”

I can hear the pain in his voice as he tries to keep it level. I keep my eyes closed and nod once, not wanting to see the looks on their faces. Hearing them all suck in a breath, I hear what I can only assume is a car door opening and closing as the clean scent of nature flows into the car, Travis’s cut grass and leather scent fading a bit. Blaze mutters a quiet curse, as he sits back and lets everything that I have told them about my life so far sink in completely. Atlas, who has continued to brush his fingers along my arms and back, sits silently for a moment before he finally speaks.

“There is much of the world that you have been denied, my Little Warrior. Now that you are free, I will be more than happy to show you everything you’ve been missing out on. I would offer to take you for a walk, but I think at this moment, you might be in too much pain to truly appreciate it?” He pauses, and I slowly open my eyes to meet his. I gave him a tiny smile and nodded again. Even that bit of movement sent ripples of pain throughout my body. He presses his lips to my forehead again, sending pleasurable tingles to chase after the painful ones.

“Why don’t we play some songs for you, and you tell us which you like, and which you don’t? Then we will know what you like, and we can play more of it.” He suggested, and I hummed up at him happily, looking out the front window to try to get my emotions in check. In ten years, no one has ever cared about what I like.

As I watch, Travis leans against the hood of the car, taking long drags from a cigarette while he looks into the trees across the road. His face crumples in pain for a moment before he clears it and heaves a sigh, butting out his smoke and climbing back into the car.

The scent of cigarette smoke fills the car as he starts it and pulls back out onto the road. I wrinkle my nose as it burns my nostrils. “Sorry, Luna!” Travis chuckles, as he cracks the window to air out the car. The loud whooshing noise makes me cringe, and I take a moment to adjust. Thinking for a moment, I finally asked the question that had been nagging at me since I woke up.

“Are we still there? Are we still in the Red Stone Pack?” Even though I was trying to keep my voice neutral, the crackles of fear in it gave me away instantly. Atlas gently shakes his head no and I release a shuddering breath I didn’t know I was holding.

‘I told you; mate will take care of us.’ Tala whispered in my mind. ‘I am sorry you are in so much pain, Echo. Cordelia has said any healing I do will heal your broken wrist and ankle, and she may need to re-break them if they aren’t set first.’

‘Thank you,’ I told her, glad that she is still here, and still doing her best to take care of me after all of this. I can’t help but smile as I watch the world fly past the windows with my head resting on Atlas’s chest.

Finally, I am free of that place for the first time in ten long years. Happy tears roll down my cheeks as I realize I never have to enter that house again. Never have to enter that basement again. Atlas holds me as tightly as he can without hurting me.

Travis and Blaze take turns picking a couple of songs from each genre of music that they look up on a device that Blaze calls his cell phone.

I have seen other wolves using them, but no one could let me touch one or tell me much about what they did. I decide not to mention this, just in case it comes as another major shock to the men in the car with me.

Turns out, I like most music. Having not been allowed to listen to it, I find most of what they play to be amazing. Atlas laughs, shrugging at the wolves in the front seats, grumbling about me liking the tenth song in a row they’ve played.

“Give it time, guys. Once she gets used to being able to listen to anything she likes, I’m sure she will gain some preferences.” He tells them, winking down at me as I blush. I hope they know I’m not trying to be difficult and frustrating; I just like music a lot.

That seems to settle them down some, and I return to watching the world pass through the windows. At some point, Atlas had slowly shifted us into a more upright position, and I could see the woods, meadows, and fields as we drove past them.

I look up at Atlas curiously as Travis slows the car and turns onto a little dirt road that I wouldn’t have even noticed if we hadn’t turned to drive down it. He shoots me a grin as he glances out the window.

“Welcome home, Little Warrior!” His eyes crinkle in the corners before he presses a kiss on my forehead. Excited, I turned back to the window and saw wolves of varying colours running through the forest with the car. Before I can ask, he leans to my ear and whispers, “Blood Moon warriors, welcoming us home. Welcoming their Luna home.”

A shiver runs down my spine as he speaks, both from his voice, and the reality that I am now the Luna of one of the most feared packs around. I can feel the men in the vehicle finally relaxing completely.

“It’s good to be home,” Travis sighs, rolling the last bit of tension from his shoulders. Blaze nods, grinning like a madman as he watches the warriors run through the trees. “You’re just excited to be getting home to Noira!” Travis says, jabbing his elbow into Blaze’s ribs.

“Like you wouldn’t be equally happy to be coming home to your mate if you had one!” Blaze retorts, elbowing Travis right back. I giggle, an odd and rather foreign sensation for me, as I watch them teasing each other like schoolgirls. Everyone in the car smiles hugely, glancing at me and I blush, looking up at Atlas through my lashes. He smiles down at me.

“That’s the first time we’ve heard you laugh,” he explained. “You have a beautiful laugh!”

A warm feeling settles in my chest, unfamiliar but pleasant. I ponder it for a moment and realize just what that feeling means. For the first time that I can ever remember, I feel as though the people around me genuinely care about me and want me to be happy. For the first time that I can remember, I felt loved.