#8 The Archer and her Wolf

Xaiver

I was with Shay, Yaya, and Logan on the back patio of the packhouse, spending some quality time with my son, when Frankie and Lion came running out. They looked like a pair of rabid dogs with their wild eyes and crazed expressions.

“What is wrong with you two?” I glared at them as they startled Logan.

“Sorry, we just have some news about the girl.” Frankie eyes Logan when he said the girl. I knew what he meant and why he didn’t want to say her name around my son. We didn’t want to get his hopes up about Thea returning.

Shay and Yaya walked over towards their mates to greet them. Logan ran off towards the small playhouse in the backyard and two guards followed him.

“What did you find out?” I asked eagerly. It had been three days since I asked them to find Thea’s family.

“She’s a Greyback.” Frankie answered and I felt my eyes bugged out of my head.

“As in the twin Alphas from Satin Moon?”

Satin Moon was a pack outside of Atlanta, Georgia. It wasn’t too far from our own territory and we knew them well. My grandfather and the twins’ father created an alliance between our packs when they were young Alphas and we continued it to this day. The twins both shared a mate, one Luna who ruled over both their packs, since they had added a Warrior division to their pack over twenty years ago.

“She’s their daughter.” Frankie said.

“I guess that explains why she started training at such a young age. Rumor has it, one of the twin Alphas left for the Warrior pack as a teenager as well.” I said.

“I heard the other Alpha and their Luna were both pretty chill, though.” Lion added.

“I guess I should go pay them a visit. Frankie, can you take care of things here while I’m gone?” I asked my Beta, who nodded quickly.

“Of course.”

“Shay and Yasmine, can you look after Logan?” I hated leaving him behind when there was still some sort of threat out there, but I didn’t feel comfortable bringing him into a stranger’s territory.

“We’ll keep him safe.” Shay smiled at me.

“Lion, you’re coming with me.” I said and my Gamma stepped towards me with a grin.

“Sure thing, boss.” He smirked and I rolled my eyes.

“Simply as a precaution. You are the future Luna’s protector, after all.” I leveled him with a gaze that said, don’t make me regret bringing you along.

“And you know I take that responsibility seriously.” It was about the only thing Lion took seriously.

“We leave in the morning.” I told everyone before heading towards my son to spend some more time with him.

The next morning, Lion and I were in my truck driving out of the state. I decided not to bring any other guards with me to ensure that Satin Moon didn’t feel threatened by my presence. It took a few hours to drive there, but we finally made it to Satin Moon’s front gate before noon.

“Alpha Xaiver of Valor Moon here to see the Alphas and Luna.” I greeted the guard at the gate. He radioed ahead and waited for confirmation to open the gate for us.

We drove down the short driveway to Satin Moon’s small packhouse. They had a small, homey packhouse and separate buildings to conduct business or to gather with their pack instead of one large community packhouse. It was an interesting way to do things, I thought. We pulled into the large parking lot beside the packhouse.

“I thought they had a parking garage?” I said to myself. Lion just shrugged as he put the car into park and we hopped out. We walked towards the front door where two men were standing to greet us. They both looked exactly the same, I could never tell which one was which.

“Alpha Xaiver, we weren’t expecting a visit from you.” One said.

“I know, I apologize for that. This was a last minute trip. It’s regarding your daughter, Thea.” I said and both their eyes widened. A petite girl came running out the front door then.

“Is she okay?” She gasped, “My daughter?” This must be Luna Maizey.

“Yes, Luna, she’s fine. I’m sorry to worry you. I know she’s an Archer.” I said and I heard a low growl escape the Alpha who hadn’t spoken before.

“Shut up, Archer.” Luna Maizey snapped at the one who growled. That meant the other one must’ve been Alpha Hunter, “Come inside. Let’s talk.” Luna Maizey grabbed my arm and pulled me towards the door. Lion was hot on my heels.

We all settled in the small, comfy office the Alphas had inside the packhouse. I introduced Lion as my Gamma and the Alphas officially introduced themselves. Before I could say more, two large men with identical appearances entered the office. They had the Luna’s red hair and the Alphas’ green eyes.

“Alpha Xaiver, Gamma Lional, these are our eldest sons and the future Alphas, Theo and Tigris.” Alpha Hunter said. I stood up and shook both their hands.

“Pleasure to meet you both.” Honestly I was surprised that they weren’t already the Alphas.

“This is our mate and future Luna, Nora.” Tigris introduced the blonde haired, blue-eyed she-wolf behind them.

“My sons will take over the Alpha position from us when they turn 28 in two years. Since they will be ruling two packs as one, a conjunction that is still relatively new and growing, we wanted to give them time to prepare.” Alpha Hunter answered my unasked question.

“I look forward to working with both of you.” I nodded to the future Alphas.

“For now, we have them involved in all Alpha meetings.” Alpha Archer grunted from the corner. He was clearly the less pleasant one.

“Fine by me.” I agreed and sat back down. Tigris and Theo walked across the office to stand by their fathers with the future Luna, Nora staying close to their side.

“What news do you bring about our daughter?” Luna Maizey asked eagerly, “We haven’t seen her in almost a year.”

“She’s my….” Suddenly, the smell of rain filled my senses and clouded my brain. I spun towards the door just as it flung open and Thea stormed inside.

“What in the hell are you doing here?” She growled at me.

“Thea?” Her mother shrieked and flung herself across the office. In two seconds flat, she had her tiny arms wrapped around Thea.

“Hi, Mom.” Thea sighed, hugging her mom back but still glaring at me over her shoulder.

“Thea.” Alpha Hunter smiled at his daughter and kissed the top of her head.

“Hi, Dad.” She waved towards Alpha Archer, “Papa.”

“What are you doing home?” Alpha Archer asked.

“I saw him through the mirror portal.” She snapped at me, turning her fury back on me.

“The what?” I asked curiously.

“The mirror portal. It lets the Archers check in on their families and get to them in a hurry if something is wrong.” Luna Maizey explained, “Ours is by the front door.”

“I’ll ask one more time, why are you here?” Thea stepped away from her family to stand threateningly in front of me.

“You gave me no choice. I couldn’t find you, so I thought I would find your family.”

“Why did you want to find Thea?” Alpha Archer stepped towards me, growling.

“She’s my…”

“Shut up!” Thea yelled at me, shoving me into the desk.

“Thea!” Her mother chastised her, earning a stern glare from her daughter.

“What is going on?” Alpha Hunter looked confused.

“You need to leave.” Thea had her hands pressed against my chest as she pushed me into the Alphas’ desk. I knew she was threatening me, but all I could think about were her hands on me.

“Enough!” Alpha Archer’s voice radiated power through the office. Thea stepped back, immediately submitting to it. I was shocked, I wasn’t sure anything could make her submit. “Speak. Now.” He jabbed a finger towards me.

“Sir, your daughter is my mate.” I finally said. The entire room fell silent.

A piercing shriek made me flinch and jump five feet in the air. No one else reacted as Maizey clapped gleefully. I guess they were used to her volume, I was not.

“Finally!” She smiled at me.

“No, Mother.” Thea grumbled, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“Oh, please, Thea. Enough of this. You found your mate, you don’t need to be running around with those Archers now.” She scoffed. Thea looked at her mom in astonishment then towards Alpha Archer, like she was asking him for help.

“Papa.” She whined at Alpha Archer. I resisted the urge to laugh at her little voice. I had never heard it sound so childlike before.

“Thea, give your dad and I a minute with Alpha Xaiver. Go with your mother.” Alpha Archer said. Thea pinned a death glare on him but he brushed it off.

“Archer….” Luna Maizey looked like she was going to argue,

“Please, my little Luna.” Alpha Archer’s entire face softened as he looked at Maizey.

“Just give us a minute, princess.” Alpha Hunter kissed his mate’s forehead. She melted under their soft gazes and nodded, leaving the office with Thea in tow.

I was immensely jealous. I wanted that with my mate so much it physically hurt.