Page 81 of Wolf Targeted
Do I dare to hope that we will find some way to live together and trust each other? My heart says yes, but that bitch has betrayed me too many times already to trust it.
Tilting my head up, I stare at the ceiling and wonder where Archer went. His scent still surrounds me, and I hum happily as I bury my face in the pillows.
It’s the first time in days that the room has smelled so strongly of him. His woodsy scent is one of my favorites, and my wolf practically purrs in my mind with contentment. She likes it when our mate isn’t treating us like we don’t matter.
I still don’t trust him, though. All it takes is one thing, and he could flip right back to the cold, unfeeling bastard.
I hate it.
Yelling downstairs catches my attention, and I sit up abruptly. What the hell is going on?
I rush to the closet and dress as quickly as my still healing wound will allow.
“Angela, you failed her.” Archer’s voice booms through the house.
What? He’s blaming Angela for what happened? How could he blame her for a freak accident?
I grab socks from the drawer and stuff them on my feet with a pair of ankle boots, then grab my coat.
I have to stop whatever is happening outside. He can’t blame Angela for this. As I open the bedroom door, dread fills me. My heart practically beats out of my chest as I remember the accident in vivid detail.
A twinge of pain stabs me in the gut, and I rest my hand there. It’s okay. I can do this.
At the stairs to the main level, I grimace. Fuck. I’ve never been afraid of fucking stairs before, but I find myself testing each fucking step I take down them.
How the fuck did it break?
When I get to the hole in the stairs, I stare at the dark red stain on the wood. My blood.
The ground beneath the stairs is caked with more of my blood. It’s a miracle I survived losing that much.
Flashes of blood and death play out in my mind on repeat. Carter ripped to shreds in front of me. From the looks of the floor, I almost lost as much blood as he did when Archer killed him.
“You disgraced yourself and your alpha,” Archer bellows, bringing me out of my dark thoughts.
I step over the hole in the stairs and rush the rest of the way down. I throw open the front door, and the entire pack is standing in a circle outside in stunned silence.
“Archer,” I say. “What’s going on?”
Archer turns his glare on me. “Stay out of this, Jara.”
“What?” I plant my hands on my hips.
Are we back to this? He’s going to be an asshole again after everything he said to me after the accident.
“Go back inside, mate. You’re still healing.”
“No, what are you doing?” I step forward. “That’s Angela. She’s not at fault here.”
“Do not question me in front of my pack, Jara,” Archer says with a growl.
His pack? This fucking bastard. Rage pulses through me so hard my hands shake. Archer tilts his head as he glares back at me.
“Your pack? This is my pack too.” I throw my hands up in frustration. “Angela is my friend, and you’re out here humiliating her for something she had no control over.”
“She was supposed to be guarding you. That was her only order,” Archer shouts.
“I don’t need someone guarding me all the time.”
