Archer felt like a ghost of himself when he finally had to acknowledge the protests. The words swam in his head, his chest filling up with emotions he was not sure he should know how to feel.
It all felt like a stab straight to his heart, his chest heaving with pain every time he inhaled. His body felt fluid under him, and when the document came in front of him, he could hardly read the words.
"Are you okay, alpha?"
He turned slowly to Beta Nico. He was the one man in the entire pack he could trust with his life. But knowing his dead mate's origins had once been kept away from him like that...it all felt like a lie. His trust felt like a lie. His words manipulative, his eyes like daggers. He hated it all.
He swallowed hard, then turned away without answering it. He wasn't sure he coul
