Page 68 of Knot Forgotten

Happiness, that is what this moment is right now.

“Take a drink, you need the water.” The words come out in Cam's voice but his lips don't move.

“What?” I say, the word sounding slurred to my ears.

“It will help; take a drink,” a woman says. She kneels next to the cot, her long dark hair pulled up into a high ponytail. Her face is kind as she grips the back of my neck, holding the bottle to my lips. “That's it,” she whispers encouragingly.

I gulp down greedy mouthfuls, my fingers curling around the cool bottle as the room comes back into focus. The nightmare of my situation slams into me full force, and the water turns bitter in my belly.

As if she can sense my fear reawakened she sits back on her heels, glancing at the cell bars before bringing her gaze back to me. I sit up and put distance between us. She looks put together in her tight, slim-fitting jeans and clean blue T-shirt, and she even has on some make-up highlighting her features.

Hugging myself, I say, “What are you going to do to me?”

A sadness enters the depths of her eyes as she watches me, and I know that it is exactly what my father was saying. They are selling me.

“It will be okay,” she says as the panic starts to build in my chest. I curl my fingers into my arms, the slight sting of pain helping to bring me back into myself. “I’m Raven, and I’m going to get you out of here before anything happens to you. Trust me.”

CHAPTER 36

Blake

12 hours earlier

“Where is she?” I say, pacing from the back of the couch to the fridge, almost wearing a hole in the floor with the obsessive movement. “It is after ten. And her texts are not being read.”

There is a feeling in my gut that is screaming that something is wrong. She is normally back to the dorm by nine if she is studying in the library or out with Matt. And I know she isn’t out with him because he is watching me pace from the armchair. The tapping of his fingers on the fabric tells me that he feels it, too.

Cam has been acting weird all day, and I’m starting to think he has something to do with her disappearance. Not that I can accuse my best friend of shit I can’t prove.

“She will be back. Maybe she needs some time on her own,” Cam says, proving my mental point. He is acting too calm.

“Did you do something?” I ask.

Riley leans forward in his chair and signs, ‘He is acting like it.’ The sign language is directed at me since Cam has already turned back around to play his video game.

He sets the controller down and sighs, tugging his fingers through his hair.

I sign, ‘He is.’

Matt watches us but doesn’t add anything to the conversation. Cam twists on the couch, pulling a leg up and facing the three of us, his back against the arm of the sofa.

He swallows, nerves obviously working his throat. “I came–on her–with her–today in a chem lab closet.” He hangs his head, and my eyebrows raise in surprise.

“You–” I say, not finding any words for that shock. Cam doesn’t do that.

“Wow,” Matt says softly; at the same time, Riley says, “About time.”

“You think that is why she isn’t here?” I ask slowly, watching him. If Riley marking up her skin with bruises didn’t scare her away, I’m sure Cam coming all over her wouldn’t. It doesn’t make sense.

“It is obvious,” Cam says with a twist of his mouth.

“Did she act upset?” I lean against the counter, waiting for his answer.

“No.” He releases a breath and shakes his head. “I thought–”

Silence hangs in the air between the four of us as he searches for the words he wants to say.

“Do you remember those stories my dad would tell us about omegas and their alphas?” he asks, meeting each of our gazes, the corner of his mouth lifting in a half smile. He continues before any of us admit we do. “She wants us as much as we want her.”

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