Her Savior Alpha
Chapter 28

Archer

The Mount Hunter grapevine was growing and its vine had extended to me. I’d been busy running back and forth between my father and the Mount Hunter pack. No one seemed to know I’d slipped off into the forest for hours at a time. I would often look back wondering if anyone would have the gall to follow me. Shapeshifting to become my wolf was the best idea for me. I would do this first before I sniffed the air for potential predators in and around the forest floor before I left.

I pushed my thoughts back to the rumors. Ones that made my stomach swirl like a washing machine. Vera was to be Reily’s mate. This couldn’t be. Reily was a complete arrogant asshole of a wolf with no responsible bones in his body. All he wanted to do was cause as much havoc as possible. I know how much he loved that black leather jacket of his and had half the mind to douse it in petrol and burn it. What would he do then?

I was deep in contemplative thought as I worked out my schedule for slipping away. My father had been calling me back on several occasions now, more so than normal and I had the inner standing that meant he was due to strike soon. He was preparing his army and his strategy and I was the missing link to bring all the pieces of his treacherous puzzle together.

“Hey Archer! What are you doing staring into space? Are you alright?” Clive, who I had some tension with initially and now who I deemed to be a trusted ally approached me with a quick slap on the back.

His thump was a little harder than I anticipated and it threw me forward a little with a ‘oof.’

“I’m fine. I just had a couple of things on my mind. Nothing to be concerned about. There is something I’m worried about though and I wanted to talk to you about it.” Clive and I walked to the javelins which were stuck point down in the ground. Having soldiers who were good with a javelin throw were excellent candidates for bow and arrow work and often became experts in this type of weapons training. I’d never been any good at it as I was on the lighter side, Clive however was a master and his javelin throw could rival any Olympians.

Clive’s brow furrowed as he cast a sidelong glance my way. “Oh yeah? What is it you wanted to talk to me about?”

A gust of icy mountain air hit my face causing goosebumps to form even through my uniform.

“Vera.”

Clive breathed in the icy air as he walked forward with a disappointed look on his face.

“Yeah, my little clown brother. I know why you wanna talk to me about it. The whole fake mating thing.”

I was surprised Clive said what I was thinking. I had a feeling that Reily wasn’t genuine. Thinking and talking about him seemed to bring him into vision as he stepped out towards the training ground grinning with Gina.

“Speak of the wolf,” I mumbled under my breath. “He’s a joke and he’s beaten Vera to a pulp so many times I don’t know how he thinks he’s going to be able to win her. She would have to be bonded to him for certain and have stars in her eyes for it to work.”

Clive brushed a hand through his golden locks. Not that I looked at Clive on a regular basis other than to size him up for a training exercise, but his hair shone more gold than usual and I for one was glad that he saw Vera more like a sister and not a potential mate like I did. There was a rumbling stirring in my soul for her and I had no control over it. Nor did I want to have any. She was an exquisite human being, let alone being a majestic creature in wolf form. I found myself drawn to her in inexplicable ways. It was hard to be around the woman and not want to be merged with her. My feelings were hard to conceal and the news of Reily being her mate perturbed me.

“You got that right, besides I don’t believe the conniving one for a second. He’s my brother - blood, but he’s a schemer and I know he’s up to no good. I can practically smell it on him, but I see Vera is becoming smitten with him. She’s letting him get a foot in the door and that’s the trouble.” Clive waved at the training recruits who were wired and ready to go.

I counted at least twelve new wolves ready to commence their training in the pack.

Sometimes I brought my cell phone onto the training ground with me. I had a little slip pocket in my cargo pants that held it. A vibration against my leg pulled me away from the conversation with Clive. He ended the conversation first anyway.

“Hey, I have to go. I have these new recruits and a few of them having been acting foolish in the last training sessions so I need to be alert to catch them out. Are you doing weapons training today?”

The phone kept ringing and I decided not to answer it. Besides, I knew who the call was from and in my own small way it was an act of defiance. I was tired of being under my father’s rule, but at the same time wanted him to respect and appreciate me. It was an empty dream because my father was a stone cold hearted man. If I tried to talk to him about anything other than getting even with Mount Hunter and replaceing his precious Lycan he dismissed me. It was almost as if I was nothing to him and he didn’t have a son. I cursed myself sometimes that I wanted his approval so badly.

“I’m feeling ill. I might go lay down in the barracks. I might have to miss this session.” As a male wolf saying you were sick in the stomach probably wasn’t the most manly of things to do, but still I did it anyway. This was the best way for me to slide away undetected.

“Ill? Did you eat too much Archer? I saw you chowing down on that turkey leg the other night. Could it have been that? I should tell the chef for next time if it’s food poisoning.” I appreciated Clive’s concern, but I was growing impatient as my father would wait for no one. He was going to be barking on the other end of the line I was sure of it.

“I have to go, forget it Clive. It’s not too serious, I’m wanting to be at my best when I’m training so I will skip it until next session. I’m sure it’s nothing. I have to take a call anyway.”

“Okay. See you back in the barracks.”

I waved goodbye to him as I quickly walked away in order to be out of earshot so as to speak clearly.

“How dare you not pick up my calls!” I immediately held the phone away from ear as my father bombarded me with his heavy, booming tone through the phone.

“Calm down father. I had to speak with Clive. We had some matters to attend to. This was relating to the Lycan,” I whispered in my best attempt to placate him.

“Ah very well, but don’t defy me. Answer my calls please when I ring. What have you learned?” My father’s terse tone soured my already dismal mood and I was regretful of telling him about Vera.

I’d grown to be deeply fond of her. I loved when we ran together, to experience her glittered, soft white fur as we trampled through the woodland made my heart sing. I found myself wanting to protect and honor her. The lycan did that to me, it’s sheer power just from its golden gaze left me awestruck and wanting to be close to her.

“I’ve learned that the Lycan is discovering its powers and their are new recruits on base. There have at least 30 which have come through in the last few days. They don’t have the high numbers that the BearTowners do, but their weapons training is extensive and rigorous. You would need to be aware of their sheer strength more so than strategic ability. The weapons trainers here appear to focus on the physical strength tactics more so than defence, other than posting guards at the outer rims of the barracks.”

“Very good. We should fare well against them then. I want you back here in the next hour. We have a meeting and I want you to report to the Beartowner pack council with your replaceings. I think they will replace them interesting.” I rolled my eyes as I prepared to make my exit. I entered the barracks and pretended to enter my room just in case anybody saw me. I could at least confirm that I entered the inside.

“Okay. I will be there soon.” My cadence quickened as I made a pit stop to my room picking up a change of clothes for my shifting and with a flash of speed slinked through the crevice of the back door of the barracks. A group of wolves were gathered at a table in mess hall, and all of them looked battle weary so I assumed they had been out on the field practicing.

I hadn’t lied per se to my father, the Mount Hunter pack did focus on physical stamina and strength more so than anything else, but they also had a specific trainer for strategy; me.

It was the main skill set I was good at and wanted to teach Vera, and in my own way protect her from the mess I’d potentially put her in. I snuck out the back door as I high tailed it to the low lying shrubs that dotted the outside of the barracks. I punched out of the barrack gates and shifted into the woodlands running like wildfire through the rocky terrain and crossing the river bed to Beartown. Running at such high speed didn’t make me tired, it added fuel in my tank and energized me I found.

After I ran and entered Beartown I found I’d entered another world. The forest thinned out and my sight through the clearings was easier. I found myself having to scale the rocky caverns and to stay alert watching my footing over barriers and different gaps in the tawny rocks. These caverns and rocky surfaces were how my sleek frame had been formed. I changed roughly back into human form and stood up moving towards the entry towards home. My father would be in the office crunching numbers as usual.

I silently moved past the Beartowners who’d grown wary of me since my insider mission at Mount Hunter. Tensions ran high as I walked straight through to the back office where my father sat with the sun shining on the back of his and lighting up his salt and pepper hair. Lines of strain were etched on his face as he stared at his computer. Briefly he gave me the time of day as he ushered me to the chair in front of him.

“We have a lot to talk about son. I’m working out the details now, but you and I are going to work out a strategic plan of attack to bring those Mount Hunter wolves to their knees. Let’s start from the top.” His wicked eyes gleamed with the promise of a hostile takedown as I felt the searing heat of guilt filter through my system.

“What did you have in mind?” I questioned as my father clasped his large hands together leaning forward.

“The guards who patrol the peripheral, how many of them are there? Can our men take them and what type of weaponry are they carrying? I need to know their exact shift times and the changeovers.” The rapid fire of questions was the norm from Sigmund. Time waited for no-one in his opinion.

“Ten guards and they carry sword, heavy silver swords which are instant guillotines. All of the guards are extensive trained to use them. Lot of bulk, quick runners, the Mount Hunter pack also have the gift of Mindlink which I’m sure you’re aware of.”

My father stroked his two day growth as he regarded my answer. “Yes, but we have the gift of mind control,” he chuckled as he shuffled his papers on his desk and sat back in his chair.

“Right.” The more he spoke the more I wanted to leave and go back to Vera. Every moment I stayed away from her the more I became concerned for her safety.

“Inside the barracks? Do they have wolves on patrol?”

“No, but there are plenty of them coming and going. There’s three entrances. One through the front door, one back door entry and one side door. There’s a seperate hall attached to the main barracks and that has a guard.”

“So no guards once on ground?” My father barked.

“No, not technically, but the wolves are armed and trained.”

“What do they carry?”

“Batons, swords, themselves. Each one is trained in hand to hand combat.” I was growing bored of all of it and found it hard to meet the hard line gaze of Sigmund. His overbearing nature was difficult for me to navigate, but I one day I hoped to be calm in his presence.

“Better than our training?”

I met his hardened gaze with clarity even though I wanted to look away. “Yes, better than Beartowners.”

“Not the coyotes, they are cunning. Nothing can get past them.”

“I guess so,” I replied studying my father. He lived and breathed getting his hands on Lycan blood and would stop at nothing to make his empire superior to the Mount Hunter pack. As I thought over the laws of the land, I remembered all wolves and creatures were equal in Moon goddess country, a ruling my father seemed to have forgotten.

“You guess so son? Do you not remember our last defeat against them? We deserve the Lycan blood, the Mount Hunter pack have no business being in power over us. Do you understand?”

A death stare of pure cool steel met my wavering gaze. “Maybe we should hang back for a while. She only just turned Lycan. Give it some time so I can see what powers it has.”

I turned up my persuasive powers working to appeal to my father’s more logical side. I wanted to buy Vera some time. My wolf soul was rejecting the call I’d made and my stomach was flip flopping wondering if I made a grave mistake. A flash of Vera crying from recovering from beatings froze in my minds eye, another of Vera nursing her wounds in the medic room. Was I really this cruel of a person? A wolf? Our tender moments together softened my heart and I was second guessing every move I was making. I spoke of Vera in third person hoping to separate my betrayal in some way, but it didn’t help, the pit of despair still weighted heavy on my shoulders.

“Hmm. That might be an idea. Do you have an adequate time frame in mind? Better yet replace out the Lycan’s weaknesses and report back to me.”

“I will. Give me another couple of months.” I was pushing our relationship to the edge as I got up from my seat not wanting to give him any more information. Short, sweet and as minimal as possible was my aim.

He rose from his chair as powerful and regal as I’d known him to be. Sigmund was an incredibly imposing and powerful wolf in both human and wolf form with his hand in many business and trade negotiations in the western region. Most were afraid to deal with him, including me. His hands were large and roughened with thick skin and when as a wolf; claws of death that could rip the belly open with one swipe. His shoulders were similar to a line backers under his suit and the darkness of his eyes held the key to his undercurrent of power. Many a scar lined him from countless battles one, very few lost and this was one of the reasons I admired him.

“You are dangerously close to the line my boy,” he said as he stared me down. “I will give you the time I think you need and no more.”

“What timing is that?” I enquired hoping not to get a slap on the back of the skull.

“You will know.” He stood so close I could smell his spicy aftershave and he most likely could smell my gross fear.

“I have to go father, I’ve been gone an hour and Clive and the others will be wondering where I am.”

“Very well, return with more news. Better than the bullshit you came with today. Keep an eye on the Lycan.” He turned his back taking a book from his office shelf leaving me out in the cold once again.

Typical.