Page 12 of Knot That Delicate

I wanted the city. I wanted lots of people, to be surrounded by friends and family and noise. I wanted to no longer be alone. Ihad been isolated for so long that all I could think about was the hustle and bustle of the city.

Although, once I found my family, they probably wouldn’t let me out in public for a little while, just to make sure I was safe. Maybe a Haven would be the right option for me because I’d be able to socialise with more omegas.

I had gone on a few tours of Haven facilities when I was younger, but I had wanted to stay with my family. Still, they looked like amazing places, full of omegas and people who would protect me.

No matter what I ultimately decided, I needed to find a Haven first. My chances of coming upon a Haven were far better than finding anything else—like my family. So, I was going to find the first person I could and ask for directions to the Haven. Until then, hopefully the rain would help dull my scentsomewhat.

Taking a step forward, my feet squelched in the mud as I took my time. I needed to increase my pace, but my body still felt weak and shaky after years of starvation at Alec’s hands, not to mention my swollen ankle. As I limped further and further away from the cabin, though, I couldn’t help but worry. A pit of unease was developing in my stomach at the thought of leaving the three alphas who had helped me. Hell, they had even brushed my hair.

My hair was quickly becoming matted again in the rain, but that was a problem for future Juniper.

It wasn’t long until I was cursing myself.

I’m an idiot. I’m more than an idiot—I’m a gigantic moron.

I was soaking wet, cold to the bone, and had no clue where I was going. Everywhere I looked, it was dark. The treescompletely blocked out the sunlight, and I was clueless. I had no idea where I was or where I was going.

What am I doing?Leaving a nice, warm, safe cabin to veer out into nothingness?

At least in the cabin, I had been fed, warm, and kind of safe. Or, at least, I believed I was safe.

Running my hand through my tangled hair, I sobbed quietly. My feet were already starting to ache. I was too brave for my own good, I vastly misjudged what I was capable of.I am not someone who is able to trek through the woodlands.

I’d just been so cautious to believe the guys when they said the place was completely stranded. Turns out, they were quite right.

The biggest problem was, even if I wanted to turn back and go to the cabin with my tail between my legs and beg for some nice warm blankets, I had no clue where I was. I’dthoughtI was going in a straight line, but there were trees in the way, so I had to turn a few times, and now I was completely lost.

Sobbing, I kicked a nearby tree, wincing when the boots hurt. Surely, boots that were six sizes too big for me shouldn’t have given me extra blisters, but at this point, I felt like my feet had blisters on blisters.

What deity had I pissed off in a past lifetime to deserve all this?

Iwandered around the cabin, desperately trying to find something to amuse myself. I had folded and refolded the blankets that we kept on the sofa and even went as far as washing the dishes and cleaning out the cutlery drawer. I couldn’t relax and I couldn’t stay still. Every bone in my body was humming with need.

I desperately wanted to be closer to the omega. If I listened to my instincts, I would have been breaking down that door, pulling her into my arms, and demanding she let me comfort her. Realistically, I knew that wasn’t the smartest move, but instincts were never really known for being intelligent, were they? Especially not alpha instincts.

"Dude, sit down. You're making me anxious," Asher said from where he was standing in the kitchen, making himself a sandwich.

"Don't you wanna go to her?" I asked, running my hand roughly through my hair.

My pack mate nodded in agreement and cocked his head to the side. "Of course, I do. It's an omega. She's in our territory and she's distressed. All I want to do is give her a cuddle, but that wouldn't be very nice right now. We need to give her space."

"Space is overrated," I grumbled as I picked up a blanket yet again.

"I swear to God, Carter, if you are going to fold that thing again, I'm going to fold you into it and toss you outside," Asher said. There was no real heat to his words, but I didn’t put it past him to actually lock me outside in the freezing cold if I didn’t stop flittering around like a mother hen.

I sighed deeply, throwing the blanket roughly onto the couch, no longer folded—just bundled up in a messy ball. "I hate this," I muttered. "I really hate this."

Asher nodded. "I agree with you. You’re the one who brought her here. It makes sense your instincts would be extra strong when it comes to her. For now, we give her space, and I’m going to cook lots of good food. She’s clearly underweight. She needs protein, so I’m going to make foods that omegas would like that also contain protein."

That made me chuckle. "Asher," I said, cocking an eyebrow at him. "Of all the omegas we've met in our lives, have you seen any who didn’t run around like feral toddlers who want to eat nothing but buttered noodles? Good luck finding a meal with protein in it that an omega will actually enjoy."

Asher’s face turned grim. "They're notallthat bad," he said. "I think this is more of afemalething, as opposed to an omegathing, because do you know how many of my sisters are the exact same?"

I chuckled. Asher had several sisters that he hadn’t seen in many years, because they’d all gone off to live their own lives. They were a mix of betas and omegas. He was the lone alpha in his family, and he’d left at eighteen to join the military. That had lasted all of a few weeks before he decided to veer into the medical field. The change of career suited him, and thankfully, the military let him switch his focus to medicine. That way, he was still technically part of the military, but his pursuits were far more academic.

"You know," Asher said, "I could always do buttered noodles and add chicken. I mean, she probably likes chicken, doesn’t she?"

I nodded. "Chicken is the blandest protein out there, so I assume it’s a pretty safe bet."

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