Page 47 of Knot Your Rebel

Why do you care? I can’t help but ask myself. I have enough of a possessive alpha now. I certainly do not need a second one. But I can’t help but stare at the stranger and wonder what he’s like.

I also can’t figure out why the hell the name sounds so familiar. I’m positive I’d know or recognize him if he was my Drake, right?

An unfamiliar ache burns in my chest and anger slips down the bond. Tate. I guess I’ll need to figure out how to block him from feeling my emotions.

A flash of something to my right catches my eye, and I immediately turn, searching for something, anything that would explain the movement I just saw, but there’s nothing there. Maybe it's just the porch light casting shadows and playing games with me.

I try to calm my racing heart by taking deep breaths, but I’m still freaked out. I know I’m not fucking crazy. There was something there, right?

Out of nowhere, a loud bang crashes against the back end of Tate’s car. Every few seconds, there’s a pounding noise almost like someone is beating a bat against the side of the car with every step they take. My eyes are frantically surveying the outside of his car to see what’s going on. My hand is jamming down on the lock button because the last thing I want is for someone to get into the car. But if he or she has a bat, and they wield it just right, it could be coming through the windows regardless of my thoughts or wishes.

The lump in my throat is growing larger, and I’m trying to swallow around it. My heart is pounding like it’s going to go into cardiac arrest. Nausea sweeps up my throat in the form of foul-tasting bile.

Immediately, warmth starts flowing down the bond, and I can only imagine the emotions I’m not hiding from him. He must be able to feel my fear.

The pounding stops, and for a few minutes, it’s silent. I’m still scanning around the car, waiting for something to jump up and scare the shit out of me like a bonafide horror movie, but it’s still eerily silent. Just when I start to think maybe it’s just kids playing pranks and calm down, there’s a tapping on my passenger side window.

I jump in my seat, and the urge to vomit from all my nerves consumes me. My hands are shaking, and I’m starting to sweat because what I see when I turn around has me wanting to run far, far away.

Outside the car stands a figure in all dark clothes. A black hoodie, black pants, and dark shoes. The only bit of light is radiating from the spine-chilling design of the mask. It’s lit up in neon colors of pink and blue. X’s cover where the eyes would be, and there are lines across the lips like someone slit them open with a knife.

The person must be tall because I have to look up at him from inside the car. Where the fuck is Tate? The sound of screaming dips me back into the present, and I realize that the person screaming is me. All of a sudden, I’m fumbling with my seatbelt, but it won’t come undone. The faint tap, tap, tap against the car is haunting.

It’s like they’re waiting for something, but what?

I’m starting to think this is no longer a teenager from the neighborhood out playing pranks on unsuspecting targets. He could be a fucking serial killer for all I know. Or a drug trafficker, sex trafficker. Every possible scenario floats through my head, leaving behind a terrifying array of images. The next time I look back, the one person now has company. Three people stand before me total; the other two have matching neon masks like the first guy but in yellow and lime green versus the pink and blue.

Their heads cock to the side like the guy did earlier. I’m keeping a determined eye on them. If they all three try to get me out, this could be a major fucking problem.

Another jiggle of the door handle gets my heart skipping beats and the fight to get this seat belt off me intensifies. My hands are shaking from the adrenaline coursing through my body.

I need to calm down and breathe before I pass the fuck out, but I can’t. My body won’t let me. Maybe I’ll hyperventilate. But no, I can’t do that. I need to be awake and aware of where these people are at all times.

Where the fuck is Tate? He was sending me calming vibes through our bond, but I could really use the presence of an alpha right about now.

Somehow, I manage to get it undone and am scrambling into the back seat.

I’m not sure why I think the backseat will be any safer. It’s not like he couldn’t get me back here just as well as up front. The jiggling of the door stops, and I watch as the masked figure stalks to the back door and leans down, looking in.

I wish I could see their faces. The masks are creepy, and I have no idea what or who is behind them. It can’t be the neighbor from earlier, right?

No, there’s three, and I only saw one person earlier.

The main one cocks his head to the side as if he’s sizing me up. Trying to determine something. What exactly? I’m not sure.

Darkness starts to close in. I can feel my chest expanding. My head starts to feel like it’s floating. All of a sudden, the lights on the front of Tate’s house come on, and my would-be assailants take off like a bolt of lightning towards the woods behind the house.

Minutes later, Tate is unlocking the door and grabbing for me. I’m barely conscious, and I wobble as he pulls me from the confines of the car. My brain is scattered. I try to fight him, thinking it’s not Tate and he’s just a figment of my imagination. I feel my heartbeat in every part of my body.

“Shhh… it’s okay. I’m here, you’re fine.” He holds me close, his one hand on the back of my head, holding me to his chest while the other tightly holds me around the midsection. Why are we hugging? We need to get out of here!!!

I struggle to pull away, but he only holds me tighter.

“Did you see them?” My voice comes out in a scared whisper.

“Yes.”

“And…”

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