Page 52 of Knot All Is Ruined: Part 2

“Cris,” Sorin called, pulling my attention from the others. “It’s Toma.”

Panic speared through me, but I darted over when I saw him trying to sit up. “Slowly, you’re not going to feel very good.”

“That is the understatement of a lifetime,” he muttered. “Oh god, I think I’m going to puke.”

Grabbing his head, I turned it away as he did indeed throw up. Holding him steady as his body purged itself, I tried to think of what I had in my pack that might help. From this point on, I was going to make some adjustments to my stock and suggest that everyone else did too. No matter what the outcome of this might be, it was wise for any military to be prepared for poisoning. It was a sound tactical move.

“Sorin, can you grab one of the licorice roots out of my pack,” I requested. “If anyone else is still feeling sick to their stomach, take one too. It will help.”

Toma groaned. “You know I hate those things.”

“Do you want to keep throwing up?” I challenged him.

He shook his head and leaned back against me, closing his eyes. Sorin brought over a canteen as well which he offered to Toma.

“Slow sips,” I warned.

“Yes, mother,” Toma teased, just as he would with Bethany when she got overprotective of him.

Hearing him act so normal made the tension between my shoulders relax as I held him. While my medical brain kicked in and took over once I realized the situation, now that it was over, I was getting hit with the awareness that I could have lost them all today. We did lose one—Dani was taken from us, and no one knew what happened. How the fuck could we call ourselves her pack if we left shit like this keep happening?

Resting my head on Toma’s shoulder, I breathed in his orange and basil scent, grounding me as it always had. Petru came to sit behind me, wrapping us both in his arms. “I love you,” I whispered. “I love you both so much.”

Toma shifted his head to rub his cheek against mine. “I love you too, Cris, and I’m sorry we gave you such a bad fright.”

“You saved us all,” Petru murmured, kissing my temple. “We are beyond lucky to have you and blessed to have your love as well.”

“Now we need to do the same for Dani,” I reminded. “There’s no telling what could be happening with her or who even has her.”

“Rebels,” Toma growled. “It was the rebels we’ve been looking for. They were hiding in the upper part of the ridge. I didn’t notice anything amiss until the first dart hit me, and then it was too late. There had to be a dozen or more of them half-armed with fucking blowdarts. It’s how they got the drop on us so fast.”

“They took Dani,” Sorin informed him. “Did you hear them say anything before you passed out? It doesn’t make sense why they let us live and took her.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t. It all happened so fast, and the drug was taking effect well before they hit me with the second dose,” Toma answered, then froze in my arms. “Wait, did you just say they took Dani?”

“Yes.”

“Then what the fuck are we doing sitting here like we have all the fucking time in the world?” Toma yelled, pulling out of my hold, and stumbled to his feet. “We need to go after them.”

“That’s the plan, but we needed you to wake up before we could do that,” Sorin countered. “It might help for you to be able to walk on your own too. Right now, you’re more likely to fall off a cliff and slow us down, saving your ass. So take a seat, chew the damn root, and drink some water. I just sent Lucian and Victor to scout out the surrounding area to see if we can figure out what direction they went.”

Toma looked ready to argue but didn’t as he sat on a rock and started to chew on the licorice, grimacing at the taste. I took the time to repack my things and double-check what I still had and what we might need if we found Dani in rough condition. While I didn’t want to think about it that way, I knew it was better to plan for the worst-case scenario than not. By the time the two got back, the rest of us were as ready as we were going to be for this. Toma could manage on his own, even if he was moving a little slow.

“We’ve got a pretty clear trail,” Victor informed us. “It’s almost like they either didn’t expect us to come after them, or they wanted us to.”

“It is a high probability some of them also recognized who I am. So if they saw my brand on Dani’s neck, they could be trying to use her for negotiation or leverage of some kind,” Lucian pointed out. “Either way, we can find them, but we must leave now. They’ve got quite the jump on us, and the thought of leaving Dani in their care for any longer than fucking needed is motivation enough to push hard.”

“All right,” Sorin agreed, shouldering his pack. “Let’s go get our Omega back.”