Page 73 of Knot All that Glitters: Part 1

Okay, no big deal. She warned us that might happen but that she’d be at her father’s side at every one of his press meetings, or campaign rallies. She told us that would be the place to see her. She promised to see us the day after she left our house.

Only… she hasn’t been at any event her father has attended for the last week. When a reporter asked about her whereabouts,Frederick Bell smiled charmingly and said she’s come down with a bug, likely the stomach flu, and was at home recovering.

That was almost a week and a half ago.

And still no Haven.

Something is seriously wrong.

“Maybe he found out,” Jude says, sounding worried, drawing my attention away from the chemistry set in front of me. He must be really worried if he’s bothering me while I’m cooking. All of my pack mates know not to do that. When I’m, shall we say,enhancingour product, I like to be left alone to concentrate.

If I’m honest, I came down here to shut my mind off from the worry over Haven, but it hasn’t really worked. I’ve already fucked up one batch and had to start over. Nothing like making a twenty thousand dollar mistake.

“Found out what?”

“What we’re doing. Who we really are. Maybe he told her, and she’s ignoring us of her own volition. What if she hates us, Tic?”

The question makes my heart thud out of rhythm. A stutter that has my hand moving to my chest. What if she does hate us? When did that become one of the worst things that could happen to us? We went into this knowing Haven Bell was going to suffer at our hands, knowing any warm or soft feelings she had for us would harden into something much colder, icy. We knew she would hate us at the end of this.

Now, I can’t stomach the fucking idea.

I swallow thickly and offer him false hope. “That’s not what happened, Jude. No one knows who we were. They only see who we are. And besides, it’s not exactly as if he knew who Janie was, that she had a pack or anything. There’s no way.”

He nods. “You’re right.” Then he shakes his head, laughing humorlessly. “I would almost rather that was the case, though, you know? At least then we’d know she’s safe, just pissed.”

I shift and turn my attention back to the mixture in front of me. “I’d prefer that as well,” I murmur, adjusting the flame under my beaker.

“There’s gotta be something we can do.” Jude runs a hand through his hair in aggravation. “Not knowing is driving me crazy.”

“You’redriving me crazy,” I mutter, and his mouth snaps shut. Guilt hits, but I push it aside. He knows I come down here when I need to clear my mind, knows I need complete fucking concentration. Otherwise I make mistakes and our pack pays the price, literally.

Hurt flickers over my pack mate’s face, but he pushes away from the table he was leaning on. “Sorry,” he mutters. “You’re just the only one that seems sort of rational about this. I thought maybe we could come up with a plan or something. But I’ll go.”

I know what he means. Creed has been an absolute bear since the moment Haven left. Well, before we realized there was something more to worry about. He’s been a growly, surly motherfucker and it’s only gotten worse over the last week.

Hale is on the other side of the spectrum, pretending like everything is fine and still going exactly to plan. Nevermind that we haven’t seen our ‘mark’ for almost two weeks.

He’s pretending that there’s still a plan in place, when we all know that’s not the case. I’m pretty sure we’d all give our right testicle in order to keep Haven from feeling the betrayal of our actions, to keep her from hurting.

But Hale isn’t ready to admit that yet.

“Jude,” I call out just as he reaches the door to my lab. He pauses but doesn’t turn around. “She’s…. I’m sure she’s fine. Andeven if she knows, she’ll forgive us. Once we explain why, she’ll understand.”

I mean it to be a comfort, but he just barks out a laugh. That same one he did earlier, lacking any mirth or humor. “Yeah, maybe. But she’d have to talk to us first.”

He slips out the door as my stomach clenches uncomfortably. Haven will need to talk to us, or at the very least,listen. If she knows what we’ve done, will she give us the chance? Probably not.

Which leaves me with the sinking realization that we might have just lost a second omega.

My fists clench. No.No.I refuse. Absolutely fuckingrefuseto believe that.

Resolve hardens in my chest. I’m going to find a way to talk to Haven, to figure out what’s going on. This is not how things between us end.

It takes me an hour, but I track down the production company Florence Karlin works for. I had nothing to go on other than that she’s a ballerina. So given that an hour was actually pretty fast.

I park outside the building where the rehearsals are held. Not the theater until dress rehearsals, a very helpful older woman over the phone informed me. She also informed me that rehearsal ends at six, unless the director and choreographer feel any of the dancers need another run through, or extra work. Then they can end up staying late into the night.

It takes everything in me to not storm inside and yank Florence out to demand she talk to me.

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