Her Savior Alpha

One night, while working on a concoction, a stone on my window shook me out of my thoughts.

When I reached him on the lawn outside, he had an intense, soulful look on his face. Suddenly, I felt embarrassed by my ratty purple sweatshirt, oversized enough to swallow my pajama shorts. When was the last time I shaved? Did my legs become prickly cacti yet? Shit, what about my upper lip hair?

Anxious neurons fired within my brain, bouncing off the walls and making me feel nervous - a huge change from the comfort Archer normally brought me. After breaking the bond with Reily, I began to see Archer differently; even when we’d had sex, I hadn’t really felt all the butterflies and the jitters that came with having a crush. A little too late, don’t you think? Usually that crap came before getting laid.

“Uh, Archer...What’s up?” I asked tentatively when it didn’t look like he was going to say anything.

He brushed his hair back with his hand and I really, really wanted to touch one of the soft locks. Suddenly he looked up, startling me when he stepped forward with vehement look in his gaze.

“I have made my decision,” he announced.

Crickets chirped in the distance. Literally, it was night-time so the cricket’s choir was out to play; but also their timing was impeccable.

“What do you mean by that?” I prompted him. I wrapped my hands around me; it was getting chilly.

Before I knew it, Archer had claimed my cheeks in his palms, bringing me closer to him.

“I want to be with you, Vera.”

I blinked once, twice. Stared incredulously at the passion-filled, aching gray eyes tinged with thick lashes that made me envious at times.

Then...

The words sunk in, sending me into a spiral of emotion and wholeness, making my feel like I had been mated with Archer all along. Even the uncontrollable desire I had for Reily couldn’t hold a candle to this. Fireworks exploded in my insides, sending heatwaves rushing through me. Archer’s hands on my shoulders were ten times more electrifying, and I had the sudden urge to melt against him and into him.

I pulled him down into a slow, sweet kiss.

When we separated, I leaned back, interlocking my fingers with his. “Come up to my room with me,” I suggested shyly.

“Isn’t Grant - the Alpha - home?”

“She’s stuck in her office - and she won’t say anything,” I reassured him, pulling him to the back door instead of the front where the guards stood watch - although most of the guards around our house were probably already aware of Archer’s presence. We crept up the staircase as if there was any reason to sneak around for, slipping into my room.

I pushed him onto the bed and fell into him, resting my head in the crook of his shoulder. His arm held me close to his warm body.

Something buzzed. Archer checked his jean pocket, taking out his phone. “It’s Sigmund,” he announced gravely.

I nodded with wide eyes urging him to answer.

“Hello, Father,” he said stoically, his face devoid of the softness and warmth he had only seconds before. “Yes. They have a new Alpha. Yes. Well, I...would suggest otherwise. Based on the intel I can get from their pack meetings, they are quickly gaining strength. Yes, it isn’t a good time.” Archer listened to the following response, wincing. “I understand. Forgive me, I am simply taking precautions. Yes. I will update you with a breakthrough soon.” Archer sat silently for another second before turning the phone off.

“Well, that was fast,” I said. “What did he say?”

“He asked me if it’s a good time to take over Mount Hunter,” he recounted regretfully.

“And you stalled for us,” I finished. Nodding, he sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed.

“Vera, I think we can’t stay here and be safe from Sigmund. Especially when he find out I betrayed him.”

I nodded sadly. “I suppose it’s only a matter of time.”

“I’ll try to hold him off as much as I can but...he could come marching in any time,” Archer said, running a hand through his hair. I slid closer to him on the best, snaking me arms around his waist and placing my chin in the junction of his neck and shoulder.

“I know, Archer. I think we’ll just have to do what we did last time.”

He turned toward me, his cheekbone brushing mine. “Run away?”

“Yeah,” I said. “I’ll miss Thelma and the friends I’ve made here, but I wouldn’t mind starting off anew elsewhere. I left before, and I can do it again. Especially if it’ll keep Mount Hunter Pack safe.” Then as an after thought to myself, I murmured, “I’ll have to spend as much time as possible wth Thelma before I leave.”

Archer nodded, lost in thought, picking up my hand and brushing a soft kiss along my knuckles.

“I’m with you wherever you go, Vera,” he whispered, turning and crawling onto the bed, pushing me down and pillowing his head on my stomach. I sunk my fingers into his hair while his hands drew circles on my body, one on my thigh and the other along my side.

We fell into a peaceful, comforting sleep like that.

***

The thought wouldn’t leave my mind. Ever since Archer had decided - no, had chosen me over his allegiance to the pack he grew up in, to his father, a little idea had occupied the back of my mind: What if we mated?

It was a crazy idea, one that I shouldn’t have been entertaining after all that I’d been through. Yet it continued to pop up, day and day out, during pack meetings with Grant, during breakfast, while making new tinctures, during training-

Scratch that: Especially during training, when the sight of Archer’s glistening abs hypnotized me to the point of forgetting to hold my knives properly. He was doing pull-up on a post that stood outside the sandy training ground. My eyes were glued to the way his pectorals clenched and his defined six-pack rippled with every up-and-down movement.

I was glad there were no trees, or Clive around to prompt another tree-branch-pull-up challenge.

But I was even more glad (ecstatic) that I had full view of the sweaty, hot tall-dark-and-handsome Greek statue working his perfect body in front of me. I couldn’t stop from imagine that finely cut abdomen moving above me with every fluid thrust, those rock-hard biceps and triceps tensing on either side of my arching body-

“Focus, Hunter!” Gina screeched from a few feet away.

“Oh, shut up, Gina. Don’t tell me you’ve already recovered from your humiliation the other day?” I shot back, and she stuck out her tongue at me, returning to her shadowboxing.

As much as she deserved my comment, she was right: I had to focus.

I returned to my knife-throwing, feeling a wave of deju-vu come over me. A lot of things had changed since I first tried training with weapons here.

One change in particular was that I’d seem to have become more... raunchy? Inhibited? Bold?

“Horny” is perhaps what the current generation might call it, dear Vera, my wolf mentioned with patience, the age-old wisdom showing through her words.

Yeah, yeah, didn’t have to put it like that, I grumbled. I launched my third knife and it hit the dummy right on the forehead. Nice, I was improving! Look at me now, Clive!

Clive was usually missing-in-action these days, having his time full training recruits and helping Grant carry out new pack ordinances.

A felt a shadow near me and looked up, realizing Archer had finished his training and come to me.

“Are you sure you’re not just busying yourself with knife-throwing to avoid the hard workouts?” he said suspiciously, pushing his sweat-slicked hair back from his flushed, sculpted face.

“No way, Archer! You really think that low of me?” I tried looking everywhere but his shirtless torso...which was ridiculous! Why was I suddenly acting like a blushing virgin in front of a guy who’d literally thrown his old life away for me?

“You okay, Vera? You’re acting kind of strange,” Archer said, close enough to bump into me lightly. One of the knives I was holding fell as his touch made my arm blaze.

“Of course, I’m all good.” I bent down to pick the knife up, but really I just wanted to put some proximity from his irresistible touch and enthralling, musky scent. Instead, just as I grabbed the fallen knife, another dropped from beneath the crook of my arm.

I growled, snatching it up and standing back up. “I’m not good, I’m done! Let’s get out of here!” I stormed to the weapons rack, throwing them in their slots.

“Uh okay,” Archer said cluelessly as I stomped past him, trying to ignore his unavoidably attractive scent. “Want to come up to my room? I need a shower.”

I froze in my tracks. It dawned on me that I had never visited Archer’s long-term room in the barracks. Clearing my throat, I said, “Yeah, sure. Me too.”

A hand landed on my head, ruffling my hair a little. “Let’s go, you can go first.”

“No way, you’re much sweatier than I am,” I teased, wrinkling my nose.

Archer peered at me, flicking my nose tip and making me yelp at the sting.

“Someone’s grumpy,” he laughed, going past me and down the grassy hill to the barracks, the large building I didn’t have to clean anymore. Grant had issued a team of well-paid janitors to cover it.

Soon we entered through the large double-doors after passing the courtyard with wolves milling around. As I followed him up the stairs to the permanent residence dorms, the pesky little thought that plagued me came up again. Wouldn’t it be nice if Archer and I....went all the way?

“Ugh!” I erupted, sick of the idea roaming around my head that I just had to let it out. “Archer!”

He whirled around in concern.

“What is it, are you hurt?” His sharp eyes shifted across me body, their intensity making my core tremble.

“Archer, I can’t wait any longer,” I announced, ignoring his question.

“What do you mean?” He leaned against the frame of a door; it must have been his.

I bit my lip, trying to keep a handle on my emotions, but the words flooded out. “Let’s mate.”

Eyes wide at the announcement, Archer didn’t respond for a couple seconds. I clenched my fists, trying to stop myself from running away. My face burned.

“Uh, okay. Let’s just shower first,” he said nonchalantly, turning to press the button to his keypad. I gaped at his attitude, all while happily eyeing his well-sculpted back muscles. He basically said yet, right?

I entered his room and looked around; it was exactly what I expected from a rogue acting like a spy - plain and devoid of anything that could describe his personality. No hint of likes or dislikes, everything was either white, black, or gray, the covers of the bed that dissected the room were a pack-issued gray satin. Such neat crispness exuded from every corner of the room.

Archer grabbed towels from his closet, as well as a change of clothes, making a beeline for the white door to the right, presumably the bathroom.

“What are you doing?” I said before he could swing the door closed, my hands on my hips.

“You said I could go first,” he smirked. Then he shut the door. I didn’t hear a lock though. Creeping to the door, I heard the sound of the shower turning on, the rustle of clothes.

I was about to explode with impatience. How dare he be so irresistible, yet so temptingly apathetic about my request (well, it was more of a demand, but whatever)? Weren’t we together? It wouldn’t be the first time after all; only this time it would have more of a meaning, more permanence. Was he afraid of the commitment? That didn’t make sense considering he betrayed his father for me.

Finally, I let my instincts take the reigns.

I turned the doorknob and stepped in. The bathroom was small but very clean, not a sign of anyone living there. Archer’s workout clothes were thrown into the laundry hamper by the door. Light curtains barely showed the masculine silhouette in the shower. Without hesitation, I slid off my sweats, my tank top and sports bra, then finally my panties, letting my hair out of its bun. Padding to the shower, I pulled back the curtain, revealing the entirety of Archer’s finely built body, his broad shoulders narrowing at the waist, leading to a taut rear and muscled thighs. He was turned slightly to the side, his hands up in his hair, in direct contact with the showerhead.

At the sudden exposure, Archer paused and turned his head to me, eyes sliding to peek at me. A quickly glance down my naked body and they widened slightly, the surprise making him turn to face me. “Vera? What are you...?”

Gritting my teeth, I looked up at him from beneath my eyelashes, putting every ounce of my desire into my gaze. “I said, I want to mate. Now.”

Fire sparked in his eyes even as his brows rose.

“And taking turns showering would take too long anyway,” I completed, batting my lashes and stepping into the shower until I stood right behind him, sliding my hands up slowly up his sides around to his rock-hard abdomen. His skin was smooth and glistened with water droplets. Warm water sprinkled on me as I firmly pressed my breasts against his back, feeling him shiver at my touch. A heat immediately grew in my nether region, as it clenched in anticipation. I placed my cheek against him, tightening my embrace.

Hands encircled my wrists, loosening my grp so he could turn around to face me.

“Who knew you could be so forward,” he murmured, his deep voice raspy and his eyes hooded with arousal. He lightly brushed his fingers up along my arms, making my breath catch. When he reach my jaw, he cupped my face and bent down to imprison my lips with his. His mouth was hot and wet as it slid across mine and I felt the temperature in my body rise to unbearable heights.

I pressed closer, feeling something hard nudge my stomach. Archer separated from the kiss, looking down at me, but my eyes were enraptured by his member, which had picked up in excitement, its girth and length filling me with thrill. The last time he was in me was embedded in my brain, but I felt like this time was different. Our passion make the air around thicken, the space between us buzzing with electricity.

“There’s a lot to learn about me,” I said in a hoarse, breathy voice. I hooked my arms around my neck and in response he circled his strong arms around my waist, hoisting me up seamlessly to press me against him completely. I moaned when my heat pressed against his abdomen and my legs tightened around him. His hands skidded down to my ass, squeezing each cheek and sending my heart into a frenzy.

He let out a breath, and said, “You won this time,” before locking me into another battle with his lips. My back hit the wet wall tiles as he pressed forward, devouring me. I felt his cock twitch beneath me, directly aligned with my aching slit.

“Put it in,” I gasped between kisses.

He paused, chest heaving against my breasts. “I don’t want our mate consummation to happen in my bathroom.”

I rolled my eyes. “Are you really being high-maintenance right now?”

If he needed more convincing, I’d gladly give it him.

I rolled my hips, grounding slow and hard against him. The move made my loins heat unbearably and my toes curled.

Archer groaned low. “Vera, you’re too bad for your own good,” he breathed, nipping at my neck. He sucked at the sensitive flesh there, making me gasp. With one arm supporting my butt, he slid the other down to my clit. The instant his fingers touched it, my core exploded into a frenzy of pleasure. I mewled in his grip, and pressed me tighter against the wall.

“You’re so wet,” he breathed. His head dipped down to take a nipple into his mouth, sucking and rolling his tongue around it. Simultaneously, he played with my clit. Unable to take it, my hand felt down his solid abs, fighting past his hand to his cock.

“I want to be your mate, Archer,” I gasped, gently maneuvering his length so that the full tip sat directly at my entrance. Archer’s hands shifted so that both gripped my hips, fingers splayed, and he lifted me slightly get his member in position.

“I am yours,” he intoned, eyes searing into mine, “Are you ready Vera?”

I nodded fast, letting my moan be the answer. Then, he steady lowered me down onto his length, the fullness entering me so achingly slowly that I thought I would lose my mind. A high-pitched gasp left my lips when he’d driven in straight to the hilt, and I felt whole, like I’d found the missing puzzle piece.

He began drilling in and out, slowly at first, until I moaned for him to hurry.

With a shudder, he drove it in, the move fast and harsh and eliciting a scream of pleasure from within me. My walls trembled around him, and an explosion of stars filled my vision. Wave after wave of pleasure ran through me, making me melt in Archer steady hold.

We stood leaning against the wall of the shower, breathing heavily from the aftershocks of the climax. My roaming hands left his hair a mess, and he left pretty hickies decorating my neck and collarbones.