Chapter 26 Archer #2
“It was. Basilisk poison is deadly if not treated immediately. Not even shifter healing can compete with it. Me, being the idiot kid I was, decided to charge it. I shifted fast and went straight for its throat, but it was faster. I managed to get a claw in, but it got teeth in me first. Right in my lip. I vaguely remember shifting back so I could grab it with my hands and trying to yank it off me, which just served to drag the fang down my chin. I don’t remember much after that.
I went down pretty hard, feeling like my blood was boiling me alive from the inside out. ”
She hissed out a shocked breath. “How are you still alive?”
“My father,” I replied. “One of the other kids ran to get him. Caught the scent the same time I did and made the smart choice. Made it just in the nick of time, too. Forced a vial of antivenom down my throat before the poison could kill me, told the others to take me to the clinic, and then took the basilisk's head clean off. Saved my life, but couldn’t rewrite what the venom already carved into my face.”
She was quiet for a moment after that.
“Does it hurt?” she asked finally, her voice soft.
“Nah. Hurt like hell when it was healing, but I don’t even notice it now.”
My hands lifted from her back, and I shifted to find something to wipe the oil from my palms. Bechora sat up, her body still relaxed, clutching the towel to her chest.
“Your dad sounds…”
“Awesome?” I offered with a grin.
“Effective,” she huffed a small laugh, standing from the bed and moving into the closet. She emerged a few minutes later, redressed and climbed onto the bed, settling upright against the headboard. I moved to sit beside her, stretching my legs out on the bed.
The conversation drifted after that. We shared the candy I’d brought for her and swapped childhood stories.
Mine were filled with pack chaos and running wild under the sky; hers…
were quieter, more controlled and alone than I liked.
With each one, my inner beast grew a little less jealous over the marks on her neck.
My time to complete the bond with her would come.
She needed the bonds she had now to be a little less alone in the world, after everything she’d been through.
At some point, the candy was forgotten on the nightstand. The candles had burned lower, their glow softer now, casting everything in a warm gold. She was still leaning against the headboard, legs stretched out in front of her, looking more relaxed than I’d ever seen her. And she was looking at me.
“What?” I asked, a grin tugging at my mouth.
“You’re quieter than usual,” she said.
I huffed a soft laugh. “I can be quiet.”
“Mm,” she hummed, clearly unconvinced.
“I’m thinking.”
“Dangerous,” she teased.
“Very.”
“I like this side of you,” she smiled sweetly. “Don’t get me wrong, it’s hilarious watching you make Gabriel squirm, but this is nice.”
A low chuckle slipped out of me. “Yeah, well… he makes it easy.”
Her eyes softened at that, but there was something curious behind it.
“Do you flirt with him just because of how he reacts, or is there something… more behind it?”
I stilled for half a second at that. A slow breath filled my lungs before I let it out in a quiet huff of a laugh, dragging a hand over the back of my neck.
“Straight to the point,” I said. “It started out as teasing because it drives him nuts, but…” I trailed off.
“But?” she cajoled.
“The thing is… You see...” I began, trying to find the right words.
Bechora nodded, gesturing for me to spit it out.
“In wolf shifter packs, it’s not uncommon for bonds to overlap.
Especially with alphas. We always have our center, which would be you, but more often than not, some of the males are also mates. ”
Understanding flickered in her eyes, but there wasn’t any anger or jealousy. “And you think he could be another mate for you?”
“Yes, but not the way you make it sound. You’re the center, the priority of the entire pack. Gabriel just happens to be mine, as well.”
“That makes sense,” she said.
My brows lifted slightly. “Yeah? You’re not… weirded out?”
She huffed a small laugh. “Archer, I got dragged into a supernatural world I didn’t know existed, found out I have a prophecy hanging over my head, magic I’m still figuring out, and supposedly more mates than days in the week.
If fate or whatever is pulling the strings decided I needed a hand taking on some of this dick, I’m grateful. ”
A laugh burst out of me, and I doubled over, clutching my stomach. Bechora’s laughter rang out, mingling with mine to create a symphony of joy.
“To be clear, it’s just the one I’m helping you with,” I said when our laughter finally subsided. “Zypher’s hot and all, but that demon is all yours . And the dragon might eat me in one bite if I tried it with him.”
“Fair enough,” she grinned. After a few moments of silence, she spoke again, her tone soft and serious. “Thank you for telling me.”
“You don’t have to thank me for that.”
Maybe not,” she replied. “But I am anyway. It means… a lot. More than you probably realize with how many secrets have been kept from me.”
I reached out and squeezed her hand gently. “I promise, you don’t have to worry about secrets with me,” I said quietly.
Bechora leaned into my side instead of pulling away, and the thread of our unsealed bond hummed happily in my chest. She may not be ready for my mark, but something had shifted during our evening together.
I wasn’t chasing an unwilling mate anymore; we were building a future built on a foundation of trust and understanding.