Page 1 of Rot In Knotty Pieces

Pix

The hollow feeling that there is something so fundamentally wrong with the world stalks me as I creep through the treeline. The bond on my neck throbs with the temper of the alpha I haven’t seen in well over six weeks. I reach up, absently rubbing the raised flesh, feeling an ache I didn’t expect, and fighting the violent and tempestuous urge to go find him. If it were that easy, I would have gone in a heartbeat.

But it’s not.

We’re all being hunted.

I stop in the cold shadows across from the cottage that contains a secret I promised a lost beta that I’d keep.

I didn’t think I would be missing them or her, but I find myself sitting up long into the nights, wondering how they are, where they are, if they miss me, too. The bond aches and doesn’t stop. It’s like I’ve ripped open a wound and am slowly bleeding to death. Every spare second I have, my thoughts are of them.

I wait, a patient hunter, and eventually, the cold reaches down, squeezing my bones. The chill doesn’t come from the rain, though, it comes from the memories that play across my mind, the possible future graves I will one day be free to visit, the pain that I know is coming.

My phone rings, and I pull it out and answer it without looking at the screen. Only seven people have this number, and I’m careful. Very careful. It’s not just my life on the line.

“Where are you?” Mark, my best friend, growls into the phone. He sounds as exhausted as I feel. We brought this mess down on the entire Sanderson family, and I know they have been rushing and trying to keep ahead of the fallout. And, of course, staying ahead of Blaze, Sage, Rolly, and King.

Our homicidal alphas have been loudly making a mess trying to find us. We can’t go back yet. They have to wait. It doesn’t matter how many messages I give to Mark and Bonnie, they can’t listen; they won’t.

And I understand, but I’m not going to risk it. What we stand to lose if we don’t protect her…she might never heal from this.

“I’m not coming back. Not until this is sorted,” I say absently, watching as a car drives past with its lights on.

“Pix,” Mark says in warning.

“No, she is mine, Mark. I won’t give her up, and she needs me right now. Everyone has to wait.”

“I’m not sure how much longer they can wait,” he admits, and I feel a throb of deep concern. Fucking alphas have become my absolute weakness in life.

I look up at the weeping sky, letting the icy rain steal the last bit of warmth from my skin.

“What is going on with you? You don’t run, and you never hide. Blaze, King, Rolly, and Sage have gotten dark, real dark. They aren’t safe for anyone to be around. You need to come back.”

“I can’t.”

“Why?” Mark shouts. “Why can’t you? What is keeping you there?”

I rub the back of my neck, ignoring the cold. “It’s the most important thing I’ve ever done in my life, Mark.”

My best friend pauses, and I can feel his energy change. The resignation and acceptance.

“Tell me about everyone?”

“Well, the Sandersons are rabid, you know how our family is. They are searching everywhere for you but also trying to fend off your psycho alphas. Bonnie and her alphas have taken an unplanned trip to who the fuck knows where so Sage can’t fulfill the promise to skin them alive.”

“Skin?” A tiny smile plays on my lips. It’s not funny, it’s not.

“Yes, again, just in case you didn’t understand me the first time. Your wackjob alphas threatened to skin their family because they think you are all in cahoots.”

I chuckle softly. There’s a deep growl, and I frown.

“Why is Vicious growling?”

“Oh, I’m having a rat problem, and she’s just letting everyone know who is in charge.”

I laugh harder.

“It’s not funny, Pix. We need you to come home. These alphas are fucking crazy. Like they make Vale look like a damn Labrador and Rory look like a guide dog.”