"Archer's there?! He's with you?"

"Yeah," I whispered. "I'm going to call you back."

"Make sure he doesn't go anywhere. I'm on my way."

"Sure..." I hung up and stared at the man on my steps. "Archer?"

Letting out a deep breath, he peered down the sidewalk. A woman was coming our way. Archer was shaking as he watched her closely. I hurried up the stairs and unlocked the door. He looked ragged. Opening the door, I guided him inside. After dropping my book bag on the ground, I took him to the living room and sat him on the couch.

"Let me get you some water." I hurried to the kitchen to get a water bottle.

I returned and Archer hadn't moved. His expression was hollow and his eyes were red and swollen. Sitting down at his side, I took off the lid and handed it to him. He stared at it and blinked a couple times before taking it from me. Clutching it in both hands, Archer looked straight ahead.

"What happened?"

Letting out a shaky breath, he fell forward and broke down. I took the water bottle before it spilled.

"Willow's gone," he said between gasp. "You were right. You knew— you knew she'd go rogue."

I jerked back. "Willow went rogue?"

"After what happened at Base Acid, she started to hate the pack. She'd tell me how much she despised Darius and didn't want to be a werewolf." He started to sob. "She left me. My chest hurts."

I hugged him. "I'm sorry."

"Why would she just go? We're mates, we're supposed to be together. We're supposed to love each other forever. She never loved me."

"That's not true. She agreed to be her mate."

He fell into my chest. "Why are you being so nice? I hurt you so badly."

"It's been two years, Archer. I'm over it."

"You never came back, though. Your parents visited but never you."

"I didn't want to make things awkward. Willow never liked me and I didn't want to put you in the position where you'd have to choose."

He struggled to get his breathing under control. "My chest hurt so bad." He clutched it and I noticed blood.

"Archer, stop." I pulled away his hand. "You're hurting yourself."

"I just want it to stop hurting."

I held his wrist to keep him from clawing himself. "You have a bond with Willow. It's not something you can stop. It'll always be there."

He wiped his face on his shoulder. "I never would have mated with her if I had known she'd leave me."

"Deep breaths," I smiled. "It's okay. We'll figure it out."

He started to do so and, with time, got his breathing under control. I rubbed his back as I took a moment to comprehend what was going on as well. The trip to my college wasn't a simple drive to Harper's Creek. Archer had been on a bus for hours, among humans. I hugged him tighter. He came all this way to see me? I wouldn't get my hopes up. Archer had a mate. Even if the bitch had the nerve to go rogue, she was still Archer's mate and that was a bond that couldn't be broken.

"I have a guest room upstairs. Do you want to get some sleep?"

Nodding, he roughly cleared his eyes. "That would be nice."

We stood and I showed him upstairs.

Archer stopped at the door and took a deep breath. "It smells like your parents."

"It's where they stay when they visit. The sheets are clean," I added. "I do clean." I looked around. Thankfully, my parents tended to leave my house in a cleaner condition than when they arrived.

Archer started to remove his clothes.

I hurried to the window and closed the blinds. "The bathroom is across the hall. Be careful walking around in that form. Only humans live around here. The local pack lives on the other side of the city."

Not responding, he shifted form and curled up on top of the bed. He looked so defeated.

Grabbing the quilt at the end of the bed, I laid it over him. "I'll be downstairs."

His eyes were already shut. I left the door slightly ajar and returned to the kitchen. Going to the fridge, I grabbed a coke. What the hell was going on?

I was sure I'd find out as soon as Darius arrived.

***

The doorbell rang, and I went to get it. I gave my uncle a small smile before letting him inside. Rupert and Peter stood behind him.

"Where is he?" said Rupert.

"Still sleeping," I replied, motioning to the kitchen. "I checked on him when I woke up, but he hasn't moved."

"He's okay, though?" asked Peter. "Nothing happened to him, right?"

I shook my head. "He was on my steps last night and went straight to bed. The poor guy is exhausted."

"I think it's time he wakes up." Rupert went for the stairs but Darius held out his arm.

"Maybe Peter should go."

"Why?" snapped Rupert. "He's my son. He sent the whole pack into a panic by this little stunt of his. Archer knows better and I'm not going to allow this kind of behavior."

The alpha raised an eyebrow. "And that is why Peter should go. The pup just lost his mate. He's allowed to have emotions."

With a huff, Rupert went into the kitchen. "Fine, Peter can go."

The sub hurried up the stairs.

"The door on the right," I called after him.

With a sigh, Darius went into the kitchen and sat at the bar with Rupert. "He's going to be fine." He patted his friend's back. "Willow put him through some shit that he needs to work through."

"I knew she was a mistake." Rupert picked at his nails. "I never liked her."

"Water?" I asked. "I have soda as well."

"Water," said Darius. "One for him, too."

I grabbed two and put them on the counter.

"What kind of werewolf hates being a werewolf," muttered Rupert. "She dragged him down. Archer doesn't deserve any of this."

"I know." Darius continued to rub his back. "Willow is gone, and I'm not going to allow her back."

"What about Archer?" Rupert exclaimed. "Leaving doesn't affect her, but it does him. He left the mark. He's the one who's bonded to her." Breathing out through his nose, he sat up straight. "I'll have to kill her."

"Let's not go to an extreme," I said with a nervous laugh.

"That's the only way to free him."

"Willow is still Archer's mate," I added. "Killing her would still hurt him."

"He'd get over it," snapped Rupert. "He'd find someone better. Someone who actually gave a shit about anything, including him."

Noises came from upstairs.

"I don't think it's the time to be discussing hunting down Willow," whispered Darius. "We'll talk about it later. For now, let's worry about Archer."

Peter led his son, who had shifted back to human form downstairs.

Archer looked between us. "You're all here?"

Darius nodded. "You gave us a bit of a scare."

Rubbing his arm, Archer shuffled forward and handed the alpha a credit card. "I'm sorry I took it without permission." He looked close to crying again. "I know I'm going to be punished for this."

My uncle tapped the card on the counter. "Maybe, first, tell me why you came here? You don't even like humans."

Archer clenched his jaw. "I'm not afraid of them." He scanned the room and shrugged. "I saw a letter with Saigon's address and I wanted to see him. I don't know why." He clasped his forehead. "It's stupid but I guess I wanted to be around someone who actually loves me since"—he let out a shaky breath—"she never really did."

Peter hugged his son. "We love you. Your father and I will always love you."

Trying to smile, Archer nodded. "Why'd she leave me? I didn't think a mate would ever do that." He looked between his parents and the alpha. "That's what they said in school. Mating is forever, but she left."

Rupert stood but the alpha held out his hand before he could speak.

"She's still his mate." Darius eyed the man.

"I need to go for a walk." Rupert marched past them and the front door slammed soon after.

"I better go with him." The alpha stood. "We'll do a few laps around the block to help him calm down."

"Thank you," said Peter as the alpha left.

Archer shuffled over to the bar and plopped down on a stool. "I made a mess of things."

"Willow did," said the sub. "Not you." He moved one of the water bottles closer. "Are you hungry? We could go and get something."

Unscrewing the top, Archer shook his head. "I don't want to go outside."

I took out my cell phone. "Pizza or Chinese food, there's also a bakery nearby that delivers."

Archer shrugged. Besides school lunches, which weren't much different from what we ate at the cave, I doubt he'd had much human food.

"It's been so long since I've had a slice of pizza," said Peter.

"Pizza it is." I started looking up a place.

Archer laid his head on the counter and barely moved as his dad tried to make him feel better. After finishing the pizza order, I went to the bakery page and ordered a box of an assortment of desserts. Even if I was the only one who ate them, I needed my own pick me up. The mood around here needed something sweet.