Page 104 of Knot Unwanted: Part One

When he’s satisfied the windows are secure, he turns back to me. “Now come downstairs. The others are waiting.”

With one last glance at the bathroom door, I step out and close the door quietly at my back.

Ren leads the way downstairs, his footsteps nearly silent despite his size. I follow more slowly, my mind still half-focused on the bathroom above, straining to hear any sound that might suggest Hailey needs me. But there aren’t any warning sounds.

We reach the bottom of the stairs and I hear movement from thesitting room—Jax and Stone have returned from their panicked search in the forest.

Ren pauses in the hallway, turning to face me. For a moment, something flickers across his face and his mask shatters. For a moment, I see the Ren that loves me. The one that’s obsessed with me. It’s all in his eyes. Those arctic pools he uses to stab anyone he doesn’t trust or doesn’t like. But for me, those eyes always melt into liquid. Like clear spring water.

I pause there, pulse rising as he simply stares back at me. His gaze drags over my face, lingering on my mouth before snapping back to meet my eyes, like he’s trying to memorize me and hold himself back at the same time.

“Whatever happens in there,” he says quietly, “remember that we care about you, Finn.” He hesitates, then adds, “In our own way, each one of us is only trying to protect this pack.”

The strange emphasis in his words makes my stomach twist, but before I can question him, he’s already moving toward the sitting room. I take a deep breath, trying to steady myself, but my heart is already racing.

As I step into the sitting room, the sudden presence of all three alphas makes the space feel smaller, more confined. I release a heavy breath as I drop into the couch. My skin prickles with awareness as they arrange themselves—Jax taking the armchair directly across from me, Stone leaning against the doorframe, and Ren moving to the entertainment center where he deliberately turns up the volume on the TV.

White noise. So we won’t be overheard.

My heart rate kicks up again, though I force myself to remain outwardly calm. There are too many things we need to discuss, each worse than the last. The fact that Stone had been hiding Hailey in his cabin. The Academy she’d escaped from. The kiss that just happened. The way my body had responded to her, inappropriate and impossible as it was. The fact she’s their scent match.The fact I’m not.

“We need to talk, Finn,” Jax says low. “We can’t delay it any longer.”

I resist the urge to curl in on myself. Instead, I nod. “About which part, exactly?”

“You know what.” His nostrils flare slightly, and I know he can smell it—the lingering traces of arousal, of her slick, of our combined scents.

Heat crawls up my neck, but I lift my chin. “If this is about me taking her in?—”

“It’s not.” Stone’s voice is rough. When I glance at him, his arms are crossed, as if he’s physically holding himself back from coming closer.

“Then what?” The defensiveness in my tone surprises even me. “That I kissed her? That I let her sleep in our nest? That she was in that cabin and none of you bothered to?—”

“Finn.” Jax’s voice cuts through my rising panic. “Stop.”

I do, but my heart is hammering so hard I’m sure they can hear it. The silence stretches, broken only by the sound of whatever movie is still playing on the TV.

“There’s a lot we need to discuss,” Jax finally continues, each word measured. “The Academy. What happened at the cabin? The distance that’s grown between us these past months.”

My throat tightens at that last part. I look away, unable to meet his eyes.

“But right now,” he continues, “there’s something more important we need to address.”

Yeah. I know what he means. The fact she’s their mate. The fact that I’m not what they wanted. The fact that this is the end for us…

Stone’s voice is tight with something I can’t quite identify. “We all saw what just happened between you and her.Smelledit. We’re not…we’re not angry about it.” Ren makes a sound in his throat as if he disagrees, and Stone deliberately ignores him. “We…we like to see you happy, Finn. Even if she wasn’t our scent match, I don’t think we’d be angry.”

Ren grunts again, and I hear him growl under his breath. “Speak for yourself.”

My face burns, but I can’t look away from Jax. His expression is intense, focused entirely on me as he leans forward in his chair.

“Think about it, Finn. Really think. The way she affects you. The way her scent calls to you. The way you responded to her just now—have you ever felt anything like that with another omega?”

“No, but…” I swallow hard. “That doesn’t mean?—”

“It means exactly what we think it means.” Jax’s voice gentles. “She’s ours. All of ours. That’s why you’re drawn to her. Why we all are.”

Those last four words hold me still. My gaze finally moves from Jax to land on Stone before it slides to Ren.

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