Page 33 of Wolf Traded
Archer launches himself over the table at Grayson’s crude words before I can get a hand on him and gets a solid punch to his face and a couple to his ribs before two other alphas pull him back.
“I saw the nasty pack whores you fucked the night before you were supposed to be mated. I got the better end of this deal. You are a weak alpha.” Archer snarls at Grayson pulling away from the other men easily and turning his back on Grayson to walk back over to me. Grayson hisses angrily at the disrespect but doesn’t move to challenge Archer again.
“That is enough!” The head alpha slams his hand down on the table so hard I’m surprised it doesn’t crack. “These talks are over for the day. Everyone go cool your tempers off and we will reconvene tomorrow afternoon.”
I touch Archer’s arm but he jerks away leaving me feeling rejected again but this time hurts way worse than Grayson’s rejection ever did. Kyle notices and his eyes dance with laughter at seeing my pain and I turn away from him before I even think about what I’m doing.
Someone grabs my arm roughly and I swing around ready to punch the person but Kyle’s hand is faster grabbing my wrist and squeezing so hard I know there will be bruising. I heal fast but not fast enough. “Now you would strike an alpha?” He growls.
“I would strike out at anyone who grabs me so violently or touches me without my permission.” I glare back at him. He has no right to think he can just grab me like that. He may be an alpha but he’s not my alpha.
“You dare touch my mate?” Archer roars grabbing Kyle up by his shirt practically knocking me on my ass in the process. If it weren’t for the head of the council’s mate reaching out and steadying me I would have fallen and been even more humiliated.
“Thank you,” I tell her as I back away from what is sure to be another fight.
“You’re welcome. My name is Lynn and all the females have decided to meet in the sun room in the morning to see if we can fix this mess.” She smiles kindly at me.
“I don’t know why you would want me to be a part of that. My mere presence caused this.” I shake my head still watching Archer. He has Kyle lifted up off the ground and is whispering angrily to him. I can’t hear what he’s saying but Kyle’s face pales and he nods once before Archer drops him to the floor.
“You are the Alpha Female of the Everette pack and I can tell you will do good things. These alphas are too hot tempered for their own good. We are meant to balance them and that is exactly what we intend to do. See you in the sun room tomorrow, Jara.”
“Thank you, Lynn, I will see you tomorrow.” I smile at her. This woman who just met me hours ago has more faith in me than almost anyone else in my life. It warms my insides until I look up into Archer’s cold glare. Well fuck, this is going to be a problem. If he doesn’t trust me or have any kind of faith in me then how will any of this work? I don’t see how it can.
18
ARCHER
Humiliated isn’t strong enough of a word for what I feel right now. Yes, Jara was standing up for a way of life that I embrace and was trying to get them to trade with us but why couldn’t she keep her mouth shut? I try to reason with myself that tempers were already high and no matter what Jara did even if she acted like the perfect alpha mate they still would have found some way to tear her down. She just gave them the perfect opportunity to start problems.
It doesn’t stop the cold fury running through me at her but also Kyle and Grayson. When Jara touches my arm as if to comfort me I jerk away from her. She doesn’t get to touch me right now when she’s the cause of my anger. I can’t be held responsible for what I might do as my whole body literally vibrates with rage.
I tilt my head back looking to the ceiling and pinching the bridge of my nose looking for calm but it doesn’t come. “Now you dare strike an alpha?” Kyle roars and I turn to find him with his hands on my mate.Mine.My wolf snarls in my mind and I don’t even hear her response to him as I push myself between them and grab Kyle by the collar of his shirt and lift him several inches from the ground.
“You dare touch my mate?” I snarl at him. My wolf is super close to the surface, now. Kyle gulps loudly and I know I have him scared.
“She turned her back on me and when I grabbed her arm she tried to punch me. I think she needs a few lessons in respect, Archer.”
“And you think you’re the one to give her those lessons, Kyle? You ever touch my mate again and I will challenge you and then during the challenge I will shred the fucking skin from your body while you scream for mercy. You won’t find any mercy from me though. People that try to do harm to what is mine get an excruciatingly slow painful death. Do not make that mistake twice,alpha.” I sneer the last word because in my eyes he’s too weak to be a good alpha. I watched him cheat on his mate. None of these alphas have any honor.
Kyle’s face pales and a slightly evil grin crosses my face as I drop him and he tumbles to the floor. I turn to find Jara cradling her wrist while talking to Lyn the head of the council’s mate in hushed tones. I don’t even think she realizes she’s doing it but the bruises on her wrist make me want to turn around and beat Kyle bloody.
Jara must see where my eyes are because just as I turn to beat the life out of the stupid alpha there’s a small hand on my arm. I tense at first. “Archer, he’s not worth it, c’mon.” She tries to steer me from the room but she’s much smaller than me.
I let her guide me out the door but the second we are in the hall, I lift her over my shoulder. I need to get her to the room and check her arm and my strides are much faster than hers. “Archer, what the hell? Why are you always throwing me over your damn shoulder?” She shouts.
“Be quiet, Jara.” I growl and continue until we get to the room we were given.
Dropping her on the bed, I stand over her with my arms crossed over my chest. She shrinks into the mattress under my glare chewing on her lip. Even mad at her I want to reach out and stop her from shredding those perfect pink lips. “Take it off,” I growl pointing at her shirt.
“Archer, we need to talk about this.” My eyes widen as I realize what she’s thinking is happening here.
“We will but my wolf is banging at the cage in my mind and needs to see if there is any bruising on your arm like on your wrist. So. Take. It. Off.” I bite out the last few words. If she doesn’t get it off in the next thirty seconds I’m going to shred the damn thing with my claws.
Finally she starts fiddling with the buttons and removing the material. I can’t help but admire her beauty as she reveals herself to me and apparently my dick didn’t get the memo that I’m angry with her right now because when she reveals her breasts in the white lace bra it hardens painfully.
I stare longer than necessary and my wolf growls in my mind as I reach a hand out to trace her cleavage over the top of the lace.Right. Archer, stop thinking with your dick.I snatch my hand back as Jara clears her throat and pulls the fabric down over her shoulders.
A rumble tears through my chest as I see the dark purple handprint on my mate’s pale skin. Mine. I turn to do I don’t know what. Maybe kill the fucking alpha that put his fucking handprint on her but she stops me. “Archer, wait.”
