Page 119 of Chain Me Knot

Matthew jerks me into the corridor, his fingers cruelly tight on my arm. Every inch of my body twists with revulsion, but survival snaps me into desperation. I drive my elbow back into his ribs, kick at his shins, claw at his hands. I let my rage and terror loose; let him see that I am not helpless anymore.

I have everything to live for and he won’t take that away from me.

Surprise twists his features as I gouge his cheek with clawed fingernails, drawing lines of blood. “You little bitch!”

He drops me in his shock, and for a heartbeat I’m free, stumbling, mind screaming to run, but Matthew lunges.

I collapse under his full body weight. He clenches my hair as he slams me to the ground. My ears ring as he flips me to my back underneath him.

“You think you can leave us? You think you’re not ours?” He raises his hand and slaps me hard, the impact enough to taste blood on my tongue.

Trapping me beneath of the weight of his body, he shoves my dress up to my waist, his knees between my thighs. The sick bulge of his erection digs into me through his pants. He rises, hand working his buckle.

He’s going to rape me.

Right here on the floor of the corridor where anyone could see.

He’s too crazed to care, but even if someone did see us, the law would be on his side. He still owns me and can do whatever he pleases.

My fear trembles on the edge of panic, fury burning underneath.

I’m not going to let him take from me again.

I’m not powerless.

I’m not the same omega he imprisoned for years.

That omega had nothing to live for.

This omega does and she’s willing to fight for it.

I reach to my thigh, where my dress is already hiked up, searching for the gun Phoenix gave me. Matthew’s hands are greedy and rough. Too busy seizing, tearing, branding my skin with his madness.

My fingers close around the holster. I snap open the latch and wrench the gun free, my hands shaking.

“Get off me!” I choke out, the words raw and savage as I jam the gun up against his ribs, safety already flicked off. His eyes widen with a flicker of fear, the first and only time I’ve ever seen that emotion in him.

“You’re not touching me ever again,” I hiss.

Matthew throws back his head and cackles, the sound ricocheting off the marble and crystal of the hallway. His laughter is twisted, wild. Mocking me, belittling every atom of courage I’ve scraped together.

“Look at you,” he sneers, letting his hands drift up in a parody of surrender. “A little cunt like you waving a gun like she actually means it. You don't have it inyou. You’ll always belong to us. Stupid. Weak. Begging for our cocks and knots even when you fucking hate us.” He leans in, his voice dropping to a poisonous whisper. “Go on. Pull it. I dare you. Or should I bark to remind you who’s in charge?”

His gaze gleams with toxic superiority. For years, that flash of teeth, that hint that he could break me with one command, always meant the end. If he barked right now, maybe I would freeze. Maybe I’d fall back beneath his control. But he hasn’t. Not yet. For all his arrogance, he’s still underestimating me.

My fear burns away, leaving nothing but rage and crystal clarity. “You want to know who’s weak?” I lock eyes with his. “It’s not me. It’s you, and Derek, and James. You’re cowards. Predators who get off on controlling others. You’re the real monsters.”

Shock flickers over his face, warping instantly into rage. His hand reaches toward his trousers zipper, “You’ll learn your place, you little bitch—”

I squeeze the trigger.

The report deafens me and the force slams into his side. He topples off me, mouth falling open, shock etched deep, just as my alphas burst around the corner. Asher leads, Soren and Phoenix right behind, panic and fury etched into every line of their faces. Matthew falls to the floor next to me, his stiff cock obscenely framed by his open zipper.

Derek and James burst from the room, with Ronan hard on their heels. He staggers after them, blood trailing from a split brow, his jaw clenched in a furious snarl.

They spot Matthew sprawled on the floor, a crimson stain blooming under him. Derek’s eyes flare, feral and unhinged, and he lets out a guttural snarl. James, teeth bared, launches straight for me, blind hatred in every line of his body.

But my alphas are faster.

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