That was the only reason I was thinking about Archer and babies in the same sentence. Definitely. Maybe.
I stroked the wolf’s hair and muzzle until Archer growled impatiently next to me. His disapproval made the wolf whimper, and Archer had the decency to look a little sheepish about it.
“Sorry, buddy. You know I don’t like sharing her. Go ahead, we’ll meet you by the car.”
The creamy gray wolf nudged Archer’s hand before turning and darting into the forest ahead of us, leaping over logs and ducking through the undergrowth. Archer led me carefully along the wolf’s path, always conscious of my movements and any obstacles he deemed to be in my way.
“How are you feeling?” Archer asked, glancing at me out of the corner of his eye. “I’d prefer to keep you here longer to recover, but I know you’re eager to head back.”
Not nearly as eager as I thought I would be.
“I’m still a little tired, fine other than that,” I said truthfully. “Were you worried I was in pain? Is that why you haven’t tried to have sex with me since my heat broke?” My tone was teasing, but the question was genuine. We’d slept in the same bed for two nights and he hadn’t made a move on me once. I was feeling insecure, and I did not appreciate it.
“Feeling insecure?” Archer asked smugly, like the mind-reading asshole he apparently was.
I caught myself before the automatic denial escaped, making a liar out of me. Again.
Archer chuckled at my silence. “I have decided that I’m not having sex with you again until you’re in love with me.”
“You… what?”
“No sex until you fall in love with me,” Archer said slowly, enunciating every word with a mischievous look in his eye. He was quick, but I could probably land a solid hit if I caught him off guard…
“What makes you so sure I’ll ever fall in love with you?”
“I’m already in love with you, so I’m just sort of hoping for the best,” Archer said casually, like we were discussing what to have for dinner or something.
“Oh.” Oh? Fates, Wren. I wasn’t sure if I was in love with Archer yet, but I was halfway. That thought was terrifying. He’d broken my heart from the moment I met him, and he’d barely even acknowledged it. Letting go, loving him unconditionally, would give him the power to destroy me.
We walked the rest of the way in silence, each of us lost in our own thoughts. Guilt gnawed at me as I took in the tension in Archer’s spine and the tight set of his jaw. He was a confident man, but “oh” was a pretty lackluster response to an admission of love, bound to hit anyone straight in the ego.
Archer guided me through the treeline, into the little clearing in front of his cabin where Miles was already waiting, leaning against the hood of the truck fully dressed.
“How did you even get here?” I asked him, looking around the clearing, half expecting to see a second vehicle.
“My dad picked me up,” Miles said with a shrug. “You two kind of took off in a hurry,” he added, smirking.
Thank the Fates he hadn’t been in the truck with us on the way to Audax territory. I’d practically mauled Archer on the way up here. It was bad enough that he was there to witness it, let alone anyone else.
“You wouldn’t have been welcome in the truck, anyway,” Archer said succinctly, giving the bench seat a hostile glare as he opened the driver’s door.
Miles didn’t look offended in the least, the corners of his mouth twitching. “If I drive, you can sit in the middle,” he volunteered.
“Why would you sit in the middle?” I asked Archer, baffled. “You’re the biggest of all three of us.” I swear his chest puffed up a little at that. Men.
“He doesn’t want me sitting so close to you,” Miles explained. Right. Because of the lack of claiming mark.
Archer tossed Miles the keys, climbing in through the passenger door and sliding into the middle of the bench. I pulled myself up into the huge truck, sitting as close to the door as I could to give Archer some room. He looked comically large sitting in the middle, with Miles trying not to elbow him as he started the car and moved it into gear.
“Ugh, I’ve probably been fired,” I groaned. I hadn’t even thought about work since my heat had abated.
“You’re not due back at work until tomorrow,” Miles replied, taking me by surprise.
“What? How?”
Archer grunted and Miles’ cheeks looked a little flushed.
“Fates, did you bully those hapless humans into doing your bidding?” I sighed, leaning forward in my seat so I could look at Miles.
“I resent the bullying accusation,” Miles said, looking genuinely offended. “I merely emphasized the importance of taking regular vacations for both mental and physical health and said you’d be taking a week off.”
Archer barked a laugh. “Nicely done.”
“I rescind the bullying accusation, but I’m still not entirely sure how I feel about you alpha-ing my colleagues.” I gave him a mock chastising look, even though I knew he would have charmed them, rather than intimidated them. Indigo was probably half in love with Miles now.
I cranked the radio as silence descended upon the truck, fiddling with the stations until I found one playing classic rock songs.
After half an hour on the road, Archer’s phone rang, startling all three of us.
“It’s Dad,” he muttered, looking uncomfortably at his phone before glancing at a tense Miles who immediately flicked off the radio. They didn’t need to explain to me it was weird for Samuel to be calling them already.
“Hi Dad, we’re still driving,” Archer said, putting the phone on speaker.
“Are you all there?” I could hear Samuel’s footsteps as he paced, probably in his study.
“I’m here with Wren and Miles,” Archer clarified. “Is everything okay?”
“Wyatt just picked up the scent of foreign wolves on the border while he was patrolling. All around the border. Someone has been staking us out.”
Archer glanced at me, a question in his gaze. I nodded mutely. Go ahead.
“The Azymus Pack have contacted Wren, demanding she return and enter an arranged mating with some kid in Ohio,” he explained, voice rough with both his rage and his wolf’s. “After we left Fortis Pack, they picked up the scent of foreign wolves there, too.”
“So they’re ensuring Wren hasn’t joined another pack?” Miles asked thoughtfully, looking over at me.
I shrugged. “I never responded to my mother’s message, and she hasn’t sent any more. I was supposed to go to them, though. I don’t know how they found me.”
“It could have been a lucky guess to see if you’d discovered your maternal family. The Fortis Pack would have been guaranteed to take you,” Samuel suggested.
I hummed thoughtfully. Mom had been weird about me wanting to go north when I left Azymus Pack.
“Be careful,” Samuel added. “If Wyatt wasn’t such an excellent tracker, he wouldn’t have picked up that they’d even been there. They’re smart. And probably running out of patience.”
“Thanks, Dad. We’ll keep you posted,” Archer replied, his voice strained as he hung up. If the Azymus wolves had only been following me since I’d visited the Fortis Pack, it wasn’t that surprising that they hadn’t made a move yet. Archer had rarely left me on my own since then, and he was a good deterrent.
Unease unfurled in my stomach. Had they been hanging around Carson? Watching me? That was so fucking creepy.
This was probably the normal, healthy response I should have had to discovering Archer had been all but stalking me for months. I didn’t mind it so much when he did it.
Archer was doing his best to keep calm, even though I could feel the tension radiating off him. I linked our fingers together and pulled our joined hands to my lap, stroking his arm with my other hand. His wolf was going crazy, and I hoped maintaining physical contact would keep him grounded.
Still exhausted and recovering from my heat, I wasn’t surprised when I w
oke up with my head resting on Archer’s bicep as we pulled into Carson.
“Where am I dropping you, Wren?” Miles asked softly, his voice cutting through the fog as I rubbed my eyes.
“She’s coming to our house,” Archer replied immediately like it was obvious.
“Is that so?” I drawled, covering my yawn.
“We have no idea if or when the Azymus Pack will make their move, little bird, we are not sleeping in separate houses. I don’t think you want that either.”
I pursed my lips and gave him a considered look. I felt like I should argue with him. On principle.
“I know that look. That look means you agree with me, but you don’t want to admit it.” Archer smirked. “Ha, you’re doing it again.”
“Shut up. Fine. I’ll stay at your house,” I sighed. Truthfully, I didn’t love the idea of spending nights away from him and it was nothing to do with my old pack.
“I know, that’s what I’ve been trying to tell you.”
“I need my own clothes first, I’m sick of wearing other people’s things.” Archer agreed, a little too enthusiastically, making me immediately suspicious. Miles waited in the car as we pulled up in front of my place. It looked like none of my roommates were back yet, though I’d received messages from each of them once we’d gotten in range of cell phone reception assuring me they’d return as soon as they could get away from their families and they hated me spending Christmas alone.
Guilt gnawed at me. I doubted they’d be itching to return to Carson early if it wasn’t for me. I drew them in subconsciously with my Luna vibes, and it wasn’t fair to any of us since I had no interest in forming a pack of humans. Maybe I should move out.
I led Archer up the rickety stairs and into my tiny bedroom with little thought, startling slightly at the feral growl he made the moment he was inside the door. He looked absurdly oversized in my modest room with the low, sloping ceiling.
“This is where you sleep?” His voice was rough with emotion, his eyes glowing wolf as he took in the cramped quarters. It wasn’t a very shifter-friendly space.
“It’s fine,” I assured him, instinctively petting his chest to soothe his agitated wolf.
“This isn’t good enough for you, little bird.”
“I’ve told you before, Arch. I don’t need fancy things.” Though I wouldn’t say no to a bigger bedroom. I moved around the tiny room as efficiently as possible with him taking up half the space, shoving two outfits into my duffel bag. Silently, Archer opened my dresser and started pulling out the entire contents of the drawers, squishing them into the bag too.
“It smells like sandalwood in here,” Archer commented, picking up the sandalwood candle on my dresser and examining it before tossing it into the bag. Fates, please don’t read too much into that. How embarrassing.
“How is this all of your stuff?” he grumbled, eventually. It all fit into one duffel bag easily. I hadn’t had a chance to go clothes shopping since I’d moved to Carson. The only new clothes I’d acquired was the slinky dress Eloise had bought me, and…
“Holy shit, you bought me that coat, didn’t you?” I asked, straightening and putting my hands on my hips. How had that never occurred to me before?
“You were cold.” Archer shrugged unapologetically.
“Why are you packing up all my stuff?” I asked, realizing what he was doing.
“You can’t stay in this horrible room with all these humans anymore, little bird.”
“Says who?” I bit back. I really loved that coat. I should probably thank him for it.
“Can you give me this win, Wren?” he sighed, looking suddenly exhausted. I’d shoved his declaration of love into the back of my mind, but now it felt like a tangible presence in the room with us. “Let me take care of you, let me know you’re safe. We don’t know what your old pack has planned, but even if I kill their Alpha, I’ll never be happy unless I can see you. Stay with me. Live with me.”
Wordlessly, I gathered up the rest of my possessions and shoved them in the bag, grabbing the few things I had stored in the bathroom and kitchen. Archer waited patiently on the bed, shoulders slumped in relief and my heart ached for him. No one could be strong all the time, and he was letting me get a glimpse of the worried man underneath the laid back facade. The one with the weight of the Alpha responsibilities slowly piling up on his broad shoulders.
I zipped the duffel bag shut and looked at him expectantly until his eyes found mine.
“Velociraptors.”
“What?” he asked, brow furrowed.
“You asked me once what my favorite dinosaur is. Velociraptors. Ready to go home?”
Archer’s slow smile was so warm, it melted my natural iciness until it was just a watery memory.
“Yeah, little bird. Let’s go home.”
Chapter 21
Archer
I looked down at my ringing phone. I could barely hear it over the Christmas music blasting from the coffee shop speakers. It was Christmas Eve, and the humans were losing their shit.
Incoming call: Flynn Ellery
“Go,” Wren mouthed at me from behind the counter, eyes sparkling with amusement. How she put up with this shit, I did not understand. I’d been hanging around her work for the past two days since we’d arrived back and all the humanness was driving me steadily insane.
“Hey Flynn,” I answered, moving towards the door of the coffee shop and tilting my head at the truck so Wren knew where I’d be. Fates, I needed like three seconds of peace.
“Hey Arch, how’s it going?” Flynn asked. Our daily catchups had become one of my favorite rituals, and I knew how much Flynn needed them. As a highly dominant wolf, he struggled to rely on anyone and couldn’t really talk to anyone about what he was going through.
I knew that feeling well; it was how I’d felt until I had Wren in my life. Flynn wouldn’t ever feel truly settled until he found his mate either. I wasn’t trying to prove my worthiness for Alpha to Wren like I was to my father and packmates. I wasn’t competing with her, the way I subconsciously was with Miles and Flynn. Wren was my true equal. My confidante. My greatest source of strength and my favorite weakness.
“No news here. How are you guys? How’s Mom?” I climbed into the blissfully silent truck and leaned back against the headrest. I could just see Wren moving behind the counter. It reminded me of the bad old days of stalking her from a distance instead of up close like I got to do now. It was more enjoyable for both of us this way.
Fates, Wren made everything better. I felt like an idiot for ever thinking of a mate as a responsibility. Loving her was a privilege, not an obligation. I just had to figure out how to convince her to love me back.
“Mom’s the same,” Flynn replied casually, though I could hear the tension in his voice. “Everyone misses you guys. Like way more than they usually miss you when you leave. Wren’s good for your rep.”
I laughed. “Fuck yeah, she is. I always thought ‘better half’ was the dumbest thing I ever heard, but Wren is most definitely my better half.”
“That’s a bit cute, bro.”
“Fuck off.” I rolled my eyes, then sat up in the truck, dread curdling in my stomach. I couldn’t see Wren through the window anymore. More worryingly, Indigo was pacing agitatedly in front of the alleyway that ran adjacent to the coffee shop.
“I have to go. Call Miles, and ask him to meet me at the coffee shop, I have a bad feeling.” I hung up and leaped out of the truck, running back to the building. I’d never wanted a sealed mating bond more. If we sealed the bond between us, I would always know if she was in danger.
The scent of foreign wolves hit me and my inner animal snarled in agitation.
Indigo’s eyes lit up in relief when she saw me. “They came in the shop, but Wren led them out here and told us to make sure no one entered the alleyway. Derek’s at the other end.” They were protecting their Luna without even realizing.
I spared her a quick nod before striding past. Indigo dropped eyes t
o the ground as I stalked into the narrow space with all the grace and purpose of an apex predator. I was ready to fuck shit up.
“I know I’m not seeing my mate being held down by three centurions right now. And I know I’m not seeing bruises on her face. That would be like sending me a personalized request for me to end your lives.”
The three centurions pinning Wren to the ground all stiffened. The Alpha whose boot hovered over my girl’s stomach gave me a wide grin, though I could see how much he was struggling to hold my gaze.
“Get the fuck off her,” I growled, barely keeping the shift at bay.
“That won’t be possible,” the Alpha drawled. “Your manners need work, pup. Let’s start over, hm? I’m Alpha Mercer of the Azymus Pack. Wren here will be leaving with me, my centurions, and her parents.” Mercer indicated two submissive wolves, cowering against the brick wall of the coffee shop. I barely spared them a glance. They may have contributed to Wren’s genetic makeup, but they weren’t worthy of being called parents.
“Four on one,” Miles drawled, materializing on my right, slightly behind me to cover my back. The position usually occupied by the Beta of a mated Alpha, whose Luna always took the left-hand spot. “That hardly seems fair.”
Wren took advantage of the distracted centurions, wrenching her limbs out of the grip and barrel rolling away from the Alpha’s boot before it came down on her again. I lunged as he moved to grab her, catching him by the throat and slamming him hard against the brick wall.
Miles dove forward to help Wren, tackling two of the centurions while she climbed to her feet, her movements more sluggish than I would have liked. My wolf growled, furious. Mercer chuckled lightly at her struggle and I felt my fur brushing up underneath my skin as my wolf pushed forwards.
“Fates, you’re an idiot,” I muttered as I slammed Mercer’s head back against the wall hard enough to crack the brick. Funny how smashing someone’s head in a wall knocked the bluster out of them.
Fire & Gasoline: A Shifter Romance (Audax Pack Book 1) Page 24