Rejected by the Alpha

Chapter 17 - Comforting an Alpha

Archer sighed as he thought about who would have the opportunity to swap the patrol plans.

"It depends when it was done," he told me. "it would have sat with the pack houses outgoing mail for a while before being picked up by a messenger and taken to the Guard house. I can track who took it from point A to point B but anyone in the packhouse or Guard base would have opportunity to tamper with it. It's not a very secure system but when it's within the pack, it shouldn't have to be. Even with evidence, I'm struggling to understand why someone would do this. Given this development however I will be passing plans directly to Edward in future." He looked away from me as he thought, his hand absently rubbing at his chin.

"So we need a list of everyone that was in the pack house and everyone in the guard Base and the person who transported it," I said.

"Yes but then how do I narrow that down?" Archer replied throwing out his hand to emphasise his frustration. "I can't torture or imprison multiple innocent people just to find one bad one."

That was true. I thought about it for a moment and then I had an idea. "You set a trap," I told him.

At that point he looked up at me, "What do you mean?" One of his hands was still on my waist from our earlier embrace and I still had one hand on his broad shoulder.

"You rule out people by giving them a bit of false information that the Rogues would likely use against you and you then test if the Rogues seem to try to act on this false information," I explained. "Each person you suspect or want to rule out gets a different bit of fake information so you'll know who it was." I got the idea from something that had happened at school where a girl told a lie to one person and when it spread, she knew who had told it because there was only one person she had told it to. This was more complicated and with higher stakes but it could work just the same.

Archer raised a brow as he thought on it. "That could work. I'll need to think on the best way to do it," he said, "that's really smart."

"Hey I'm not just a pretty face," I replied.

"No, you're really not though your face is more than pretty."

I felt myself blush a little at this but swiftly moved on. "If you want my advice though, you have to rule out everyone." I told him, "Don't leave someone out of the test just because you trust them. Use this as a way to confirm they can be trusted."

He nodded, "Okay. I don't think I can thank you enough for this lena. For your advice, your time, your comfort."

"Just continue keeping Natalia out of my way please. No offence but she's a terrible Luna," I told him.

He ducked his head as I said this before looking up at me again. "I know," he admitted. "I didn't know just how bad she was until I saw her hit you and until you told me about the maids. With how my Dad was, I... I don't want that s**t going on in my pack house. I've been too withdrawn the last couple of years. I've not... Monitored her properly."

"Do you even still love her?" I asked in a whisper.

"I've never been in love Lena," he told me softly. "Natalia was my father's choice and for a time, being young, this was fine. My father would never have allowed me to choose you for a mate even if I had wanted to and I don't want to think about what he would have done to try and ensure that didn't happen. Once he died, I needed a Luna to take my position as alpha. I would only have been able to accept it without a luna if I hadn't already met my mate. I... I didn't think you would want me to call you back and as it turns out, I was right about that. Also Natalia would have raised a riot if I had tried and everything at that point was already hard enough that I just wanted to do whatever was easiest."

He paused appearing to think back on the past. I frowned thinking on his words.

" But why call me back now then? Is it really just because of the war? "

" In part, yes and also because I felt I would feel better with you here under my protection. Of course, what happened tonight makes me question if that was best but the truth is Lena, the Rogues could easily find out about you and they would have tore apart your mother's pack looking for you."

The idea of my mothers pack being attacked sent a shiver through me. That place was my safety and the idea that they could have been harmed just because I was there was terrifying to me.

" Why can't you separate from Natalia now? " I asked him.

He gave another heavy sigh. "she's Luna. The council dictates that I need reason to release her from that title and they don't consider hitting the maids as good cause even if I do."

I bit my lip, aware that what I was going to ask next was inappropriate but somehow I still felt I needed to know how he would respond. His guard was down in a way it rarely was and I felt I wanted to make the most of this opportunity "There's rumours that Natalia and you no longer share a bed, " I told him

He raised an eyebrow, "And that's something you're interested in is it?" he asked

I just shrugged in response which caused him to give me a wry smile. "When my parents died and I became Alpha, I got so involved in my work and felt the pressure of running a pack that I just... Lost interest in sex." he shrugged. "Maybe I've been a bit depressed on reflection. That's one of the reasons Natalia is so infuriated by you. Years of not being interested in s*x and now, just thinking about you has the potential to make me as hard as a rock." His green gaze became heated." Kissing you has only made it worse. You haunt my thoughts Lena. I can't stop thinking about you and I've tried. I've really tried."

My breathing quickened at his words and my mouth suddenly felt dry. The idea of him aroused by the thought of me sent a rush of heat to my core. But I was also scared because I didn't know what I wanted and I didn't know how to respond.

"Do you really want me to reject you?" he asked suddenly. "Have you made the decision that you don't want to be my mate?"

"I didn't really think I had a choice," I replied. "I was embarrassed that I hadn't accepted the first time around. I wanted to prove I was strong enough to accept it this time."

"What if you did have a choice?"

"You still have Natalia," I reminded him. "There is no way I'm standing by watching her be luna. I might not always control myself appropriately around you but I'm not signing up to be your mistress long term"

"No, no you're right. That would be an insult to you," he said.

"Besides, you've not always treated me very kindly. Maybe I deserve better than you," I told him.

"Maybe you do.... Or maybe I can become worthy."

"Now there's the alpha cockiness that I haven't seen tonight yet," I said, slapping his shoulder and trying to lighten the mood. "It's been a long night Archer, you should try and get some sleep." Then, realising my mistake I covered my mouth, "Oh s**t! I forgot to use your title again," I said, "It's not deliberate I swear."

Archer chuckled, "It's okay. When it's just you and me, I sort of like it when you just call me by my name." He pulled my hand away from my mouth and brought it to his lips, softly pressing a kiss to the back of it. "Please stay in the pack house tonight. Id prefer to have you nearby if that's okay."

I looked at him incredulously, "You're saying please instead of ordering me about?"

He gave me a brilliant smile and I realised that this was possibly the first time I'd seen him truly smile. It made him look even more attractive if that was possible. He also looked younger, lighter. "I'm trying to treat you the way you deserve," he explained.

"Hmm it's a start I suppose," I replied. Almost reluctantly, I pulled myself away from his arms. "Because you asked nicely Mr Alpha, I'll stay here tonight but I'm going back to Rayns' in the morning."

"Of course," he replied. "I'll ask your favourite maid Judith to show you to your rooms."

"How did you know she was my friend?" I asked him.

"I pay attention," he replied with a shrug.