Page 52 of Red River

I went to take a quick shower, hoping it would calm my nerves a bit, but as soon as I stepped out of the bathroom, I heard Archer’s voice in the hallway.

"Igor?"

Apparently, he was standing by the door, which… remained closed.

Was Igor planning on ignoring him? I already knew this wasn’t going to end well, so I went out of my room. But as soon as Archer saw me, he did one thing: pointed to my room door with a short, calm gesture, his face reminded unfazed.

I felt like a little kid being sent to the corner, but at the same time, it gave me a strange sense of satisfaction. Great! Let Archer prove himself—be my guest. I was fed up. At least today, I didn’t have to deal with Igor’s moods.

Being locked in my own room for a few days without my phone—because of Igor—kind of made me hope for amiracle. Was the miracle about to start?

Let’s face it: no omega had ever won against a young alpha who went intoMusth—not because of a lack of parenting skills, but because of their unique biology. I got why Archer wanted me to stay out of it.

So, I went back to my room and pressed my ear to the door to listen.

But the silence was far too unsettling, so curiosity got the better of me, and I cracked the door open just an inch to see what was happening from a safe distance.

Archer wasn’t by Igor’s room anymore. I had no idea what was going on, but after a moment, I heard his footsteps on the stairs. A few seconds later, he appeared in my limited line of sight, carrying some tools and a toolbox.

What the hell was he up to?

Then, I heard strange noises. Unfortunately, from my position, I couldn’t see exactly what was happening at Igor’s door, but the noises went on for a while. Then, suddenly, there was a loud crack, and I saw Archer setting Igor’s door aside—he had taken it off the hinges!

Wow, so unexpected! I never would have thought of that. I’d probably just be whining and yelling at Igor’s door, hoping he’d come to his senses and open it.

Archer’s determination was admirable.

I heard Igor’s voice, full of protest: "What the hell are you doing, freak? Taking my door off is going way too far!"

"I decided you don’t need a door. You spend too much time locked in your room—it’s not healthy for a teenager."

"You’re seriously messed up!"

"Now, you’re either coming downstairs like this, or you’re going to change into something else."

"No way! I’m not doing any of that! Try and make me."

My heart was pounding so hard I could barely hear anything else, but I caught the sound of a struggle. I felt like my head was about to explode, and I had to fight the urge to rush out of my room. But I didn’t want to break my promise to Archer—my curiosity had to wait.

A moment later, in the narrow view from the crack in my door, I saw Archer walking down the hallway, carrying a protesting, thrashing Igor in front of him!

I also noticed the other boys had come out of their beds and were peeking through cracks in their doors, just like I was, watching as their older brother struggled with Archer, cursing all the way.

I quickly ran to the window, snapped it open, and saw that Archer had set Igor down on the patio.

Archer started talking. "We’re going to run on a nice, scenic trail through the woods—"

"You can run there yourself, asshole! I’m not going anywhere!" Igor crossed his arms and defiantly raised his chin.

But Archer didn’t argue with him. He grabbed Igor around the waist again… and headed straight for the pool! He swung Igor lightly and tossed him into the cold, early morning water.

Since the sun rose on the other side of the building, the light didn’t hit the pool until around 9 am, and at 6, the water must have been freezing cold.

Igor came up to the surface, cursing and splashing water everywhere, shouting insults at Archer.

"You know, I wasn’t a fan of running as a kid either. My dad used a small dog pool. If I didn’t want to run, I had to swim. You’ve got two options too: swim for half an hour, or we go for a run. It’s your choice."

I heard giggles coming from next door. Aiden and Lake must have snuck into Van’s room—the only one with a view of the pool—and now they were laughing at Igor together.

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