Chapter 7

**Archer**


I knew as soon as Sawyer walked out of the bathroom and saw me that he would make an asshole comment. It’s not in his nature to just let things go, so when his shit-eating grin appeared I braced myself.

“What?” I snap at him and he raises a brow at me.

“Relax brother. I’m impressed that’s all. I never thought I’d walk in on you half dressed with a girl.” He says and I roll my eyes.

“Elise isn’t just some girl,” I say brushing past him.

He grabs my arm and when I turn to look at him his face is dead serious.

“I know that.” He says with a firm voice but I have to be sure.

“Do you? Because she’s been hurt, Sawyer. A lot and maybe it was dumb of me to kiss her but I would never hurt her. I can’t explain it but she’s special.” I say almost begging him not to ruin this, whatever this is.

A hurt expression crosses his face and he releases me. “I know she’s been hurt. I see her just as you do and I would never hurt her either. You’re right, she is special. I feel it too. So don’t write me off too fast.”

He turns and walks out of the room before I can say anything else.

“He’s right you know,” Weston says and I drop my head with a sigh.

“Oh yeah?” I ask turning my head to look at him.

He’s sitting on the edge of the bed with his hands folded In front of him. Even hunched I’ve r like that he’s huge, no wonder he scares the shit out of people all the time. Even though I grew up with him he still scares me sometimes.

“This isn’t like other times for him. He isn’t like us, Archer, you know that. He acts like everything is fine but he’s hurt just like the rest of us were. I’m not excusing the way he’s dealt with everything but he would never hurt that girl.” I blow out a breath and drop down on the bed next to him.

“I know. We’re all messed up after last time and we don’t even know if Elise would want to stay here with us. She might want to leave and we would have to let her. So why does it make me feel like shit thinking about her walking out our door?” I ask not expecting him to answer.

“You know I’m not one to believe in shit like fate and all that but it’s hard to believe we weren’t meant to be there tonight. What are the odds of us being there to save her? And from what I saw in the shower earlier, I’m not the only one affected by her. She’s meant to be here with us, I know it.” Weston says with so much resolve that if I didn’t already agree with him I would after those words.

“Yeah I feel it but so what? She’s been through hell. Look what happened. It was like she was watching a horror film playing right in front of her. The pain and fear in her eyes almost made me feel sick. She’s fucking terrified of the things she saw in that place and I'm not sure what she needs right now is a bunch of horny Alphas sniffing around her.” I say feeling the guilt of what I had done with her hitting me all over again.

I let things get too far, and I’m worried I might have scared her off. She seemed okay but it’s clear she is hiding a lot of her feelings right now.

“She does smell fucking amazing though,” Weston says and I bark out a surprised laugh.

“Yeah brother. She does.” I agree before standing and heading to the bathroom with the first aid kit in hand.

When I step inside I expect to find Ezra in a similarly compromising position that I had been in, but that’s not what I find. Ezra’s down a shirt and the rest of his clothes are soaked through but he’s still mostly dressed. He’s wrapping Elise up in a towel that looks more like a blanket on her.

He smiles down at her when her nose scrunches up in annoyance after he rubs the towel over her wet hair.

“I’m not a child you know. I’m capable of drying myself off.” Elise says pouting but Ezra just laughs.

“I'm well aware that you aren’t a child love but your hurt so I’m going to help you.” Elise opens her mouth to protest but Ezra lowers his head and kisses her.

It’s quick and has the desired effect because Elise looks stunned. Ezra chuckles at her and she lets out a huff but lets him finish his work of drying her off.

Her unseeing eyes turn in my direction and I freeze where I stand. She can’t see me right? How is she looking right at me like that?

“Archer please tell Mr. Bossy here that I don’t need his help.” She calls out to me and I laugh.

Moving closer I stop beside them and drop a kiss on her cheek. “Sorry baby, he listens to no one.”

She sighs. “I was afraid of that. Alright, Let’s get this done so I can be decent again. Far too many people have seen some of my lady bits.”

Ezra and I both break out in laughter. “Lady bits?” Ezra asks.

“Yeah well, you know.” She waves her hand around her body and I chuckle at how cute she is.

“They’re nice bits though,” I say tugging on a section of the towel to get a look at her wound.

“Hey!” She cries pulling it back from me and taking a step back. “No more free looks! It’s not fair because I can’t see you guys. No looking!”

“You don’t need to see when there’s plenty to feel sweetheart,” Sawyer says from the doorway.

Elise scoffs. “I won’t be feeling up anyone. Now out! I’ll call for someone once I’m dressed.”

She waves us off but none of us move.

“I know you’re still there, so stop pretending.” She says with a bit of bite in her words.

“Sorry but I need to replace your bandages then I’ll be out of here,” I promise her.

Her head turns in my direction and she sighs. “Fine.”

I step toward her and tug on the towel to lead her over to the counter. She lets out a yelp when I lean down and pick her up. I set her down and pull away the towel covering her injured shoulder. The wound looks rough and it’s started bleeding again so I make quick work of cleaning it and adding a new bandage.

My eyes are focused on her shoulder but I hear the other guys step out and leave Elise and me alone again.

“Was Ezra on his best behavior?” I ask her as I lay a layer of gauze I’ve r the front wound.

She lets out a small laugh that’s quickly followed by a hiss when I put a small amount of pressure on her shoulder.

“Sorry.”

“It’s okay. Yes, he was a perfect gentleman…unlike someone…” I laugh and she smiles up at me.

“Sorry about that. I-I’m not sure what came over me. I’m not normally like that.” I say feeling my face heat as the memories of our very heated kiss flash back into my mind.

“Please stop apologizing. What happened after wasn’t because of you. This…” She waves her hand over her eyes. “It’s bringing back bad memories. I feel…trapped there. The sounds I used to hear every night…”

“You don’t have to explain, but you’re not alone anymore Elise. We won’t let anything touch you again.” I swear to her as I wrap my arms around her and pull her against me. “You’re safe now.”

“Why?” She asks and I move back a little to look down at her. “Why are you guys helping me? You could have left me at a shelter or sent me to Haven when I was unconscious. So why?”

I brush my thumb against her cheek that’s flushed pink from the warm shower. She’s the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen and it’s a real beauty. She isn’t decked out in layers of make-up and isn’t wearing a stitch of designer clothes but she’s stunning in every way.

“I honestly can’t say why we feel so drawn to you, but I felt it the second I saw you. I’m sure that makes me sound crazy but it’s the truth and I think my brothers feel the same way. What’s that phrase?… When you know you know. We know that we want to protect you no matter what now and I don’t think it’s by chance that we were the ones to find you. We can protect you better than anyone else and I don't like the idea of letting you go now. Does that scare you?” I ask hoping that I didn't just stick my foot in my mouth and come on too strong but I'm not going to beat around the bush.

I've always stayed silent, watching and listening but she's brought something out of me. A silent monster has been released and has claimed her, and I don't think I can burry him away now.

She sighs and drops her head. It’s silent between us for too long but when her head lifts again and I look into her distant eyes I know. She feels it too.

“I’m scared. This feeling is powerful but we only just met. Why does it feel like we’ve always been together? I know it’s possibly the result of my heat building and that can make Alphas go a little crazy, but I hope that’s not true. I feel safe here and surprisingly what you said doesn’t scare me at all even though it should. Four Alphas deciding I’m theirs should make me mad, but it doesn’t.” She says and I feel hope build inside me for the first time in years. “But I’m not sure if I’ll be right for you all. I’m too damaged. I don’t know how much worse these flashes of memories will be. Then there’s my vision. What if it never comes back?”

“None of that matters to us. We all have demons we deal with. If you think you're damaged, then we are far worse. Nothing you can say or do would scare us away. I hope you'll see that if you stay a little longer.” I more than hope but I keep that to myself.

“I guess we can see how things go, but I won’t be a burden to you guys. You’ve helped me so much already. I have to do something to repay you.” She says straightening her shoulders and sitting taller like that will be enough to show me how serious she is.

“I’m sure we can find something for you to do, but it’s late and we’re all exhausted. Let’s leave all this for tomorrow. Get dressed and we’ll wait for you outside.” I hand her the pile of clothes I brought her and step back.

I wrap my arms around her waist and plant her on her feet again before I drop a kiss on her forehead. All I want to do is touch her any way I can and I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to hold back now that I’ve had a taste of her. She’s woken me up and that fire won’t go out so easily.

Once she’s safely on two legs I leave the room to give her some privacy. All my brothers are waiting for us when I step into the nest. Sawyer is down to sleep pants only and the others are in T-shirts and boxers. I’ve gone for my usual flannel pants and a plain white t-shirt.

“Is she alright?” Ezra asks.

I nod. “All good.”

“What else did you talk about? We could hear a few things but not much from out here.” Weston says scooting back in the large bed to rest against the headboard.

“I was honest with her and she’s more worried about being a burden than the fact I said we would never let her go now,” I admit with an amused smile, but it's not far from the truth.

“Shit man, you probably freaked her out. You never come on that strong with a girl, it makes you sound clingy and shit.” Sawyer says shaking his head like he can’t believe how stupid I was.

I guess his hurt feelings have passed because he sounds like a real asshole right now.

Ezra leans past Weston and smacks Sawyer in the back of the head. "Shut up you dickhead. Leave him alone."

Sawyer grumbles something under his breath and rubs the spot Ezra hit him. "I'm just saying. The first girl he's shown interest in and he lays all that on her on the first day. It's like telling a girl you love her on the first date. A sure way to send her running."

"This isn't some Beta girl at a club Sawyer!" I snap at him and he jolts his head back as if I punched him, no doubt shocked by my outburst.

"I didn't say that." He says but I'm done with his cocky dickhead behavior when it comes to Elsie.

"You act like this is some girl you picked up that you're ready to fuck and forget! So either leave or shut the fuck up."

"Archer?" Elsie's voice makes me spin on my heels.

She standing in the doorway of the bathroom with her eyes roaming around the room.

"What's going on? Why are you yelling?" She asks and I feel that rage from a moment ago slowly melt away.

"It's nothing," I say trying to play off the fact I was about ready to slug my brother as nothing important.

"That's not true. What is going on? Are you fighting...because of me?" She asks, her voice cracking slightly.

"No of course not." I move over to her and give her hand a reassuring squeeze. "None of this is because of you. Sawyer and I fight a lot, that's all."

"Sawyer?" She steps away from me and searches for a hint of him.

He glances at me and I narrow my eyes at him.

"He's right sweetheart. We're good though." He says casually and I roll my eyes.

Elise sighs and drops her head a little. When she lifts her head to face us again I see her jaw tighten.

"I think it would be better if I was alone tonight. Maybe it's not a good idea for all of us to be in here together." She says and I look at my brothers hoping they'll have a way to convince her to let us stay.

Ezra shakes his head though and the rest of us keep our mouths shut. He slides off the bed and walks over to stand in front of Elsie.

"If that's what you want love, then we'll respect your choice." He says it with the calm distant voice he uses when he's trying to hide his anger.

He doesn't want to leave but he won't force her to accept us either. Out of all of us, he always has a clear head. He's always been the voice of reason and I'm not one to pick fights with anyone but not tonight, tonight I'm fucking pissed. Sawyer just made Elsie feel like she's done something wrong and made us fight. I'm kicking his ass for this.

"Let's go guys," Ezra says and we move to follow him.

Sawyer stops in front of Elise and moves to touch her but drops his hand at the last second. I can see the guilt on his face but he doesn't say a thing to fix this. Leave it to him to leave a trail of shit to deal with in his wake. Weston drops a kiss on the top of Elsie's head before he follows Ezra and Sawyer out. I'm the last one to leave and even though I want to reach out for our girl, because I am convinced she's going to be ours, I keep my hands to myself.

"Sleep well, Elise," I say before turning and leaving the room.

I stop short when I hear the first sound of her sobs from the other side of the door. Anger builds inside me again and I storm in the direction of Sawyer's room.

"What the fuck man?" He yells when I slam the door open.

I move inside and throw the door closed behind me. I've never wanted to hurt my brothers before but he has gone too far this time.