Page 182 of Knot What I Expected

Every instinct inside me starts screaming.

Lindsey's bruised face blurs in front of me as memories I’ve spent years trying to bury tear free.

Running.

Hiding.

Nando.

Ethan.

The Wake.

My hand curls instinctively over my stomach even though the person I need to protect isn't inside me.

He's at home. Away from me. Exposed.

“He hurt me because of you!”

“Who did?” I ask, but really, I don’t want to know.

“He said he was going to find out where I’d been. Who I’d been around. It has to be you!”

I pull back in horror.

“You're wrong. I-I don’t know you.”

My voice barely works.

Lindsey laughs bitterly. But I’m already shaking my head.

“You know who I’m talkin’ about. You’re trying to steal my man,” she says angrily.

“You're wrong. I don't know what you're talking about. And I don’t want your man.”

Part of it is a lie. I know. Fuck, I know exactly what this means.

And for the first time since Rowan left me this morning, that warm flicker of the mate bond inside my chest doesn't feel romantic.

It feels like a beacon. A desperate flare sent into the darkness.

Rowan.

Because the past I've spent years running from hasn't just found Ember Hollow. I think it found me.

And I think I have to tell Rowan. As soon as possible.

Chapter 20

Havoc

I hated leaving my Honey Girl in bed this morning.

Fucking hated it.

There should be some kind of universal law against a male finding his Omega, spending half the night discovering exactly how fucking right she feels in his arms, and then having to drag his ass out of bed before the sun is properly up.

Especially when Gabriella Santos sleeps curled into a male like she was fucking made to be there.