You&Me: Book 4

Chapter 58: Root Beer (Archer)

The fear had been traded for boredom. After the water fiasco, the scarred man hadn't let anyone else come down to the basement. He left food and water and that was about it. I thought I'd be more scared of what he was planning, but days of sitting in this cage was testing me.

The human was spacing the floor with his cell phone pressed to his ear. I picked at the fur around the scar from the bullet. I'd have to hide it from Saigon until it was erased. He'd freak out if he saw that. A sad smile spread across my face. I'd find a way out of here. I'd get back to my mate. With a sigh, I rested my head back and closed my eyes.

"Alright, tomorrow then. Text me the details. Yeah, see you then." He ended the call and sat down on a barrel. "Good news, pup, you have a new master."

I flipped him off.

The scarred human laughed. "What happened to your fear of humans?"

"After spending so much time with you bastards, I found out you're all a bunch of cowards, hiding behind your guns," I breathed.

"Is that true?"

"Unlock this cage and we can test it," I muttered.

He laughed. "I'm going to miss you, Archer. It's been a while since I got to spend some quality time with a werewolf. I've usually killed them by now." He shrugged his shoulders. "I was this close to keeping you as a pet." He pinched his fingers together. "Too bad my guys won't let me. I either have to sell you or put you down."

"I'm worth nothing dead, you said so yourself."

He smiled. "I should have kept that to myself."

"What's your name?" I asked.

The human shook his head. "Doesn't matter. I'm just a carrier."

"Why won't you tell me?"

"I can see the wheels turning." He met my gaze. "You're thinking that when you get out of here you need to know the name of the bastard human who put you on a lease and was mean to you, right?" He shot me a smirk. "Keep wishing, pup. I'm a nicer master than the guy I'm selling you to."

"Then you shouldn't be worried about me knowing your name."

Standing with a groan, he shook his head. "Accidents happen and I prepare for the worst case scenario, not the best. Sleep well, Archer. You might come to miss the dirty cement floor."

***

(Saigon)

I shut the door to my truck and noticed people sitting outside on the front porch. Peter gave his mate a hug before going inside. They were the two people I had been avoiding being alone with. It was my fault their son was gone. But, I also felt the need to at least apologize for failing to keep my promise.

Slowly approaching, I waited for Rupert to notice me. My heart rate was picking up. The man already terrified me and now I had to face the fact that I had lost his son.

Rupert's expression remained blank. He just looked at me.

Swallowing hard, I tried to think of what to say and could already feel my eyes burning. There was a reason I had avoided talking to Rupert. Peter would try and comfort me, while Rupert—I was afraid he might knock me out. If he did, I definitely deserved it.

"I'm sorry," I tried to say with a strong voice. "I promised to take care of him and I didn't." Clasping my forehead, I closed my eyes to try and compose myself. "I'm so sor—"

Rupert stood and hugged me. I stood frozen, unsure of what he would do next. Squeeze me to death, maybe?

Stepping back, he held onto my shoulders and took a deep breath. "I love my son. I will never stop looking for Archer, and I know my son-in-law will do the same." He peered into my eyes. "You made him happy, Saigon. He was finally back to his old self before this mess with Willow. I am going to hold you to your word, but I will never take back my blessing for you and Archer to be mates."

Nodding, I forced a smile. "Thank you."

He gave my shoulder a squeeze. "Wipe your eyes and take a deep breath. I'm sure my mate is watching through the window and is going to blame me for being too harsh on you."

I used my shirt to clean up my face. "To be honest, I was worried you might take a swing at me. I wouldn't blame you."

Rupert shook his head. "I've been told, by Archer many times actually, that there are very few people in this world that I'm slightly overprotective with." He locked eyes with me. "But just slightly, and you may have partially joined that group."

"Good to know."

His expression went blank. "Archer comes first."

"He comes first for me too," I said with a chuckle.

"Good." Rupert nodded. "You're a part of my family. It doesn't go one way." He motioned toward the house. "Your grandma made dinner. She's pretty concerned that no one has been eating much and there's been a lot of talk about you losing weight. Peter and Aden were discussing it earlier." He sighed. "You have to keep up your strength. Hunters are involved in this and it's not easy to track them. It's not like a hunting party. They're not traveling on foot."

"I will." I started up the steps. "Are you coming in?"

"In a minute." He sat down and peered out toward the road.

Slipping inside, I closed the door and glanced through the side window. Rupert wasn't as scary as I thought.

"Saigon," called my grandmother. "Saigon, come and eat. I'm just getting the food out of the oven."

Peter intercepted me on the way to the kitchen. "Rupert wasn't too harsh, right?"

I shook my head. "No, I was crying because I felt guilty and he told me he doesn't blame me for what happened. He was really nice."

The tension left the man's body. "He's taking it hard. We all are, but Rupert is blaming himself, too. None of us could've ever known Archer was being targeted. It's nobody's fault but those who were involved."

"Thanks, it's going to take me some time to convince myself, but it's nice to hear."

"Saigon, would you like fruit punch or soda?" asked my grandma.

"A beer."

Her eyes grew wide and she clutched her chest. "Excuse me? You are not twenty-one until June."

"Root beer," I said with a smile.

"Hmm..." She eyed me. "That's what I thought."