Chapter 32

Without even bothering to turn the light on, I race down the hall. Archer’s room is unlocked and I barrel through it like a bat out of hell. The sight in front of me reduce my terror slightly.

Archer is sitting in bed. He’s shirtless and trying to soothe Mia with hushed words. Mia is sitting up next to him, sobbing hard enough that her cheeks are red.

“What happened?” I sputter out.

“I don’t know,” Archer replies hurriedly. “She was fine for a bit then started to get really fidgety. I thought it was my blanket but I’ve changed it out three times and nothing. I tried feeding her and she wasn’t into it. Even checked her diaper and nothing.” He frowns. “I don’t know what I did.”

I scoop Mia in my arms. She immediately curls into my chest. She’s shaking slightly. I look back at Archer.

“I think she’s cold,” I say. Without even a second thought, I press my hand to his bare chest. I hiss and recoil. “Yeah, you’re freezing! There’s no heat anywhere. Plus this room is an ice box. No wonder she’s cold.”

Archer is still staring at the spot where touched him. His jaw is tense and I’m waiting for him to lash out at me. Instead, he simply watches silently as I fuss about with Mia. I wrap her in the pile of four blankets at the edge of Archer’s bed. I tuck her into my chest and try and quell the shivers out of her.

“I had her like that,” Archer says, out of his daze. His voice is still light, no anger. “I don’t think it’s the issue.”

I look down at Mia in my arms. She’s stopped shaking so violently but she still has a bit of a shiver. I hand her to Archer. Instantly she starts back up with the shaking. I pull her back to me and it stops.

I look at Archer with a raised eyebrow. He kisses the front of his teeth, obviously defeated. He walks over to his dresser and pulls on a long sleeved shirt. I can’t help but stare at the way his back ripples when his arms go over his head. He’s all sinewy muscle behind taught skin. Mia palms my face and I look at her instead of staring at Archer.

I sit down on the bed and Archer comes to sit next to me. He snorts when he notices Mia is starting to doze off again in my arms.

“I think she just missed you,” he says.

“This place is a freezer,” I reply. “I think that’s the reason.” I smirk at him. “Plus, maybe she missed me.”

He sighs, oh so deeply and runs a hand through his hair. I can feel the duress melting off him. I gently hand Mia back to him. Her eyes snap open and she fidgets slightly so she can see me.

He holds out a hand to Mia and she wraps her entire hand around his index finger. It’s almost the size of her head. She coos as she realizes were both next to her. Archer smiles down at her like she’s the light of his life.

“I didn’t think I was going to be so bad at this,” he whispers.

I frown. “I thought Mia randomly showed up one day?”

“She did,” Archer meets my eye. “You never thought about being a parent?”

I shift, uncomfortably. “Not really,” I say. “I saw what my mom and the people who’s kids she watched went through. None of it seemed appealing to me. Plus, I had bigger personal dreams.”

I think about becoming a warrior. I can see myself in my mind, clad in armor and holding a blade in my hand. The crest of the county embedded in my breastplate.

“Yeah,” Archer says softly. It breaks me out of my dream. His still watching Mia. I shift a bit on the bed. This new dynamic between us is odd. I’m still unsure if I can speak to him, let alone ask questions. I let myself anyways.

“But you did, right?”

“Yeah,” Archer says, again. “It’s ingrained into our brains when were born. Become Alpha. Produce an heir. All that shit.” He tips his head slightly in thought. “I thought about it a lot, actually. My dad was never really around. Between being Alpha and running the side business aspect. I always told myself I’d be a better dad than my dad because I’d just be around.”

“So your mom watched you?” I ask softly. Mia is slowly going back to sleep, her grip on Archer’s hand is slipping slightly. He shakes his head.

“No,” he says. “She was the same. We had a Nanny. Beatrice. She was a bitchy, old lady. Brutal in her methods. I can’t tell you how many times Beau got a ruler across his knuckles for acting out.”

I snort at the thought. I smooth out Mia’s hair over her head. She smiles at me and gives a gurgle. I smile back at her. Archer clears his throat and I tilt my head to look at him.

“It’s why I was so rude to you at first,” he says, quietly. “I looked at you and saw Beatrice. I saw my Dad abandoning me. It felt like you were taking Mia from us. It lead me to be bitter. I should’ve been better.”

I’m not sure what to say in response so I stay quiet. It’s far too late to get into a screaming match about how he should’ve treated me. I know he won’t say sorry so there isn’t much of a point in arguing. He’s already uttered the forbidden words once, Gods forbid I ask for a second one. Instead, I drop my voice so it’s above a whisper. Mia’s eyes are fluttering closed a bit. Sleep is coming for her.

“I’ll stay until she goes back to sleep,” I say.

Archer nods. He runs his thumb over the back of her hand then tucks it into her chest. She stirs slightly then shifts back with her eyes closed. Archer takes her and positions her higher up the bed. We both shift back until were laying with her between us. She’s still covered in the mass of blankets. We both watch her silently until Archer speaks again.

“Why’d you agree to this?”

“To Mia?” I ask. He nods. I sigh. “I don’t know, really. I didn’t know you. I still don’t. But something about Mia drew me to her. Then there was my mom’s voice in the back of my head. She never left a kid who was in need. Mia was one. No offense.”

Archer snorts lightly. “None taken. We hardly knew how to change a diaper.”

“So Nanny school is helping?” I ask, sheepishly.

“Yes,” Archer says. “Nanny school is helping.”

“Good,” I say. I continues to run my hand over Mia’s head. The motion is making me as tired as it’s making Mia. Soon enough, sleep over takes both of us and I’m sent into darkness.

The next morning, I’m very much aware at how much nicer this mattress is compared to my own. I roll my shoulders with a sleepy grunt. Immediately, I stop. There’s someone behind me. My eyes snap open and the first thing I see is Mia sitting on the ground on the side of the bed.

The side of Archer’s bed.

Which meant I fell asleep in Archer fucking Hayes’s bed.

Which also meant his arms were the ones belted around me in that moment.

I fling myself out of the bed and onto the floor. I land on the ground with a thud and Mia squeals with laughter. Archer’s eyes fly open.