Chapter 167

“Absolutely not,” Archer says first, the most abrupt, and the loudest.

“What a fucking terrible idea,” Beau says secondly.

“No,” Steven says simply, as if this is all a scientific process he can refuse.

“You can’t take it back,” Wyatt says. “The challenge has been cast and accepted. It’s the rules that it now has to be seen through.” His sharp glare finds me. “Unless you want to forfeit, Chloe?”

“Fuck you,” I snap. I have zero intention of forfeiting. Yes, I did not intend for the challenge to be cast quite like this. I thought I’d have more time to sort it out before bringing it to Wyatt. But, none of that matters now.

“I guess I’ll see you at the match then,” Wyatt says. He gives a mocking little bow, then backs out of the room, returning to whatever dark corner he crawled his way out of. No sooner is he gone, than all three of the brothers descend on me.

“How can you be so careless, Nanny?” Beau snaps. “Swinging words like that around. Even mentioning a challenge is a danger. Why would you risk yourself?”

“I was going to challenge him anyway,” I say. “Does it really matter if it happens now or then?”

“You were going to…?” Beau throws his arms up. He looks imploringly at Archer. “She was going to challenge him anyway!”

“Chloe,” Steven says gently. It’s the kind of voice he uses when he thinks someone is being particularly foolish and needs things explained to them very slowly. “You are outmatched here. Wyatt is stronger than you.”

“He has a wolf!” Beau shouts. “You don’t have a wolf!” He says it like that makes everything so simple. It’s not.

“A person without a wolf can beat a person with a wolf,” I say.

“Sure,” Beau grumbles. “With years and years and years of training.”

“I’ve trained.”

Beau throws his hands up again. He looks at Archer, who has been suspiciously quiet this entire time. “You talk to her. I can’t.”

Steven also differs to Archer, like he’s the one in charge.

I cross my arms and lift my chin, ready for the verbal lashing I’m sure to come. Archer looks as pissed off as I’ve ever seen him, but I’m so used to his angry mood now that it barely phases me.

In fact, I find it a bit hot, but that doesn’t help anything right now. So I keep that under wraps.

Archer narrows his eyes at me.

I brace myself for the worst.

Yet instead of opening his mouth as I expect, he steps forward, grabs me by the arm and physically drags me from the room.

I struggle, but he is an Alpha wolf, and I don’t have a hope’s prayer of escaping his hold, no matter how hard I try. Beau and Steven watch me go. They don’t try to follow. Beau gives me a cheeky kind of salute.

That actual dickbag.

Only when we reach the gym do I realize what’s happening here.

Archer drags me inside, then pulls me to the mat, where he finally releases me.

“Spar me,” Archer says. His voice is growly and gruff, like he’s near changing into his wolf.

I sure as shit can’t win a match against an Alpha that close to shifting.

“I’ll hold my wolf back,” Archer says. “I’ll pull my strength down to Wyatt’s level.”

I have serious doubts about that. His muscles are all tense. He looks like he’s about to snap like a bowstring, not bring down his strength.

Still, if he says he will, I have to trust that. I could use the practice anyway.

Generally, I don’t get much actually sparing practice.

We take our stances. Archer waves me forward to attack him first.

I need the element of surprise to have a hope’s prayer of winning, so I fake like I mean to go left, but actually go right. Yet before I can even wind up for my jab, Archer moves so fast, I don’t even see him move.

Next thing I know, I’m on the floor with the wind knocked out of me. Archer stands over me, chest heaving, eyes filled with unbridled fury.

It takes me a long moment to catch my breath. When I do, I’m absolutely furious.

“That was not Wyatt’s strength level.”

“Sure it was,” Archer says. He’s a fucking liar.

“You’re playing dirty.”

“And you think Wyatt won’t?”

I try to look as indignant as I can from my spot on the ground, glaring up at a pure predator staring over me. I’m sure I’m as intimidating as a lamb is to a wolf.

“I’m only trying to help you see reason,” Archer says. His voice is still low and gruff. Gods, he’s still near shifting.

Why does that have to be so fucking sexy? Why is any of this so fucking sexy?

He’s all towering Alpha. Pure masculine muscle and heat. I should hate that I’m becoming a stereotype, falling all over myself in desire for the Alpha male.

But Gods help me, he is so incredibly hot. I can’t help but make my panties wet.

He sniffs the air. He smells it.

Suddenly, his eyes are even darker than they were before.

I lick my lips. He tracks the movement.

“The challenge is already made,” I say, trying to gather the remnants of my brain as all of my thoughts splinter under the weight of lust. “Maybe you should actually help me, instead of being such an asshole.”

Suddenly, Archer is down on top of me. His knees are on either side of my hips. His hands are on the mat at either side of my head. His face is dangerously close.

Gods, all he has to lean down and I am lost.

“You could have asked for help before getting yourself into this mess,” Archer growls. And it is a flat-out growl now. He’s not holding himself back anymore.

Glancing down, I can see his dick hard in his pants, tenting them.

It feels good, knowing he is as hot as I am.

“Okay, Mister Hindsight,” I grumble. “Well, I didn’t. So what the fuck do we do now?”

He tilts his head. I realize my wording maybe too late.

“We fuck,” he says, low and deep, and my whole body shivers.

Then, in the next instant, he’s down all the way on top of me. His mouth crashes into mine. It’s less like a kiss and more like he’s biting me.

The fucking asshole.

Well, two can play at that game. Maybe I can’t win in a sparring match against him, but I can win at this.

I growl against his mouth and bite back.

I claw at his shirt, ripping it up over his head. When his chest is bare, I latch onto it with my mouth to suck in a slew of marks.

I know they won’t last. Werewolves heal quicker, and Archer’s wolf is strong. But I’m not going down without a fight.

Mark after mark across his collarbone and then up the side of his neck.

His fingers curl like claws and in a moment, all of my clothes are absolutely shredded.

I’m naked beneath him when his mouth comes down to my body. For every mark I left, I get five in return.

We kiss and touch and rub like animals. I’m not sure there are any words.

With Archer, I am fury incarnate, and he takes and gives it all right back.