Page 7 of Knot All Is Lost: Part 1

Trusting my gut, I walked around the back of the car and got into the driver’s seat. Cambrie needed to know this was her choice and I wasn’t going to force her to come with me if she wasn’t comfortable. Fiddling with the heat making sure it was blasting and that most of it was directed to the back kept me from watching her every move.

Everything in me cried out that I shouldn’t take her to the shelter, but right to our home where we could keep her safe. Of course, that would only backfire, she’d been told I’d take her to the shelter and that’s what I should do to prove I’m a man of my word. I glanced in her direction and found her peering into the car taking in the situation like there might be something hiding, waiting to snatch her.

Grabbing my phone off the holder in my car I sent a message to Spencer. He’d been right to make sure I was the one to get her. While I trusted all the people that worked for us I wasn’t convinced they would have had the patience needed for someone like her.

Me:Make sure one of the private rooms in the back is ready for Cambrie. She can’t be put in the community space.

Spencer: I thought it might be bad. I’ll get right on that. She with you now?

Me:We’re still working on getting in the car. Think abused animal situation. I’m letting her come to me when she’s ready.

Spencer:sad-face emoji, crying emoji.

The whisper of fabric on leather told me she’d finally made a move to enter the car. Peering into the rearview mirror I found her tugging the door shut. Reaching for the door exposed more of her arms and they were covered in new and old marks. Once the door was closed, she balled up against the door clinging to the windowsill.

“Cambrie, before we get moving would you mind putting on your seatbelt?” I requested. “I’m an excellent driver, never been in an accident, but I don’t ever want to put you at risk of getting hurt. It seems to me you’ve suffered enough for one lifetime.”

Her gaze flicked up to meet mine for a moment, surprise was present in her eyes before they dropped once more. While I couldn’t scent her, she definitely wasn’t an Alpha, but anyone that was abused would come across as weak. It took her a few moments but she did as I asked when I didn’t move to drive. Now that she was safe in my care I pulled out into traffic and headed toward the shelter. The ride was silent except for the music but I didn’t feel it was the best move to push her to talk. Reaching out and asking for help, getting into my car, and trusting I would take her where I promised was enough. Tonight I’d talk to Rafael about meeting with her knowing without a doubt she was going to need therapy. No, she needed more than just therapy. She needed a pack.

While packs had become less common, when I thought about doing life without mine I couldn’t imagine it. Marius, Oscar, and I had known each other the longest, growing up together. Then when Marius and I both fell for Spencer, it made sense for us to become a unit. Oscar came to us after college when his family refused to claim him as their child. He’d suffered an illness that destroyed his vocal cords and left him mute. The thing about Oscar was he made up for it in so many ways as a talented musician. His family was old money and they’d hoped to use their son to climb the political ladder but what good was a son who can’t speak?

We had no problems claiming our childhood friend as part of our pack. Oscar was one of the kindest souls known to man, and while some see that as weakness in an Alpha, we knew it was a testament to his strength. To be that kind and selfless when you’ve been abandoned and ostracized took far more character if you ask me.

Rafael, the final Alpha in our pack came as a surprise, but when you click with someone and they fit into your family so seamlessly it’s hard to ignore it. A renowned therapist who had his own practice that was sought after by the elite in this world shut it all down to come work with us. His long-time partner, a female Beta, died in a tragic accident, leaving Rafael to take stock of his life. When he approached working with us full time, traveling between the shelters, helping people get their lives back, we thought he was joking. Having lost the love of his life, he wanted to do something she would be proud of.

Him coming alongside us and working with the people who come into our shelters had been monumental. It changed the way everyone perceives the shelter and now we could also refer to it as a resource center. We now focus on helping those who entered our doors to one day never have to come back ever again. Most governments see it as a waste of money but we’ve made it our mission to prove it can be so much more.

One of the patients Rafael helped in an odd set of circumstances has become the last and newest member of our pack—Bodhi. He is the picture perfect representation of an angry abandoned boy with such a warm heart that he’s locked away. Bodhi is beyond gifted in musical talent and his voice is one that hits you right in your soul. The music he writes and sings makes you question everything as he pours all his hurt into it. Rafael thought Oscar would be a perfect influence and would bring him over to work with him.

Then one day, he just never left, having been adopted by us all. Bodhi and Oscar became best friends, they were exactly what they each needed. While Spencer is convinced they might one day be something more, I believe if it’s meant to happen, it will. For now I’m just happy to see how our entire pack was built on the fact that we all needed each other. Marius always wanted to run for a place in the CoF and I believe seeing what a healthy pack can do in the world kept him working toward it. Having a career in politics is never fun and they always try to find a way to destroy you from the inside out, but our pack had been through so much they didn’t have anything left to scare us with.

I let out a sigh as I saw the massive Open Arms sign at the entrance to the warehouse sized building. Glancing back I found Cambrie still curled up but at some point she’d drifted off to sleep. Her face looked so innocent and young, full of unlived life. My anger flared and I gripped the steering wheel so tight my knuckles turned white. How could someone do something like this? My money was on it being a parent since she’d just turned eighteen. Well now that she was in my care, there wasn’t a chance in hell I would ever let them get their fucking hands on her again.

I pulled into my reserved spot right up front and shut the car off. I sent a message to Spencer letting him know we were here, then shifted in my seat to face Cambrie. “Cambrie,” I called softly. “We’re here.”

At the sound of my voice she woke with a gasp and started to thrash against the seatbelt. Panic was written all over her face as she clawed at the restraint desperately trying to get out of the car. Not wanting her to get hurt in the struggle, I reached back and hit the button releasing the seatbelt. Seconds later she was out the window crashing into Spencer.

“Let me go. I won’t let them take me!” she screamed. “Don’t make me go back!”

Scrambling out of the car I looked at my Beta’s panicked face as she fought against his hold. Clara hurried over, motioning for Spencer to let her go.

“Cambrie, it’s Clara. Open your eyes for me, sweet girl, you’re safe. Whoever had you isn’t here,” she murmured, stroking Cambrie’s back as she clung to her. “I need you to look at me, you’re having a panic attack. Tell me what you see around you. It can be anything, colors, shapes, words, something to help your brain understand you’re not where it thinks you are.”

Cambrie gasped for air as she tried to do as Clara requested. “I’m outside,” she managed to blurt out.

“Good, what else?” Clara pressed.

“You, you smell like apple pie and sunshine,” Cambrie mumbled as she hid her face in Clara’s shoulder. “Please, you can’t let my father find me. I got away. I finally got away.”

“Cambrie, I vow to you we won’t ever let your father touch you again,” Clara promised, her voice hard with conviction as she met my gaze.

While Clara was a Beta by designation, when it came to protecting those who had been abused like she once had she could have easily been mistaken for an Alpha.

“Come on sweet girl, let’s get you inside where we can clean you up and get you in something warmer. It’s far too cold to be wearing something so thin, and where are your shoes?” Clara rambled as she led the girl inside.

Spencer came to stand beside me, taking my hand and gripping it tightly. “Please tell me you’re willing to do whatever it takes to make her feel safe in this world again.”

“If I didn’t think it would do more damage to have taken her to our home instead of the shelter I would have,” I shared, leaning in to kiss him on the temple. “It’s going to take the right people to help her, Spence, but something in my soul tells me our pack can do it.”

Spencer rested his forehead on mine. “I think you’re right, somehow we were meant to be the ones to find her. Let’s just hope she agrees because this is going to be a long road.”

“All the best things in life are worth working for,” I agreed, pressing a kiss to his lips. “Come on, let’s go call Rafael. We’re absolutely gonna need his help.”

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