Page 69 of Knot Forgotten

I tilt my head to study him, narrowing my eyes. “How do you know?”

I remember the story his dad used to tell. He said that people talk about alphas in love as the real commitment makers, but it is the omegas who choose their pack. No matter how much alphas think they are in control, it is only a mirage. Because omegas might be considered mild-tempered, but make them think another omega is closing in on her pack, and all deals are off.

His tongue swipes along his lower lip. “Willow.”

“Fuck, are you fucking kidding me? What did you do?”

“It was all Willow. She wouldn’t get off me, and then Erin showed up…”

“Did she beat her ass?” Matt asks, grinning ear to ear at the thought.

“She tried to run. But it wasn’t that; it was after what happened in the closet.” Cam smiles to himself. “She told me to burn my shirt. My Aerosmith shirt.”

“Past time for that,” Riley quips.

“You just don’t like their bass and drums,” Cam says.

Riley lifts a shoulder in a small shrug. “There is better music out there,” he says, turning his implant up on his right ear.

Cam rolls his eyes. It is a common argument for them to devolve into since Riley, with his implants, has a completely different idea of what is good than Cameron.

Dialing her number, it rings twice before going to voicemail. I hang up without leaving a message before flicking over to the app that tracks her. Her phone is dead or off because her little circle is missing from the map. That is it, I have to find her. I push off the counter and grab up my keys from the table, heading for the door.

“Where are you going?” Matt asks. I glance back, and he is already on his feet, ready to follow me.

“To look for our girl. What if she ran into Willow and decided to act on her omega instincts? Willow could be dead, and Rin could be in jail for all we know.”

Matt snorts, snagging up his jacket on the way past the table. “I’ll help.”

Riley and Cam both stand, ready to follow. Other students must sense the energy coming from us as we rush down the hallway toward the exit because they scatter out of our way like dried leaves in a breeze.

Streetlights illuminate the sidewalk along the front of our dorm all the way down to Baldwin. A few students hang out on the front steps of the closed dining hall, their laughter reaching us. I head in their direction, hesitating when I catch sight of Riana and Willow. I have completely blown Riana off, my obsession with Erin taking the driver's seat in my life.

Coming to a stop, Matt plows into my back, catching me from face-planting at the last second. As I straighten, Riley swears. I follow his gaze back to the group to see both Riana and Willow peel away from their friends to head our way.

“Incoming,” Matt mutters, like they are missiles ready to destroy our lives instead of desperate omegas looking for their alphas in all the wrong places.

“Blake Moon, you’ve been ignoring my calls and texts,” Riana says, pouting at me as she approaches.

I shift on my feet, attempting to put space between us, but Matt is still at my back, and unless I want to be in his arms–and I don’t–I have to stay where I am.

She comes to a stop, not touching me. “Tell me Willow is wrong.”

I glance at Willow. “It depends on what she said.”

Willow’s lips twist into an angry frown. “Cut the shit, Blake. Cam made it clear, you all are sniffing around that omega slut that moved into your dorm room.”

Cam moves before I can, his fingers gripping Willow’s chin. “Call her a slut one more time.” Each word is heavy with the promise of his unspoken threat.

She forces out a laugh and wrenches her face out of his grasp. “Don’t try to run back to me once you realize she left you.”

“Left?” I ask, latching onto the single word.

“We all saw her get in a car with that man and woman. The woman said she was going home.” Willow gestures back at the group of friends she left. She shakes her head with a fake look of pity on her face. “Oh, look at that, Ria. She didn’t tell her boyfriend she was leaving. So sad.”

My mouth dries up as her words sink in. “What did the man look like?”

All I can hear is the rapid beat of my heart in my ears, blocking out any sound except for the quickening of my own breath.

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