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Chapter 4

Archer

Liddy quickly gathers the rest of her stuff and when she’s done Kyle offers her a hand and helps her get to her feet. He smiles down at her and for a brief second, I see my ball-busting sister look sweet. It’s short-lived and she turns those fiery eyes on us again.

“She needs rest but wake her every hour and do not get those bandages wet.” She instructs is.

Sawyer scoffs. “This isn’t our first time dealing with a concussion or a bullet wound Sis.”

She turns narrowed eyes on him and his cocky smile drops fast. Even our carefree unshakable brother is scared of her. That makes me smile and he throws me a scathing look when he catches me.

“Okay Elise, I’m going now but the guys know how to reach me if you need anything. Okay?” Liddy says reaching out and squeezing Elise’s free hand.

Her other hand is still holding tight to mine and I’m fine with that. The poor girl has been through hell, so if she wants to squeeze my hand until it goes numb then I’ll let her.

“Bye guys,” Liddy says at the front door and closes it behind her leaving us alone with Elise.

An awkward silence falls over us and each of us looks at another silently asking the same question.

Now what?

“Thank you all for helping me earlier. I’m sorry for all the trouble. I hadn’t really thought things through other than trying to get away.” Elise says breaking the silence and pulling all our attention to her.

“You don’t need to apologize. There’s no way we would have passed by without helping you.” Weston says pulling her back against his chest.

She nods. “Thank you. Would you mind telling me all your names? It feels weird that you know mine but I don’t know yours.”

I smile at how cute she is. “I’m Archer,” I say squeezing her hand.

She turns her head in my direction and smiles. “Nice to meet you, Archer.”

Hearing my name on her lips does something to me and I swallow back the sudden emotions it provokes.

“The giant hugging you is Weston, our fearless leader is Ezra and I’m Sawyer sweetheart.” Sawyer gives her a cocky smile even though she can’t see him.

She raises a brow at him. “It’s going to be hard recognizing their voices if you do all the introductions.”

Sawyer’s smile drops for a second and then a genuine laugh escapes him. “I suppose your right.”

“I’m Weston.” His gravel thick voice is low and I notice Elise’s body shudder slightly.

Weston lets out a low growl but cuts it off quickly.

“I’m Ezra. As Sawyer said, I’m the leader of the pack.” Ezra says simply.

He’s a straight-to-the-point kind of guy.

“Nice to meet all of you,” Elise says and a second later she bites her lower lip and fidgets shyly.

“What is it?” I ask her.

“I’m pretty tired. Is it okay if I sleep for a little while?” She asks nervously.

“Of course! We have a room you can stay in. It’s big enough for us to stay and keep an eye on you as well.” I say releasing her hand reluctantly.

Ezra looks at me and asks me a silent question as if he knows exactly what I’m thinking. I throw him a look of my own and a shrug. He sighs and nods to Weston.

“I’ll carry you,” Weston tells Elise before scooting to the end of the couch and pushing himself to his feet.

Elise helps and quickly wraps her arms around his neck. Sawyer and I follow him as he heads for the stairs and Ezra takes up our rear. Somehow after the years, we have spent out of the military we still subconsciously form the same stance. I suppose it’s because we recognize this to be an important mission.

Weston stops on the top floor landing at the very first door. We all look at the door for a second too long, each of us being hit with the memories of the last girl who stayed in there. After our short time as a complete pack, the nest was scrubbed from top to bottom and everything was replaced. We still have it cleaned each week so that if and when we get another chance to bring an Omega into our pack we’ll be ready.

Ezra steps forward and Weston moves aside to give him room to open the door. Weston steps inside and Ezra flips the switch beside the door. Small lights shine along the ceiling and low purple RGB lights lay along the bottoms of the walls. It creates a calm and warm atmosphere that is said to be good for Omegas.

Just like every perspective pack we had to go through a three-hour class on all that goes into bringing an Omega into a pack. Some people would find that excessive and unnecessary but I can see the need. I wanted to be sure our Omega felt safe with us, especially after all the horrible ways we have seen Omegas be treated.

All of it came to nothing though. Except now I feel like this may be our chance to get it right.

Okay so maybe I’m presuming things and it would seem crazy to expect this girl to want to move into the pack but…

It feels like fate that we were the ones to find her. If another group of Alphas had, they would have taken her and used her in who knows what way. Here she can be treated safely for her injuries and be around Alphas who have a good grip on themselves.

I have to admit that it’s been harder with her. It feels like her scent is pulling me in and I keep getting hot flashes through my body. It’s new and nothing I’ve felt before. I’m not exactly experienced with feeling a real attraction to a woman though so that could explain things.

It’s not that I don’t find certain girls pretty but I never felt an urge to want to be close to them. They sort of sounded like buzzing bees flying around my head. I could never focus long enough to get that zap of interest. The guys say it’s because I’m too distracted by my tech stuff and never turn my brain off. As the intel operative in our group, my mind is always working to learn and discover new ways to keep us technically advanced.

Some of the programs I’ve designed are even being used by the government. That one was created and sold before I was sixteen. My head is always buzzing with code and numerical designs for my next big idea, so it’s hard for me to focus on much else.

Until now…

Since we picked up Elise my mind has gone completely blank. All I can think about is how sweet she smells, how pretty she is, and how soft her voice sounds….

God, I sound like a creep!

I shake my head and try to stop the direction my thoughts are heading. Sawyer looks over and gives me a questioning look but I ignore him. If I told him what was going on in my head he would laugh his ass off. The guy loves to tease me about my lack of experience with women. He still doesn’t believe that I’ve never slept with a woman before.

Unlike the others, the idea of mindless sex has never appealed to me. Maybe that isn’t very macho of me, but I want to save that experience for someone I connect with. To me, that is too personal of a thing to do with someone I just met.

“I’ll grab a few more blankets,” Ezra says walking over to the large wall of cabinets.

We went a little overboard with pillows and blankets that Weston had to hand make a full wall storage unit to hold it all. The whole room is full of extremes. The bed goes from wall to wall with enough room for all of us and our Omega to use together. Of course that could feel too big for her so the beds are all built-in one of those hidden wall systems. They can be folded up and look like another set of cabinets. So she can only fold down a small section when she wants things more intimate and then bring the rest down when she wants a lot of company.

Not that she would…

Uh, my head is all over the place.

Weston walks over to the giant bed and sets Elise down slowly. He lingers for a second longer with his eyes fixed on Elise’s distant eyes. She turns her head to him and he clears his throat before stepping away from her. We all stand there looking at her but no one says a word.

I wonder what the other guys are thinking?

She looks so small and fragile. Still, she fought and got away from whatever shitty place she was in so there is strength inside her as well. She also hasn’t completely freaked out about being unable to see. It’s almost like she’s curious. Her head moves in odd ways like she’s trying to pick up every little sound. If I didn’t know better I would say she’d been dealing with this for a long time.

“Are you guys just watching me?” She asks suddenly. “You know it’s rude to stare.”

I smile and Sawyer chuckles. “Maybe we like looking at you. Ever thought about that sweetheart?”

She tilts her head. “I’m sure you like looking at a lot of girls.”

I laugh. “She got you pegged perfectly Romeo.”

He flips me off but I keep on smiling.

“I’m recently reformed.” He says tilting his chin up and crossing his arms like a pouting toddler.

“How recently?” Elise asks resting her hands on her lap.

She waits patiently and I glance between them.

Sawyer scowls. “That’s not important. All I’m saying is you have nothing to worry about sweetheart. My eyes are only on you.”

There is a long pause before Elise suddenly starts laughing. She laughs for several seconds before she pulls herself together and shakes her head. She looks even more beautiful when she laughs and I can’t help but smile too.

“You are a smooth talker. Can’t say I’ve met anyone quite like you Sawyer.” Elise says and for a brief second, I see sadness on her face. “Even with the lame pick-up lines, it’s sweet of you to try. I must have messed up all your guy’s plans for tonight. If you want to go out, I’m sure I’ll be alright on my own. I’ll just sleep.”

To my surprise, Sawyer is the first to reply to her. He kneels in front of her and rests a hand on her knee.

“We aren’t leaving you, sweetheart. You need us right now.” He says it in such a sincere way that I wonder who the hell this guy is.

I’ve never seen Sawyer look so serious before. He even looks a little hurt that Elise would say anything like that.

“I don’t want to keep you from anything….” Elise starts to say with a dismissive wave.

“You heard him. We aren’t going anywhere. Now I’m sure you would want to clean up before bed. Archer is the smallest of us so he might have something you can sleep in. Weston can help you to the bathroom which is just across from where you're sitting. Sawyer will head to the kitchen and get you some water and a snack.” Ezra orders looking at each of us as he assigns us our jobs.

Like a well-oiled machine, we break apart and follow his orders without a word. I head out of the nest and pass Ezra’s room across the hall to reach my room.

I think through the clothes I have as I head inside and toward my closet. He’s right that I’m smaller than the others but not in height. I’m slimmer than them so I wear smaller sizes but all of my stuff will still look huge on Elise’s small frame. The image of her drowning in one of my hoodies flashes through my mind and I head straight for the section of hoodies I keep in the back of my closet. I grab the one I still have from when I was in high school and start to head out of my closet before I stop.

Looking down at the worn-out material and barely visible school name on the front, and debate doing something risky. What if I slipped it on for a few seconds and let my scent sink into it? Would that be overstepping to want Elise to be surrounded by my scent? She didn’t seem to mind being snuggled up to Weston, so this wouldn’t be a big deal right?

Shit, I really do sound like a creep…what the hell is wrong with me?

Still…

Fuck it.

I pull off the black t-shirt I’m still wearing from the raid and pull the hoodie on over my bare chest. It’s snug since I’ve grown since then but it just means it’s more against my skin and will pick up my scent a lot better. I stand there for about a minute before reaching over my shoulder and pulling the hoodie off. Setting it on the bed I head back to my closet and pull out a fresh shirt. My sleep pants are next to it so I grab that too and a pair of boxers so I can quickly shower once I give Elise some clothes to wear.

When I finally make it back to the nest, Weston and Elise are gone. Sawyer walks in after me with a huge plate of random finger foods and a large cup of water. Ezra is standing off to the side scrolling through his phone looking at it like it’s screwed him over somehow.

“What’s wrong?” I ask heading toward the bed and settling down the pile of clothes for Elise.

“I sent a message to the chief and told him what we found and that we might need a few days off books. He wants us to bring Elise in for questioning.” Ezra looks up at us but I’m not sure how to react.

“Why?” Sawyer asks sounding as unhappy as I feel.

“I suppose because wherever she came from there are probably other Omegas who need help.” Ezra drawls but there isn’t much of his usual sarcasm in it.

He’s worried too.

“I don’t want him near her. He is a power junky and needs to be taken down a peg or two. The only reason he’s had such a successful run is that we helped his department closes so many cases. Without us, they would be overworked and overwhelmed with the amount of crap we clean up in this town.” Sawyer says through a tense jaw.

He drops down on the bed kicking his shoes off and stretching out like a cat.

“What the hell are you doing?” Ezra hisses at him. “She may not want your scent all over where she’ll be sleeping tonight!”

Sawyer shrugs. “I’m sure she won’t mind. She hasn’t shown any signs that she doesn’t like our scents.”

“That’s not the point and you bloody well know it.” Ezra moves to pull Sawyer from the bed just as Weston leads Elise out of the bathroom.

“What’s going on?” He asks looking over at our two brothers going head-to-head.

“Asshole here decided to lay on the bed without asking Elise if she would be okay with his scent all over it,” Ezra says keeping his narrowed eyes fixed on Sawyer.

His cockiness from a second ago is replaced with uncertainty as we wait for Elise’s outrage and objection. She releases Weston’s hand and reaches her right hand in front of her to feel for the bed. Once she feels it she uses it to move along the bed and makes her way around to the side where Sawyer is now sitting up.

He turns so that he’s sitting facing her and when her fingers bump into his leg she stands straight.

We all watch her in fascination as she moves. Her hands reach out and barely touch his cheek before she pulls away slightly. She hesitates for a moment but with a deep breath in she reaches out for him again. Her fingers travel slowly from his cheek and down his chin as she explores his face. When her fingers run along his forehead she furrows her brows.

“Why so serious?” She asks him and he lets out a weak laugh.

She smiles at the sound and moves to take her hand back but Sawyer reaches up and grabs her wrist. We all step forward in case Elise reacts badly to being handled in that way but she lets out a small gasp. Sawyer keeps his eyes fixed on her as he slowly moves her hand back to his face. He moves his hand to cover hers and leans into her touch, holding her hand in place.

She reaches out with her other hand and feels along the other side of his face until she reaches his hair. Her fingers run through it and I wonder how Sawyer will react to any of his hair being out of place. He spends more time in front of the mirror than our sister ever did.

"You must be tired. Sleep here. If it's okay I wouldn't mind the company." Elsie says dropping her hands away from Sawyer. "I-it's been a long time since I've been able to be close to anyone except for..."

"That man from the woods," Ezra says and she nods.

"He..." She starts but her breathing starts to pick up and she wraps her arms around herself.

"Hey, you don't have to say anything. We know you've been hurt, so let's leave all that for later." Ezra says stepping up to her and laying his hands on her shoulders and turning her to face him. "You need sleep too. Archer has brought clothes, so why don't you get cleaned up."

She nods and he takes her hand and tugs her toward the bathroom.

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