The Taste of Seduction

"Alright weakling, let\'s see if you can make more

than a dent. Although, I won\'t complain if you

don\'t, I thought you were strong since you were trained by the best assassins but damn nephew your father would be so disappointed."

Atlas felt a growl rumble in his chest, a low growl,

shocking him at how natural it felt.

What the hell is wrong with him?! Since when did he just start growling at people?!

Elvin smiled and leaned back in his chair again and looked at Atlas with amusement.

"What are you going to do, big guy? You can\'t even chop a log. Ha."

Atlas huffed and squeezed the axe between his palms.

His pulse raced and he breathed heavily, almost as if he would burst. His muscles grew tense and he cracked his knuckles. His body temperature rose, and he could feel his blood boiling. A vein from his neck popped out.

Anger curled hot inside him and it was so enticing, like a drug. He pulled the axe back and swung. He swung hard and fast and with the anger that he had pent up for so long. The log split. It finally split.

Atlas stood there shocked for a second. Staring at the two pieces that had previously been one.

"You feel that? " Atlas looked back at Elvin who eyes were holding his own in their own firm gaze.

"You feel that, coursing through your veins? Clawing at the back of your mind?"

Atlas sighed and closed his eyes. He did feel it.

The feeling was enticing, the feeling of this anger that was gnawing inside him..

The beast inside him was howling at the back of his mind.

Atlas opened his eyes and looked back at Elvin. He

narrowed his eyes and cocked his head again,

letting the silence settle between them.

"Don\'t be afraid of it, it\'s a part of you now. You

have to learn to embrace and control it, use it

when you need it but don\'t let it have the upper

hand on you. Understand?"

Atlas nodded at him. This thing was too intoxicating to be safe.

"Good, now, do it again."

Atlas almost laughed at the order but knew that he was serious. They were going to be out here all day

chopping these damn logs.

The day waned on and he had split was seemed like hundreds of logs.

At first, he set into a rhythm, his muscles seemed to remember the motions and his arms moved on auto-pilot as time went on.

It was like a twisted therapy. He chopped out of anger, out of frustration, at the universe for taking his angel from him.

For a few logs he pretended that it was the vampire\'s head, and that gave him more satisfaction to chop the wood.

But as the day waned on, his body started to tire. He felt his arms start to burn, it had been a long time since his muscles had worked so hard in their life.

The only reason he probably had lasted this long was this beast growing inside him. Elvin said he would naturally start to grow stronger, a perk of turning into a wolf.

Atlas continued chopping over and over and over again until he felt like his arms would break. The next time he swung, he missed. He hit the wood but the log did not split it.

He sucked in a breath and stared down at it.

Perplexed.

"Funny isn\'t it," Elvin started while popping open

yet a can of drink , "doesn\'t matter how hard

you swing, it doesn\'t help you endure.

"What?" Atlas asked through a strained breath. He was dripping with sweat so he removed his shirt.

"If you hit that log harder, it won\'t split. It

won\'t ever split. You\'re getting stronger, but you

can\'t always rely on your strength to carry you."

Atlas let out another breath and looked over at Elvin who was resting his head against his palm. "So what the hell do I do then?"

He smirked and took a long sip of his drink. "You

rely on what you know and on that beast inside of

Atlas almost wanted to laugh, the thought was still

crazy to him.. A beast. He was now a beast.

"Again then?" He asked with a voice leaked with a

challenge.

Elvin nodded. "Again

Atlas unleashed it. He let the beast inside him who was howling with excitement in anticipation drive his movements, and somehow he found his hidden strength.

Chopping and chopping and chopping. Letting his mind wander away. He found himself thinking about his Angel. God he missed her already.

His arms burned, but he began to like the burn. His

legs ached, but something in him told me to ignore it. To keep going.

So he did. Never giving up. He wasn\'t one to give up though.

Atlas had no idea how long he went on cutting the logs. Just as he was about to cut the last one for the day, he saw her.

She was staring right at him- intently.

Adrenaline coursed through his veins, heightening

his already extreme senses. Was that Meredith?

He drank in her features. Strawberry blonde hair framed her round face, with full lips and her beautiful hazel eyes . Did she dye her hair? Wow she looked like a Barbie princess now.

He watched as the prince whispered something in her ears causing her to blush. Atlas gaze travelled to his hands around her waist and anger rushed through him.

"Oh it\'s the princess and the prince. Come Atlas, let me introduce you to them." Elvin\'s voice interrupted his train of thoughts.

Atlas dropped the axe next to the stump and walked over to his uncle.

Atlas stood beside his uncle with his gaze still on Meredith who was approaching them with Marcus.