Page 48 of Knot All Is Lost: Part 2

“Tell me what you need?” I asked, leaning back to see his face. Oscar just smiled and tapped a finger on my chest. “Me? That’s it, just to have me here?”

He nodded and hugged me as he purred in delight.

“Well, that makes this easier then, doesn’t it?” I said with a laugh. “Come on, we can see what the others are making for lunch, and I’ll sit with you while we eat.”

Oscar all but pouted when I slid off his lap and tugged him to get up, but he did and followed me downstairs. Rafael and Bodhi were hard at work making sandwiches, while I spotted Nixon outside with Spencer laying out blankets on the grass. Savo was still at his computer, when I reached out to him I felt his frustration and anger at the situation. The second he felt me though, his gaze snapped up to meet mine.

“Are you checking in on me,Keksík?” Savo inquired with a smirk.

Blushingat being caught, I just shrugged. “Still learning how this bond between us works. You seemed irritated and I was curious if I could feel your true feelings.”

“And?” he asked.

“You’re incredibly frustrated mixed with how mad you are at this whole thing,” I shared.

Savo got up and walked over to me, cupping my face. “All I keep thinking is that if your bastard of a fake father hadn’t locked you away like he did, then you might have ended up like one of those women. If you’d been sent to a Care Center then I never would have found you and that pisses me off. What if those Omegas had people here waiting for them, only none of them realized it? I won’t let that tyrant get away with this, I’m going to nail his ass to the wall.”

Before Rafael could even say anything, Savo turned and pointed a finger at the man. “I know, but sometimes swearing is the only way to get your point across. I realize she doesn’t like it but it’s going to happen from time to time if I’m around.”

Rafael just looked at him with raised eyebrows as he paused in the process of spreading mayo on the bread. “I wasn’t going to say a word, because you’re correct. Sometimes there is only one way to refer to a person and that was right on the money.”

“Alright then,” Savo stated, then stroked my cheek before he returned to his computer.

“Little One, can you take this tray of sandwiches outside?” Rafael instructed. “The rest of us will be right out with the rest.”

I gaped at the pile of food on the tray I picked up. It was so ladened down I needed both hands to make sure I didn’t drop it. Oscar opened the door for me and went back to grab something as I made my way to the blanket.

“Where do you want me to set these down?” I asked once I reached Nixon and Spencer.

Spencer sat up from where he’d be sprawled out in the sunshine and scrambled to his knees. “Here, Little Dove, let me take that.”

I allowed him to rescue me from the weight, feeling frustrated at how weak I was at this moment. Who couldn't carry a tray of sandwiches? That was a simple enough task that anyone should have been able to perform.

“Sweetheart,” Nixon called to me with a soft voice. “Come here, please.”

Shame flooded me as I realized all of my bonded Alphas were feeling my defeat.

“Cambrie,” Nixon said with a little more command.

Sinking to my knees, I shuffled over to sit beside Nixon, who wrapped his arms around me and rested his head on mine. “Talk to me, remember I want to know everything that’s going on in that head of yours. The good, bad, and the in-between, I want you to share it all so if I can help you, I will.”

“You’re just going to tell me I’m being silly,” I mumbled.

“How do you know that?” he chuckled.

“Because Ifeellike I’m being silly,” I shot back.

Both of them looked a little taken aback at my sassiness, but I was feeling insecure and mad about it. “Do you know how ridiculous it is that I can’t carry a tray of food from the house to here without my arms starting to shake? Back at the mansion where Arthur was trying to teach me, it was physically draining to do everything he pushed on me. None of it should have been that difficult but it was making me do stupid things that would upset him. If I wasn’t so weak and pathetic like I am, then I wouldn't have had so much trouble.”

Nixon stood up and pulled me up with him, grabbed my arm, and slid back the sleeve to reveal my arm, that while it had more fullness to it, was severely underdeveloped. “Do you know how to flex?” Nixon asked.

“Do what?” I asked. I’d heard the term and read it in books, but I can’t say I’d ever attempted the feat.

“Hold your arm up like this,” Nixon directed and poked the skin of my upper arm. “Now, I want you to just focus on tightening this muscle. Turn your hand into a fist and as you clench down think about using that muscle.”

Feeling doubtful about this whole endeavor I did as he instructed and closed my eyes, thinking about that one muscle and squeezing my fist super hard. When a hand gripped my upper arm and gave it an inspecting squeeze I flinched, opening my eyes. “What are you doing?” I questioned.

“You said you weren’t strong, so I wanted to check out your muscles just to make sure they were still there,” Nixon informed me. “See the interesting thing about muscles is that with time, effort, and patience you can make them stronger. Here, feel mine,” Nixon encouraged.

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