You&Me: Book 4

Chapter 47: A Show (Saigon)

I plopped down in the water next to Cricket. I was exhausted. One too many big waves and throwing Cricket into the deep part of the pond had worn me out.

"Saigon, come on!" Cricket gathered his boats. "The rogues are coming." He drained the water out of the 'rogue boats.'

A little brown pup was holding one of them. I saw Cricket's fur bristle.

I cleared my throat. "I think he wants to play with you."

"But he's too little," Cricket muttered.

"You could show him how to have a battle. What do you think?"

The white pup sighed. "Yeah." He herded the boats over and sat with the little boy.

It didn't take long before Cricket was really getting into fighting off rogue boats and showing the pup how to sink them with giant waves. The pup laughed and helped Cricket build a fortress to keep the 'pack boats' safe.

I spot Archer lounging against a rock. Wading over, I took the spot beside him.

His eyes opened. "Where's Cricket?"

"A new friend came by." I motioned to the two pups. "That'll keep him busy for a bit. Sorry about abandoning you."

Archer shrugged. "I got a nap in, so I didn't mind."

"Well, let's go over there." Grabbing his hand, I pulled Archer into the water.

We swam through the deep section and over to the waterfall. I sat on a submerged ledge and put my arm around Archer. I watched the pups play for a bit. A few others had joined Cricket and were really enthralled with the white pup's antics.

"He should be an alpha." Archer rested his head on my shoulder. "He knows how to draw a crowd."

I nodded. "He can be timid. Pups his age scares him a bit, and he's not a fighter. He's more of a peacekeeper."

"Nothing's wrong with that. It's his instincts keeping him safe."

I turned to Archer and leaned in close. "So, what do you think?"

"It's nice. I was wrong about Bloodhound. Sorry about earlier."

"Don't worry about it." With a smile, I kissed him. I went back for another and deepened it.

Archer hummed. "We have an audience."

I heard squealing and saw all the pups pointing and giggling. Cricket was covering his eyes with his hands. Shaking my head, I kissed Archer again.

"I don't mind."

"Their mother's might," he said with a smirk. Grabbing my hand, he relaxed against me. "Thanks for bringing me."

I rested my head on top of his. "No problem."

We sat there for a while before the heat was getting to be too much. We crossed across the water to the shore.

"I'll get the towels." I went to get my bag while Archer retrieved some of the boats that had sunk into the pond's deeper areas.

A group of mothers chuckled at me. I gave them a sheepish smile in return.

"He'll be leading you around by the nose," one laughed. "Just like Aden does to the beta."

I shrugged. "Sorry."

They simply grinned at me.

"Well, you are engaged."

My fur hid my blush as I hurried back. Archer took one of the towels and held it up as he shifted. He wrapped it around his waist and wiped the water off his arms. I did the same. My eyes kept going to the scar on his shoulder.