Page 9 of Knot Forgotten

I flush. Can he tell Cam kissed me?

“Did you forget to brush your hair?” he adds with a teasing smirk.

Tearing my eyes from his, I focus on my feet. “I brushed my hair, Blake.”

He laughs as he reaches out and smooths a curl down to my head before it springs back out. “I know. It is always a mess of curls when you brush it after it has dried.”

I scoff and move out of his teasing reach. “Why did you wait for me? You’re going to be late on our first day.”

“Awe, Rin, I only come here to see you. I’m not going in there until you do.”

Lifting my head, I squint up at him. The sun frames his head, casting his face in shadows. Effectively blocking out any idea of what he is thinking with the darkness. Is he flirting? Annoyed with my stray thoughts, I roll my eyes and push past him.

“You are so lame,” I say over my shoulder as he jogs to catch up.

“Ouch, Rin, words hurt.” He grips his heart dramatically. “Now, come on. You’re impacting my education, and you know how my parents would feel about that.”

He bumps my shoulder as he falls into step next to me. When he catches my eye, he grins.

“I’m really only coming to this hell because you do,” he repeats himself.

It makes my insides feel funny as my heart lodges in my throat. He looks like he’s being honest.

I can’t mistake the flirting this time. His gray eyes shine with it. I quicken my steps, attempting to flee not only him but also my feelings.

Is this what presenting as an omega means—being a slave to my emotions?

After quickly entering the main entrance, I reach out for the second door, moments away from a sort of freedom, at least until lunch. He stops me. His long fingers reach out and grip my wrist, pulling me back into the alcove between the two sets of doors.

“Rin, wait,” he says, as he boxes me in against the blue panel that used to be a window into the building at some point. He smells warm and rich, sort of like fresh laundry and sunlight. Alpha. I inhale greedily. His palm cups the back of my neck, and I know he’s about to kiss me.

My fight or flight response kicks in, but I don’t move a muscle. It is all he needs. In the next moment, he is kissing me, stealing my breath from my lungs, and igniting a fire in my blood. Then it’s over. I’m left gasping, the wall holding me up as Blake disappears into the school, leaving me stunned.

What was that?

In a daze, I release the wall and, on shaky legs, enter the building.

“Are you okay?”

The teacher, Mr. Keerst, or Kyle, as he asks to be called in the syllabus, comes to a stop next to my seat. He taps the desk softly, and I drag my gaze up to him. The room is empty.

I shove the book I never opened into my bag and hastily stand up, pulling my backpack over my shoulder. “I’m good.”

Rushing from the room as if the hounds of hell are nipping at my heels, I am grateful to find the hallway void of Blake and his new girl. Every part of me is hoping that the waitlist comes through sooner rather than later.

CHAPTER 4

Erin

Warm afternoon sunlight kisses my cheeks as I inhale the fresh scent of nature surrounding me. Images of Blake kissing that girl float behind my shut eyes, and I open them with a sigh, staring up at the light coming through the trees. I found a patch of sunlight to lay my blanket out on. The park is large, and the rushing water from the river nearby soothes my oversensitive emotions.

If I could shove the past back where it belongs, it would be better. But I can’t. Memories are persistent. The moment from earlier when I realized how much I wanted Blake taunts me from the shadows, and I give in. Letting it play in my mind's eye.

After the kiss with Blake, I'm on edge. By the time lunch arrives, I jump out of my skin as Riley's arm drops around me.

“Shit, Ri,” I swear as I almost drop my hard-earned slice of pizza, or what passes as pizza here. They run out every day.

He chuckles silently as he clenches his fist and circles his chest for the sign of sorry. In response, I bump him with my shoulder.

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