#8 The Archer and her Wolf

Thea

It’s been 48 hours since I left Valor Moon’s packhouse and returned to my mark, Hugo. I guess he and his boss, Matt, got the message because they haven’t tried anything with the Alpha’s son, Logan, lately. Hugo was held up in his cabin, only receiving one visit from Matt yesterday morning. I was getting impatient and was ready to make my move. Hugo needed to be captured and interrogated by Base.

My phone buzzed in my pocket and I shifted on the tree branch to pull it out. I looked at the screen, it was a coded message from Base. They were asking me about the two men I sent and why I didn’t have Hugo yet. I quickly typed up an explanation and stuffed my phone back in my pocket. I grumbled, having enough of this stakeout. I jumped down from the tree and readied my bow.

I crept around to the back side of the cabin, looking for the easiest way to sneak in. I found a window that was open about an inch. I jimmed it loose and opened it up the rest of the way, popping out the screen so I could crawl through. I threw my bow over my head, the string crossing over my chest and the bow resting on my back. Then, I shimmied myself through the window.

I quietly jumped down and readied my bow again, notching an arrow and sneaking through the small cabin. I was inside a bathroom, so I had to silently open the door and take in my surroundings. I slipped through the crack in the door and stepped into the hallway. To my left were two closed doors and to my right I could see the kitchen. I listened carefully and heard the sound of a TV coming from the right.

I chose my steps carefully, not wanting to disturb any of the old wooden floor planks. When I reached the archway that led to the kitchen and living room, I paused to look around the corner. Hugo was sitting on the couch in front of the TV with his back towards me. Otherwise, the cabin was empty. I leveled the arrow with his head and stepped inside the living room.

Hugo flinched and jumped up, spinning around to face me as he sensed my presence.

“Archer.” He growled at me.

I didn’t waste any time. I released the arrow and it plunged into his stomach. I smirked as he dropped to his knees and then disappeared. I pulled at the chain around my neck, bringing a golden pendant out from underneath my shirt. I pressed the pendent between my fingers and watched as a portal surrounded me. I, too, vanished from the cabin.

I was dropped down in the middle of the Archer’s base of operations for the east coast. My pendent portal took me to a secure location inside the compound, unlike the portal from the arrows which took its victims straight to the jailhouse. I was in a small room specifically meant for arriving Archers. No one else was around. I flung my bow over my shoulder and pushed open the door.

“Captain.” The guardsmen on the other side bowed his head to me, “Welcome back.”

“Thanks, Rich. Where’s Effie?” I asked.

“She’s in the jailhouse. You’ve been keeping her busy this week.” Rich chuckled at me and I grinned.

“Just doing my job.” I winked at him before heading down to the jailhouse.

The Archer’s base was a large compound that looked like an abandoned factory to outsiders. Below it was the jailhouse. Every Archer got a private bedroom and bathroom within the compound. There was also a kitchen, dining hall, a few living rooms, and some recreational rooms. Connected to the compound by an underground tunnel was the gymnasium, workout rooms, weapons arsenal, and indoor swimming pool. Outside were training grounds, another pool, and an archery range.

I pressed my palm into the digital scanner next to the secured basement door. It clicked open and the lights automatically turned on. I jogged down the steps and through another secured door, punching in my security code this time. The door opened and exposed the dark jailhouse. It was exactly what it sounded like, a dark, damp, dim cinder block basement filled with unpleasant sights and smells. It held around fifty cramped cells and two huge interrogation rooms.

The guardsmen at the door nodded at me respectfully. I walked towards the first interrogation room and waved to my people inside. The woman smirked at me and motioned for the others to follow her out.

“Finally, she graces us with her presence.” Effie laughs, hugging me from the side.

“Good to see you, Captain, you’ve kept us busy.” The other two men inside the room were the interrogators, Marco and Pete.

“I try my best, Marco.” I said.

“Tell me about the first two you sent over. We’ve learned their names are Zinn and Tank.” Effie, the head of our base, said.

“Are? They aren’t dead yet? I thought for sure I killed the first one.” I replied. Effie laughed at my disappointed face,

“Zinn was barely alive, but our healers are very good. They are both still being milked for information.” She said,

“They were hired by Hugo to go after the son of a local Alpha. Hugo was ordered to enlist them by a man named Matt. He’s definitely a ranked rogue.” I explained. I looked through the large glass window and saw Hugo was dangling from the ceiling by silver chains, “Also, the second one, Tank, doesn’t have a wolf.”

“Yeah, we figured that one out. He’s still affected by silver and wolfsbane, though. His wolf just abandoned him.” Pete spoke up.

“Who’s the Alpha?” Effie asked.

“Alpha Xaiver of Valor Moon. His son, Logan, was the target. I think he’s still in danger. Matt talked about starting some kind of feud by taking the boy.” I said, not missing how my heart flip flopped in my chest as I said his name. I growled at myself internally.

“We will adjust our interrogation to include Valor Moon. We’ll find out why they want the boy.” Marco said sternly.

“I want to make sure the boy is safe. He’s only three and he’s an innocent.” I made myself very clear. Marco and Pete nodded before stepping back inside the interrogation room.

“We’ll make sure the boy is safe.” Effie assured me.

“I told the Alpha we would keep him informed of what we find out if it has to do with his pack.” I told her. Effie raised an eyebrow at me.

“I’m surprised by you, Crimson. You don’t usually get personal.” She crossed her arms over her chest.

“I’m not. You know how I feel about children getting hurt.” I snapped.

“Mhm.” Effie shook her head at me.

“Whatever. I need a shower.” I grumbled and turned away from Effie.

If it wasn’t for the fact that I’ve been under her supervision since I was 16, Effie would have my head for speaking to her like that. She’s been the head of our base for decades, leading with a cold heart and an iron fist. She was one of the original Archers, committing to the organization after her mate was murdered by a group of rogues. When I decided to start training for the Archers, she took a particular interest in me and became my mentor.

She even comes around my home pack to have holidays with my family. She was like a grandmother to me. A scary, murderous grandmother.

Putting all my security clearances in again, I made it back to the main floor of the compound. In the front of the house there was another door, secured by a thumb print scanner, that led to a long staircase. At the top of the stairs there was a second security door. We were a fan of our security around here.

Once I was finally on the second floor, the rest of the compound was open access. I guess they figured that, if you could make it through all that, a couple more secured doors weren’t going to make a difference.

There were two more floors above this one, and all three levels were set up like a hotel plopped down on top of the compound. My room was on the first floor at the end of a long, bland hallway. My door read: room 13. Effie thought she was hysterical, giving me unlucky room number 13.

On the same chain as my pendant, was a key that unlocked my door. Why they still used old fashioned skeleton keys for the doors when everything else had smart locks was beyond me. I shut and locked my door behind me.

Inside was a spacious living room and kitchenette. The kitchen only had a sink, toaster oven, and an apartment sized fridge with a couple of cabinets and a small counter top. There was a tiny table off to the side of the kitchen with two chairs. Behind that was a sliding door that opened to a small balcony that was just big enough to hold a garden table and two chairs. The living room fit a mini sectional, a coffee table, and a storage cabinet underneath the wall mounted TV.

I walked through the living room and pushed open my bedroom door. The room was small but comfortable enough to have a queen sized bed, an end table on either side, a dresser, and another mounted TV. There was a door on either side of the TV, one was for the walk-in closet and the other was to the bathroom. I hurried into the bathroom, in desperate need of a shower.

It was your typical stand up shower with generic white subway tile on the walls and some ugly brown tile on the floor. It had a basic shower head and controls. Outside the glass shower doors was a vanity with one sink and plenty of counter space. There were storage cabinets under and beside the vanity. The toilet was tucked in a cubby in the back of the bathroom for privacy.

I turned the shower water as hot as it would go and stood under the rainfall for a long time. I let the water rinse away a week’s worth of dirt and grime. I closed my eyes and tilted my head back, letting the water run down my face. I gasped when a pair of moody blue eyes filled my mind’s eye. I jumped and looked around, breathing hard. I was still alone. I blinked rapidly, trying to clear my vision and figure out what the hell had just happened.

I shook my head and went back to the task at hand. I squeezed a puddle of body wash into the washcloth and scrubbed myself until my skin was red. I did the same to my hair, digging my nails into my scalp and scrubbing until a layer of bubbles covered my hair. I rinsed the soap from my body and waited until the water began to run cold before stepping out.

I tucked a fluffy towel around my body and walked up to the vanity and mirror. I started brushing the knots out of my black hair, which fell to the middle of my back in completely straight strands. As I brushed out my hair, I watched myself in the mirror. Those blue eyes flashed across my vision again, but this time they came with a face. Alpha Xaiver of Valor Moon.

I growled at my own reflection, what the hell was wrong with me? I closed my fist and punched the mirror. It shattered around the sink and on to the floor, blood dripping from my knuckles. I stupidly thought that taking my rage out on the mirror would make those eyes go away. I was wrong.

I swept the glass from the vanity in one sweep of my arm, shards of glass picking at my skin, but I didn’t flinch. I walked through the remnants of the mirror and to my closet, not caring about the pieces still in the bottom of my feet.

I grabbed a red loose fitting shirt and a pair of black leggings before sitting on a small stool in the closet. I plucked the glass from my feet before putting on a pair of underwear and tugging the leggings on, pulling them up over my stomach. I pulled a red, razor back sports bra on and the matching red shirt. It was long and flowy, covering my butt discreetly. I moved to the dresser to pick out a pair of red socks. I tossed the towel into my hamper and threw myself down on the bed, burying my face in the pillow.