Chapter 39

The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 39 ~AUTUMN~

Anya looks directly at me, and it almost seems like she knows I’m responsible for it. Who else at this table could have done it?

There weren’t supposed to be any witches amongst us.

“Is that a death glare she’s giving to you?” Clarissa asks in disbelief. She attempted to confront her, but I held her hand to prevent her from making a scene. Clarissa was not afraid to stand up for herself or those close to her. I was happy to know she was this fond of me.

We were supposed to be having a peaceful dinner with the family. I didn’t want to cause an uproar for everyone present, especially not in front of their parents.

“I’ll take you home,” Dante tells her as he puts his arms around her.

“I don’t know what she’s so upset about; she isn’t the one that bought that dress,” Clarissa says dryly. “It was Damon who’d gotten it for her, and I’m sure he will get another one now that this one got ruined.”

I can tell that she’s upset that Damon was the one who’d bought it for her. I knew the bracelet in her hand was gifted to her by Atticus, and it bothered me every time I had to see it on her.

At least I was the one wearing the ring.

“How can someone like her be blessed with three mates all at once?” I ask. “It just doesn’t seem right to me. She doesn’t even appreciate them.”

Clarissa nods, “she was the same way with Atticus until he married you. Now, suddenly she can’t live without him. I call bullshit.

She’s only trying to mess with you. She was never this crazy over Atticus until he was off-limits. If you ask me, Anya only wants what she can’t have.”

It was true. Everything she’d just said was absolutely true. I’ve been friends with Anya long enough to confirm it.

Something about Anya felt off to me; I wasn’t able to spot it before, but there was something that stood out, and I just couldn’t put my finger on it.

What was she hiding from the rest of us?

We watch as she walks away, clutching her dress, “look at how she pushes Dante away when he’s just trying to help.” Clarissa points out. “How can he love someone like that? They all deserve better; I’m happy that at least Atticus could break free from her terrible hold on him, and we all have you to thank for that, Autumn.”

I smile, happy that at least Clarissa was grateful I had entered Atticus’s life.

“What are you girls whispering about?” Griffin asks. “Share it with the rest of us. I’m looking forward to a good story.”

Clarissa shows him the finger, and their mother tells them to act mature at the table. I’m sure she was concerned if anyone would record their behavior and have it posted.

“Can someone explain to me what exactly happened here?” Their father asks. “A bowl of soup doesn’t just magically lift into the air and splash onto a person. That’s the work of a witch.”

“Someone must have been prying on us,” Griffin suggests. “We’re not alone in the restaurant. Maybe someone here doesn’t like us or doesn’t like Anya, which is understandable, but that’s the only explanation I can think of.”

Everyone seemed to accept his explanation for what had happened, but I hadn’t. Anyone would think I was crazy for believing I was responsible for everything without any proof except that I’d gotten angry with her, but I knew that it was me. I knew that power had been released from inside of me. I didn’t know I was capable of this.

After finishing dinner, we all got into separate vehicles to return home.

“I’m surprised you’re not with Anya right now.” Clarissa points out to Damon. “You’re usually rushing to be with her whenever she is angry about something.”

He sighs, “it’s Dante’s night to be with her. I’m giving them their time alone.”

I knew they were her mates, but it still seemed so weird that brothers had to share one woman. It didn’t seem right.

Atticus is unusually quiet, and I can tell he has plenty on his mind. Was he thinking about the incident at dinner? Would he find it strange that all these unexplainable events only occurred whenever I was around him? I knew that I would be suspicious if I were him.

I breathe a sigh of relief when we’re finally back home.

I was happy to get some time to myself as I all but rushed into the house and straight to our bedroom. It doesn’t last long, however, as Atticus walks in a few minutes after me and reminds me that this room also belonged to him.

My heart began to pound loudly as he walked back into the room with his hair slightly wet with nothing on but short pants. His chest was also damp and glistening. I force myself to look away as he starts to dry his skin.

I couldn’t let my horny mind control me today. The last time that happened, I used a seduction spell on him. I still wasn’t sure if I had been responsible for that, but I wasn’t taking any chances.

I couldn’t deny how good he looked. He wasn’t the only one that could dress inappropriately for bed. Two can play that game.

I walk back into the bathroom even though he’d seen me there just a while ago. My sister had played a prank on me and packed sexy lingerie for me to sleep with . I never thought I would use them until tonight.

I dabbed some perfume onto my neck, where his mark on me was.

When I step back into the bedroom, Atticus is already lying on his side of the bed.

His gaze lifts to my exposed legs and slowly travels up my body. His jaw clenches, and I swear I saw his hand grip the sheet to his side, but I might have imagined it.

I try to be seductive as I climb onto the bed, but with my luck, I may have looked slightly retarded. I tried not to overthink as I lay on top of the covers. I didn’t want to hide under them; I wanted him to see everything.

His hands are behind his neck, and I can practically hear his loud breathing next to me. Did that mean that my plan was already working? He usually breathed like this whenever he was affected by my actions.

I’m thinking of something to say to break the tension, but I can’t think of anything. The only thing I could think of was shouting at him, screaming how much I loved him. To think that I’ve loved him for so long and he never knew. But I know I can’t tell him yet; I need to make him want me; I need to make him regret ever choosing Anya over me. Only then would I confess. Only then would I tell what’s been in my heart all this time.

We both turned on our sides simultaneously, and our gazes met. I held my breath, and I noticed the way his throat moved as he swallowed hard. I hate how attracted I am to him. It doesn’t help that he doesn’t have a shirt on. I can see each of his perfectly defined muscles, and they’re screaming for me to reach out and touch them.

Where was my control? I couldn’t let myself be dragged into this again. I had to stop myself from doing something that I may or may not regret in the near future. I didn’t trust my feelings; they kept fluctuating.

His gaze drops to my lip before going lower to stare at my tiny lingerie, barely covering my body. My n*****s hardened as his gaze lingered on my barely covered breasts. His eyes narrow, making me wonder if he knows how responsive they are to him.

I rub my legs together, and his gaze drops to them; it slowly travels higher until it settles on the one area that aches for him.

It’s so unfair. Why do I crave his touch so much? Why do I want him even more than before? Which was crazy considering how much I’ve liked him in the past.

I shook my head and lay down on my back instead of facing him. I wasn’t dragging myself down that road again, no matter how much my body was screaming for me to let him touch me.

I’d only dressed this way to tease him, to make him crave me; I wasn’t planning on anything else to happen tonight between us. I was still pissed at him for what he’d done in the past, for the many things he’s done while trying to protect Anya instead of me.

Just thinking about it drove me up a wall; why did he have to cause so many problems between us? And for Anya? She didn’t deserve him from the start, and neither did she deserve his brothers. Yet she was the lucky one to have all three of them, and it had been that way for years. Clarissa was right. I was the reason that had changed for Atticus, but I wasn’t sure if it was really over between them. Atticus still cared a great deal for her, and I knew that it would continue to bother me for a long time.

I run a hand down my body, and I hear Atticus’s sharp intake of air. Was that because of me? I dare not turn to look at him.

Instead, I shut my eyes and tried to think about anything but him.

I’m not sure if a few minutes pass or even hours; all I know i that I haven’t been able to sleep with him lying shirtless next to me. I hadn’t opened my eyes once, but I could still feel his body heat right next to me. I could even smell him. On me, on him, his scent was everywhere. It filled his room, and I wish he didn’t smell so heavenly and masculine all in one.

My eyes flash open when his hand suddenly cups my ass. I wouldn’t exactly call it cupping, his hand was big, and they were resting there. I look at him, but his eyes are closed, and I wonder if, by some miracle, Atticus has already been asleep. How could he fall asleep so quickly in a situation like this? I was still struggling; it was unfair that it was so easy for him while it was difficult for me.

It felt good to be able to stare at him now that his eyes were closed. His wet hair had fallen over his forehead, leaving his forehead glistening.

Ignoring all the warning bells in my head, I reach forward and gently push his hair back, it was as stubborn as he was. I watch as it falls back down as soon as I move my hand.

I take a deep breath as dark desire washes over me. I could feel the seduction spell on the tip of my tongue, waiting for me to command it, to scream it at the top of my lungs.

My body felt like it had a mind of its own as I moved his hand from my ass and climbed onto him. Atticus’s eyes flash open the moment that I do. I can barely recognize them; they’re dark and dangerous and filled with desire. He wants me. I can feel it now that we’re bonded. I can feel how much he craves me at this exact moment. He craves me so much that it hurts.

It turns me on knowing how much he wanted me at this exact moment. Did this mean he could also tell how much I wanted him right now? Does he know how much I was dying to have him touch me?

“What are you doing, Autumn?” He asks in a hoarse whisper. His voice. Why was his voice So sexy? Why did it make me want him more?

His hand travels up my legs and to my waist. His eyes look hypnotized as he watches me in a way I’ve never seen another man look at a woman. My body shivers, and I want him to always look at me this way.

One of his fingers traces my belly button while he watches me. I gasp at the rush of emotions that flow straight through me.

I run my hands down his exposed chest; I’ve wanted to do this for so long. I’ve dreamt about touching Atticus like this ever since I understood what it meant to love someone. His body trembles under my touch, making me never want to stop.

I should stop this. I shouldn’t give in to what I wanted; nothing good ever comes from doing what I wanted. But even though I knew what the right thing to do was, my body had another mind of its own. It knew what it wanted, and that was the man beneath me.

Atticus lets me touch him, making me more confident as I bend towards him so that my mouth is so close to his bare chest that if I leaned forward a little, I could kiss each of his hard rock abs.

I run my nose down the middle of his chest, and I watch as his chest bulges towards me, begging for more attention. I’m doing everything but kissing and licking, even sucking; I’m preventing myself from doing all those things even though I’m dying to do it.

I let my nose travel to his neck, and he freezes. I’m tempted to bite down on him as he’d done to me. I’m almost desperate to do it; my body is screaming for me to let it happen.

“What the f**k?” He growls suddenly.

I held my breath, afraid that I’d just crossed some line. His body is shaking with rage, and I’m not sure what has caused this sudden change in his mood. What had made him so angry in a split second?

To my surprise, he leans into me and sniffs my neck. I freeze. What was he doing? I gasp when his hand tightens on my exposed waist as he brings me even closer to him. My body was practically sprawled on top of him, and his nails dug into me as he searched for something.

“Why did you put perfume over my mark?” He demands. “Are you trying to cancel out the scent?”

Alarm bells rang as I realized what had caused his sudden anger. He was pissed because I’d covered his scent with another. I didn’t think that would have caused such a reaction. It didn’t matter if it was another man’s scent on me or an innocent fragrance;

he didn’t want anything but him on me.

He lifted me off him and climbed out of bed. I’m unable to move for a few seconds, still in shock. What was so wrong with putting perfume over his mark on my neck?

Atticus returns from the bathroom a few minutes later with a wet cloth. I’m not sure what he’s doing until he tilts my head to the side and starts to wipe the perfume out of my skin.

“Why are you doing that?” I demand as I try to push him away. “I put it there for a reason. It isn’t such a big deal, Atticus!”

He holds me still and keeps wiping until he’s satisfied with the result, “never put any other scent on your body other than mine.”

He growls. “It’s the only scent I want to smell on you.”

I gape at him; it was the last thing I was expecting him to say to me.

I never thought that wearing perfume would be able to piss him off like this. Now I knew what else could turn on his anger switch;

I could use this to my advantage in the future if I wanted to get this reaction out of him.

I gasp when he lays me on the bed and covers the mark with his mouth. I can barely breathe when he begins to suck on the skin. I grabbed onto his hair as he assaulted my neck in the most pleasurable way possible. I sigh happily as he doesn’t stop; he keeps sucking on the skin, I know what he’s doing, but I don’t care; I want him to do it.

He pulls away suddenly and stares at his work; a triumphant smile lights up his face, and I almost drown in it. I’ve never realized how much more beautiful he looked when he smiled. Maybe because I’ve rarely seen him give a genuine smile like this one, to know that he was this happy because of his mark on me made my knees feel weak, and I wasn’t even standing, which I was grateful for if I had been standing when he’d smiled at me like that, I would have ended up in the ground. And that would have been embarrassing.

Atticus lays back down on the bed after covering my body with the sheets. Suddenly, his mouth is near my neck as he whispers in a threatening tone, “if you want to make it through the night without my d**k inside of your tight p***y, I’ll suggest that you don’t try teasing me for the rest of the night.”

Does he even know how dirty my mind was when it came to him? I wanted that to happen; I wanted to be joined by him in every way possible.

But he was right; tonight wasn’t the night. And so, even though I wanted to provoke him some more, I decided to do the smarter thing and finally closed my eyes to get some sleep. There were many other opportunities like this shortly, and I would have plenty of chances to seduce him and take what I wanted from the start.

. . . . . .

I hadn’t slept the entire night after what almost happened between Atticus and me. I was terrified of myself and how uncontrollable I was becoming.

It was as though my body wanted to take whatever it craved. That was not okay; it was scary. It knew that it wished for Atticus, and because of that, it wanted him through any means possible.

Did my parents know the truth about me? Could they tell from the start that something was off about me? They’ve never told me anything, and I’ve never been able to do things like this in the past.

“Are you okay?” Clarissa asks me. We’re in the jeep, and Atticus is driving. We’re on our way to the academy.

She must have seen how stressed I was; it was easy to tell since I hadn’t slept.

“I wasn’t able to get any sleep last night,” I explain.

Atticus looks at me through the mirror, and I blush at the look he gives me.

“I don’t need to know about your s*x life with Atticus,” Clarissa says as she covers her ear.

Atticus begins to cough at her words, and I gape at her. How could she assume something like that?

My eyes widen, “you’re mistaken. I just wasn’t able to sleep.”

She gives me a look that says she doesn’t believe me, but the conversation ends there as Atticus pulls up to the academy. We exit and Damon pulls up right next to us with Anya in the vehicle. Clarissa and I look at each other when she gets out of the car.

“I smell trouble,” Clarissa says.

I nod, agreeing with her.

“It’s lovely to see you, beautiful women, this morning,” Anya says, and I almost choked on absolutely nothing.

Did I hear her correctly?

It’s the first time Clarissa doesn’t have a comeback for something Anya has said. Was she being friendly for a change?

“She’s definitely up to something,” Clarissa warns me as Anya hooks her arm through Damon’s, and they both begin to walk in front of us.

She was correct; I wouldn’t believe for a second that Anya had magically become nice overnight. Just yesterday, she had plenty to say to me in the bathroom, and it was clear that she was up to an evil plan. Did her sudden behavior change have something to do with it?

Was she trying to be nice to get Atticus to trust her again? I hope he was smart enough not to fall for her poor acting.

“I’m going to class,” Clarissa says. “I’ll see you after.”

I nod, and Damon excuses himself to drop her to class just like he’d done yesterday. Anya looks visibly annoyed that he’s left her to care for Clarissa, but she tries to hide it. She was too late, however; I’d already seen the look on her face, the real her, not the person she was trying to fool us into thinking she was.

Unluckily for me, witches were also on the topic for today. I didn’t want to learn about spells; I was afraid my mind would find ways to use them on the people around me. Yesterday, I hadn’t even used a spell on Anya; I was just angry when everything splashed over her.

Anya looked uneasy as they spoke about the spells, but it made me wonder what else she was hiding. She was a werewolf like the rest of us; she had no reason to be this bothered.

The rest of the day went quickly, and thankfully Anya hadn’t tried anything stupid today. She was still pretending to be nice to everyone for a change. It was a little creepy, considering we were all accustomed to the horrible side of her.

Why couldn’t she have been this nice from the beginning? I knew it was only a matter of time before she showed her proper form. She couldn’t keep this up for a long time.

Clarissa chooses to return home with Damon and Anya; I knew she only did it to be closer to him; she wasn’t joining them because of Anya.

We were in the jeep, getting ready to back out of the parking lot when I noticed something strange. Tyler was looking straight at us, and it looked like he was telling something to his teammates. Atticus wasn’t paying attention to them, but I noticed how angry they all were.

This couldn’t be good. It was possible that I was reading too much into their expressions, but it still bothered me.

“Atticus.” I say, “did something happen yesterday with Tyler?”

I already knew the answer but wanted to hear it from him.

His hand tightens on the steering wheel, “that’s not important.”

“Of course, it’s important.” I disagree. “Tyler is a part of the fearsome; they’re not a team to play with.”

“I’m not f*****g scared of them, Autumn.” He growls as he reverses and turns onto the road.

I look back at them, and they’re also getting into their vehicles; Tyler isn’t joining them, however. He’s the only one that stays around.

He didn’t deny that something had occurred last night.

“Why do you look so worried?” He asks me.

Damon was driving so quickly that he wasn’t in front of us anymore.

I look back, and they’re still following us.

Before I could respond to Atticus, they overtake us and pull in front of the jeep. Atticus mashes down hard on the brakes, and the vehicle abruptly stops.

Atticus looks at me, “are you okay?”

I nod as I remove the seatbelt; this was the least of our troubles.

Atticus looks in front of us and mutters a string of curses as he exits the jeep.

They also do the same, and I’m not far behind.

Carter Prince was in front of us, but he was not alone; he had five teammates by his side. They all looked pissed at Atticus. I didn’t like the situation in front of me; I should have spoken up before it came to this. I knew that something felt off, but I didn’t want to alert Atticus for nothing. At the same time, I didn’t think they would stop us in the middle of the road.

Atticus takes a step towards them after ensuring that I was safely tucked behind him, “is there a reason why you’re blocking my way?”

“Tyler told me something; I want to find out if there is any truth behind it,” Carter says as he flexes his shoulders.

“Since it doesn’t look like you’re letting us pass, ask away,” Atticus tells him.

I could feel the tension in the air, and my body shook with worry for Atticus. I knew this had to be about Tyler; why else would his teammates have anything against Atticus?

“Is it true that you and Damon cornered him yesterday?” He asks. “Tell us where Damon is. He’s the one that punched him and bruised his face, isn’t he?”

Atticus quirks a brow, “My brother Damon? I’m afraid I can’t give you that information.”

Were they looking for Damon? Oh no. Atticus would never tell them where his brother was. I knew that much about him. This was even worse than I initially thought it was.

Carter takes a step toward him, “are you willing to take the punishment in place of him for harming one of our players?”

Two of them were vampires; the other four were werewolves. I kept looking from one to the other, trying to remember their weaknesses. I had to do something quickly to prevent this fight from taking place. It was six against one; that was not fair at all!

“Atticus,” I whisper. “Let’s go around the other side. Don’t entertain them.”

“I’ll listen to her if I were you,” Carter says. “Just tell us where Damon is, and we will let you go without causing a scene.”

Atticus grabs him by his t-shirt, “you better stay the f**k away from my brother.”

“Atticus!” I hiss. He was not making this any better by initiating the fight first.

Carter grins, and his smile is scary to me. Before Atticus can see it coming, he slams both of their heads together so that he lets him go.

“Fuck.” Atticus growls.

Within seconds Carter and his three other teammates have shifted into their wolves. Carter’s black wolf growls as he moves left to right in front of us. The other three are starting to circle us while the vampires bare their fangs at him.

I couldn’t ask Atticus to turn away anymore; it was too late for that. They weren’t about to let him get away without a fight now.

He was about to pay the price for Damon hitting Tyler, a member of The Fearsome Beasts.

I’ve always known they were very protective of their players, but not once did I think that what happened yesterday would have led to something this dangerous. I wasn’t even sure that Damon and Atticus were responsible for the bruise on Tyler’s face.

What was meant to be just some innocent flirting with Tyler to make Atticus jealous had turned into something neither Clarissa nor me ever expected.

If I had known Atticus would be in danger because of my actions, I wouldn’t have ever done something like that. I didn’t think he would have gone as far as to confront Tyler over what we’d spoken about in front of him. Now, I was left fearing for his safety.

I gasp as Atticus shifts before me to reveal his beautiful grey wolf. It’s the most beautiful grey I’ve ever seen on any wolf before, and he looks back at me for a second before circling me, protecting me from the others even though it’s his life that is in danger.

They were here for him, not for me.

I looked around us helplessly; there was no one here that could help us. Even if I were to scream, that wouldn’t be useful to either of us. Instead, it may even make things worse.

The vampire attacks first, and Atticus grabs him by his leg and flings him to the side. Before he can prepare, Carter’s wolf grabs him by his neck, and I scream when I see blood.

Atticus looked back at me to make sure that I was okay, and when he had confirmed it for himself, he slammed Carter’s wolf against another one.

They were moving so quickly that I couldn’t keep up. I kept seeing blood and hearing claws tearing skin as they continued to fight against each other.

Even though Atticus was powerful, it was hard for him to fight against all five of them at once. As soon as he attacked one of them, the other five were on him simultaneously before he could recover from the last.

This wasn’t happening.Never once did I ever think I’ll be in a situation where I would have to see Atticus beaten up in front of me, and there was absolutely nothing that I could do about it.

Carter’s wolf cries out when Atticus bites down hard on his leg,but he doesn’t take long to recover as he grabs him by his neck again, and they both tackle each other on the ground.

I gasp when the other two wolves trample down on Atticus’s wolf and keep him down on the ground, buried beneath them.

They’ve trapped him.

My heart is racing in horror as I watch them begin to bite and scratch at him.

When he cries out, I completely lose all control. A scream rocks our surroundings, and it’s only then that I realize it is coming from me. Something unbelievable happens next, the werewolves, as well as the vampires,are lifted off Atticus and thrown into the air.