#8 The Archer and her Wolf

Thea

I walked through the halls of the compound in a blind daze. I felt like I was wearing rose colored glasses as I looked around, seeing my world in a new light. I hurried up the steps to my room and quickly packed my suitcase. I made sure to pack all of my comfy clothes since I wore those the most, including my racerback tank tops, loose fitting T-shirts, and all my leggings. I pack a few pairs of jeans and one or two nice blouses just in case. I didn’t own many fancy clothes anyway, and forget about any dresses.

I carefully folded my Archer’s uniform on the top of my suitcase just in case. I went into my bathroom and filled a small bag with my essentials: shampoo, bodywash, toothbrush and toothpaste, razors, and my hairbrush. I didn’t require much. I tossed the bath bag into my suitcase and zipped it up. I looked around to make sure there was nothing else I needed before heading over to the gym area.

Off the weapons room was a large storage area where all the Archer’s had individual lockers to keep our personal weapons in. I punched my code into the keypad and pulled open the locker door. Grabbing a weapons bag from the bin in the back of the room, I started piling my weapons inside including my bow, quiver, knives and daggers, and my set of dueling swords in their red sheaths.

I zipped up the black bag and slung it over my shoulder, wheeling the suitcase behind me as I walked towards the portal room. I waved goodbye to a couple of the Archers as I walked through the room and caught sight of Effie in the hallway.

“See you around, Effie. Call me if you need me and with any updates on the Hugo case.” I called out to her.

Her head snapped towards me as she recognized my voice. She waved and nodded her head before getting back to her meeting.

I pressed my hand into the security pad and the door to the portal room opened up. The room was really just a closet with a huge portal taking up the back wall. All we had to do was think about where we wanted to go and walk through the shimming purple and blue wall. I closed my eyes and thought about the portal in the woods by the camp before adjusting my bags and walking through the portal.

I stepped out of the portal which mimicked a tree and wasn’t at all surprised to find Lion leaning against a truck as he waited for me.

“How did you get a truck back here?” I laughed. The portal was located deep inside the trees and not exactly accessible by car.

“I have my ways.” Lion smirked and opened the passenger side door for me, “Your carriage awaits, Luna Thea.” I shoved him to the side as he mocked me. He laughed loudly, stumbling over a rock and landing on his ass.

“You deserved that.” I grunted at him before getting into the truck and slamming the door shut.

Lion kept laughing as he walked around the truck and into the driver’s side. He carefully maneuvered the truck out of the woods.

And by carefully I mean he punched the gas and watched as the speedometer floured to 50mph, and by maneuver I mean he plowed through bushes and over rocks, relying on sheer luck to keep from getting stuck. I gripped the holy hell handle above my window with one hand and the seatbelt with the other.

“Do you have a death wish?” I shrieked as I bounced a foot off the seat.

“Says the woman who sticks a bow in the face of rogue werewolves and vampires.” Lion snorted, grinning at me.

“Keep your eyes on the road!” I yelled at him and he threw his head back laughing.

“What road?” He snorted.

Oh yes, that made me feel more comfortable.

Mercifully, we charged out of the woods and finally ended up on a real road. It was a smooth drive the rest of the way to his packhouse.

“I’m glad you’re giving X a shot, he’s been insufferable these past few days without you.” Lion said, leaning back in the seat and resting one hand on the steering wheel.

“That’s how you talk about your Alpha?” I smirked.

“He was my best friend, hell my brother, long before he was my Alpha. Play your cards right and I’ll tell you all the dirty, embarrassing stories about your mate.” Lion chuckled.

“Oh, I might have to take that deal.” I returned his laugh.

“So, you do laugh?” Lion looked at my sideways and I shrugged,

“When something’s funny.”

“My mate is going to like you.” Lion said.

“Which one is your mate?” I remember Xaiver giving me names of his Beta and Gamma’s mates, but I don’t know which was which.

“Yasmine, but she goes by Yaya. Logan gave her the nickname because he can’t say her name.” Lion smiled, his face softening as he thought of his mate. I watched him curiously. He was such a wild, sarcastic guy that I was surprised anyone could pull this gentle side out of him,

“Frankie’s mate is Shay. She’s the mother hen of our group.” He added.

“They both take care of Logan?” I remembered and Lion nodded.

“Yeah, but they won’t stand in your way.” He said and I raised my eyebrow.

“What do you mean by that?”

“I mean that they won’t be bothered by you coming and wanting to spend time with Logan, and take over the mothering. You are the Luna, the mother of the pack.” Lion shrugged casually.

I knew he meant his words to be comforting and kind, but they succeeded in sending me into a panicked spiral. I looked away from him and out the window. The word mother was making me freak the hell out. I gulped and started picking at my fingers, unable to respond to the Gamma. He didn’t seem to take it personally as we rode the rest of the way in silence.

Eventually, we started down the familiar driveway towards Valor Moon’s entrance. I remembered everything from my last visit here, but this time it all seemed different. It was stupid and I was embaressed for even thinking it, but the trees and the grass seemed greener, the flowers that lined the tower gates were prettier, and the smells were stronger. I grumbled to myself as the guards waved us through, eagerly peeking around Lion to get a look at their supposed Luna.

We drove up to the packhouse, the castle looming under the bright sunlight. Instead of parking by the side entrance like the last time I was here, Lion drove around to the back of the castle and through an underground entrance.

“There’s a parking garage?” I asked in shock.

“Yeah, everyone who lives in the packhouse parks under here. There’s a private section for the ranked members, and another for the Alpha and Luna.” Lion explained as he pulled up to one of two gated entryways.

Stamped into the concrete above the first gate were the words: Alpha and Luna whereas above the gate Lion pulled up to only said, private parking. Lion punched a code into the keypad and the gate creaked open. He parked the car in the first empty space and shut it off. We both hopped out and he grabbed my suitcase.

“I can carry that.” I argued as he started walking towards the elevator.

“No way, Xaiver would kill me if he saw you carrying your own bag.” Lion huffed, punching the up arrow next to the elevator doors.

I grumbled the entire elevator ride. There was only an up and a down arrow on the control panel, so I guessed that the elevator only went two places: the ground floor and the parking garage. My assumptions were confirmed when the elevator doors opened with a high pitched ding and revealed a grand hall.

I recognized the hall as the main foyer, where I exited the last time I was here. It was huge with marble floors, a heavy set of wooden doors, Victorian detailing, and two large marble pillars that led to the main hallway.

“Xaiver is out back with Logan.” Lion said, handing my suitcase off to a woman who was waiting by the front door, “Marybelle will take your stuff upstairs.” He added as I glared at the woman stealing my things.

I followed silently behind Lion as he led me past the marble pillars and down a luxurious hallway. He pointed out some of the rooms as we walked past them. There was a huge dining room with a table fit for at least fifty people along with a more intimate dining room with a much smaller table. There was door marked staff only which Lion said led to the industrial sized kitchen. There was also a formal sitting room and a huge living room.

At the end of the hallway was a comfortable sunroom room with a set of french doors that led to the backyard. I could hear the sound of a child laughing as we got closer to the doors. Lion turned the handle and pushed one of the doors open for me to walk through first. The backyard was huge with a patio, swimming pool, and a playground that looked like it belonged at an elementary school. Logan was laughing as a woman pushed him on the swings.

Xaiver was standing off to the side with another woman, his entire body immediately turning towards me the second he sensed my presence. I could see his breathtaking smile from here, almost an acre away. He said something to the woman beside him and then jogged towards me.

“My mate, Yaya, is pushing Logan and the woman off to the side is Shay.” Lion whispered just as Xaiver joined us.

“Hello, my dear.” Xaiver grinned at me, taking my hand and pressing his lips over my knuckles. I raised my eyebrows at his new choice of nicknames, “What? You didn’t like baby.” He smirked innocently. I didn’t say anything because I knew I wasn’t going to win this battle.

“This must be her!” A cheery voice chuckled from behind me. I spun around and came face to face with a large, muscular man. He had dark hair and even darker features, his eyes almost black and his skin tone a warm chocolate brown, “I’m Frankie, the Beta.” He introduced himself.

“This is my mate, Thea.” Xaiver said, beaming proudly. He had one of his arms wrapped around my waist and was holding me close to his side. I stuck out my hand for Frankie to shake.

“Nice to meet you.” I said to Frankie who grinned,

“You, too! I’m so glad you’re finally here.” He was a little too cheery for my taste. I think I preferred Lion’s personality.

“It’s Tia!” A little voice squealed.

I turned around just in time to catch Logan as he flung himself into my arms. I froze, instinctively catching him but not sure what to do next. Xaiver, Lion, and Frankie were laughing at me.

“It’s Thea, Logan.” The woman who was pushing him on the swings said, sighing, like this wasn’t the first time she had corrected him.

“That’s what I said, Tia.” Logan frowned, saying it wrong again. The woman shook her head and smiled at me,

“I’m Yasmine, the Gamma female.” She said,

“That’s Yaya!” Logan replied stubbornly, earning another round of laughter.

“I’m Shay, the Beta female, not that anyone cares.” Shay said with a pout, walking up behind Yasmine.

Shay was a sharp contrast to her mate, Frankie. She had beach blonde hair that was cut short, falling in waves just above her shoulders, with bright blue eyes. Yasmine, on the other hand, complemented Lion. They both had light features, including dirty blonde hair, blue eyes, and milky skin.

“Everybody cares, my darling.” Frankie purred, grabbing Shay’s hand and pulling her into his chest.

Meanwhile, I was still holding Logan who had his arms clinging to my neck and his legs wrapped around my stomach.

“Logan, why don’t we give Thea time to settle in.’ Xaiver chuckled at his son, detaching him from me and setting him back down on the ground.

“I missed Tia.” Logan’s bottom lip started to quiver and I instantly felt bad for not being more excited about the little boy’s presence.

“Logan, do you want to maybe give me a tour of the packhouse? This place is so big, I’m afraid I’m going to get lost.” I smiled down at him.

Logan’s face lit up like a Christmas tree as he nodded vigorously, grabbing my hand and tugging me towards the house.

“May I join you?” Xaiver asked formally, playing along.

“Sure, daddy!” Logan agreed without so much as glancing back at his dad. I craned my neck to look at Xaiver who had a huge smile on his face, happily following after us.