Jughead and his most trusted Serpents huddled around Betty, him in the front of the group, as they led her out of the warehouses. Her movements were guarded; calculated but he could also sense her profound relief to be leaving behind a horrifying situation. He was gratified with the knowledge of him and his members being the ones to help her away from said situation. Just then, there was a rustling to the left of him and he nodded at Sweet Pea as Betty inhaled sharply. Sweet Pea quickly, but gently, covered her mouth.

"Shh, Betty," Sweet Pea murmured, eyes peeled like the rest of the Serpent's. She nodded, relaxing into the broad expanse of the tallers' chest. Jughead swept the parameters of the woods outside of the warehouses with his eyes, utilizing his heightened senses to take in any ounce of danger that he could. Just then, Betty raised a trembling finger to point south of them and Jughead turned, looking out into the dark.

"How did you let Betty Cooper escape?" Came a dark hiss and Jughead felt himself stiffen. He looked at Sweet Pea, then Joaquin and Fangs, and they came to the same conclusion: hide but figure out what the fuck was going on. They crept back into the shadows, Sweet Pea gently lowering his hand before Betty shook her head empathetically and he placed it back over her mouth.

"It's okay, Betty, you're safe," Fangs said softly, squeezing her shoulder. Jughead held up his hand for silence, trying to listen to the conversation.

"Mr. Lodge is going to have our skin as his new favorite rug," came a gruffer voice, and Jughead watched as Betty's eyes widened, pure terror emanating from her. He didn't think – just reacted on instinct as he threaded their fingers together. Squeezing her fingers gently, he felt her relax significantly. Huh. That needed to be explored. At a later date. Like, when they weren't sitting ducks for who appeared to be men for the most ruthless hunter in all of Riverdale. Hell, all of New York.

"Are we sure we won't get a slide since the girl is best friends with his daughter?" This was a woman's voice and Betty shook her head rapidly, eyes widening even further. The quiet "fuck" that was muffled by Sweet Pea's hand would have been funny if it didn't sound petrified.

"Yes, Penelope, I'm sure," came a hiss. "You think Veronica knows what her father does?" At this, Betty closed her eyes and Jughead was certain she was fearing for her friend now. There was a long beat of silence and Jughead was certain his heart wasn't the only one hammering.

"Well," the woman, Penelope, said finally. "Her family is dead. That end of the assignment is done. We'll just have to figure out how to find her a different way. Curse Hal Cooper for telling her to run. Man was never good for anything." There was movement then, the sound of footsteps echoing further and further away from them until Jughead felt it was safe to get out of the area. Just as he began to speak, he saw Betty tugging on Sweet Pea's arm insistently, and Sweet Pea let his hand fall away from her, watching in concern.

"Bett-," Jughead began quietly but she darted forward, expelling the contents of her stomach.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," she moaned quietly, leaning back onto her heels as she grasped her elbows. "Fuck."

It seemed to be the only word she knew how to say and Jughead made his way towards her, easing down next to her, careful to not startle her as he slowly laid a hand on her shoulder. She was receptive to his touch, leaning back into it and the Alpha inside of him preened.

Make Omega feel good.

He startled with the thought, unsure of where it came from. He couldn't focus on the thought as he rubbed Betty's back – he needed her to know she was still safe.

"Betty, hey, it's okay," he said lowly, and she nodded, taking a breath.

"Yeah, yeah. Just found out my best friend's dad hired the kill on my family and my Aunt was one of the killers," she replied, somewhat hysterically, eyes shiny. He felt a low growl building in his chest at her own family doing that. Fuck Jughead, not now. The reprimand was enough to make his attention snap back to her.

"We need to get out of here," he said softly, watching her carefully. She closed her eyes and swallowed, before nodding her head. She allowed him to pull her to her feet, leaning into him heavily.

Omega is tired. Omega needs sleep.

"Come on," he whispered, ignoring the damn train of thoughts he had. "We'll get back to the packhouse. Let you get some sleep."

She nodded, tiredness settling over her body like a blanket. The night seemed to be taking it's toll on her – from escaping the hunters, or people working with a hunter, to being kidnapped, it seemed to suddenly be too much as she stumbled. His hands shot out, wrapping securely around her waist as he pulled her into his chest.

"Sorry," she muttered.

"Are you alright?" Jughead asked softly, voice gentle. She nodded.

"'M fine," she mumbled. "Just tired. Want this night to end."

"Okay, well we're going to get to the packhouse," he promised quietly, and she smiled.

"Okay," she whispered. The group walked out of the woods with Fangs, Pea, and Quin doing sweeps every so often. It was why he had picked the three to be his closest in the group. They were good men, would die for one another as he would die for them. And, as he listened to the thoughts of his pack, their eyes occasionally darting to Betty, he knew that was a sudden cemented fact for the blonde, too.

XXX

Once at their house, Jughead dismissed the other Serpents who looked at Betty in confusion with a quick bark of, "out!" No one dared to defy their leader, so the communal room was emptied fairly quickly. Jughead looked at Betty, who had her arms wrapped around herself and a lost look in her eyes. He hesitantly made his way towards her.

"What can we do for you?" Jughead asked quietly, allowing his inner circle to huddle around them. Betty blinked, looking up at them.

Biting her lip, she nodded slowly. "I-I need to talk to Cheryl. She's my cousin. The woman's daughter."

She didn't have to elaborate further for Jughead to know she was referring to Penelope. He chose his words carefully, weighing the importance of them.

"Are you sure she can be trusted?" Jughead hedged. Betty's eyes snapped onto his, a fierce glint in them, before she sighed and massaged her temples.

"Honestly? I don't know. I don't know what to think anymore," she muttered. "It was a quiet night. That's all it was supposed to be. Ronnie – Veronica, Mr. Lodge's daughter – and her mate, Archie, my best friend, were coming over for dinner. Then, the attack happened before they showed up."

"And you trust them?" Sweet Pea asked quietly. Betty nodded.

"Yeah, Ronnie and Archie. They-they helped me out of some dark times," she murmured, not disclosing anymore information than that but Jughead filed it away to broach at a different time. "God, Polly."

Her voice cracked with pain, Jughead's heart twisting in response. "Who is that?"

"She-she was my sister," she murmured, fingers curling inwards. He watched them for a moment, but she loosened them right before they touched her palms, a small shudder running through her body that he catalogued as well. "She was supposed to go on a date tonight. Chuck Clayton. Football player from the school. Not a saint but he makes, made, Polly happy so I was happy."

"And your parents?" Fangs asked softly, voice soothing.

"Good people. They didn't do anything wrong," she whispered. "I have no idea, none, why Hiram Lodge would come after my family."

It was Toni who spoke up this time.

"Betty, Lodge…he's a hunter," she said softly. Betty nodded.

"Figured that out tonight," she said bitterly.

"And you're sure Ronnie wouldn't have known?" Jughead asked softly, eyes watching her intently.

"No," she whispered, before clearing her throat. "No." Her voice was firmer now; insistent. "She's an omega herself. Archie is her mate. Her own father cannot want her dead."

Jughead nodded, watching as her eyes drooped heavily. "Come on, Betty. Let's get you some sleep."

She bit her lip. "I don't think I'll be sleeping for a while."

He looked at Sweet Pea, the two communicating, and Sweet Pea crouched down in front of her.

"I can give you something," he said, and Betty looked at him, tilting her head to the side.

"Like…?" Betty trailed off, and he smiled gently.

"Just a sleeping pill. Nothing heavy or addictive, I promise. We use them sometimes when we can't sleep," the taller assured. Betty looked at Jughead, eyes seeking confirmation.

Omega needs to be reassured it's safe. Reassure her!

"Completely safe, Betty. It'll just let you sleep tonight, no nightmares to keep you up," he said quietly, crouching down next to Pea and gently squeezing her hand. She looked down at their hands before nodding slowly.

"Okay, I trust you," she whispered. Jughead didn't miss the way her eyes never left his face.

Good Alpha. Omega trusts you. Protect Omega.

These fucking thoughts. Her lips tilted upwards, as if sensing what he was thinking, and he'd roll his eyes if it wasn't for the fact that was the first time a bit of happiness painted her features. It wasn't a lot, but it still made her look relaxed and he'd gladly accept her teasing if it meant she was relaxing.

"Fangs get the sleeping pill," he said. Fangs left, going to make the tea they crushed the pill into. It made it taste better. After coming back, he handed it to Betty who took slow sips at Jughead's encouragement. It wasn't long before her eyelids were blinking slowly, each pull slower than before. He eased her to her feet, picking her up and the wolf in him howled in contentment as she snuggled into his chest.

"I'll get her in bed," he said, leaving his friends down in the room.

Their snickers followed him up the stairs and he knew exactly what they were thinking. Little shits.