Page 13 of Knot That Delicate

"It's not bland." Asher sighed. "Iseasonthings. I’m not like you."

That made me laugh. "I’m a simple guy, what can I say?"

“The first time I saw you cook chicken, I was convinced I had packed up with a serial killer.”

Okay, it wasn’t exactly the case that I liked things plain. It was more that I couldn’t cook to save my life, and since Asher had plenty of skills in that department, we let him handle it. Dylan was a close second, but he cooked out of necessity, not enjoyment.

"Buttered noodles with chicken sounds perfect," I said, before the itch of concern hit me again. "You know what? I think I need to go check on her."

I started to make my way towards the bedroom, but I was met by Dylan, who must have come in through the back door. His face was thunderous, and anger rolled off him in waves, crashing through our bond.

"She's gone," he said, his voice low. “I just got a notification from our cameras.”

I stopped in my tracks, staring at him, trying to compute what he had just said. "What do you mean, she’s gone?" I asked, my heart beginning to race. "Where could she have gone?"

Asher stopped what he was doing to walk over to us. "She can’t have gone far. Did you check under the bed?" he asked with a nervous laugh.

Dylan shook his head, a growl building in his throat. "She'sgone. The window's wide open. I think she made a break for it. The cameras picked up movement almost half a mile away from here, so she got pretty far before I was alerted.”

"We need to go after her." My heart was in my throat as I thought about all the things that could go wrong out there—she was so tiny, and fragile, and could be so easily hurt. "You know how dangerous it is out there," I said to Dylan, who was still glaring at me.

"I'm more concerned withwhyshe would try to make a run for it," he said, his voice heavy with frustration. "Why? We aren’t hurting her, we’re helping her, and yet she’s so desperate to get away?"

Asher shook his head. "Of course, she would try to run. She’s scared. God knows where she’s come from and what she’s been through. I doubt she is doing anything nefarious, Dylan."

Dylan cocked his head to the side, still frowning. "I don’t know. She wasn’t exactly forthcoming with the details about what’s happened to her, was she?"

Asher frowned back at him. "As she should be. If she’s been kept somewhere against her will, and been through a living nightmare like that? I would also be a bit tight-lipped if I were her."

She’d run. Why the hell had she run? Of all the idiotic moves a small omega could make, this one took the cake. Hell, even if I were in enemy territory, held captive, or in a den of wolves, in my current situation, I would understand that staying in a warm, safe, dry cabin was a better option than running around, with hardly any clothes on in the pouring rain. Between the overcast sky and dense woods, it was impossible to see where you were going. She was just making stupid decision after stupid decision. I wanted to wring her neck. But, at the same time, I wanted to kiss her.

I never said I was a sane person, but this was new, even for me.

Maybe my time in the military had well and truly fucked me up. I had officially lost the plot and was finding omegas who ran away from me attractive. I could see them making a true crime documentary about me now.

I had gone to her room, intending to try and convince her to come out and eat some more and talk to us, so I could hopefully try and figure out where she came from. Instead, I found the room freezing cold, thanks to the wide-open window, and distinctly lacking in omega guests.

A mere second later, my phone pinged, telling me the security border was compromised.

If I was honest with myself, I knew that omegas didn’t usually have it in them to be vindictive or malicious. They were very sweet creatures by nature, and that was why our nature as alphas drove us to protect them. They needed it—they were softer, in the best way possible.

Only, I had seen things over my time that made me think that you could never truly trust anyone.

"I'm going to start searching the woods," I said, grabbing my large raincoat, and Carter did the same. "One of us should stay here," I added as I looked at Asher, who nodded in agreement.

"I'll stay. I've got chicken cooking, anyway," he said as he looked between us and the kitchen, where a delicious smell was emanating.

Why he was cooking chicken at a time like this was beyond me, but I’d learned not to question Asher and his cooking choices, unless I wanted to be left to fend for myself.

"I'm coming with you," Carter said as he grabbed a pair of boots and threw them to me. We were the same shoe size, so we often shared combat boots. I slipped them on without issue, quickly tying up the laces as my pack mate did the same.

"Which way do you think she went?" he asked.

I grunted, trying to consider my options. Where would I go if I was a tiny omega trying to flee from a cabin? “Judging by the carnage I saw out of the window, I assume she went straight on.” Even in the mud, her tracks were still obvious, which meant she had clattered through the woods with zero concern for the trail she was leaving behind. “We should go that way together, we shouldn’t be splitting up.”

Carter frowned. "But if we split up, we’ll cover more ground."

I frowned to myself. "But we know how dangerous this forest is. I don’t want us going out alone, especially while it’s raining. What if you slip and injure yourself?" I asked pointedly.

---