You&Me: Book 4

Chapter 41: Egg Casserole (Archer)

I jolted awake and panicked. Where was this place? What was going on? I toppled out of bed and landed on the floor. Scooting to the corner, I searched the darkness as my senses were on high alert. The room smelled like Saigon. He wasn't here, though. Did he leave me? My chest tightened. Did he leave me, too?

Clambering to my feet, I located the door and stumbled down the dark hallway. I followed the flickering light. His scent was getting thicker. I found him and relief washed over me.

"Archer?" Saigon sat up on the couch.

I climbed onto his lap and rested my head on his shoulder. My eyes closed. He didn't leave.

"What wrong?" He ran his hand along my back.

"You left," I whispered. "I was scared you left, too."

Saigon hugged me. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Swear on your rank," I muttered. "If you leave, you'll live as an omega."

He chuckled in my ear. "I swear on my rank, I won't leave you."

Letting out a sigh, I collapsed against him. That was all I needed to hear to feel at peace.

***

(Saigon)

I didn't know what to do. I had a giant werewolf curled up on my lap. Would I even be able to shift without waking Archer up?

My father and Rupert sat nearby. Both seemed a little shocked from watching Archer stumble down the hall and slump over on top of me. I smoothed out his head fur. He looked beautiful.

"Well, that confirms it." Rupert let out a huff through his nose. "You have my permission," he said with a bit of resentment.

"Permission?"

"To mark with my son."

My mouth fell open. "Thanks..." This was getting more awkward.

My father nodded and rose from his seat. "Poor pup has been through a lot." He watched Archer for a moment. "Whatever you decide, we'll support you."

Rupert stood and walked toward the guest room. "Remember, I heard you swear on your rank." His gaze caught mine for a moment. "I won't let you forget it."

Swallowing hard, I nodded. "I don't plan to, sir."

He left and my father waved as he went upstairs.

"Goodnight, Saige."

"Goodnight," I replied.

Archer let out a sigh. What was I going to do with him? I smiled at the man in my arms. I maneuvered off my shirt. Archer grunted and tightened his hold on me. I wasn't going to be able to carry him in this form, and I liked the jeans I had on. I didn't want to rip them. Somehow, I undid my pants and worked them down my legs so they were low enough that I could shift. Archer nuzzled my fur and became dead weight in my arms. He was even more heavy now. Rupert wouldn't approve of me dragging his son down the hall, either. Carefully laying Archer on the couch, I hurried to our room and gathered some blankets and pillows. He was half on the ground when I came back.

I made a simple bed on the floor. Dropping to his knees, Archer searched the room with a glazed over look on his face. He spotted me and moved to the bed. Shaking my head at the man curled up by my side, I settled in for the night.

As much as Archer dreaded the full moon, I was starting to like it.

***

(Archer)

The light coming in through the window woke me up. I glanced at Saigon. He was still fast asleep. Sitting up, I was confused about why we were in the living room. Rubbing my muzzle, I yawned and stretched my arms overhead. I felt great, though. My ear twitched to the side, and I heard humming coming from the kitchen. I slowly pulled away from Saigon and crept into the entryway.

Karen was cracking eggs into a bowl.

She spotted me. "Good morning."

I rubbed my arm, feeling awkward about being in werewolf form. "Good morning."

"How did you sleep?"

"Good."

"Great to hear."

I swallowed hard. "Do you need help with anything?"

She chuckled. "If you want to change back to human, I need some eggs cracked while I brown the meat."

"I— Well, shifting now..." I smoothed out my head fur. "I can do it like this." I walked over and took over the eggs.

Karen bumped my arm. "You could go to the room and shift. I didn't mean in the kitchen." She gave me a grin.

"Oh." I shrugged. "I think this form is better."

"Saigon is the same." She went to get a bag of cheese out of the fridge. "He groaned about it all the time."

"He is the one who chose to go to a human school," I muttered.

"True." She sprayed something into a couple of large pans. "He wanted to learn more about his other half. You're half-human, too, right?"

I nodded. "My dad, Peter. He was human but he mated with my father at a young age. He's more werewolf-like than most of our pack."

"Still, it doesn't hurt to learn more about your human side."

I stared at the bowl of eggs. "Humans scare me a bit."

"Why is that?"

"They're not as predictable as werewolves. I don't know. They make me nervous. When I was a pup after Saigon ditched me, I went somewhere I shouldn't... I just feel like humans will attack at any moment."

"Do I make you nervous?" She glanced at me.

"Not in the same way," I laughed.

"I'm not that bad." Karen dumped half of the meat into one of the pans. The rest went into the other. She took a fork and whisk the eggs.

I stepped back. "I didn' mean it like that. Everyone makes me nervous. I'm not a high ranking dominant. I'm borderline, so being around alphas and betas is a lot."

"Their egos can be a little stifling," she laughed. "But I found ways to keep them from getting too full of themselves. When it comes to family, there is no alpha or beta. The rank only gives them more to worry about than the rest of us. My son is still on the oblivious side, but Titus has matured a lot over the years. Don't let them intimidate you. Saigon will fall to this charm just like all the other alphas and betas in his family." She patted my cheek. "You might want to go shift and get dressed before everyone else wakes up. Just because they love you, doesn't mean they won't tease you."

I nodded. "Um... last night..."

"Peter told me." She smiled. "I'm not going to tell, and if anyone finds out and gives you a hard time, they better watch themselves because I will be coming after them."

I grinned to myself. "Thank you."

"Keep your chin up, Archer." She eyed me. "My grandbaby is clearly head over heels in love with you, so that makes you family. No one hurts my family, so I'd say you're in good hands."