Ready or Knot (Knotted Paths #1) - Susi Hawke Page 0,1

real family, either.

My “session group” was my therapy group. I felt equal excitement and dread. I wanted to put my past behind me, but I wasn’t sure if I was ready to confront it.

The Haven Center was supposed to help.

“Sorry it’s such a long walk, but we’re almost there.” Chance pointed at the edge of a building peeking out between the trees. He and Dante had filled the conversation easily. I kept wondering if I should jump in. Was my silence awkward? Were they happy I wasn’t talking?

I felt like I’d forgotten how to be a person these last few years. If I’d ever really known how.

We ambled around a bend in the road, and a dozen or so townhouses came into view. Each house faced the road, forming a large circle with a fenced playground in the center. The houses had cheerful faces, painted in bright, but not garish, colors.

“Looks like you’re at number… seven.” Chance shoved his phone in his pocket and pointed at a dusky blue building to our right.

He knocked on the door. When no one answered, he fished a key ring out of his pocket and handed it to me. “The honor is yours.”

This was my first set of keys. Ever. As a child, I hadn’t needed them. Our house had never been empty. The guards recognized me, and that was all I’d needed. And since then…

Since then I’d been a prisoner. A sex slave. I never would have been allowed keys for anything, unless it had been in jest. Maybe a set of those big plastic ones they gave babies.

God, I was glad they’d never thought of something so cruel.

“You okay, Wyatt?” Chance’s voice was soft, but I jumped anyway. His head was lowered, his big eyes concerned. I was so glad he hadn’t reached out to touch me. I probably would have shifted and ran.

Clutching the key ring tightly in my hand, I nodded. The keychain was a squishy ball with the The Haven Center logo, and there were two keys attached. “Which one is for the door?”

“The larger one. The smaller one opens your room.”

I even had a lock for my room? More privacy than I’d ever had in my life. Hands shaking slightly, I managed to unlock and open the door.

“You’ll want to keep your keys on you at all times. They’re always locked for the outside. Just an added layer of protection, but you don’t want to be stuck outside without them. If you were to get locked out, there’s a security phone in the pavilion. You’ll also put the trash there each week. I’ll show you. Your room doesn’t lock itself, though, so remember to lock it.”

The door opened into a short hallway, a folding door to my left and a regular door to my right. Chance opened them one after the other. “Closet. Toilet. And then we walk into the dining room here. To the right, kitchen, obviously. The stairs lead to the bedrooms.” He walked between the stairs and the small dining room table to peer into the living room. “Hi, Craig! Sorry to intrude. We knocked.”

I came to stand beside Chance. A lanky man with almost black hair pulled a set of headphones out of his ears, the music loud enough I could hear it. He sauntered over to us, his straight hips swaying slightly out of sync with his stride as if to call attention to them. He wore a white shirt with a neckline showing a good four inches of smooth chest. A brilliant blue gem stud glinted in one ear. The last thing I noticed was how his heavily lined eyes matched his earring.

“Another puppet learning to be a Real Boy, huh?” Craig nodded slowly at me. “Hey.”

I nodded back. His foxy scent was familiar to me. Growing up, I’d had several fox shifter playmates, and I’d met a few since then.

Chance shook his head with a smile. “You’re already real boys, Craig. Nothing to learn there. Is Hunter home?”

As if pointing with it, Craig tilted his chin up. “Studying, as usual. Unless he’s jerking off. Hopefully the latter. Kid needs to loosen up a little.”

“Well, if his door is closed, we’ll let him be.” Chance took Craig’s comment in stride. “Come on, crew. Let’s get Wyatt settled!”

Craig was already putting his headphones back in, so I wasn’t sure if he heard my quiet, “Nice to meet you,” but he nodded at my wave. So that was something.

The stairs led to a straight

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