Chapter 61: Chapter 60

“We probably should check out of his this Inn now shouldn’t we?” Archer and I were wrapped together in bed as I combed my fingers through his hair and off the center of his shining face.

“No, we went back to Mount Hunter, I like this cove we’ve created here. Let’s stay a few days. I never want to see the country house again. It holds so many bad memories for me.”

“I know it does, but we have to go back. It’s okay, I’m going to be there with you and we can either pack or decide what we want to do.”

Spending time making sweet, mad, frantic love with Archer was a winning formula to the contrast of destruction at the Mount Hunter pack headquarters. At the Mount Hunter Inn, I was able to bury my troubles in the sand, but Archer had a sweet way of bringing me right back to reality.

“Let’s get the free breakfast downstairs at the buffet and we can talk over about what to do about Dane.”

“Do you think he can be salvaged?” We walked out of the room to the lobby area.

“Salvaged? No, I think Dane should go to the junkyard where he belongs.” Archer’s cutting remark made Vera laugh uncontrollably as she held onto his arm.

“I never realized how funny you were Archer. I agree. He might need to go there as well. I feel sorry for him. He lost two of his loved ones.” Despite the fighter of my Lycan and all the burdens I’d been put through at Dane’s hands, I still wanted him to be okay for some weird reason.

“Vera, you can’t be serious. He tried to cause you pain.” Archer stared at me as if I had two heads. We reached the breakfast buffet and I loaded up my plate with fruits, and other goodies.

“I know,” I said as I raised my eyebrows. “I can’t believe I said it myself.”

I popped one of the grapes in my mouth as I observed the other people who were seated. An older couple were seated in the back corner, they looked like they were comfortable in silence together. The man with barely any hairs on his head had the paper open and was peering into it as if it was a different world. The woman was slurping up what looked to be oats as her hand shook. A wave of longing washed over me. I wondered what it would be like to be with someone for that long.

Archer saw me looking at them both throwing me an amused look. Embarrassed that he caught me looking at them with that desire I swiftly moved my focus to a breakfast scroll adding it to my already full plate. Archer filled his plate with a hot breakfast as we sat down enjoying one another’s company.

Archer had one of them smiley, grinny looks on his face. “Why are you looking at me like that? Do I have something on my face?”

“Yes, you have that sweet face attached to those cute lips and beautiful cheeks. That’s enough to make me smile.”

A flush of heat covered my cheeks. Archer knew how to make me blush and feel good inside. Being with him excited me from the inside out and I thought it was going to be me alone forever. Having Archer in my life had me thinking things might be different.

“Thank you.” I wanted to say more, but words failed me. I wanted to tell Archer I’d never felt like this before with anyone, but I figured it might be too mushy.

“You’re welcome.” We ate silently for a minute until Archer blurted out his feelings. “I want to be with you.” He blinked a few times as if he didn’t mean to say it in the first place.

Floored by his constant flow of flattery I spoke carefully. “I know that, otherwise we wouldn’t be here together.”

Archer appeared flustered as he pulled a hand through his hair exhaling a large sigh.

“No, I mean... I want to go where you go. If you’re staying at Mount Hunter I want to fight with you.”

Confused by him clarifying I drained the rest of my orange juice. “I assumed that’s what you were doing anyway. Are you not?”

“I don’t know. I wanted to tell you, face to face. I want you to know I’m in your corner. Sometimes I think you take on too much and forget that the rest of the pack will help you.” Archer stuck a fork in his fluffy golden eggs, considering his statement.

“I’m trying. Clive, you and Thelma have been the only ones I can trust. Reily and his crew have only just come to their senses and I don’t know how long that will last. Grant, ah- you know she’s a different story. She’s my sister, but I’m not all the way convinced.”

“Sorry - that came out harsh. I guess all I’m trying to say is I’m here for you and I want to be by your side. I’m not going to neglect you like all the others.”

“Thank you, I like you too, I’m awkward I guess. I’m not sure what to call you yet...boyfriend? Is that what I should call you?”

“I like it. Vera’s boyfriend.” Seeing Archer’s face light up at my declaration felt good. When it rolled off the tongue I liked the sound of it too. Unfortunately, the nagging issue of what my Lycan crept in with was not making things easier. I pushed past it agreeing with my conscious human self that being with Archer officially would bring stability and was a good thing. Seemed that not much would change anyway.

“There we have it.” I finished my breakfast and Archer picked up the paper from the newspaper rack and started to read it. I shook my head at the irony of the gesture as I watched him studying the inside of it, like the other man I’d met did. “I think I should call a meeting. I don’t want to lose the focus of the pack. I think now is the time to get things in order before they get out of hand again.

“I agree with you. Will we go up after breakfast?”

“Yup. Good plan. I’m going to need to run as well. I’m feeling flat. I think you holding me hostage here has made me fat.”

Archer stuck out his tongue adding a deviant smile. “Half my luck. If I could hold you hostage for a while longer I will. I need to tie up lose ends at the other apartment as well. Are we going back to Cianwood Vera?” A very good question, but one I’d been mulling on for a while.

“No, staying put. Mount Hunter is my home and I’m going to let some old wolf and a bunch of misunderstanding change that for me.”

“You have a way of putting things. Misunderstandings, it’s been more than misunderstanding’s Lycan.” Archer expressed his hidden anger, but added a grumpy smile at the end.

***

A blanket full of voices chorused around the room. All eyes were on me. I had set up the meeting room in the main house in a u shape. One trestle table with me in the middle, and all other wolves and pack members around the outside forming in their collective cliques waiting for the word from me. I didn’t want to lead the pack. It was Grant who wanted that position and as far as I was concerned that was fine by me - however their would need to be some ground rules established.

I coughed to get the pack to simmer down. Grant sat beside me, she was a little banged up, but now she was fit enough to work beside me and have the same clarity I possessed when regarding Dane. I leaned over to her as she nursed her injured arm in a sling. “So, we’re in agreement about Dane, he should be turfed out? Not mentally fit? What should we say?”

Grant’s expression was one of distress. “Yes, we have to. He’s not fit to direct the pack and we have plans for expansion outside of Mount Hunter and in his current state, he will hamper things.”

“Okay.” A screeching sound from my steel fold out chair brought the room to a standstill. “Hello everyone. Thank you for your patience. I’m glad you could all be here today. I know it’s been a wild rollercoaster of a ride as a pack, but we have to carry on. That’s what Mount Hunter wolves do. We can’t drop the ball.” I paused as I looked around at their expectant faces. I had no freaking clue on how to give an uplifting speech and to move the masses to a new way, but it seemed to be working as the elders bobbed their heads in recognition. One of them who was an old solemn wolf with kindly eyes and a calm presence spoke. “He is to be overthrown. He is not mentally capable of running a pack as an alpha. The incident with Reily’s arm was the icing on the cake for me. He has to go.”

“Here, here!” Another said impatiently.

“Banish him to same dungeon he put Reily in!” Zion called out as he raised his gun. He must have been training for the day and still had it with him. Kori, Trevor and the elders roused up the army of pack members and the place began to get rowdy.

“You’re right. I think we should banish him to the dungeon! Make him suffer. The Lycan would do a better job at running the pack than him. He’s weak. He sent all of out to hunt down someone who has more leadership capabilities in her little finger than him.” Mixed feelings presented themselves as I heard Mathew speak of me in high regard. These were the same cowards who would not face Dane as a pack even though if three or more of them joined in the fight, he could have been taken down.

“Calm down everyone. The best thing I think we should do is make a decision about how to handle it. First, we want to decide about Dane. I personally think the best place to put him is in temporary lock down. I don’t think we should give him access to the outside world at this stage. He is dangerous, and he’s been on the decline for some years.” Grant looked at me with tears welling in her eyes. “I made a mockery of you Vera and I’m sorry for everything I did to you. I should have helped you after Mom and Dad died. I knew you didn’t do anything wrong. You were just a kid, and I was jealous. I can admit that now.”

Grant admitting that she was jealous of me in front of all the pack was a sight to behold. I never thought Grant would apologize for anything that she’d done. “Thank you Grant.” Gulping hard I vowed not to get emotional in front of everyone. “Clive, what do you think?”

Clive, who was recovering well with the color coming back to his face stood up to address the group.

“Yes, I’m in agreeance with both of you. Dane should be put away. We do need to consider where to house him long term or we need to make the dungeon habitable.”

Clive’s eyes weren’t hard like the others when he spoke. His voice was even and clear. Remorse and regret were the expressions on his face. He didn’t want Dane to suffer, but something had to be done. Several other wolves stood up.

“We cannot go on as we have been. Dane has left many of the barely trained wolves to their own devices and his display of wrongful vengeance has confused many. I’ve long been upset at his treatment of Vera, but not said anything to him for fear of retribution.”

Feelings overwhelmed me as a large tsunami wave of tears threatening to unravel me. Other Mount Hunter wolves were expressing they didn’t want to see me beaten. Why did they do nothing?

Another elder stood and spoke. “Yes, I’ve felt the same way. I’ve told Dane on many an occasion that he should even out the chore schedule and stop the beatings. I am ashamed to say I worked under his rule. Your mother and father would be devastated at the treatment you’ve experienced from him. Dane and I fought in several battles prior to the Beartown hit in which your parents were killed.” He paused as his speech gathered speed around the table while wolves hung their heads in shame. “I wanted to help you Vera, I did. I was weak and as an elder of the pack I should have advocated with the others and gone against Dane. Please forgive me. I’m sorry for what I did.”

That was it. I broke down into sobs as Grant and Archer comforted me. All the pain of my past rose to greet me. The words I’d longed to hear. I was free now. Truly free.

Sniffling, I wiped my eyes. “I’m sorry. A little emotional. My Lycan wouldn’t be happy.” I smiled through my weak joke with a smile, but the crowd of wolves around me started to clap.

Thelma, my thimble of a friend stood up as well. “I want to say thank you. Thank you for your friendship and a chance to be your guardian, it’s truly been an honor. I’ve always known you were special Vera. I want Dane to go away. He had us on recon missions that made no sense and wasted the energy of the pack wolves. It’s been complete anarchy. There’s not been one attack from Beartown at all. I’m all for diligence, but there’s caretaking that needs to be managed on the property. The east side of the barracks needs new fencing. New swords need to be acquired; the old ones require sharpening. We need to get them to the tradesmen in town.”

“Then it’s settled. Dane is to be banished in his own cell.”

“Here here!” A chorus of voices united with passion as Dane’s fate was sealed by the pack.