Ryder laughed as he shoved Blaize in the shoulder, sending him crashing into a tree on the side of the path they were running along through the forest. Blaize stumbled, slamming his shoulder into the trunk of the huge maple tree before quickly finding his feet and taking off after his brother.

"Payback's a bitch, you do realise that right?!" Blaize shouted at the retreating form of his brother in front of him.

"Ha! You have to catch me first, grandma!" laughed Ryder over his shoulder at him.

Blaize huffed and dug deeper, racing to catch up. His three other brothers were further ahead of Ryder, having kept up a steady pace instead of the playful pushing and shoving that he and Ryder had been engaged in.

As he caught up to a laughing Ryder and they rounded a bend in the path, they found the other three had slowed to a walk and were taking a moment before they turned around to start their run back home.

The five men weren't brothers in the traditional sense, sharing a bond stronger than mere blood. They were a former Delta Force unit, a family, forged in the harshest of conditions under the toughest of circumstances. They had watched each other's backs, protected each other, fought, bled and triumphed together. There was nothing they wouldn't do for their family.

Having left the service 3 years earlier, they had created a security firm specialising in covert operations and protection. Building their company – Nemesis – from nothing, it was now one of the most elite and discreet companies in the business. Their list of clients read like the who's who of politicians, CEOs, athletes and celebrities. They had kept their services small and exclusive, meaning they were able to offer the best of the best to their clients, earning them a stellar reputation amongst the elite.

At 29, Blaize was the youngest on the team, but not much separated the five of them. His short brown hair, full lips and dimples easily had the ladies swooning, but it was his eyes that really held his secrets.

Ryder was the next youngest at 31. With blonde hair that brushed his jaw, ice blue eyes and a massively muscled body, he closely resembled the Vikings of old. He was vicious in battle and loyal to the bone.

Storm was the quietest of the group, his grey eyes missing nothing. At 6' 2" he was the shortest of his brothers, but towered over almost everyone else. Being the 'middle child' as he was sometimes called because his age was between the others, he was also the most sensitive. Much of his childhood had been spent saving wounded and stray animals, which was also why he had been the designated medic on his team. Taking care of others was part of what drove him.

The twins, Wolf and Hunter, were the oldest as well as the leaders of the team. Whilst all five of them could be described as deadly given their training and backgrounds, the twins were absolutely lethal. Predators through and through, they moved and fought as though one were merely an extension of the other. A single deadly fighting unit. Standing at 6'5" with dark hair, dark eyes and heavy muscles that spoke of years of training, they were intimidating in the extreme.

Ryder and Blaize slowed to a walk as they caught up to the others, Blaize giving Ryder a quick smack to the back of the head as they did so.

"If you guys worked out half as hard as you play around you'd probably outrun Wolf and Hunter once in a while you know," commented Storm.

Ryder shook his head, "Nah, having fun is what makes getting through these workouts bearable."

The twins didn't even turn to look at them as Hunter replied, "You'll wish you'd worked harder the next time one of us is chasing you."

Blaize winced, that was probably true. Ryder tended to be a practical joker and usually roped Blaize into his pranks. Ryder's favourite target was their older and much more serious brothers, however that also meant that whilst they might be laughing they were also getting their butts kicked by the pissed off twins. And to be honest, the twins were just fucking scary when they got riled, even if they would never really hurt them.

The path was narrow and winding through the forest, often with fallen trees and loose rocks to navigate, however the surroundings were beautiful. There was a sense of quiet stillness and peace in the forest, which was another reason they tended to go out running as part of their daily workouts.

As they came around a bend in the path into a small clearing, the twins came to an abrupt halt, causing the others behind them to crash into their backs like dominos.

"What the hell man?!" Storm shoved Ryder and Blaize back and stepped around the twins to see what had made them stop so suddenly.

"Oh shit," murmured Blaize as he too stepped forward and realised what they were all looking at.

Lying on the green grass in the middle of the tiny clearing was a girl. Her blonde hair was spread out around her head like a halo, twigs and leaves tangled in the golden locks. Her knee length dress, whilst once a lovely bohemian style, was now tattered and torn, smudges of dirt staining the white fabric.

As they stepped forward she opened her eyes and moved her leg, and that was when their hearts stopped. Her right ankle was caught in the teeth of a steel hunting trap. The vicious points had pierced the skin of her delicate ankle and dried blood was crusted around the wounds.

The girl let out a whimper and tried to pull her leg up in an effort to free it as she watched them with petrified eyes. The chain attached to the trap that was pinned to the ground to stop prey escaping, rattled. She was lying on her side facing them and trying to shuffle backwards to get away from them, fear and pain shining in her eyes.

Storm took another step forward, his hands held out in front of him in the universal sign of 'I mean no harm'.

"Easy," he crooned. "Easy, we're not going to hurt you. It's ok." He took another careful step forward, keeping his eyes locked with the terrified young woman. She couldn't have been more than 23 or 24 years old.

The others held back, letting Storm approach her on his own. His aura of gentleness and calm radiated from him, it was what made him so good with animals and as a medic. People and animals alike instinctively trusted him, trusted he wouldn't hurt them, and his brothers stood back to let him try to calm the girl down enough to approach her.

She was trembling; her eyes fixed on Storm as he slowly took one step at a time until he was crouched beside her.

"Easy there, you're ok," he continued to murmur to her.

Very gently he laid one hand on her forearm that was lying on the ground next to her face. The other hand he quietly laid on her waist. She shifted her legs, pulling on her trapped ankle again.

"Shh, it's ok. Easy," Storm crooned to her.

She quietened down again as he continued to murmur soothing nonsense to her. He could feel the tremors running through her body as she shook with fear and exhaustion.

"We're not gonna hurt you. What's your name, sweetheart?"

He watched her struggle to swallow before she croaked out, "Ella."

Storm smiled at her.

"Hi Ella, I'm Storm and these are my brothers. We're going to help you sweetheart, you're safe I promise," he said gently.

He turned to look at his brothers over his shoulder before giving them a nod. They slowly and quietly moved forward, and Ella tensed even more, her shaking increasing.

"It's ok, Ella, they're just going to free you're leg. No one's going to hurt you." Storm continued to talk to her as he stroked his thumb back and forth on her forearm to soothe her.

Wolf and Hunter moved to the trap biting into her ankle, while Blaize and Ryder turned their attention to the peg pinning the trap's chain to the ground.

As Wolf laid his warm hand on her bare leg just above her knee, she cried and jerked the leg caught by the trap once again. Wolf immediately raised his hand and looked over at Storm.

"Ella, this is my brother Wolf. I know he's an ugly bugger and looks scary but I promise he would never hurt you. He and Hunter are going to get that trap off you, but they can't do that without touching you. Just hang in there a little longer, sweetheart," said Storm gently.

Tears were running down Ella's cheeks as she searched Storm's face. He kept his eyes on hers, letting her see the truth in them, willing her to trust him just this little bit.

He let out a breath when she finally gave him a small nod and whispered, "Ok."

"Good girl," he said with a smile, before turning to Wolf and giving him a nod to continue.

Once again Wolf gently laid a hand on her leg, this time further down on her calf. She tensed but held still. Wolf paused, watching her face to make sure she was ok before he leaned closer to her ankle to get a better look at where the teeth were embedded in her skin.

He looked up at Hunter kneeling next to him and said in a low voice, "We're going to have to pry it open. It's so old it's practically rusted through, I can't believe the damn thing even still works."

Hunter examined the base of the trap under Ella's foot. She'd stepped right on the centre plate, causing the jaws to snap shut on her ankle. It was an old form of hunting that had been banned in the region years before. It was clearly a relic from back in the days when trapping and hunting were conducted in a less humane way with no thought to the suffering of the poor animals that found themselves caught in the hideous traps.

"Looks like the best way to do it will be to just grab one side each and try to pull it open," said Hunter. "It's only the force of the trap slamming shut that's caused it to puncture her skin. The teeth themselves aren't that sharp."

Wolf nodded and moved his hand the grasp the lower jaw on either side of Ella's ankle. Hunter mirrored him on the top jaw, being careful not to jar Ella's leg in the process.

"You ready sweetheart?" Storm asked. She took a deep breath and gave him a small nod.

"When they open the trap don't pull your leg out straight away, let me do that so you don't do any more damage ok?" She nodded again.

Seeing her nod, Wolf braced his closed fists against the ground to hold the bottom jaw down and said to Hunter, "Do it."

Hunter slowly pried open the top jaw, the rusted steel screeching and shuddering as he forced it open. Ella whimpered but held still.

While Wolf and Hunter held the trap open, Storm reached down and gently lifted Ella's leg up off the bottom teeth and out of the trap.

"There you go. I'm going to wrap my shirt around your ankle to keep it from bleeding too much before we can take care of it back at the compound ok?" Storm looked up at Ella.

Tears continued to run down her cheeks, she was looking even paler than before and her eyes were starting to glaze over, the pain and exhaustion taking their toll. However she gave him a nod to let him know she understood.

"Good girl," Storm said again, before stripping off his sleeveless black shirt and beginning to carefully bind her ankle.

In the meantime, Blaize had found a sturdy branch and slipped it between the jaws of the trap to hold it open enough so his brothers could release it and get their fingers clear. They slowly let the trap close on the branch and then let it go, just as Ryder managed to pull the pin the rest of the way out of the ground and free the chain.

With Ella's leg wrapped in Storm's shirt and the gruesome steel trap and chain bundled up to be disposed of, they were ready to head back home to the compound.

"We're going to take you back to our place now so that I can take care of that leg, ok Ella? You can't walk on it though so I'm going to carry you. I promise I'm not going to hurt you." As Storm moved to put his hands under her, Hunter put a restraining hand on his shoulder.

"You don't have a shirt on and it's best if you're hands are free in case something else goes wrong. I'll carry her," he said in a quiet voice to his brother. Storm looked like he was going to argue for a moment before he pursed his lips and gave a quick nod before moving aside.

Ella looked up in panic as Storm moved away and Hunter knelt down beside her. "Easy little one, I'm just going to carry you. Nothing more."

She looked into his eyes, searching for the truth. Hunter knew he was terrifying to most people. He'd been through Hell more times than he could count back in the teams and it was written in his eyes, his expressions, his movements. He was a dangerous man and usually he revelled in the feeling, using it to keep people at a distance.

Right now though, he didn't want to scare anyone, he didn't want to scare Ella. He pulled back on the low hum of power that emanated from him, turning down the testosterone and the aggression that was always inside of him, and tried to make himself appear less threatening. He waited patiently for her to finish studying him and make her decision. Finally she nodded.

Hunter gently slipped his arms beneath her shoulders and knees before picking her up carefully and cradling her against his massive chest.

"You're safe, little one."