Page 58 of Wolf Trapped
Humming sounds from the kitchen, along with the smell of bacon and eggs. Jara is standing in front of the microwave, humming a tune I don’t recognize from my extensive music collection.
I lean against the doorway and watch her as she sways her hips. This never gets old. Music can definitely be healing to the soul. We need to get our things from the cabin sooner rather than later to get all her devices to use. I will blast music through the house all day, every day, if it helps my mate feel better.
“Archer.” She grins at me as she catches me staring at her without comment. “I need to put a bell on you or something, so I don’t get embarrassed dancing around the kitchen.”
“Don’t take my fun away. I like watching you dance around while you cook.” I take a step toward her. She puts a hand on my chest as I prowl toward her.
“Don’t look at me like that. We don’t have time. Here.” She hands me a plate with two breakfast sandwiches on it, blushing bright red. “I would have made something better, but I was out of time, and we can take these to go.”
“It’s perfect, mate.” I take the paper plate from her, grab one of the sandwiches, and take a huge bite. “C’mon, let’s head out.”
I have no idea how the pack will react to this. The future is uncertain. It’s never a good idea to head into another alpha’s territory.
21
JARA
“Where are we having the meeting?” I ask as we go out the back door of the house. I already know the answer as he leads me to the path to the clearing.
“We are going to the clearing,” Archer grumbles. It sounds like he likes that idea about as much as I do.
I haven’t been out here since the last pack meeting we had here, and I’m wondering if the clearing is giving me bad luck. All the bad shit happens out here. I hesitate as we break through the tree line, unsure of what to expect.
I just learned what happened. Am I really ready to see it firsthand?
“It’s been cleaned up, Jara. There is nothing to fear here.” Archer pats my shoulder before placing a comforting hand on the small of my back and leading me into the space.
“Okay.” I nod and step forward through the empty chairs that fill the space. A light breeze caresses my skin, and I breathe in deeply.
We stand at the front as the rest of the pack begins to file into the clearing. There are spots where the grass has been removed either from the fire burning it or by someone removing the evidence of Carter’s crimes.
“Eyes up, Jara. The pack will see you as weak.” Archer whispers close to my ear, and I take my eyes off the missing grass.
I nod once and look ahead at the waiting pack members. Curious stares bore into me. I don’t blame them. They must know something has changed since this is the first time they have seen me in weeks.
Whispers die down as Archer steps forward.
“Thank you all for coming on short notice. Many of you know we were searching for Carter last night. He was the wolf attacking our pack members.” Whispers and gasps fill the silence as Archer pauses in his speech.
“Was, Alpha?” Arthur asks from the back. Rochelle isn’t by him, much to my relief.
“Was. He attacked our Alpha female last night, intending to kill her.” Outraged grumbles fill the space, but they aren’t loud, as if they are all afraid to yell when their alpha is speaking. Archer raises a hand to calm the crowd, and silence again fills the space.
“Our alpha female is smart. She lured him out, talked to him until help could arrive, and took him out in a deadly situation before he could kill her.” I snap my gaze to Archer, who is staring down at me, pride in his eyes.
When it happened, he was pissed that I disobeyed him. Now he’s proud of how strong I am? Way to make my head spin.
Loud applause fills the clearing even as some of the shifters attempt to hold my eyes longer than they should, but all end up looking away quickly.
Archer holds up his hand again, and the noise stops. “Bad news is that Alpha Kyle orchestrated this, and we will be taking the traitor’s body back to him personally and then have a pack hunt to celebrate the end of curfew.”
Archer grabs my hand, pulling me through the pack, and I’m just glad we got through the meeting without too many problems. It’s the first time the pack didn’t seem to treat me like dirt, and I can’t help but wonder if Archer’s words are the reason for that.
“Angela, take Alex and go load the body in the back of my truck.” Archer tosses her the keys, and she nods stiffly.
“What are we doing?” I ask Archer as he leads me into the house.
“Calling a meeting with Kyle.” He replies, walking into his office and picking up his phone. He dials the phone and waits. “Bonnie, I need to speak with Kyle now.” Archer barks into the phone.
