Saved By The Alpha
Chapter 3

Thankfully, the rest of the afternoon went relatively quietly, and that calm stretched into the evening. Uncle Gage had gone somewhere else, and Viola and Brock had gone to their own home. Or maybe not. I didn’t care where they went, but they weren’t at the Archer family estate, and that’s all that mattered to me.

Iris had crashed sometime in the afternoon, and I let her catch up on some sleep. I had to try and plan for this council meeting. Even though there’d been some attempts to have it the night we’d arrived, I was relieved my father had put his foot down. It gave me time to gather my wits, and whatever Gage was planning, he’d have to sit on it. I hoped that meant the man would be forced onto his back paws.

Even though we’d gone to bed at a reasonable hour, Iris was still asleep when I woke up. When I peeked into Bella’s room, the little girl was hugging her stuffed wolf, mouth hanging open slightly as she remained in a deep slumber. I smiled a little at the sight before slipping back into the hallway, treading carefully as I made my way toward the stairs and to the kitchen.

I briefly considered breakfast in bed but reconsidered almost as quickly. Bella was only three, after all. She was just as likely to spill her breakfast on the sheets as she wasn’t. I’d just make two cups of coffee and see if Iris wanted to head out to eat. Getting out of the house sounded perfect to me, and the meeting wasn’t going to be for at least another hour. I just wanted a walk. Some fresh air —

“Good morning, Eli.”

The sound of my mother’s voice made my b***d run cold. I turned slowly, careful not to slosh the coffee. “Hello, Viola,” I replied, trying to keep my voice as neutral as possible.

Why is she already here? The meeting isn’t for at least another hour. She isn’t even on — f**k it, I don’t care why she’s here.

The less I engaged with her, the quicker I could get out of there. I didn’t want to trade small talk, much less get into another argument.

She looked around and sniffed. “Where’s that girl? Iris, is it?”

I scowled. I knew damn well my mother hadn’t forgotten her name. “She’s sleeping in,” I replied stiffly. “We just got here, and the party last night was a lot.”

My mother raised an elegant brow. “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised a lone wolf would find such an event difficult to handle. And to think, that was a relatively small one!” She gave me a smile that was entirely fake.

I stared back at her. “Sure, if you’re related to all of them.” Personally, I thought it was weird my mother kept attending events. It was clear most of my father’s family didn’t care for her, especially after everything. The only reason they tolerated her at all was because she was my mother, and I was the Longbow pack’s future heir. If my father was okay with her presence — and he certainly gave the impression that he was — then everyone else would play along.

I wished for at least the three-hundred-and-thirty-seventh time that he would just stop trying to include her in things. I wasn’t a kid anymore. I wasn’t even close. “It’s a lot to meet that many people at once.”

Viola sniffed again and shook her head. “Hardly. Any businessperson—”

“She’s not one, though,” I snapped, leveling my mother with a dark look. “Most people aren’t.”

“I suppose.” She shrugged one shoulder. “The least she could do was get you coffee, then, but then, she didn’t have proper role models, as a lone wolf and all.”

I bristled. Just ignore her. Ignore her. If you take her bait, it will take that much longer for you to escape, and she’ll make you that much angrier. I swallowed down a growl. Ignore her, Eli. You can do it.

“Uh-huh,” I replied, trying to give the air of someone who did not give one single f**k. “My coffee’s getting cold, so…” I nodded toward the stairs and started walking, not interested in arguing.

“I’ll see you later, my little love.”

Wow. Really laying it on thick today, Viola. I rolled my eyes now that she couldn’t see me. “Sure,” I muttered, and then I paused, glancing over my shoulder. “Leave Iris and Bella alone, Mom. They’ve already been through a lot.” And they don’t need to be put through the ringer by your inane questions.

She gave me a wounded look. “I would never,” she said, as if the mere mention hurt her. I turned away before I could roll my eyes again.

If only that were true.

Iris wasawake when I got back upstairs, if only barely. She gave me a drowsy smile.

“Coffee?” I asked, relieved to close the door behind me. It wasn’t much, but it still felt like a barrier between myself and Viola Archer Beckett.

Iris blinked and gave a sleepy nod. “Sounds like a good idea,” she said, slowly propping herself up. Once she’d gotten her pillow set up behind her as a cushion, I handed her a mug and carefully sat on the edge of the mattress.

“How’d you sleep?”

“Mm, better than I have since we’ve arrived in London,” she said, taking a slow sip. Iris tipped her head to one side. “You?”

“About the same.” And that was true. I’d barely slept the night we’d arrived, and after all those drinks last night …sure, I’d slept, but it was anything but restful. “Which is good, since the meeting is in…” I trailed off and twisted my wrist to check my watch. It was a habit that seemed to crop up whenever I was back in England, and for some reason, that irritated me. “…ugh, less than an hour. More like thirty minutes.”

I’d slept later than I realized, and I’d probably wasted more time in the kitchen trying to get away from my mother than I’d wanted to. I withheld a sigh, sipping at my coffee instead.

Iris gave me a sympathetic look. “Well, this wasn’t exactly meant to be a pleasure cruise,” she said, turning toward the window as she took a sip from her mug.

I snorted. “Not a pleasure cruise — but it didn’t have to be a barge of despair, either.”

Iris choked on a laugh as she tried to swallow her coffee. “Warn a girl,” she groused, but she was clearly smiling over the rim of her cup. “You came to help your father, and having met some of your family members…” She trailed off and gave me a wry smile. “No offense, but he probably needs it.”

“None taken.”

If there was ever a point where I’d have taken offense, it was years ago, and after the last few days we’d had —no. I’d think the Archers were some sort of barely concealed shitshow if I just met them for the first time, too. Never mind that we’d flown here specifically because my Uncle Gage was going to challenge —

Right. I needed to stop wasting time. My father needed me. More than that, my pack needed me right now. No matter how I felt about him right now, I knew without a shadow of a doubt that the members of Longbow would suffer if Gage had his way and replaced my father with — I actually had no idea who he was planning on replacing the alpha with. It certainly wasn’t me.

Is he trying to get Gordon to run the pack? I don’t think Gordon has any interest… I scowled, realizing at once what it was my uncle was doing. He’s going to pick an alpha he can control. Of course! He can’t lead Longbow himself, but he’d be more than happy to play puppet master and tug on the strings. I bet he’s going to try to prop up his own son.

Iris bumped her knee against mine, startling me from my revelations. “You should probably get going,” she murmured quietly, giving me a sympathetic smile. “And I’m sure Bella will be awake soon, anyway, so I should probably clean myself up, too.”

“Yeah,” I agreed, finally standing back up. “Wish me luck.”

“Good luck,” Iris hummed. “But I don’t think you need it.”

Most of thecouncil had already assembled by the time I made my way downstairs, but at least I wasn’t the last of the twelve to show up. Several members of my family were on the council — my uncles Gage and Sam, myself, and my father, of course. That was a third right there. My father’s close childhood friend, Liam Black, was also a member. Uncle Sam had once confided in me that Liam was meant to be the pack beta, but Gage had gone on a tear, wreaking so much havoc that the rest of the council had begun to pressure my father to take Gage on as the pack beta instead.

One could argue nepotism was alive and well here, but the members were chosen by the alpha. In the case of Liam and Gage, that was the best my father could do for his old friend. The members of the council were meant to advise the pack alpha, but at least in Longbow, they weren’t really a ruling force.

Any wolf could be nominated, too, though they usually required the support of at least one current council member before they were presented to the others. My father operated under a system in which current council members could vote in a new member when a spot opened up, but I knew not all alphas worked like that. Some handpicked each and every member.

It was an imperfect system at best and one I wanted to change when I became alpha, but…

Well, we’d have to defend the pack from Uncle Gage’s scheming first.

Once the last members filtered in, we all sat down at the long table, which stretched the length of the room. My father sat at the head and cleared his throat. “Thank you all for coming,” he rumbled, inclining his head. “It has come to my attention that there has been some unrest and some…misinformation being spread in my absence, which I would like to clear up immediately.” He paused, a heavy look falling on Gage. Gage simply stared forward as if he didn’t notice at all.

“As you all know, I recently learned I had not one, but two sons. Before my son Eli was born, I had sired another, unbeknown to me. He reached out to me last year, and since then, I have been making many efforts to get to know Remus Silverstreak, as is my right as a father, and his right as my child, regardless of his age now. However, this time spent with him does not indicate any intention to bring Remus to London and insert him into the Longbow pack, nor does it indicate any intention to combine the Silver Streak and Longbow packs. Remus has been successful on his own with his own pack — Longbow has been quite successful over several decades. It would be a fool’s errand to attempt to combine two packs across an ocean and hope not to ruin what was already working.” My father gave a small snort. “So if any of you still have any doubts, let me assure you. Longbow is not relocating. Longbow is not merging with any other packs. Longbow is not getting a new heir. Eli has been raised to take my place when I can no longer serve these wolves, and I cannot think of anyone better for the job.”

The shifters around me murmured, but I didn’t hear a thing any of them said. That was one of the most supportive things my father had said about me — and he’d said it in front of the entire council. I almost didn’t trust my own ears at that point.

I saw one of the elders lean forward to speak, but before she could say anything, Uncle Gage’s voice rang out.

“Bullshit,” he called, looking entirely too smug.

The elder raised her delicate grey eyebrows and looked at him instead. “Oh? Please explain, Gage.”

He smirked. “I’d be happy to, Gladiola.” The smarm rolling off him at that moment made me want to gag. “Obviously, I love my brother — but he must think we are all idiots if we are to believe he sired a son and had ‘no idea’. He was in love with Fiona Moor. We can all remember that, can’t we?”

As he glanced around the table, several of the older members of the council murmured again, nodding their heads. Even Uncle Sam nodded, looking as if he were pained by the memory. “It was a shock that she ran off to America — but now they’ve reconnected. Why would you reconnect with someone if you hid their child from them?”

My father looked momentarily stunned, and I winced. I had complained about Fiona and my father to Myles several times over the phone. It was probably my fault that Uncle Gage knew about that at all. I cleared my throat before the man could dig in any further. “Yes, and now because of that contact, we have a new ally and more global clients than before,” I said. “So many new clients even, we were able to open a new office for pack business in America.”

“Is splitting our attention across two continents really the best idea?” Brock said. I tried not to scowl, but I was pretty sure I was failing. “Eli is so young — if something happened to Nic tomorrow, how would he be able to take over Longbow and handle this brand-new business? I think this was a poorly thought-out plan by a rash young man.” He shook his head as if he were somehow disappointed in me.

I wanted to reach across the table and slug the sly smirk off his face, but I knew that would do nothing but prove what a ‘rash young man’ I was. Brock never spoke like that. Who the hell is feeding him these lines?

Something clicked in the back of my mind, and I glanced over at Gage, raising a brow. No… I was certain he’d pick an alpha he thought he could puppet, but…

Really? He’d pick Brock over his own son?

Gladiola frowned, folding her hands on the table. “Now, Brock,” she said, her tone grandmotherly and scolding, “all concerns may be aired, but remember you are speaking about our future pack alpha. He deserves some respect.”

Brock gave the older woman a placating look. “Of course, of course,” he said, his eyes flicking from her and back to me. “But I’ve known him for many years. Probably more intimately than most. He’s gotten more unstable since he’s entered adulthood, and look — he’s far less social than he was as a boy, even as a teenager. These are very poor traits for our future alpha. Just two nights ago, he told off his mother in a public setting before ditching the family gathering to go and get drunk. That’s disrespectful to the rest of his family and to the pack as a whole.”

How the hell does he—? F**k it. He’s a scheming little shit.

“I agree,” Uncle Gage cut in before I could defend myself. I twitched as my speculations seemed to play out right in front of me. “Brock isn’t the only one with concerns about who Nic is leaving this pack to.”

“I’m well aware of pack laws and expectations,” I finally managed to say. It took all of my energy to keep from baring my teeth or clenching my hands into fists. “I’ve been by my father’s side my entire life. Furthermore, as I’ve already mentioned, I’ve been running pack business overseas, including, but not limited to, getting us new clients and contacts. All of which contribute to the pack’s financial stability and well-being. I haven’t been going overseas just to lie around. Feel free to look at any of the branch’s statements.”

“I will,” Gage said, and I had to stare over his shoulder and into the wall to avoid rolling my eyes.

My father cleared his throat. “My son is not up for discussion here,” he rumbled. “Gage, you requested this meeting specifically based on my behavior and your questions about Remus, and that is what we agreed to. You will leave Eli alone.” His eyes flashed ominously. “If I recall, brother, you spent some time in therapy for a rage problem that almost got a young woman killed when you were a teenager. Rather unbecoming of a beta, and yet…”

He trailed off and waved a hand at his younger brother, clearly indicating that Gage was still allowed to keep his place as the pack’s beta. An act of mercy or stupidity? I was starting to wonder.

The man sitting next to Gladiola cleared his throat. “I’m starting to wonder why we are even here,” he said, pushing a strand of chestnut hair away from his face. He looked around the table, eyes lingering on me before settling on Brock and, finally, Gage. “We were led to believe something was seriously wrong with the alpha. I thought you were sick, Nic.” He frowned.

My father cast a wry smile. “I’m no spring pup, Regi,” he said, shaking his head, “but my health is as good as it ever was. As I said, I’ve been spending time with the son I only just learned about. I had thought my brother had things under control, but perhaps handling Longbow’s well-being has fallen to the wayside.”

Regi grunted. “As far as I can tell, Gage and Brock have called this meeting so they can complain about things that aren’t even problems.” He folded his arms over his chest. “I’m missing my daughter’s football match for this.”

“My apologies, Regi,” my father said. “But when a council member brings up a concern, I take it seriously. Gage has a right to be heard.”

Regi made a face and waved him off. “Oh, I know,” he said, turning his scowl back to my uncle. “Council members ought to be emotionally stable enough to know when something is petty and when it’s an actual problem. This seems like stirring the pot for the sake of it on Gage and Brock’s part. I’m beginning to suspect—”

Gladiola cleared her throat. “Now, boys…”

My father smiled at them both, however briefly. “Does anyone else have anything they’d like to add on the topic we’ve actually been called to discuss?”

A silence fell over the table as he looked at each shifter sitting here, one by one. Even Gage and Brock looked at one another, saying nothing. “Very well. Should we have this vote, then?”

The vote went quickly. All voted in favor of my father staying as the alpha of the pack, including Gage and Brock. No one even bothered to ask Gage who he’d propose, as the man himself was incapable of taking over the pack as a beta. Part of me was still curious if my speculations were correct, but the rest of me was terrified he’d suggest Brock, and that idea was absolutely putrid to me.

However, no one else cared, and with Nic Archer firmly in control of the Longbow Pack, everyone else was dismissed — including Gage. Once we were alone, my father looked at me and grimaced.

“I’m sorry, Eli,” he said, shaking his head. “I knew Gage was going to try and undermine my character. I didn’t think he’d come after you, too.”

I shrugged. “I’d rather he’d say it to my face,” I replied. That much was true. At least I’ve always known Gage was a bit of a brat. If he treated his own sons poorly, well… Going after his brother or nephew just seemed like par for the course.

“Still.” He sighed heavily. “At least that’s done. When do you want to return to Texas?”

“As soon as possible. Project Night Moon is still running around, and Remus can’t handle that entire organization on his own.”

My father nodded. “I’ll arrange the jet to take us back, then,” he replied, already fishing his phone out of his pocket. “I’ll send you the details as soon as it’s coordinated.”

I raised a brow. “Us? Even after Gage just pulled this stunt? Are you sure you shouldn’t stay here?”

The older alpha snorted. “Gage can suck a lemon,” he grunted. “I’ve put a few fail-safes in place over the past few days in case Gage gets any other ‘bright ideas’. In the meantime, I am not about to leave my sons to handle what is clearly an old, well-funded organization on their own — especially one that threatens all shifters. That would be irresponsible of me as an alpha and a father.” He studied me for a moment. “And I could do better at being both.”

I paused, not really sure what to say to that. “I…okay. I appreciate the help,” I finally responded, a bit too shocked to reply any other way.

Where has this version of my father been my whole life?