Alpha Brothers - The Beta (book 2)

Chapter 14

Chapter 14
Archie
"No bloody way!" Liv's voice echoed through from their bedroom door as I walked past.
"Liv, I have to do this," Callum told her, trying to be his level-headed self.
"Why? Where does it say, I'm must always put myself in danger?"
"I took an oath!" He yelled, "As King and Alpha, I have to put the safety of my pack first."
I shook my head, leaning on the wall. If he wanted to win this fight, he really needed better arguments.
"Well, then I took an oath to keep you safe so I'm coming with you," she argued.
"No, you didn't Liv and no your bloody not!" He yelled back.
"So you will admit that it's dangerous enough for me not to go?" She questioned making him go silent, "so if it's too dangerous for me, then it's too dangerous for you."
"Come on, Liv," he groaned, "you know that's a different scale. What's dangerous for me is absolutely no survival for you."
"Why, because I'm human?"
"Aye!"
She scoffed but she had known that was going to be his answer.
"We've talked about having kids, where did that go?" She asked.
"What? This has nothin' to do with that!" He yelled.
"It has everything to do with that!" I dropped my head, feeling my heart break for them, "I'm not going to have all these kids and not have you there to help me!"
"Of course I'll be there to help you," he said in a different tone than before.
It was soft and caring and I just knew that he was now holding her. My heart became soaked in guilt as I thought about what I had really done. If something horrible happens tonight, it will be all my fault.
"How long have they been arguin'?"
My head shot up at the sound of my brother's voice as he leaned on the wall on the other side of the door.
I shrugged, "I don't know. She won't let him go tonight."
I wanted to kick myself, realizing that I had just giving myself away. When he didn't question it, I frowned.
"You know," it wasn't a question.
He looked up and smiled that familiar smirk.
"How do you know?" I asked.
He shrugged, "it's a secret."
I rolled my eyes. Typical of him and typical of Callum. They were both keeping the secret of what really went down in the tunnels.
"Aye, well, I think this family has too many secrets some times," I stated.
He frowned, "are you talkin' about my secrets or yours?"
My blood went cold and I felt my whole face tighten as he pushed off the wall and made two steps towards me.
"Archie, I know the real reason why you want to go with Callum tonight," he stated making my fear and anger grow.
"Whatever you're goin' to say, just don't," I snapped.
"No, Archie I am. I know what you're thinkin', and your right. I wasn't there for you. But by the time I found out, you were already too deep in."
I shook my head, my anger growing.
"That's not an argument for your cause, it's against it!" I yelled, "I was in too deep, because of you. You turned away from us and I had to step up!"
"Archie, I had to turn away from my family and I had to turn away from you," he told me with such agony on his face that I almost believed him, "I did somethin' unforgivable."
"Yeah I know," I snapped, "you can't keep usin' Bonnie's death as an excuse, okay. Hector's and Nathair were responsible for that."
"Of Bonnie's death but not -," he stopped and shook his head, ending with that. If he didn't mean Bonnie's death, then whose death was he talking about, "anyway, I'm here to help you now?"
"No," I said, watching his pain deepen, "you don't even trust me enough to tell me the whole story. You know what Malcolm, I'm sick and tired of it!"
"Yeah, well, Archie, now I'm over it. Before I was askin' for permission. Now you don't have a choice," I narrowed my eyes at him and took a step forward, warning him to go on, "I'm goin' to help you and I'm goin' to go tonight. Make sure you don't do anythin' stupid," he stated, turning around before I could finish.
"Why, because I've already done somethin' stupid!" I snapped.
"You said it!" He said turned looking at me before turning to a corridor.
He was still a bloody smartass.
I sighed and knocked on a now quiet door.
"Aye?" Callum called.
I didn't wait to answer him. I opened the door and found Little Liv curled up on my brother's lap, wiping tears away from her cheeks.
I tilted my head, not helping but to feel sorry for her, "oh Little Liv, come on."
"What?" She sniff, "I'm allowed to cry if I want too."
I couldn't help but laugh at her.
"I'll keep him safe, I promise you," I told her, making a small smile appear on her face.
"See Liv," Callum said, tucking a curl behind her ear and nudging her cheek with his nose, "it'll be fine."
"I know it seems like I'm over reacting –."
"Because you are," I jumped in, trying to lighten the mood.
Liv's head shot towards me, giving me a warning look.
"I heard you and Malcolm yellin' out there," Callum stated, changing the subject, "did you talk to him?"
I shrugged, "Malcolm doesn't really talk when he doesn't want to. You know that."
He nodded as Liv frowned.
"but he wants to come tonight. Does that make you feel better Liv?"
She nodded with a small sniff, still not looking better.
"Are you on the way to makin' a mends?" Callum asked, with that hopeful light in his eyes that reminded me so much of our father.
I shook my head, "I don't think we will ever be okay."
Just as my mind wanted to go back to the argument in the hall, it was pulled back as Callum and Liv shared knowing looks.
"What?" I asked, annoyed that they were in on something that I wasn't.
"It's nothin, but you sound disappointed?" Callum stated with smirk on his face that made me roll my eyes.
"Don't start," I warned making him chuckled and pull Liv even closer to him.
I felt my heart ache for that. I was tired of fighting with Amy.
"How did you go with Amy?" Liv asked as if she was reading my head.
I shrugged, "the usual. We argued, we stopped, we started to argue again. It's just a rut we can't get out of."
"That's just Amy's thing," Liv reassured me
I frowned, "her thin'?"
She nodded, "ever since our parents died, she hates getting close to people. She's just scared."
"Yeah, well, she normally stutters when she's scared," I stated with no purpose what's so ever.
Liv frowned, "how did you know that?"
I shrugged, "the way most people know. I noticed it."
A grin started to grow on her lips making me frown as her eyes shinned bright. Why was she looking at me like that?
"What?" I asked.
"Nothing," she said in a hurry, making my eyebrow raise, "I just think I might be warming to the idea of you and Amy."
"Yeah well, can you tell Amy that," I groaned, "I'm gettin' sick of arguin' with her."
"You, really?" Callum said, shocked.
"Funny, isn't it," I scoffed.
"A unicorn if there ever was one."