Page 56 of Knot Your Sugar Rush
The sound comes first—a sharp, splinteringcrackthat doesn’t belong in the hush of the ruined building.
I freeze, eyes drawn to Jamie, out of reach. His head snaps toward the sound.
Then the floorshuddersbeneath my boots.
“Cam—out!” Dane’s voice, low but urgent, cuts through the dusty air.
The next instant is chaos. The groan of ancient wood and rusted nails tearing loose echoes around us, walls trembling like they’re deciding whether or not to give up entirely.
“Jamie—move!” Theo barks, already lunging toward him.
But the ground isn’t steady anymore. Plaster rains down in choking clouds, the faint sunlight from the high windows turning into a haze of gold and grit. The air tastes like metal and old stone, dry enough to scrape the back of my throat raw.
I can’t see him.
“Jamie!” My voice cracks. No answer.
I start forward, heart battering my ribs.
A heavythudshakes the floor. Something’s fallen—a beam maybe—blocking part of the open space between us. Dane’s there in an instant, bracing his shoulder against a groaning post, shoving with a snarl. Theo’s beside him, wedging another beam under the sagging wall.
“Cam, stay back—” Dane starts, but I ignore him.
The space between us is full of jagged wood and chunks of ceiling, and somewhere in there is Jamie. I hear a muffled sound—not words, just the raw, tight sound of someone caught in pain or fear.
I drop to my knees and crawl, splinters biting into my palms. My knee snags on something sharp, but I ignore it. My lungs burn from the dust. Every sound—the cracking above, the alphas’ grunts as they fight to hold the structure steady—slams into me with the same relentless urgency.
I can’t lose him. Not like this.
“There—Cam,stop—” Theo again, but his voice is tight, breathless with strain. He’s not in a position to stop me.
I keep going, wriggling under a slanted beam until my shoulder screams from the angle. My hand hits something solid—warm—and for a dizzy, lurching second, I think it’s just more debris.
Then it moves.
“Jamie!” I’m practically shouting into the gap.
“Cam?” His voice is faint, hoarse. “Don’t—don’t come further. The floor’s—”
I ignore him, shoving my arm deeper until my fingers find his.
The grip he gives me is weak, but it’s there. Real.
“I’ve got you,” I say, the words shaking as much as my hands. “I’m not letting go.”
Another deep, angry creak rolls through the building. Dane swears, low and sharp. “Theo—brace the left side! It’s shifting again!”
Theo grunts in answer, something heavy clanging into place. The thud reverberates up my arm where I’m holding Jamie’s hand. His thumb brushes mine—a tiny movement that punches all the air out of me.
“Hold him, Cam!” Dane’s voice is rough with adrenaline. “We’re getting there!”
I press my cheek to the cool stone beside the gap, peering into the darkness even though all I can see are his fingers, part of his sleeve, and the shadow of his arm disappearing under the wreckage.
“I’m right here,” I tell him. “Just keep talking to me.”
“Was—gonna—” His breath hitches. “Was gonna get you… the flower.”
“Idiot,” I say, my throat tight.
