Chapter 183

“Mercy?!” Archer snaps. He says the word far too loudly. Mia flinches and looks up at him with bright watery eyes. He immediately tries to relax. He smiles at her to show her everything is okay. I do too.

When he speaks again, the tone is much more conversational, even if the words are edgy. “Why the fuck would I do that?”

“Don’t swear in front of the baby,” I sing-song while smiling at Mia.

She looks between us both, then settles some. She returns her attention to the lion, then proceeds to smash it on the floor a few times. Fortunately, the thing is very durable.

Since the first time I walked in here, Archer seems genuinely pleased. At least when he’s looking at Mia. When his gaze shifts to me, it’s hard edged again.

I knew mercy would be a hard sell before I suggested it, but I couldn’t not suggest it. For Isaac’s sake. For my Mom’s.

I need to tell Archer the truth.

“My mom and Isaac still believe that Wyatt is a good person,” I say.

“They should find out the truth,” Archer says right away.

“Maybe. But it will break their hearts.”

Archer’s always frowning, but it deepens now. “Chloe. He tried to kill you.”

I mean, yeah. Okay. Sure. That happened. Wyatt has been making my life a living hell since the start. And if Neil’s words are true, which they probably are, Wyatt is likely planning to potentially do worse to me once I’m out of the Pyramid and out on my own.

But that doesn’t mean I have to stoop to his level.

“I’m not saying do nothing,” I say. “I’m just saying… maybe keep my Mom and step-dad in mind. Ruin Wyatt if you have to, but keep them out of it.”

Archer’s brow lowers. He’s at least considering it, thank the Gods. Since I’m not privy to their planning, I can’t hope to know if my plea will actually matter. But at least, it made it past Archer’s stubbornness.

Lower, I admit something more. “My Mom thinks Wyatt likes her and me. She thinks he’s looking out for me here.”

“You need to tell her the truth yourself,” Archer says.

I know he’s right, but… “How do I break my own mother’s heart?”

Archer continues to look at me. I can’t read him anymore. It’s like he’s gone inside of himself. I just watch, waiting for him to speak again. He’s still looking at me, so I don’t think our conversation is over.

Then, Archer glances down. “Unfortunately, if Wyatt does not come forward for the official ceremony to remove him as our Beta, the only other option is public disgrace. We must make the world aware of his failure, and he will be forbidden from ever becoming a Beta again.”

I frown now myself. “What would be the minimum for the ceremony? You guys just need to talk to him right?”

“Yes,” Archer says. “Well, he also has to sign some paperwork, but that can be handled through lawyers. The spoken official declaration is essential, however.”

“So he’s hiding to avoid it,” I say.

“He’s hiding because he’s a fucking coward,” Archer says.

Mia lifts her wide-eyed gaze to him once more. Archer clears his throat.

More gently, he says, “It would be better for him to come forward. Less humiliating for the family he obviously doesn’t give a – uh…” He clears his throat again. “That he doesn’t care about.”

I nod, understanding. Still, I’m determined to protect my family, even if Wyatt is too cowardly to. Maybe he thinks it wouldn’t be worth it, since he considers his father’s reputation already ruined simply by marrying my mother.

“So what we really need is a way to draw Wyatt out into the open,” I say. “Lure him from wherever he’s hiding.”

Archer looks away, avoiding my gaze. “We need to find where he’s hiding. That’s easier.”

He’s lying. I don’t know why I’m so certain, but I am.

“Surely a trap makes more sense?” I say. “We would just need to figure out how to bait him.”

Archer doesn’t say a single thing, not helping even slightly, the bastard.

But then I realize why he isn’t helping. Because they’ve already considered this. And if they already considered this, they have already figured out that the only bait in the whole world that could draw Wyatt out of hiding is…

Me.

“I’ll do it,” I say.

Archer’s gaze snaps back to me. “No, you fucking won’t.”

Mia looks at him again but he’s ignoring her this time. The full intensity of his gaze is fixed entirely on me. I swallow hard. Gods, he is intimidating. And hot, but this is hardly the time for that, with Mia watching.

“It’s the easiest way, Archer. I know it is.”

“It’s the most dangerous way. To hell with what’s easiest!”

Mia watches Archer’s outburst, but she’s not crying now. Maybe she’s used to him. She seems more curious than upset.

“You guys will be hiding nearby, I’m sure. I’ll draw him out, and you close in,” I say. It sounds perfectly reasonable to me. “How is that dangerous?”

“He’s still our Beta. He’ll sense us. We’ll have to be too far out, and by the time we close in, he will have been with you too long.”

“I can handle myself.”

“You are fucking injured, Chloe. Maybe before you could have held him off for a few minutes. But as you are? All he has to do is squeeze, your ribs break more, maybe puncture a lung, and that’s it.”

Okay, well. That doesn’t sound great, I can agree. Though my spirits are strangely lifted by the compliment buried in there somewhere. Archer just admitted that in my healthy stage, I could hold off a werewolf for a few minutes. That is so much more than the ‘you’re going to die’ I would have gotten before the challenge.

Although… I guess the ‘you’re going to die’ part still came out.

“I trust you guys. You won’t let me be hurt,” I say.

I am confident of that much, especially given how protective each of them have been lately. Hell, even today, Beau didn’t want me to hurt my feet on the broken glass and ceramics. When I first got here, he wouldn’t have cared less if I sawed my whole foot off. Now, a slight cut had him worried.

“I’ll be fine,” I say.

“You aren’t listening to me,” Archer says, and there’s a hint of a growl behind it. “We’ll be too far away –”

“I understand the danger,” I say, cutting him off. A dangerous prospect. He glowers at me, but let’s me continue. That’s how I know he cares now too. In the beginning, he would have stormed out of here by now, after giving me a firm scolding about knowing my place.

Knowing he’s allowing me to continue, I clear my throat and go on, “But I’m guessing you guys are stumped. There’s a timetable here. You want to catch him before my week here is out. Searching around isn’t paying off. You need this plan. You need me to be bait.”

“We will think of something,” Archer says, and there. He just admitted I was right.

“I’ve already thought of it,” I say. “I know a surefire way to drag Wyatt out.”

Archer narrows his gaze. “How?”

“Simple.” I shrug like it’s no big deal, like inside, I’m not shaking. “I’ll ask for a rematch.”