Page 55 of Knot All Is Lost: Part 2

They paused as the two Alphas looked at me confused, while Bodhi placed four trays of meat into the cart.

“Yeah, I get where you’re coming from, Cambi, but they don’t work with the same budget we’re used to. I typically know what everyone likes to eat and have default meals I make, but until you came into our lives none of us really ate together,” Bodhi shared. “My plan when I go shopping is to get ingredients we can easily put together, no matter who's making what.”

Oscar waved to get my attention and signed to me slowly as Rafael translated so I could see what gesture meant what word or phrase. “Now we’ll need to learn your favorites, Little Star.”

“Besides cheese,” Bodhi interjected. “That’s already well established. What about fruit, vegetables, or meat?”

I looked around the vast grocery store with its fancy signs telling me what the produce was and where in the country it came from, like that would make a difference. “Really, I enjoy most food, we didn’t get a lot of meat since it was so expensive, unless I could find it on sale. Even then, I didn’t typically get much of it.”

“Bastard,” Bodhi grumbled under his breath. “Alright, so what that means to me is our new mission is to discover foods that Cambi likes and loves. Maybe you can go through the cookbooks with me back at the house and we can see what sounds good to you.”

“Oh,” I exclaimed excitedly when I saw a particular vegetable. “I really love mashed potatoes, that was always something I could make and add to a meal. Father got tired of them, but I snuck them in when I could.”

Rafael handed me a plastic baggy and I grabbed four of them. “Little One, I feel like I should remind you that your family now consists of seven men plus yourself. We might need more than four potatoes, unless you want them all for yourself, which I totally understand.”

My eyes went wide at his comment. “No, I would never keep food just for myself, that would be silly.”

“Really? What if there is a food you love but no one else does? Are you planning on giving it up forever?” Rafael inquired.

This got me thinking. “Now that I’m officially your Omega and there's a little less danger, can we go out for dinner every once in a while?”

“Clever, Little One, very clever,” Rafael chuckled. “Leave it to you to find the one loophole in my argument. Maybe you need to be a lawyer and defend those that can't defend themselves.”

“I’ll add it to my list of things to try out,” I said, adding a bunch more potatoes to the bag.

We wandered slowly around the aisles of the store, which I didn’t know I’d ever done before. I’d always been on a mission and it made the hunger worse the longer I looked at all the food I couldn’t have. Now if I lingered on something too long it magically appeared in the cart.

“I think we might need another one,” Bodhi muttered to himself, looking at the overflowing cart.

I gaped at him, horrified. “Absolutely not. There is more food in there than any of us will be able to eat before it goes bad, why would we add even more?”

“Yee of little faith,” Rafael tutted. “Remember we like to cook large amounts and eat the leftovers, not to mention we use them for lunches. We’ve taken more time off since you arrived than I’ve ever witnessed, but things will need to get back to normal.”

Oscar tapped Rafael on the shoulder and said something.

“You’re right, a new normal,” Rafael agreed. “I don’t think everyone will be working such late hours or over the weekends as much with Cambrie at home.”

“What will I be doing?” I asked as we headed to the checkout. “If you’re all going to be at work and Bodhi is doing schoolwork and helping Oscar, what’s my job around the house?”

“Hmm, I feel like that will need to be a family discussion,” Rafael suggested. “Savo will now be in charge of your safety, but I suppose we need to work out what that looks like. Is he home all the time with you, or only when none of us are there as well? Everything might change in the near future too as Marius and Alton decide what to do with the government.”

That had me realizing that one of my bonded Alphas was in the perfect time and place to create real change in the world like I’d heard them all talking about.Would things stay the same or would they bring it all down and create something new out of the rubble?As horrible as things had been it’s still amazing to think what’s come of all this.

“Do you guys mind if we stop at the shelter? I have a patient that has been trying to get a hold of me, and I want to check in on him,” Rafael asked.

Oscar shook his head as he slid into the driver's seat. Bodhi sat in the back with me, while Rafael claimed shotgun and made a phone call to the shelter. “Good evening, Clara, is Mike still there? I know he’s been looking for me and I was going to swing by and speak with him.”

I tuned out the conversation and gazed out the window taking in the city. Then out of the corner of my eye I spotted a little newsstand on the side of the road. “Stop!” I yelled.

Oscar slammed on the brakes, jostling us all in the SUV and making other cars honk as they tried to avoid crashing.

“What, what’s wrong, Cambrie?” Rafael demanded, twisting in his seat to look at me.

“I need to speak to that man,” I said, pointing at Charlie.

The tension in the air seemed to break at this announcement. “Damn, Cambi, were you trying to give us a heart attack?” Bodhi questioned as he rubbed his chest. “I seriously feel like I just lost years off my life.”

Oscar turned down the next street and turned around so we were on the right side of the road for him to pull over near the newsstand. I crawled over Bodhi, who just chuckled at my determination. Shoving open the door I climbed out with Rafael right behind me, a hand resting on my lower back.

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