Chapter 10 #2
“Yeah,” I whisper, feeling a wave of shame. “I’m surprised they’d tell you anything about me. We weren’t exactly friends.”
“You don’t have to be to share an experience,” Troy says. “We’re trying to put together what happened to you. I’m aware we’re jumping the gun a bit, but you’ve been asleep a long time.”
“We can’t help you if we don’t have any information about who you are. I’m sure everyone has told you that you’re safe here and you are,” East says. “This needs to be a two way flow of information, Alisa. We’re not asking for deep, dark secrets. However, I would like to know who did this to you.”
I don’t owe Jai, Max, or Dennis anything. Swallowing hard, I sigh.
“My bladder is starting to complain at me,” I admit. “The men who kidnapped me and kept me tied to their bed live in the country. They’ve had friends at their home various times, and that’s how I finally was able to escape. I only have their first names.”
“That’s more than enough,” East promises, pulling out his phone.
He writes a note as I give him their names, and then his fingers are flying across the screen.
“Jai Broden owns a house ten miles from our warehouse. We’ve been pulling the deed information of anyone who has property nearby.
We simply needed a name before we did something. ”
Shit. Is that really how far I ran? It’s a miracle I made it to their warehouse. It was so dark, I didn’t see any other homes or buildings until that one.
“Do I want to know what you’re going to do?” I ask. I’m still so fucking tired. I can’t fall asleep before I pee though.
“I’m having them picked up,” he shrugs. “There were some guys riding around yelling for someone while we were at the warehouse yesterday. It gave us a bad feeling.”
“What did they look like?” I ask, shifting uncomfortably.
East gives me a description of the guys and turns to open a door leading to the connected bathroom. When I admit those men sound like the alphas who’ve been holding me hostage, the doctor clamps the IV.
“I’m going to disconnect this but leave the port,” he explains. “Then I won’t have to stick you again. This protective film will also keep any water from affecting the area, okay?”
I nod in understanding, my brow furrowing when East sticks his head out into the hallway.
“We’ve got incoming alphas,” he mutters. “Let’s get you to the bathroom before we get sidetracked again. Lyle and Silas are home.”
Dr. Walsh helps me stand, his arm catching me when my legs threaten to buckle.
“Your muscles will respond to some strength training,” he says. “Easton is a good option for helping you with this, but he’s a tough trainer.”
“He’s made me puke before,” Troy snorts. “I thought we liked her, Doc. That’s just mean.”
I know they’re joking, but I still feel my nerves spark with uneasiness.
“Hush, you were being lazy,” East grumbles. “I wouldn’t push Alisa that hard. I’m not an asshole.”
“No, you’re not. I’m also healthy and stubborn. How stubborn are you, Alisa?” Troy asks teasingly.
“Very,” I reply, my lips twitching as I hold my hand out to grab the door frame. Dr. Walsh releases me once he sees I won’t fall down, and I thank him for his help.
“I can work with that,” East says goodnaturedly. “We have a shower chair for you after you’re done. Can’t have you falling on us.”
“Okay.”
I’m going to take their help at face value, despite not understanding it. If they know Chase and Winter, then they must be decent people. Those omegas live only for each other. It takes a lot for them to trust anyone.
With good reason.
I’m breathing hard by the time I close the door. Ugh, I fucking despise being weak. A pack of sanitary pads is open beside the toilet and I swallow hard. I may as well change that while I go to the bathroom.
I cry at the mess I find myself in while I do that, my stomach beginning to cramp since I’m moving around. Wiping my tears after I wash my hands, I take a deep breath as I gaze at myself in the mirror.
I’m free. I obviously can’t walk out of this house without any support, but no one is forcing me to do anything. I’m wearing clothing that actually fits me and my needs are slowly being met.
It’s the best I can ask for right now.
Taking a deep breath, I open the door to the bathroom, and find more alphas in the bedroom.
“It’s like you all multiply,” I grumble, leaning against the counter.
“I suppose that’s an accurate description,” Silas admits. He looks tired, and I wonder what he’s been doing other than visiting people from my past. “On a scale of one to ten, how confident are you that you can shower alone?”
“Huh?”
Troy comes closer, his lips pursed as he thinks.
“Do you want to wash your hair? It looks heavy. Can you hold your arms up long enough to tackle that?”
“Oh.” Lifting the tangle of hair off my shoulder, I wrinkle my nose in disgust. “It’s going to take more hot water than exists for this. I should just cut it all off.”
“God, please don’t,” Troy says, eyes wide. “Can I work on it? I’m not saying I’ll be any good, but I can give it my best shot.”
“Let us show you what an alpha is supposed to act like,” a man with short gray hair says. His eyes are sharp and intelligent, and I wonder if this is the other pack mate East mentioned. “We have yet to be introduced. I had to go to court today. I’m a lawyer, not a felon. My name is Lyle Mayor.”
“Why are you being nice to me?” I ask, hoping to get a straight answer from a lawyer. I vaguely remember my father calling men in Lyle’s occupation silver tongued liars, so this may be a bad move on my part. “I really need to know.”
“The truth…” Growls fill the air as Lyle begins, and Dr. Walsh sprays them with something as if that’ll help.
“They aren’t dogs,” I say, finding my lips twitching in amusement.
“They’re acting like it,” the doctor grumbles. “Gentlemen, you can’t pee on her without her consent.”
“Even then, I’d appreciate it if they didn’t.”
“He didn’t mean literally,” Silas sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. “Let’s not talk about any of our bodily fluids for now, please.”
“This is a no pressure situation,” Lyle begins, ignoring everyone else. “We are keeping scents limited in the spaces you’ll be for this reason as well. It doesn’t have to mean anything unless you want it to.”
“Lyle.” Silas’ grunt has the alpha pursing his lips in thought before he relaxes the muscles in face.
“While we were carrying you out of the warehouse, the four of us realized you’re our scent match,” Lyle says.
It’s done quickly and without inflection, as if he’s trying to rip off a bandaid.
“Dr. Walsh is trying to keep our scents neutralized because you don’t need to be dealing with possessive alphas while you’re healing. ”
“Four…” My eyes must betray my surprise, because Troy nods.
“It’s a lot, huh?” he asks. “I just want to exist in the same space as you, which sounds creepy when we just met. Lyle, East, and Silas have your safety on lockdown. You’re safe here, I promise.”
“You said you have to leave?” I ask softly. I’m overwhelmed by the pieces of information I’m gathering, but I’m glad Lyle told me.
I would have felt as if I walked into a trap if I’d found out on my own. Dr. Walsh’s descenting spray is really strong.
“I have away games,” Troy says, sighing. “I’ll be back on Friday, have the night off, and then have a home game.”
“Then I guess maybe you can come see us all Friday.” Silas has his hand on Troy’s back and he leans against him easily as I speak to them. It’s obvious these men are close.
“Definitely,” he says with a relieved smile. “Now, let’s tackle your hair, shall we?”
“I have clothes for you to change into,” Silas says.
“I put hair and shower products in the bathroom before I left,” Lyle adds.
“And I filled it with towels. There’s a toothbrush and other things as well,” East says.
This is more than Jai and his pack did for me.
There was a two in one shampoo in the shower and my hair hated it.
“If you’re okay with it, you can sit in your underwear and tank top while Troy detangles your hair.
There’s two types of conditioner, and one is a hair mask. Troy, use the mask first.”
“I…Wow,” I mutter. “I haven’t seen a damn hairbrush in way too long.”
“And I will really enjoy killing those men. Maybe I’ll shove the handle of a hairbrush up their asses for shits and giggles. Only time will tell,” Easton grunts.
“Are you really going to kill them?” I ask, beginning to sag against the counter. My energy is not great right now.
“Yes. Do you want to watch?” Silas asks.
“Or participate?” Lyle asks innocently. “Think about it, because we are open to either. They hurt you, and that’s unacceptable.”
“Are you only doing this because we’re scent matched?” I ask, stifling a yawn. “I don’t have stabby feelings right now because I’m too tired. I’ll probably feel differently later.”
“It’s part of it, but I got really bad vibes off the guys we saw. None of us want them to hurt anyone else. Men like that will do this again. It's fucking personal now, Alisa. I know you’re tired, we wanted to make sure we introduced ourselves while you were up,” he says.
“I have a lot of questions but I’m too sleepy to ask,” I admit.
“I’m taking a personal day tomorrow,” Lyle says. “My clients can figure out how to stay out of trouble. Easton is also off.”
“And Silas?” I ask.
“I’m a house husband,” Silas smirks. “I go where I wish.”
“That sounds like a sweet job.” Wow, did I just tease him? I didn’t know I had that in me.
Troy helps me to the shower, and he turns it on while I push off my pants. The chair is already inside the stall, and he helps me sit down on it. Sighing, I watch as he pumps some shampoo into his hand and then brings it to my nose to smell it.
With the absence of scent in the room, it’s nice to be able to smell the jasmine and orange scents.
“That’s nice,” I murmur.
Troy is careful to use the handheld spray as he wets my hair and then his fingers dig into my scalp as he massages the product in.
“Mmph.”