Chapter 3

Sawyer

Well, this night has gone to shit. All I wanted was a cold beer and greasy pizza to wind down from the shit show of a raid earlier. The mess of it reminds me why I prefer working for myself. Isn’t law enforcement supposed to be some sort of well-oiled machine? I mean they deal with this shit every day, and yet these cops were running around like chickens with their damn heads chopped off.

Trust me I was about ready to make a few heads roll by the end there, but Z talked me down. He never lets me have any fun.

Now our night has been thrown out because of some crazy man holding a girl hostage on the side of the road. I mean what the fuck man! I can’t make this shit up even if I wanted to. I mean what are the odds that we were the ones to see them? A pack of ex-military Alpha pricks who own a security company that helps rescue Omegas? I mean that’s some weird universe voodoo shit.

This girl man…she must have been through hell. She’s got dirt and scratches all over her. Not that it matters, she’s fucking beautiful even with all that. Also, she smells like fruity candy and it’s been driving me insane! It reminds me of those candies I used to eat as a kid…starbursts! That thought makes me chuckle to myself.

Ezra glances over at me like I’ve lost my damn mind, and maybe I have. Usually the Omegas we help don’t really do much for me. We were part of a special ops team who helped rescue Omegas overseas as well, so we have been around enough Omegas to learn to ignore their scents. We also use a special oil around our noses that help block it so we can focus on helping them. It’s worked well so far but this girl is different. Her scent is making my mouth water, and the urge to bury my face in her neck and breath her in is strong.

Trust me I know how that sounds. It sounds bat-shit crazy but it’s the truth. She smells fucking amazing and her scent has been slowly filling the car. Ezra’s been tightening his hands on the wheel since we started heading home and Weston had some weird purring sound going on. Thanks to his injuries from the war, he always sounds a bit raspy and gruff. The scars and the grumbled voice usually scare the girls away but the guy is a big teddy bear, as the chicks say.

Archer, our nerdy brother has been watching the girl the whole time. He looks like a fucking heart-eye emoji and it’s hilarious. The guy has no experience with girls whatsoever but this strange girl has all his attention. Poor guy…the girls like his shy ‘cute’ look but he never shows any real interest in anyone. Trust me I have seen women lay the flirting on thick with him and the guy is totally oblivious. We even had a talk with him and said if he was swung the other way that it wouldn’t change anything. We’re a family and we want him to be happy.

He laughed and shook his head at us like we were ridiculous for mentioning it. Once he explained why he didn’t want to start anything with anyone we more than understood. Truthfully this isn’t the first Omega we brought home. When we came back from overseas, we jumped right into starting our security company. We also applied for Haven because it’s common for a pack to want to add an Omega to their family. We were young and we thought it was what we were supposed to do, but it didn’t work.

The Omega who chose us was a stuck-up princess who didn’t think our humble situation was good enough for her. She even complained that Archer wasn’t Alpha enough for her. It wrecked him because it’s the same reason his pack turned him out on the street. It’s how we came to be brothers.

All of us were taken in by an amazing pack who was willing to deal with four screwed-up teenagers. They gave us a family along with a cute little sister to watch over. Lyla has been a pain in our asses ever since and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

But seeing the way Archer is looking at this girl, I’m worried that he’s going to get hurt again. We don’t know a thing about her and she seems to be in serious trouble.

“Liddy’s already here.” I hear Ezra say and I notice we’re pulling up to the house already.

I’d been too in my thoughts to notice but since we have a bleeding girl in our backseat he probably broke a few speed laws to get here.

Before the engine shuts off Liddy is opening the front door and rushing toward the car. She throws Weston’s door open and her eyes immediately zero in on the hurt Omega.

“Crap on toast. What the heck guys? You can never have a simple day can you?” She grumbles a few other things and soon one of her Alphas appears behind her.

“What do you need from me, baby?” He asks her and I groan internally.

It drives me crazy seeing her pack being couply together. Especially because she’s our little sister and I’m still not sure I like those assholes. Sure they treat her like a queen and even encouraged her to go to medical school, but it doesn’t mean I can’t hate them on principle.

“Help me get her out and inside,” Liddy says reaching in but before she can lay a finger on the girl Weston growls.

Her head snaps to look at him and his eyes are just as wide as the rest of us.

“Shit. I didn’t mean to do that. Sorry, Liddy.” He says quickly but he doesn’t lift his hands from the girl. “I-I’ll take her in.”

Liddy watches him with narrowed eyes. “Don’t get attached West. She needs to be treated and sent to Heaven where she’ll be able to recover peacefully.

Weston nods but I can see his jaw tighten. He doesn’t like the sound of that at all. Oh boy, not him too. This girl is hurt, dirty, and blooding all over him and now he wants her.

Like I said…this night has gone to shit.

Liddy steps back and Archer lifts the girl’s head so that Weston can wrap an arm around her back. Her head drops to his shoulder as he turns his body to step out of the car. The rest of us quickly follow, but let Liddy and Weston go ahead of us.

“What’s up brother?” Liddy’s Alpha, Kyle asks patting Archer on his back.

Archer gives him a weak smile but his eyes are fixed on Weston’s back.

“She was in trouble. We had to help her.” That is all he says before he speeds up and follows Weston into the house.

Kyle gives me a questioning look but I just shrug. I can’t begin to explain what’s going on here. When we step into the small entrance hallway we make quick work of removing our gun holsters and other gear. It’s not safe to wear them casually around the house, so we had a gun safe built into the wall when we moved in. It’s fancy and high-tech but necessary.

Kyle heads through the hall into the icing room. This part of the house is just one big open space, with room on both sides of the entryway. There are large glass windows on two sides facing the front of the house and the ceilings are high. It’s a huge house but we needed the space. We’re big guys, we’ll except for Archer, so we need space.

“Get me some clean towels and warm water!” Liddy calls out from where she’s crouched over the girl’s motionless body.

Archer takes off toward the hallway under neither the staircase.

“Well, it’s a through and through so that's something,” Liddy says while Kyle sets a bag next to where she’s kneeling on the floor.

She rummages through it and pulls out some gauze.

“Keep pressure on there while I prep.” She says to Kyle.

He reaches around her and presses his hand over the thick layer of gauze.

“She’ll need stitches,” Liddy says pulling out several items and laying them on top of a large thin mat she unraveled a second ago.

She takes out some hand sanitizer and cleans her hands well before She pulls on a pair of gloves.

Weston is sitting in a similar position to the one he was in earlier. The girl's legs are resting on his lap but now he is rubbing the tops of her feet gently.

What the fuck? He looks all soft and shit. It’s weird as hell.

Ezra stands watching Liddy work from behind the couch but I choose to drop down on one end of the giant L-shaped couch and take a breath. Today has been crazy and I’m beat. Archer rushes in with a pile of towels and a giant bowl and quickly sets them next to Liddy.

“How bad is it?” He asks her.

She sighs. “Not as bad as it could be. The bullet went through but she’s pretty beat up. Thankfully she’s passed out and won’t feel a thing until she wakes up.”

“I noticed something when we first found her. Her eyes were unfocused like she couldn’t see anything around her. The way she was acting…she looked scared obviously but also confused.” Ezra explains.

Liddy looks up at him, pausing with the needle she was using to sew the girl up with frozen in mid-air.

“You think she has temporarily blindness because of the wound on her head?” She asks him and he nods.

“Is it possible?” He asks.

Liddy blows out a breath and continues her work. “Anything is possible when it comes to head injuries. If she hit hard enough it could cause serious damage in a lot of ways. We’ll have to wait until she wakes up and I can get a better look. She will need some scans as well to check the damage.”

“We can try and schedule a visit so she isn’t thrown in with the masses. They would go crazy over her.” I chime in.

I meant to say it playfully but a strange surge of jealousy hits me and I nearly chock on how bazaar the feeling is. I’ve never been the jealous type. Obviously, as a pack, we would share an Omega, but since we don’t have one we all turn to other sources to get off. We never share any of those women though and I never considered why. It feels strangely wrong to try and hook up with a girl the others have been with.

Like I said…it’s bazaar.

“I have some pull at the hospital. I can make a private appointment for her tomorrow. That means you’ll have to watch over her until then.” Liddy’s eyes lift to glare at each of us and I hold my hands up in surrender. “Make sure to not get carried away. This is the first time you’ve had an Omega here since she-who-we-do-not-speak-of left. It’s going to be hard to resist…”

“We’ll be fine,” Ezra says sharply and Liddy laughs.

“You better because you know I’ll kick your butts,” Liddy says but it barely sounds like a threat when she refuses to cuss and the fact she’s like two feet tall.

Okay, she isn’t that small but she looks like it compared to all of us.

“We know Liddy,” Ezra says with an exasperated sigh.

“Good. Kyle help me roll her to her side.” She says as she tapes down the last corner of gauze on the front wound on the girl.

I hadn’t been paying much attention because my mind has been reeling from all of this but The girl’s shirt was almost completely covered in blood. I jumped to my feet and headed up the staircase. Passing by the first two doors I head into my room and dig through some of my clothes. The girl is tiny so my stuff will look huge on her but anything would be better than that slip of a shirt she’s wearing.

She only had a small white thin strap shirt on and those skin-tight shorts cyclists wear. That won’t do. I pass over one of my favorite shirts and smile as the image of her wearing it flashes through my mind. A sense of pride at the thought of seeing her in my clothes worms its way into my mind and I curse myself. This girl has me all twisted.

Slamming my door behind me in frustration, I hold the shirt tightly in my hand and head back downstairs.

“Shoot, she’s waking up,” Liddy says.

I jog down the stairs and find everyone moving closer.

“West, hold her still. Okay?” Liddy says moving her little fingers faster. “Nearly…finished.”

A few more swift movements and she ties off the thread and reaches for the bandage Kyle is holding. She quickly covers her work and moves back as the girl starts to groan.

“Shit, what do we do?” I ask nervously. “She’s going to freak.”

If Ezra is right she’ll be confused and scared not knowing who we are or even where we are.

Weston is looking down at her as she shifts more in his hold. To my surprise, she cuddles closer to him and grabs onto his shirt. A few long seconds pass before she slowly begins to open her eyes. I move to stand over Weston’s shoulder and her eyes look in my direction. That’s when I see what Ezra was talking about. Although her eyes are faced in my direction it’s as if she can’t see me.

Her head moves slightly and she takes in a deep breath. Then she jolts up and starts moving her head around frantically.

“W-where am I? Why is it so dark?” She starts to cry and gasp in a panic.

Her hands have since released Weston and now she holds them out in front of her like she’s trying to feel around her. Archer is standing only inches away and I see the conflict in him. He wants to reach out to her but seems unsure.

“It’s alright. You are safe here.” Liddy says moving and taking one of the girl's hands.

The girl gasps and wraps her other hand over Liddy’s.

“Please…what’s going on? Where am I?” The girl begs.

Liddy glances up at Ezra and nods.

“My name is Lyla. The men who helped you tonight called me to come see your injuries. You were shot and lost a good amount of blood but I stitched you up. The reason, I believe, for it being so dark is because you hit your head at some point and it’s caused some ocular injury. If it’s okay I would like to take a look.” Liddy waits patiently as the girls seem to absorb this information.

She releases Lyla’s hand and slowly reaches for the bandage on her shoulder. When she presses on it slightly she cries out and collapses her shoulder forward. She must be in too much shock to feel the pain until now.

“Can I look at your eyes…I’m sorry first can I ask your name?” Liddy asks.

The girl still seems dazed but she takes in a deep breath and tries to sit straight. “Elise.”

Liddy smiles. “Okay Elise, can I take a look at your eyes?”

“Okay.” The girl…Elise says in a low quiet voice.

“Okay,” Liddy repeats and takes out a small slim flashlight.

She passes it between her eyes, getting closer to take a better look. Once she’s done she sits back and hands Kyle the flashlight.

“Okay Elise, I’m finished. I would like to do a few scans to be sure but it appears your eyes have sustained some trauma. When did you get that injury on your head?” Liddy asks.

The girl shifts slightly but doesn’t seem bothered at all that she’s still sitting on Weston’s lap.

“Uh…I’m not sure how long I’ve been out, but when I was running my foot got caught on something and I fell down hard. I was t paying much attention so I wasn’t able to catch myself in time. I blacked out and when I woke up…” Her voice trails off and she gasps slightly before her whole body starts to shake. “K-Kane…he…”

Weston seems to have snapped because he reaches out and wraps his arms around her. She gasps at the touch and glances around again.

“Who…” She starts to ask but Liddy interrupts her.

“That’s Weston. He’s one of the men who helped you. The other three are also here. Ezra, Sawyer, and Archer.” She says listing us off.

“A-alphas?” The girl…fuck, Elise asks.

“Yes, but they won’t hurt you I promise. They are my brothers and I can assure you that you’re safe with them.” Liddy promises her.

Elise nods and slowly lifts her hands to touch Weston. Her fingers gingerly brush against his arm and I watch him tense up. She moves them a little more and then tightens her hand on his forearm. I expect her to pull him away but all she does is hold him and take in a few shaky breaths.

Liddy lets out a sigh of relief. “Elise. I want to take you to get that scan tomorrow at the hospital. Then we can take you to Haven and help you get settled there.”

“No!” Elise cries out jolting forward.

Liddy snaps her head back in shock before glancing at each of us.

“No? Why?” Liddy asks.

Elise deflates and moves further back into Weston’s chest. He wraps his arms tight around her again and she lets him.

“I-I can’t go back to Haven. That’s where…the pack I met there sold me to that place.” He says.

We all look at her in surprise before exchanging glances with each other.

“The people who sold you…you met them at Haven? How is that possible? They screen all packs very carefully.” Liddy says looking over at Kyle in confusion.

Kyle works with the people who do the screenings for the packs and he looks just as shocked.

“I-I don’t know but I can’t go back there.” She says shaking her head.

“What Haven location did you stay at?” Ezra asks speaking suddenly.

The gir- Elise moves her head in his direction. “The Atlanta branch.”

I curse. “You’re in Salam Oregan now.”

Her eyes widen when she turns at the sound of my voice. “W-what?”

“Those assholes drove you across the country to Oregan,” I explain and watch her face morph into panic once again.

“Oh my god. I-“ she squeezes her eyes shut and I see a tear slide down her left cheek. “I'm so confused.”

“Do you know your family’s contact information? We can call them right now.” Ezra offers but it only causes more tears to fall down her cheek.

She shakes her head. “My parents were killed when I was fourteen. We didn’t…have a pack…so I don’t have anyone else.”

Shit.

Archer has had enough of holding back and takes a seat next to Weston. He reaches out and slowly takes Elise’s hand.

“Elise, my name’s Archer. We won’t do anything that will make you feel unsafe. If you do not want to go to Haven, then we will figure out something else. For tonight though, you can stay with us. Is that okay?” He asks.

Her unfocused eyes are on him now and she slowly lifts her other hand. She leans toward him slightly and her fingers barely touch the side of his face. She stops but Archer leans closer to her until her fingers are touching him fully. Her fingers trail along his jaw and cheek before they bump into his glasses. For some reason that makes her smile and she continues up to touch a few strands of his dark wavy hair. He hasn’t cut it in a while so it’s grown out quite a bit.

“Thank you, Archer.” She says dropping her hand and giving him a shy smile while a faint pink color grows on her cheeks.

I chuckle at her embarrassment because it’s kind of cute. Her eyes move to me before she drops them to her lap and starts to fidget with her fingers.

Everyone throws me a scathing look and I shrug. “What?”

“Stop being a rude butthead!” Liddy snaps at me and I realize my mistake.

But serious, butt head? Who says that?

Thoroughly chastised I move closer and kneel in front of Elise. I reach out and pull her hand into mine.

“I’m sorry Elise. I was laughing because you looked cute blushing like that.” She swallows and a darker shade of pink appears.

I smile up at her and reach out to run my thumb along her cheek before cupping her neck with my hand. She lets out a shuttered breath and I quickly pull my hand away. I don’t want to scare her and I’m pretty sure I almost kissed her just now. Why did I touch her like that?

Shit, I need to get away from her fast.

I jump to my feet and move back over to my spot on the couch. When I drop down and face the room I give off a laid-back appearance but I’m fucking freaking out inside. I haven’t had this many problems with control around Omegas before.

Liddy rolls her eyes at me before turning her attention back to Elise, who’s leaning into Weston and still holding Archer’s hand.

“So Elise, would you be okay staying here with my brothers for now?” Liddy asks her. “I would take you to my place but I have five Alphas and we live in tight courtiers.” She cringes at the idea of trying to fit Elise in their tiny house and I’m right there with her.

My sister is all about trying to do her part in helping the world. So she decided to shove five giant Alphas and herself in a custom-made, off-grid, self-sustaining tiny house. Complete with a compost toilet and solar panels. It’s ridiculous but the guys would give her anything she asked for. Plus it sits on a huge piece of land that they use to grow organic food and shit.

It’s kind of impressive actually but I’ll never admit it to her.

“O-okay. I’ll stay…thank you for helping me.” Elise says in a quiet shy voice.

“Of course. You needed help and my brothers and I never turn anyone who needs help away.” Liddy says reaching out and giving Elise’s leg a squeeze. “Now, I’ll leave you in the care of these guys. I have my own Alphas to go look after. They go crazy when left alone for too long.”

Elise smiles and I bet she thinks Liddy is exaggerating but she isn't. Those guys are completely wrapped around my sister’s finger and get all whiny when she’s gone for too long. It’s fucking annoying sometimes, but somehow now…I can get an idea of why. I seem to have a strange pull to Elise and looking at her is only making this urge to be close to her worse.

I want to replace Weston and wrap her in my arms to keep her safe from any more pain.

Shit…I’m screwed.