Page 78 of Rest In Knotty Pieces

So, he’s gone.

Whoever he was.

What a stupid way to waste your life, and Merle is none the wiser. The drug doesn’t always affect the memory, but it has with her, and I’m not going to debate it.

I don’t want her to have any more bad memories than she already has.

My fingers drum on her skin, moving in the familiar pattern that is one of my tics. My need to have everything my way, set up the way I need it, has been tested. I don’t like change, and having him rush our camp and get so close to her has pushed me into a need to control the environment.

Rolly, Pix, and King seem to have settled back and are taking my demands in stride, easily capitulating, which is a relief. Perhaps this can work out between us.

“How much longer?” Sage asks as we all get sprayed with another wave of freezing water.

“Another hour. I want to get off just before the falls.” I eye the walls of the cliffs that surround the river.

Pix twists towards us. “The falls?”

“Yes, there are falls ahead.”

“How big?”

“Big enough.”

I can see the glint in his eyes. Our omegas are as different as they come. Pix wants to jump the falls, I can see it in his eyes. He’s an adrenaline junkie who thrives on pushing limits. All of this is him in his element.

Merle, on the other hand, seems to find this whole world terrifying.

Luckily, she has four alphas–five if you include our wayward Rose, who would protect her from anything.

King and Rolly play a quick game of rock, paper, scissors. I watch impassively.

“Right, we’ve decided that we’d like to head-” Rolly cuts off and looks at King.

“Where are you going?” Sage asks absently.

Rolly presses his lips together. “I want to go and check on Roseland, make sure he got to the car safely.”

I go perfectly still, barely breathing. I can’t say it hasn’t been in the back of my mind. The worry and fret that someone else may have found him, hurt him.

“He can look after himself.”

King stands up. “I’m not asking. If I cut across, I can make it to where he was going and beat him there.”

I stare at him, torn between needing him with us and needing to know Roseland is safe.

“Fine, we vote. Hands in the air, King goes after Roseland and checks on him.”

Sage, Rolly, and Pix put up their hands. Merle keeps hers down.

I nudge her. “You get to vote, too.”

She sits up, spinning and looking at me with wide eyes.

“Do you want to know that he’s okay?”

She inhales but looks at King with a torn expression. Finally, she nods.

“Okay. Go.”