Until Arch: Chapter Two Preview

Chapter One

Until Arch Preview 

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Chapter One

Order, neatness, and control were three things that Arch Jones required in order to function. That’s why he liked to come into the offices of Lone Wolf Investigations and Security before anyone else did. The smell of the fresh, clean office, the silence, and the general peace and quiet soothed him and his inner wolf. Even now, as he walked into the his darkened office, his wolf let out a satisfied rumble.

Everything was clean and in its place, just the way he liked it. The hint of wood pine cleaner, his desktop clear of folders and papers, and even his worn leather chair pushed up against the desk—signaled to him that it was a brand new day.

Sitting down at his desk, Arch booted up his computer, ready to start the day. As VP of operations, he was essentially the second in command of the entire organization. His father, Killian, was the current President, but he had made it clear he had his sights set on retirement soon and everyone assumed Arch would replace him. Arch had known that most of his life, and had been groomed for it. He’d spent summers working there as a teenager, had worked part time as an agent while he was completing his business degree at NYU, and joined as a full partner when he graduated.

While Lone Wolf was pretty much a family-run company that consisted mostly of his uncles and cousins, Arch made sure he earned his position at the table. He worked harder than everyone else, even on the not so fun stuff—hence why he was coming in early to do paperwork. He also had his own ideas on how to make the company grow. Technically, they were still a subsidiary of the larger Creed Security corporation, and functioned mostly as an internal agency for them. Since almost everyone who worked at Lone Wolf was a Lycan or a hybrid—a lycan with powers inherited from a witch or warlock parent—they were able to accomplish things human employees could not. But that also meant they had to keep their identities a secret from the human world.

That, of course, changed a few months ago when a literally apocalyptic even happened and their secret was revealed to the world. Most Lycans feared the changed, but Arch was one of the few people to embrace it. He saw it was not a threat, but a burden being lifted.

And that’s when he started making plans.

He wanted Lone Wolf to expand and grow under his charge. That meant taking on more clients outside Creed and using their expertise for other people and organizations. Naturally the three original Lone Wolves—his father, Uncle Quinn and Uncle Connor—had been resistant. Which Arch sympathized with, but he also understood that the world was changing.

They’d warmed up to idea somewhat, at least, until one of the first clients Arch had onboarded had nearly killed his cousin, Lizzie.

Arch winced. Talk about a total miscalculation. While no one blamed Arch, he still felt responsible for bringing Maxim Silver into their lives. If Lizzie hadn’t been pregnant with her True Mate’s child, she would have died when Silver had kidnapped her and given her belladonna, a substance lethal to their kind.

And that was why he even more determined to work harder. Lone Wolf Investigations and Security would grow and thrive under his leadership. Silver had been a bump in the road, and he would not make the same mistake again.

The knock on the door made his head snap up. “Come in.”

“Hey Arch!” Lizzie poked her head in. “Uncle K isn’t around, can we talk to you?”

Arch pushed away from his desk, rubbed his eyes, and looked at the clock on his desk. Hours had seemingly passed and it was nearly noon. “Of course.” But what did she mean ‘we’? “Who else is with you?”

Lizzie walked in and Wyatt Creed, current CEO of Creed Security—and technically the big man in charge—walked in. While Creed was mostly hands off when it came to Lone Wolf, Arch wasn’t surprised at his boss’s presence because he also happened to be Lizzie’s True Mate, fiancé, and father of her unborn child.

“Wyatt,” he greeted as he stood up from behind his desk. “I—“

A third figure filed in behind the couple. “Hey Arch.”

“Charley?” He strode over to his cousin and enveloped her in a big hug. His inner wolf yipped in happiness, recognizing her and her she-wolf’s presence. Growing up, all the cousins had been close, and they always considered themselves a mini-clan of their own.

“It’s been so long. I didn’t even know you were back. Weren’t you touring somewhere?” Charley worked as a production assistant with musicians who toured around the country and the world. “Is anything wrong?”

“Nice to see you too, Arch.” She stepped back. “No, nothing’s wrong.”

Lizzie smirked, but said nothing else. Arch could sense there was something going on, and as the eldest of all his cousins, there was that need to press her and find out what, so he could fix it. But, he pushed that away for now. Charley, after all, was a grown woman and a Lycan who could take care of herself.

Charley sent Lizzie a warning look. “I just missed home and so I quit my last tour. There was talks of extending it to Europe, but I got tired of  life on the road. But, I’m glad I did because something came up.”

He did not miss the serious tone of her voice. “What is it?”

“That’s why I came here. Can we talk?”

“Of course.” He gestured to the chairs in front of his desk, and walked around to his own. The two women sat down while Wyatt pulled up a third chair and set it beside Lizzie’s. “What can I do for you, Char?”

Charley pushed a lock of her brown hair away from her face. “I have a friend and she’s in trouble. She’s being stalked.”

“Has she called the police?”

“Yeah. Kind of.” Charley shifted in her seat. “I mean, she’s spoken to the police, but everything’s hush-hush so there’s no official report. She’s not just anyone, you see. Do you guys remember this friend of mine… Renée Rose?”

“Renée Rose?” Lizzie interjected. “The Renée Rose?”

“Yes, that Renée Rose,” Charley chuckled.

“Say, didn’t you and her—”

“Yes.” Charley interrupted. “A long time ago.”

“Sorry, I don’t understand.” Arch folded his hands together. “Who is she?”

“She’s the biggest pop star in the world,” Wyatt said.

“And you know she’s big if even this Luddite knows of her,” Lizzie teased, poking her mate with her elbow.

Wyatt only smirked at her, then turned to Charley. “How do you know her, exactly?”

“Wyatt, you don’t remember?” Lizzie snapped her fingers. “Oh right, you lived in England for most of that time. Charley and Renée Rose were like, the most popular teeny bopper music duo back in the day.”

Charley fidgeted in her seat. “A million years ago.”

Arch had nearly forgotten that time in his cousin’s life, as well. And it was clear she didn’t want to rehash it either. “I think I remember her.” He’d never met Charley’s former music partner, but then he wasn’t exactly into pop music back then or now. He was more of a classic rock guy. “I didn’t make the connection.” He’d heard of Renée Rose, of course, who on planet earth hadn’t? She was everywhere—on TV, radio, billboards, magazines, on videos and pop-up ads on the Internet. “So, she’s being stalked? Do they know who it is?”

“I’ve only spoken with her over the phone and she gave me a few details. She wants it handled privately and she needs protection.” Her dark brown eyebrows furrowed together. “She sounded real scared, Arch. And so I thought, Lone Wolf could maybe help out? As a favor to me? I know things are hairy right now because everyone knows about us, but if you wouldn’t mind at least talking to her and her team, I would really appreciate it.”

Arch rested his chin on his interlocked fingers. Had this been a few months ago, before their big secret had been revealed, there would have been no way his father or Sebastian Creed would have agreed to this. It would have risked exposing their secret. But now …  “What do you think, Wyatt?” He was probably the wrong person to ask, seeing as Arch’s last client had nearly gotten his mate killed, but he was still the boss.

Wyatt’s keen hazel eyes narrowed. “I know what my father and yours would think. No way. Too risky.” He leaned forward. “But, I also know things aren’t what they used to be. Lone Wolf is more or less run independently by you guys, but you still only do work for Creed, Fenrir, or other Lycan clans. I think now that we don’t have to worry about keeping our existence a secret, it’s time Lone Wolf expands. And a client like Renée Rose could be just what we need, not just for the money, but it could be good exposure for our kind.”

“Glad we see eye to eye.” And that Wyatt apparently didn’t hold a grudge about the whole Maxim thing.

“We need to handle this carefully, of course. One wrong move—”

“I’ll supervise everything myself.” Nothing could go wrong with such a high-profile client. If he had to babysit her himself twenty-four seven, he would do it.

“Good. If Killian has any objections, I’m sure you can handle it, otherwise, let me know if I should speak with him.” He stood up. “I need to be getting back to the office. Lizzie?”

“I’ll walk you out. Want to grab lunch, Char? Arch?”

“Sure,” Charley said. “I am craving for the wonton soup from Emerald Dragon.”

“You girls go ahead,” Arch said. “I have some work to do.”

“I’ll be right back,” Lizzie said as she and Wyatt left.

“Still a workaholic, huh, Arch?” Charley teased.

He chuckled. “What else do I have except work?” He lived for Lone Wolf, everyone knew that. Craved for the activity, to do something productive, and to take action. No, he wasn’t a sit down and relax type of guy. His wolf too, longed for the thrill of the hunt.

“That’s not a very healthy way of living.” She nodded at the door. “No female caught your eye yet? No one you care to have babies with and make goo goo eyes at, like those two?”

“Those two are something else. My eyes would have probably rolled into another dimension each time Wyatt snarled at any male who came too close and how oblivious she was.” But that was Lizzie in a nutshell.

Still, he was happy for them, but a mate for him? Not gonna happen. He wasn’t a monk or anything and enjoyed the occasional fling or one night stand. But he was much too busy with Lone Wolf for anything or anyone else.

“Arch?” Charley waved a hand in front of him. “You okay?”

“Yeah. But how about you? You know you can tell me anything right? Like why you quit your job?”

Charley laughed nervously. “Always the big brother, the alpha of the cousins, aren’t you? I’m fine. I told you, I just missed home. And I can always find work.”

“Have you seen your dad yet?”

“I just got back, so haven’t seen anyone else yet.” 

Arch did not miss the non-answer, but didn’t press it. Charley and Uncle Connor were just too alike, which was why they butted heads frequently. However, according to Arch’s mom, their relationship was much better these days, especially now that Charley was more independent and had flown the nest, so to speak. He just hoped her coming back to New York wouldn’t put their relationship under strain again.

She stood up. “All right, so I’ll let Renée know you agreed to meet and send you the details. She’s landing in New York tonight so maybe we can set something up tomorrow? I’ll let you know as soon possible what time.”

“Sure.” He came to her and gave her a hug. “Hey, it’s nice to have you back.”

“Thanks, Arch.” With a last wave, she left.

Walking back to his chair, he sat down at his computer, and opened up a browser window to do a search on their potential client. As soon as he hit enter, the search results returned with millions of hits, and the top of the page was filled with glamorous shots of Renée Rose, international pop superstar.

He clicked on the first one, a photo of her at some awards show from a few years ago where she carried two trophies. She was dressedin a sparkly silver strapless dress, showing off her smooth, dark copper skin. A halo of natural golden brown hair surrounded her beautiful face, her full lips pulled back into a genuine smile.

Arch clicked through the rest of the photos and results and saved them so he could read more about her later. However, he couldn’t help but go back to that first photo of her. There was something about that shot that made him come back, and he just couldn’t put his finger on why. All the other photos were much more glamorous and sexier even—hell, he was a man after all and he couldn’t not stare at a picture of a  scantily-clad woman.

But this one, with her smile like she was on top of the world, tugged at something deep in him. He found himself reaching out to touch the screen, wondering if her skin was as soft as it looked.

He pulled his hand back and shook his head, then clicked the page off.

Research later, work now. Hell, maybe he’d even listen to one of two of her songs, provided his ears didn’t bleed. Not that it mattered what he thought of her music, because if things went well with this Renée Rose, it could be the biggest win for Lone Wolf and his years of work and planning would pay off.

 

 

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Releases late March 2023