Chapter 4
S he was so tiny and fragile. How on earth could anyone hurt someone so small and precious? While Asher was busy assessing every wound and injury, bandaging up a few of her scrapes, I positioned myself at the top of the bed, so her head rested in my lap. I took my time, gently combing out each and every tangle from her hair. It was an arduous task and was taking a lot longer than it should have, but I was happy to spend an hour sitting here, slowly combing through each knot.
I did my best to hide the shaking of my hands. Rage coursed through my body in a way I hadn't experienced in a long time. My specialty was security, so I’d made sure that the cabin was locked up tight. There was no way in hell I was going to allow anyone who had hurt this omega to get within a mile of us. I was going to ensure she was safe if it was the last thing I did.
It was obvious she had been through something, but I couldn’t ignore the voice in the back of my head telling me I needed to make sure my pack was safe, first and foremost.
I would let her tell us what happened to her, then pass judgement.
"She's going to need her hair washed," I said as Asher finished bandaging up a scrape on her arm.
"I know," he replied. "But we're going to have to wait until she's awake for that."
I nodded. Even though I didn’t like that it meant she would remain dirty for a bit longer, I understood. She would probably freak out if she woke up and found that we had bathed her more than just wiping off the dirt from her cuts and bruises. I didn’t want to terrify the tiny omega any more than she probably already was.
Carter had said she was a mess when he found her, barely making any sense. She looked deprived of everything. She needed to be fed. She needed to be cleaned. Who the hell had been watching over her? Who the hell had been abusing her?
As I sat there, gently pulling each tangle apart with my hands or the small comb, anger seethed within me. Every tangle was a reminder of how badly she had been treated and how much better she deserved. Omegas were meant to be cherished. They were meant to be loved. They were widely protected in our society for a reason. Alphas greatly outnumbered omegas, and because of that, they were so precious. Omegas were the only ones who could take an alpha's knot, and even though I had never personally knotted an omega, I had heard how life-changing the experience was.
I turned to Carter as I continued untangling her hair as he stood on the other side of the room, organising some blankets for her.
"Do you think she's from a Haven?" I asked.
Carter shook his head. "I doubt it," he said. "If she had come from a Haven, she wouldn’t be in this state at all. Haven omegas are pampered beyond anything. The only other thing I can think of is that she was being protected by a family or a pack, and they betrayed her."
I turned back to look at the omega's head in my lap. She was so fragile, her skin was almost translucent, and I could see the veins underneath. It was like she hadn’t seen the sun in years. An omega was a gift, and the idea that someone had been stupid enough to throw away that gift made my blood boil. Hell, I wanted an omega in my life more than anything. Someone small and delicate that I could take into my arms and cherish as my own. Someone to protect and love and start a family with. There was also the knotting aspect, but that was neither here nor there. Most importantly, I wanted an omega in my life. My instincts as an alpha demanded it.
Sadly, we knew it wasn’t in the cards for us. Courting an omega was a cutthroat experience.
Underneath all the dirt and grime, she was clearly adorable. She had a small button nose and a smattering of freckles across the bridge. I could have spent hours simply staring at her, but if she had woken up in that moment, she probably would have been terrified at the alpha above her, watching her every move. Actually, we were all standing around, watching her.
I cleared my throat. "We should probably let her wake up on her own. If she wakes up and all of us are watching her, she’s going to absolutely be terrified."
Asher hummed in agreement. "I’ve almost got all her scrapes and bruises cleaned. How about we leave her in here for a few hours and let her try and sleep off whatever’s going on?" he suggested.
The way the cabin was laid out, there was no exit from this bedroom, other than through the main living room, so we would all be able to see her if she got up.
Carter frowned. "I don’t like the idea of leaving her on her own. Maybe one of us should stay here.”
"And are you volunteering for that position?" I asked with a small smirk.
I knew my pack mate well enough to know that he wouldn’t want to leave her alone. None of us wanted to leave her alone, but Carter had an extra level of stubbornness about him at times, and considering he was the one who found her in the woods, I imagined his alpha instincts were riding him hard to stay near her and ensure she was safe.
Carter shrugged, a knowing grin on his face. "I am more than happy to stay, as you can imagine. But I'm also happy if either of you guys want to stay, especially Asher, considering, you know, he's the medical one who actually knows what he's doing. You and I are just idiots, Dylan."
I laughed wryly and nodded as I undid one of the tangles. He was right about that. We were both dumbasses. Asher was definitely the smart one out of the three of us. His medical knowledge was astounding. My expertise was security, but that wasn’t particularly complicated. I knew a little about security technology, but that was it. Carter, on the other hand, was a soldier through and through. He had served in the war, he had been a military guy all his life, and he was definitely a rule follower.
Though, he had yet to suggest taking this omega to a Haven. That would have been the proper thing to do, even with the weather—try and get in touch with one of the Havens and see about getting her to safety and sanctuary there. Only, none of us had suggested that. Then again, they were probably thinking the same thing I was: We didn’t know where she came from, so for all we knew, she could have come from a Haven that was disreputable.
"Do you really think she could have come from a Haven with a bad reputation?" I asked.
Asher hummed and shook his head. "The Havens mostly have amazing reputations," he said. "But don’t you remember the news a few months ago?"
I cocked my head to the side. "What news?"
Carter spoke up. "A Haven was closed down for abusing an omega. It made the national news. We were all so busy, I don’t think we really noticed it. They were basically selling an omega to the highest bidder and mistreating them. It’s possible she came from a place like that," Carter said, jerking his head towards the tiny omega. "If that’s the case, I don’t think we should get in touch with the Havens just yet. Not until we’ve spoken to her, at the very least."
I nodded in agreement. “For now, we need to wait until she wakes up and tells us what she’s been through.” As much as I hated the idea of waiting, that was all we could do at this point—make the omega comfortable and ensure that she was warm, fed, and safe until she could tell us what had happened to her. Then we could find whatever bastard caused this and make them die a slow and painful death. At least, that was my plan. My pack mates may have thought of a slightly less violent option, but in my opinion, when it came to someone who hurt another person, violence was always the answer.
The only time violence wasn’t the answer was when it came to caring for the fragile omega who had fallen into our laps. She had only been in our house for an hour, and she hadn’t even been awake for that, but already, I was obsessed with her—and I didn’t like that.
Not one bit.