Page 301 of Knot What I Expected

“We just found each other, you asshole!”

His mouth almost moves.

Almost smiles.

“Sounds... like... my Honey Girl.”

“Rowan.”

More blood spills from his lips. His fingers go slack.

“No.”

His eyes close.

The matebond⁠—

Oh God.

The matebond dims.

“ROWAN!”

Something inside me tears apart. I throw my head back.

And I wail.

Not cry.

Not scream.

Wail.

The sound that comes out of me isn't entirely human.

And the forest answers. Wind explodes through the trees. Leaves spiral upward. Heat erupts beneath my skin.

I barely register Wreck approaching.

Justin lands somewhere nearby.

I barely hear Gia’s voice. Then I see her.

A few dozen feet away, beside an ATV. Matteo is in her arms.

Alive.

My baby is alive.

Joy explodes inside me. But it collides with the unbearable emptiness where Rowan should be.

I look down at my mate. At the man who chose my son before he ever asked for one of his own.

The male who offered to suffer through my heat rather than take away my choice.

The man who told me he loved me.

My Rowan.