Rejected by the Alpha

Chapter 20 - Wolf vs Rat

Archer pushed off from the doorway and made his way towards Sebastian and me. The room was thick with tension. "Morning Alpha," Sebastian said and I could feel his hackles were raised. I wondered if this was the first time Sebastian had been around Archer since I'd told him that the mate bond was still in place.

"Morning Sebastian," Archer replied casually and I felt Sebastian settle a little. Still, without Archer being able to see him, Sebastian mouthed to me 'I have your back' and I knew he would help me if Archer didn't believe what I was about to tell him.

"Can Sebastian stay for our conversation?" I asked Archer.

"If you want him to", he replied without missing a beat.

"I do. I um... My house it... It wasn't set on fire by Rogues."

"I know," he said.

"You know?!"

"The Rogues didn't break through our perimeter last night. We fought them off from the edge of our territory. That's why I was able to get to you so quickly. Had they broken through, everything would have been in chaos and things might have ended differently."

"It was Natalia," I told him and I saw his mouth twitch.

"Was it?" he replied and I couldn't tell from his tone if he believed me or not.

"She wanted rid of me.. She saw me as a threat. I..." My voiced trailed off as. I thought of something. Then squaring my shoulders, I looked him in the eyes that were betraying nothing and said "You asked me to trust you last night and I did. Now I'm asking you for the same."

A slow smile appeared on Archer's lips. "I do trust you, Lena. Even if I didn't, Natalia has damned herself in other ways. She expected that the Rogues would break through because she expected that there was a weakness in our defences. She believed this because I told her it and she thought she was not the only one that knew but it was a lie. She was our rat and she's been taken into custody."

I breathed a sigh of relief and dropped back onto the soft pillows of the bed. I was okay. I was safe. I was believed.

Archer reached forward and ran a strand of my hair through his fingers before tucking it behind my ear. "I'm really glad you're okay Lena," he said. "I'm so sorry for everything Natalia has done to make you suffer. I would... I would never have expected her to be capable of something like this and I would never have forgiven myself if you had... Well you know."

I sighed, "There's only so much you can be held responsible for another person's actions Archer. You can't control everything," I said with a shrug.

"I often wish I could," he replied.

"Thank you for saving me," I told him.

"Don't mention it," he said with a smirk. He then seemed to remember that Sebastian was still in the room and looking between us both, he said, "It should go without saying but I would appreciate if this information about Natalia is not spread excessively around the pack until I have a chance to address it officially. You may tell Rayn of course but otherwise, please show discretion."

Sebastian and I nodded our heads in agreement.

Returning his attention to me, Archer said, "Okay, I have stuff I need to get back to but if you need me, please come and find me, " He took my hand and pressed a kiss to it. He then looked at Sebastian. "Look after her," he said to him.

"I always do," Sebastian replied which made Archer pause for a moment before he gave a stiff nod and turned to leave. As I watched him go, I thought about what he had said and the feeling of relief returned to me once again. Natalia was in custody. I didn't have to deal with her anymore.

In the afternoon, I went to see what remained of my house.... It wasn't much. It was a burned out husk of itself and some of the outside wall had came down. I wore a sundress because when I'd chosen what to wear, I had some burns on my calves that had made anything else uncomfortable. Rayn stood beside me. When she had finished work, she'd came straight to see me and threw herself on top of me, hugging me tightly. Now she held my hand as I stood looking at the rubble that was my childhood. "I still can't believe Natalia tried to burn you alive," she said.

"I honestly was not as surprised as you'd expect me to be. She's a vicious woman," I replied.

"Hm let me show you something," Rayn announced before pulling me in a direction away from the house. Before long, we reached a lane that led into the graveyard by the woods. She stopped in front of two wooden headstones. I recognised the names as my Mum and Dad. My heart swelled at the new knowledge that they rested side by side even as it ached at the loss.

"You know as much as I do Lena that your Mum and Dad are no less in that house than they are here in their graves. They live in your memories but maybe having this spot as a physical place to visit them will help too," Rayn said softly.

"Thank you Rayn," I replied.

"If you want, I could leave you with them for a bit," Rayn said. I nodded absentmindedly as she pressed a kiss to my cheek and turned to leave. "I'll see you at home," she said and I smiled.

"See you at home Rayn," I replied, grateful that she would allow me to refer to her home as my own.

Then, I was alone with my thoughts and my memories.

As I walked home, I saw Archer running from the guard house. He looked stressed and I wondered what was happening. My instinct took over and I immediately tried to catch up with him. I managed to catch him just as he reached the packhouse. "What's happening?" I asked him, brushing down the front of my dress. One of the reasons I didn't wear dresses was their tendency to not stay in place.

"Come," Archer replied nodding his head to the main door. I followed him into his office where General Edward waited. I expected some sort of comment from him when I entered but he said nothing.

Archer stared at me from behind his desk with a stern expression. "We think they're planning another attack," he said

"what's our plan?" I asked

"Well that's what we're trying to figure out," he replied. "The situation with our supplies are getting worse. We need to start fighting back and not just defending. To do that, we need to reduce the area we're protecting to allow more troops to a given area. I think here would be the best area to defend. Those who are exempt from fighting will be able to stay here."

Edward pointed at the map. "We could afford 10 guards to protect the pack house stationed here," he told us.

"We need to ask for help from our allies," Archer said looking at me.

"You mean crescent moon?" I asked feeling worry rise in my chest.

"Not exclusively," he replied. "Try not to panic. They will send us a selection of strong fighters to bolster our numbers. It will not excessively involve them."

I worried my lip but nodded. There wasn't much else I could say. It was one of the conditions of alliances and Sabertooth would do the same for Crescent moon if the roles were reversed.

"I'll make the arrangements," Edward announced as he left, closing the door behind him and leaving Archer and I alone in the room.

Archer and I stared at the map. I chewed my lip, an idea half-forming in my brain. I was unsure whether to share it. "What are you thinking?" Archer asked me.

I hesitated for a moment. Then, meeting his green gaze I asked, "What if we deliberately left a weak spot?"

"what do you mean?"

"Well if we could lure them into a trap, we could cut their numbers considerably."

Archer wore a curious expression as he asked, "What do you have in mind?"

I stared at the map as I thought. Then I slammed my finger down on a specific spot. "There," I told him and I explained my plan.

"That could work," Archer said. "I'll bring Edward back in and you can-"

"No," I said interrupting him. I expected him to rage at my disrespect but to my relief, he simply fell silent and listened. "This only works if we have the element of surprise," I told him. "We already had one traitor. The minimal amount of people that knows what we have planned the better."

"People will question the orders," Archer said rubbing his chin. "But I'll sort it," he announced with confidence. Then Archer was looking at me with a strange look, a slight smile on his lips. "What?!" I asked him.

"Nothing, you're just... Brilliant," he replied and I could feel myself blush.

"Yes, I am. And to think you rejected me, so stupid," I said with a shrug.

"But so far I've been smart enough not to do it again," he replied, his tone smug as he made his way towards me. I felt the hairs rise on the back of my neck as he grew closer. "How are your wounds?" he asked me.

"Okay. They're healing nicely," I replied. "The ones of my calves were a bit stingy this morning but they're easing off."

"Hm," he said as he suddenly bent and lifted my leg up to examine it. I leaned against the desk as he placed my foot on his shoulder. His fingers ran down the length of my leg, skirting around the edges of my burns. My breath quickened in response and I felt my heart rate increase as I watched him. He leaned to press a gentle kiss to the healing burn and I felt a rush of heat between my legs at the feeling of his lips on my skin. He took a deep breath. "You smell so good Lena," He told me in a low rumbling tone.

I felt like my blush had spread to my whole body and it only worsened when he pressed a line of kisses moving slowly up my leg. As one kiss landed on my thigh, he said, "I want to taste you lena, can I?"