Chapter 7

Roman

The guys and I arrive at the address the woman gave me over the phone and the anxiety I was feeling on the way here only gets worse.

“Holy shit,” Jaxon says with a whistle. “How did Noah end up here? I’ve never seen this place before.”

“Probably because this part of town is sketchy as hell,” Ezra says before heading straight for the building.

“Come on let’s get Noah and go. I don’t want to stay here any longer than we have to.” I say following Ezra.

When we step into the bar it falls completely silent and I notice more than one of the men inside stand as if they were readying for a fight.

“We’re here for Noah,” Ezra announces.

None of the men move for a long tense moment, but a small few part to let through a giant of a man.

“He’s in the apartment upstairs. I can show you the way, but when you enter that room you show some respect. I overheard that conversation on the phone and I won’t let you disrespect anyone under my care, including the woman who put herself at risk to help your packmate. Am I clear?” The authority in his voice tells me he’s an Alpha and we would be stupid to show him any sort of disprespect.

We have dealt with Alphas looking down on us our whole lives, but I don’t dare speak up against this man. He looks like he could break every bone in my body without breaking a sweat. I know for certain he would hurt us if we don’t do as he says. So when Ezra opens his mouth to say something stupid, which is his usual go-to reaction, I grab his arm and step in front of him.

“We only want to see our packmate and take him home,” I say.

The Alpha looks me over and nods. “This way.”

We follow after him and I can feel the eyes of every man in that room following us. Although our senses aren’t as heightened I can tell that these men are Beta’s but that doesn’t make them any less threatening, I try to ignore them and follow the Alpha toward the back of the bar. He stops in front of a door and opens it, stepping aside to let us pass. There is a staircase leading to another door. I lead the guys up and open the door a little too hard making it bang against the wall behind it. There is a sound of surprise and that's when I see a woman standing in front of the couch looking ready to fight.

“Aria, it’s okay this is my pack.” A familiar voice says.

The woman steps aside and that’s when Noah stands. He’s a good four inches taller than her but she still stands in a defensive stance near him as if she’s ready to jump in front of him.

“Not much to look at.” She grumbles.

Noah’s lip quirks up in the corner but then his face scrunches up slightly like that small movement hurt him. I look him over and see several cuts and bruises on his face. As I take more of him in I notice his clothes are dirty and ripped. There are also bruises on his neck and arms.

“Holy shit Noah, what happened man?” Jaxon asks moving toward Noah.

The woman bristles but doesn’t make a move.

“It’s a long story.” Nah grumbles and looks down at his feet.

“I’ll tell you what happened. He nearly got kidnapped and assaulted because none of you assholes thought to keep him safe. What kind of pack are you?”

“Aria it’s not their fault,” Noah says but she scoffs.

I finally step forward and the movement catches her attention. “I’m sorry for the way I spoke to you on the phone. I was worried about our packmate and took it out on you.”

She looks me over. “Hm.”

The way she’s looking at me…suddenly I feel lacking.

“Well, my job here is done. We took care of the guys who bothered Noah, but I suggest keeping him away from here. Those guys have friends and the last thing you guys want is your Omega being in the middle of all that.” The little Alpha says.

“No shit. Noah’s never come to a place like this again.” Ezra scoffs and moves over to Noah.

His hand wraps around Noah’s forearm and a whisper of pain comes from our friend. She’s moving before I even realize what’s happening. Ezra curses and is shoved back by the woman before she steps in front of Noah.

“You’re hurting him.” The woman says turning away from us to inspect Noah’s arm.

“What the fuck?” Ezra steps toward them again but I move to stop him.

“Take it easy.” I warn him and he shoots me an angry look but I shake my head. “We don’t want to upset Noah.”

“I haven’t done anything.” Ezra hisses at me.

“There’s clearly more going on. So we need to tread carefully.” I warn him.

He narrows his eyes at me but jerks his head in a small nod.

“Uh, guys.” Jaxon’s voice has me turning to look at what's going on behind me.

Noah is staring down at the woman with a soft look on his face as she continues to inspect his other arm. When she looks up at him his face flushes slightly and he swallows hard. She smiles up at him and he returns it.

“This isn’t good,” Jaxon mutters.

He might be right.

“Noah, I think we should go home. It’s been a long night.” I say as I slowly take a step toward them.

The woman lets go of Noah and steps back. “He’s right. You should get some rest.”

Noah’s smile falls and he opens his mouth as if to say something but the woman turns and leaves. The room is silent for a minute but not for long because Jaxon is incapable of keeping his mouth shut for long.

“Holy shit. Noah, she is sexy. How did you end up getting lucky enough for a woman like that to save your ass?” Jaxon rests his arm around Noah’s shoulder.

“Be careful asshole.” Ezra pushes Jaxon’s arm off Noah. “Let’s go.”

He and Jaxon move toward the door and I walk over to Noah to see for myself how he’s doing.

“You alright?” I ask him.

“Yeah…I-“ He shakes his head as if he’s not sure. “We should go.”

I let him pass me and take a second to look around the room. Her scent is everywhere. As a Beta scents are more subtle to us, but hers…it’s stronger but not unpleasant. The way she fussed over Noah, her worry for him must have made her scent stronger. A low ache in my stomach starts the longer I breathe it in, and that’s how I know it’s time to go. I walk out of the apartment and head down the stairs to where the guys are waiting.

“All good bro?” Jaxon asks.

I nod. “Let’s go home.”

The guys are huddled at the bottom of the stairs when I make my way down. Noah’s eyes are fixed on something in the main area of the bar, and I notice the others are watching the same thing. I move to see the woman standing behind the counter in the main area of the bar talking to a woman. They’re huddled together but she must feel us watching her because her eyes move in our direction. She says something to the woman before walking from behind the bar and in our direction. She stops in front of Noah and smiles up at him.

“Here. If you need anything. Call me okay?” She hands Noah a napkin and turns to leave with us watching after her in confusion.