Page 89 of Knot Forgotten

Clearing my throat, I force myself to keep looking at her as I say, “They aren’t a random pack, Mom. It is Matt, Riley, Blake, and Cameron.”

Her eyes widen again. “From when you were a kid?”

“Yeah.” Brushing a stray strand of hair behind my ear, I nod at the same time. My ears feel warm, and my cheeks flush as she studies me with new eyes.

“Is that why you picked that university?” Straight to the point.

“Not the only reason.”

She presses her lips together, and it looks like she is holding back a smile. But she says, “I’m still coming to get you.”

“Mom,” I groan.

“Pack a bag,” she says.

CHAPTER 46

Riley

The water flows around me effortlessly as I cut through it. Thoughts of Erin fill my head as I twist and kick off the wall. The absolute silence is a comfort sometimes. But right now, I want to climb out of the pool, connect my cochlear implants, and find Erin to hear her talk.

Something tugs inside of me, insistent and persistent, urging me to do just that. So when I reach the end of the pool for my next lap, I stop and boost myself out. Drying off quickly, I remove my swim cap before connecting my implants.

Sounds fill my ears, maybe not how they would be for someone with perfect hearing, but that’s never been me, so I’ll never really know the difference. Not that I care about the difference; all that really matters to me is that my pack treats me the same way they treat each other.

Once I’m completely dry and my clothes are on, I toss my bag over my shoulder and head across campus. The night air is crisp and closer to winter than fall. The feel of Jack Frost is almost tangible in the air.

As I walk, I reach through the bond to check on my pack mates. I’ve gotten really good at that. Another way to communicate with them, not that we talk mentally or anything, but feelings are just as good as body language, if not better. Cam is still shut down tight, and I think we are going to have to intervene there.

It is obvious he is as in love with her as we all are. Which means it is only his fear of never being able to go all the way with her that holds him back. And I’m sure it is a fear. But I push his link to the side as I check Blake and Matt quickly before moving on to the brightest of my bonds, Erin.

Only right now, the link isn’t bright, it is stretched thin and dull. Almost as if she is far away. As fear spikes inside of me, I pull out my phone to check for messages when I find her message to me that came in an hour ago.

Erin: I’m safe. Don’t worry.

The cryptic message makes my heart beat against my rib cage, and I quickly type out a response.

Riley: Where are you?

The three dots appear and disappear a few times while I stand in the middle of the sidewalk, waiting for her response. At least she has her phone, and nothing bad has happened to her.

Erin: Just visiting my mom for a few days.

I stare at her words. They don’t make sense. If she had been going to visit her mom she would have said something last night, right?

Riley: Okay. Let me know if you need anything.

There isn’t a response, and I feel a little deflated. Maybe she told the others she was going home. My pace picks up as I head toward our dorm. Blake and Matt are in the living area when I push into the door, the sounds of their game loud in my ears. I adjust the volume on my ears and set my bag down by the door.

Sinking into the chair, I watch them play for a minute before I ask, “Did you know Rin was going home?”

The controller goes limp in Blake’s hold as he pins me with a look, and Matt releases one side of his, giving me his full attention.

“What?” Blake says. I turned the volume back up because the bass of his voice was barely a sound.

“She went home,” I say again. “She sent me a text saying not to worry.”

Matt’s forehead creases, and I know before he says he didn’t know that he had no clue. “She didn’t tell me.” He palms his cell and pulls up his recent texts, shaking his head with confusion.

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