Page 294 of Knot What I Expected

Heat rolls beneath my skin.

“I’ll beat that shit out of the boy if I have to.”

Everything inside me ignites.

“YOU WON’T TOUCH MY SON!”

Ethan’s face contorts.

“Get her!”

Movement explodes around me.

“Chain her! Put her on her fucking knees!”

The forest erupts.

Bearded Vultures drop from the trees.

One second, enormous winged shapes are descending around me. The next, bodies hit the earth.

Human skin.

Men.

Too many of them. Their hands grab at me.

“GET OFF!”

I twist. Kick. Drive my elbow backward and hear somebody grunt.

Metal rattles. Chains.

Oh God. No.

No chains.

Panic detonates inside me.

“STOP!”

Someone catches my arm. Another grabs my hair.

I fight harder. Then Ethan reaches me.

His palm cracks across my face. Pain explodes through my cheek.

My head snaps sideways. For one disorienting second, the forest tilts. My ears ring. I taste blood.

“MOMMY!”

Matteo’s scream cuts through everything.

My baby.

I wrench against the hands holding me.

“DON’T LOOK, MATTEO!”