Chapter 7 | Getting To Know You

Riley

My parents practically drown themselves using the potion to hide scents. When I told them that Archer is an Alpha, they wanted to make sure he wouldn’t be able to sense their scents at all. They tell me and the boys multiple times how we’ll go outside for them to meet Archer and he’s not allowed inside because it smells like them, and they don’t have enough time to cover the scent.

I sit on the front porch watching Todd and Harry throw a football while listening to their parents get ready inside.

The noise of a car on gravel greets my ears and I sit up as I hear Todd yell, “Mom, dad, he’s here!”

I hear dad mutter, “Damn it.”

And mom goes, “It’s okay, be cool, be cool, we got this.”

I roll my eyes, I think they’re a little too nervous for this meet up. Archer gets out of the car and runs his fingers through his dark brown hair and then he smiles at me nervously and waves. I notice Harry is scowling at him and I find it odd. I don’t know what his issue is with Archer, we just met him yesterday and he saved our lives.

Archer walks over to me and says, “I’m glad you were free tonight.”

I smile as I push myself up from the front steps and right after I do I hear the door open and glance back at my parents. My dad walks over to him and says, “Hello there, I’m Rich Ford, thank you for protecting my children.”

Archer smiles as he gives him a firm handshake, “It’s my pleasure, sir. I’m just glad I was there.”

My mom says, “Hi, I’m Dani, it’s nice to meet you…”

She trails off for him to give his name and he says, “I’m Archer, Archer Hale.”

I notice dad’s eyes widen and mom gasps softly. It must be an impressive name for them to respond like that. Archer smiles and says, “It’s nice to meet both of you. I hope that I’ll be able to spend some more time with Riley and will be seeing you frequently. Is there anything you want to know before we go? We’re just going to my house and playing video games with my friends.”

My mom shakes her head no and has a small smile as she says, “No, we’ve heard of you, Archer. Tell your mom we said hi.”

He nods and holds his hand out to me and asks, “Are you ready?”

I smile as I take his hand and we walk to the car. Once we start driving off I ask, “Do you have any siblings, Archer?”

He shakes his head no and says, “Only child. My mom had to have me naturally and after that she said never again.”

He chuckles softly and I smile, I like the sound of his laugh. I ask, “What kind of video games are y’all into?”

“Mainly Halo, sometimes Call of Duty just depends on the day.”

I nod and ask as innocently as I can, “You’ll teach me and go easy on me?”

He smiles, “Of course!”

Little does he know that I play these games with my brothers every day.  I smirk to myself as he continues to drive, I fully intend to wipe the floor with him and his friends.

Once we get there my eyes widen from the size of his pack house. It is at least 3 stories and is very wide. I wonder who all lives here.

He answers the question I haven’t asked, “The Alpha, Beta, and Gamma live here plus guest rooms for when we have visiting packs.”

I nod and he takes my hand and says, “Come on, I’ll give you the grand tour.”

He takes me around the whole first floor which has the kitchen, the dining room, a large living area, two guest bedrooms, one office, and then the game room. He told me the second floor has the rooms for the Beta and Gamma’s family and the top floor is reserved for the Alpha’s family which is currently just him. He said that his mom used to be there but since he took over as Alpha, she moved to a small cottage not too far from the pack house. She still comes over frequently and most days has dinner with him.

I feel relieved that the chances of running into her tonight are slim. I’m not sure how I’d feel about meeting her so quick whenever Archer and I seem to be wanting different things. The way he acts seems like he wants a hardcore relationship, but I don’t. The only thing I’d be okay with at this moment is like a friends with benefits arrangement.

I look him up and down and can’t help but lick my lips. I wonder what he would be like in the sheets.

I rip my eyes away from him because I don’t want him to catch me as I mentally undress him. He opens the door to the game room and says, “Let’s play!”

Brandon and Caleb both look up from their games and I smirk as I look around impressed with their setup. Each one of them had their own person high-definition TV’s and each had their own gaming console. There were a couple extras too, but I notice one TV that was bigger than the rest and I would bet that one belonged to Archer.

I wonder if I could get him to give me his spot. It also has the most comfortable looking chair. I say, “Hi Brandon, hey Caleb!”

They both mutter back to me before shooting and yelling at the TV’s. Archer walks over to them and playfully smacks them both upside the head as he says, “Say hello and be polite! We have a guest.”

Caleb groans and Brandon looks over at me and says, “Hey Riley, nice shirt.”

I smile, and Caleb says, “Yeah, hey Riley.”

Archer rolls his eyes and looks at me and asks, “Do you like the band?”

I look down at my shirt and see the AC/DC logo and I smile, “Yeah, I love the song TNT.”

He nods with an impressed look on his face and Caleb calls out, “I like this girl, Arch. Is it too late to call dibs?”

Archer growls softly before chucking a pillow at Caleb’s head. I laugh and think maybe hanging with the guys could be fun.