Page 64 of Resisting the Alpha

I could feel Eli finally starting to relax, but his arm tightened when I attempted to take a step away. I gave him a sideways look but decided not to struggle; it had been a terrible evening. My desire to be alone right now was quite low.

I cleared my throat. “So, uh — there’s still the issue of the bodies,” I said, looking at the three alphas. Eli had mentioned them, but that seemed to be overshadowed by Damon’s accusations. “We didn’t move them. They’re still up the trail.”

Remus sighed and rubbed his face, looking toward the trailhead. “About how far?” he asked.

Eli finally pulled away, retrieving his phone from his pocket. “I can share the pin Ryan gave me earlier today. He isn’t that far from it.”

As they did that, Nic straightened himself, seeming to get his thoughts together. “We can handle the bodies,” he said, nodding to Remus. “You, Eli, need to get back to your condo andrest. You wereshot, for goodness’ sake.” A flash of pain appeared on the elder Archer’s face for a moment, quickly disappearing when Remus rumbled his agreement.

“Yes, Ryan is my packmate. I’ll take care of him. As for this gunman…” He bared his teeth. “We’ll decide what to do.”

“I don’t need to be protected,” Eli snapped, already beginning to bristle again.

It took all of my willpower not to roll my eyes at him.What a stubborn man. I gave his arm a little squeeze instead.

“No one said that,” Remus replied, arching a brow. “But with a wounded shoulder, you aren’t going to be of much help lifting, no offense.” He nodded towards me. “And I think Iris has had quite a wild night.”

I paused — my first inclination was to bristle at the implication, but… I could see what Remus was doing. If Eli were too stubborn to take care of himself, maybe he’d still be amenable if he thought I was overwhelmed. After a moment, I gave a slight nod, squeezing Eli’s arm again. “I don’t want to get in another fight, Eli.”

And I didn’t just mean with rogue gunmen, either.

As weak as my wolf was, I could sense the tension simmering between Eli and his father. All it would take was one thoughtless remark from one, and the whole situation could boil over. They just needed to be separated right now, and I could guess Remus noticed that, too. I had no interest in any more family drama. “Let’s get out of here, okay? Please?”

Eli looked down at me, a few emotions flickering over his face before finally giving a small nod. “Okay,” he agreed, nodding again. “We can go.”

I pretended I didn’t hear Remus’ sigh of relief and smiled up at Eli, using the arm wrapped around me to turn him slowly and start guiding him back to my car. “Thanks,” I murmured, glad to finally get away from this place. “Maybe I’ll be generous and get you a milkshake on the way back.”

30

ELI

Eli’s Penthouse

Austin, Texas

Ifelt like I was practically vibrating the entire drive back to Austin; it was close to an hour in the car, made worse by the fact that Iris had insisted she drive. Given that I’d just been shot in the shoulder and I’d made Jaxon replace the bandage once, I didn’t have a leg to stand on. I navigated Iris through the city best I could, eventually getting us back to the private parking deck for the luxury condo.

The night guard frowned as Iris rolled the window down, so I leaned forward. “It’s me, Henry,” I rumbled, nodding to the man. I tended to come back late most nights I went out, so I’d gotten to know Henry much more than I had the daytime guard.

Henry leaned a little further down, squinting past Iris. I was grateful there wasn’t much light shining in. “Rough night, Eli?”

“Mhm.”

Fortunately, he was a professional and left it there, just giving me a slight nod before stepping back. “Well, make sure he gets to bed safely, miss,” he told Iris, reaching to open the gate.

“Will do,” she croaked, looking slightly taken aback. I wasn’t sure if Henry threw her off, or the fact that the parking lot was gated and guarded. She drove inside slowly, and I directed her to my allotted parking spots. When we finally parked, she looked over at me, her eyes slightly widened. “Are you sure this is a condo?” she asked, raising a brow. “I’m pretty sure this is a hotel.”

I gave a sheepish chuckle and shrugged. “It’s… a condo building,” I replied weakly, already getting out of the car. Iris followed suit. “Just a luxury one.”

“Yeah, I’ll say,” she snorted, following me as we walked toward the private entrance on the side of the parking lot.

I shrugged again as I swiped us into the building, navigating quickly towards the elevator. “It used to belong to Remus,” I explained. “In the interest of not hunting for a place to stay while also trying to build the American office, I decided I’d take it.” It wasn’t my style, but it was readily available, and I didn’t have to waste time or energy furnishing it. The only thing I’d done was replace the bedroom set and mattress because, well…

Iris was quiet as we rode the elevator up to the top floor, and I let us into the condo. She stood in the hallway quietly, peering past the foyer. “Do… you want me to take my shoes off?” she asked quietly, already reaching down to unzip her heeled booties.

“Sure,” I said, distracted. I decided to follow suit and toe my shoes off as well before I herded her away from the door, locking us behind it. Iris seemed lost as she wandered into the living room, looking from the couches to the kitchen to the expansive view of the Austin city skyline.

I frowned. “Come here. Please,” I muttered, barely remembering my manners.

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