The Alpha's Bondage

Unsteady Ground

♚Archer♚

I hated the fact that I had to leave her. It felt almost wrong, but I had duties to the pack. Not only that, but the more time I spent with Harley, the stronger the bond pulled through me. And I had slowly realized that she didn’t know, which was strange. And that meant I had some digging to do.

“Go back,” Ragnar urged, pushy and demanding. “She is ours. We should just claim her, and this will all end,”

“Wait, what do you mean?”

“The hunger,” he hissed just as I entered the packhouse. I froze.

“Are you serious?” I asked. Ragnar didn’t answer me immediately, which meant he wasn’t sure. He was just trying his luck. “Work first,” I muttered under my breath before I made my way to the office. I wasn’t even surprised to see Marcus waiting for me.

“Where were you?” he asked curiously. I could see the concern in his eyes. “You weren’t at home,”

“No…I…I was out,” I said. As always, the urge to tell him the truth surfaced, but I hurriedly pushed it aside. I didn’t have the time for that now either. “What’s new?”

“This,” he said as he handed over the folder. “Patrol notes, supply lists, and a problem,” I nodded as I flipped open the folder. “You look well rested,” Marcus commented, and I shrugged.

“I had a good night,” I said. It wasn’t a lie. I just wasn’t going to elaborate. “What’s the problem?”

“We found another charm,”

“Oh, for f***s sake,” I muttered.

“Yeah, closer to our border this time,” he said. “Cedric said the binding is older, and Bertha said the intent is the same,”

“Right, a bad omen,” I said as my jaw tightened. “Any prints?”

“None we can trust,” he said. “But there was rain again, which means that whoever is doing this is being careful,”

“Show me the charm,” I ordered. Marcus pointed to the item on my desk. The reed ring lay there with a shard of pale bone lashed to it. A smear of something brown edged one knot. It smelled like old swamp and smoke. “Same work,” I said. “Same hands or the same lesson,”

“Yeah. The elders are convinced it’s a warning. Bertha said the paths are being marked and not for us,”

“Right,” I said with a nod. “And no one saw anything?” I then asked, but Marcus shook his head.

“No,” he answered softly. “Maybe we should double the patrols,”

“Do it,” I confirmed. “And only to watch. No one chases anyone. We don’t know what this means, so everyone should just be careful,”

“Noted,”

“Anything else?” I asked him as I sat down behind my desk. Marcus eyed me for a moment before he shook his head. “Dismissed,”

“See you later,” he said before he walked out, leaving me alone with my thoughts. And Ragnar.

“Work is over. Let’s go to Harley. We should claim her,” Ragnar just about ordered. I closed my eyes for a moment as a wave of annoyance washed over me. “She is the cure,”

“How do you know that?” I asked.

“I don’t, but it does make sense, don’t you think?” he shot back.

“No,” I shook my head. “One bite mark can’t fix our curse,”

“Well, why not?” he pushed on, his voice sharp and certain. “She is our mate. And all curses can be broken,” I hesitated then. Was he right? Was there a way to break the curse once and for all?

“Do you seriously think I can just call her mate? Claim her, and the hunger will roll over? What if it doesn’t? What if it gets worse?” I questioned. Ragnar was quiet for a long moment.

“It won’t,” he whispered.

“You don’t know that. What if I claim her and everything goes wrong? What if we end up hurting her?”

“I don’t…” his voice trailed off, and I sighed softly.

“I think we need to find out why she doesn’t recognize us as her mate,” I then said. “And then we can figure out if her being our mate changes things,”

“It changes everything!” Ragnar roared. “I will not be with anyone else!”

“Calm down!” I snapped. “I never said that,” Ragnar shut down, and I groaned. But before I could try and fix it, my phone buzzed in my pocket. It was a reminder that I still needed to get Harley a phone. I had to trust that she would only use it to contact me. I took out the device and saw that it was a message from Seraphina. I frowned as I opened up the message.

✉Seraphina: We need to meet. We have things to discuss.

It was short and straight to the point, but I frowned regardless. I didn’t owe her anything, and this was highly unusual. Then again, Harley wasn’t the same as the others. Maybe this was the perfect opportunity to figure things out. Maybe Seraphina knew something. Maybe she knew nothing. Or maybe it was something else entirely. I took a deep breath and made my decision.

✉Archer: Meet me at the old theater at one pm. Don’t be late.

I sent the message and pocketed my phone. I put my head down and started working on the budget for the upcoming meeting. By the time I was done, I was not only annoyed, but I was hungry. But the time had gotten away from me, and that meant I didn’t have enough time to stop by for a quickie with Harley before my appointment with Seraphina. I should have paid better attention. It was too late now. I did have time to rub one out if I hurried. I went into the bathroom and shut the door. I unzipped my jeans and pushed it down. My hardening c**k sprang free, and I wrapped my hand around my length. I shut my eyes, and all I had to do was remember Harley. How soft and warm she had felt last night. How tight she had been around me. I didn’t waste any time as I kept my movements fast and tight. I f****d in and out of my fist as if my life depended on it. I relived last night, and within minutes, I grunted as I bit back my growl as I came into my fist.

“f**k,” I whispered as I felt the hunger subside. It wasn’t enough. I needed Harley. I cleaned up quickly before I pulled up my pants and headed out. Whatever Seraphina wanted, it had better be worth my time.

♚♚