“Oh, I am getting sick of you,” Father snaps. “Always in my ear with your bullshit. It doesn’t matter if she’s dead or alive—we can still use her for ransom, they won’t know the fucking difference. You should probably know, though, I had no intention of letting her live.”

There is silence between them, and I can smell Kelly’s fear.

“Okay,” she says harshly. “Whatever you want. I don’t care.”

I hear Father’s heavy boots coming towards me. I curl up on the ground, but he grabs my arm and turns me over. I try to cover my face, but the next thing I see is him swinging his foot towards my belly.

“No!” I scream, my voice tearing my throat. “Not my baby!”

Father pauses, staring at me. That horrible grin creeps back onto his face, and his eyes shimmer in the moonlight.

Oh, God, what have I done?

“Really,” he says, chuckling. “Got one in the oven, do you? That makes this way more interesting.”

“Please,” I gasp, trying to wriggle away as he reaches for me. “This is your grandchild! Please, Father!”

He yanks me to my feet, his hand clamped on my arm so hard, it feels like it’s going to break.

“That thing inside you has nothing to do with me,” he hisses. “It’s the spawn of a weak she-wolf and lowlife fucking scum. Don’t try to bargain with me for its life—because I don’t give a literal fuck.”

“Please,” I can’t stop pleading with him. “Please don’t, Father.”

He shakes me again. “You’re going to pay! You’re going to pay for all those years of pain you put me through! All I’ve ever done is try to support you and your useless little brother, and this is how you repay me—by getting us kicked out of both packs!”

Father leans forward, holding me tight with his left hand while he teases the tip of the knife along my face with the other.

“Maybe I’ll carve you up a bit first,” he whispers. His quiet voice is even more terrifying than his screaming. “I’m going to destroy two packs at once with this move, because you mean so fucking much to both of them. Not only that, I’ll finally have my satisfaction.”

I close my eyes, turning my head away. Then I feel the tip of the knife on my belly.

“Or maybe I should start here. Make you watch. Damn, I wish your brother was here, or your husband. I could put on a fine show.”

“Peter!” Kelly’s voice booms through Father’s. Both of us turn in shock to see Kelly right next to us with a shotgun pointed at Father.

“What the fuck are you doing, woman?” he asks, mystified.

“Let her go. I didn’t get into this thing to kill babies. As a matter of fact, I never agreed to killing her, either.”

“Jesus fucking Christ,” Father growls, letting me go so quickly that I stumble to my knees. “Have you lost your goddamn mind?”

“No, I found it,” Kelly snaps. “Put the knife down, Pete. It’s over.”

He grins, and I know this is about to go very badly. For Kelly, and for me.

Father relaxes for a second, smiling as he opens his hands and drops his arms by his side. He almost drops the knife, and Kelly relaxes.

“No!” I scream, seeing the ruse.

Father rushes her, coming up under her aim before she can level the shotgun. He stabs forward with the knife, driven by purpose with perfect aim.

The knife goes into her belly to the hilt. A faint gasp of shock comes from Kelly’s mouth as Father grabs her chin.

“Too slow, my dear,” he hisses. “Too fucking slow.”

He holds on to her with his left hand and slashes her in the belly a few times, finally shoving her away. She falls into a heap on the ground, and a huge puddle of blood quickly forms around her.

I can feel the bile rising in my throat as shock hits me. I’m shivering harder than ever, and as Father approaches me with a slow stride, I can’t even breathe.