Page 18 of Knot Forgotten

The look he saves for my bullies. It turns my blood cold, and I hiccup a breath that is a half-sob and half-inhale.

“It's okay, Rin, it didn't matter. None of it matters.”

Matt and Riley stand like silent witnesses to my heartbreak, and it's not just for Blake. It's for all of them—nothing will be the same again.

The harsh clang of a book hitting the table jolts me back to the present, and I find myself facing the aftermath of my past. Cam stands before me in the quiet of the library, anger and hurt etched across his features, before storming away as if trying to escape the wreckage of our friendship.

"Cam, wait!" I call out. The woman behind the desk glances up and gives me a stern look for interrupting her domain. He doesn't look back, and the distance between us widens with each hurried step he takes.

I rush after him, the weight of my secrets heavier than ever, and follow the trail Cam left behind. The library doors swing open, revealing the openness of the college quad. The manicured lawns and scattered students create a backdrop to the unfolding drama.

I spot him near the fountain, shoulders hunched, a solitary figure alone and as broken as I am. "Cam, please," I plead, reaching out to touch his arm.

He shrugs off my touch, his gaze avoiding mine. "I trusted you, Erin. No, it was more than that. You were my everything," he mutters, the pain in his voice cutting through me.

"We can try to be friends again," I insist, but my words sound feeble, drowned out by the echoes of my deception. We left friendship behind the second we kissed, and we both know it. What does that leave for us?

“Then, Erin, you were supposed to be my everything, and you were gone like a ghost in the night. You never even called to say goodbye. I was nothing to you; we were nothing. All I have left is the disappointment and bitterness of knowing you'd rather sneak out and live your life than stay with us one more day.”

Cam turns away, his steps resolute, leaving me standing in the open quad, my heart shattered, and the weight of regret settling in. I swallow hard as I watch him go. He is going to tell the guys. And I can’t blame him. He’s right. My life changed that night so long ago.

CHAPTER 8

Cameron

Cut loose, like a kite without a tether, I drift through campus. It reminds me of the time my string snapped and my kite fluttered away with the wind. Probably catching in some tree somewhere. Only, there is no tree here to catch me.

Erin Walters, the girl that ruined me for everyone else, is back. Ironic she is also the woman I almost broke the rules for again.

The rules. I blow out my cheeks and tug my fingers through my hair ruthlessly. When we were boys, the rules were simple and really only made to keep us together forever. Because Erin, she was our girl, and we would be her pack no matter what our designations were. Nothing could separate us. Or so we thought.

If my indiscretion didn’t end it all for us, her disappearing without a trace did. And she thinks she can stroll back into our lives, as Quinn. Christ, I should have picked up on the fact it was her middle name, but I shoved memories of Erin so far deep inside that I ignored the subtle similarities.

Snorting, I shake my head, still wandering aimlessly. I just thought I had a type. A rare type. It turns out I’m only attracted to one girl, one omega. I’m so fucked. We all are.

Because the rules still stand. If we choose an omega, we choose together. Our omega will be the glue that holds us together, not tears us apart. In a life where all we have is each other, no omega will tear us apart. It’s why we don’t get serious with any. Sure, we mess around, but if any of us has feelings, we talk about it. Not that any of us has had feelings for one since Erin.

And that almost destroyed us.

The guys shoved into my room. Each of them glaring daggers at me. I knew this would happen. That kissing Erin and then keeping it from them would have them wanting to beat the shit out of me.

“You fucking kissed Erin and didn’t tell us.” Blake crosses his arms, anger painting his face into harsh angles that don’t belong.

“What are you talking about? You fucking kissed her, too, and I don’t recall you telling any of us,” I shoot back.

“We said together, that we would do it together.” Matt passes me and drops onto my bed. “This was our year.”

Riley signs, ‘You ruined it.’

I sigh. “I didn’t mean to. Kissing her—it just happened. She was sad, and I just wanted her to smile.”

Blake scoffs.

“What is your excuse?” I return his glare.

He presses his lips together into a flat line and looks toward my window. “You wouldn’t understand.”

Huffing a laugh, I shake my head. “I understand the pull she has. We all do.”

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