Page 115 of Knot Unwanted: Part One

“I wouldnot,” Stone grumbles, but his ears are turning red. “I just said your orange chicken?—”

He cuts off and I realize why. It’s because Finn is giving him that narrowed-eye look again that seems playful but threatening, nonetheless.

“You literally drank that horrible green juice I made when I was first learning to cook,” Finn points out, pushing his food around his plate. “The one that was basically just bitter greens and garlic.”

“It wasn’t that bad,” Stone mutters.

“You turned green,” Ren says flatly. “Actually green. I thought we were going to have to take you to the hospital.”

“But Finn worked so hard on it,” Stone protests, then seems to realize what he’s admitted. The table goes quiet again, but this time it’s different—softer, almost wistful.

I watch as Jax reaches for the teapot, refilling everyone’s cups. His hands don’t shake, but he takes his time, like he’s using the familiar ritual to ground himself.

“Hailey,” he says suddenly, “has anyone warned you about Stone’s attempts at baking?”

“Oh, I…” The words stop in my throat, but not from the Academy’s conditioning this time. Just the weight of their kindness. “W-wehaven’t discussed much, s-seeing as I won’t be staying long. You’ve already done so much, and I?—”

“Where will you go?” Jax asks. His tone is careful, neutral, but suddenly everyone is very interested in their plates. Finn’s chopsticks have stopped moving entirely.

The question hangs in the air. At the Academy, questions were dangerous things. Wrong answers meant punishment. But here, watching these four men try so hard to pretend they’re not hanging on my response, I find the truth slipping out easily.

“I don’t know.”

The words surprise me—not just that I spoke them, but how simple it was. No choking, no pain, no silent screaming in my head. Just honesty.

Stone’s hand tightens on his mug. Ren mutters something under his breath that makes Jax shoot him a warning look.

“You’re welcome to stay,” Jax says finally, his voice gentle. “For as long as you want or need. No strings attached.”

“But—”

“No buts,” Stone cuts in, then immediately looks embarrassed at his own vehemence. He busies himself with spooning more rice onto his plate. “What Jax said. Stay.”

“And since you’re staying,” Finn adds, grinning at me, “someone needs to warn you about Stone’s cooking. Did you know he once set fire to water?”

“That’s physically impossible,” I find myself saying, then freeze, shocked at my own boldness.

But Stone just groans. “It wasonetime! And it wasn’t the water that caught fire, it was?—”

“The pot holder you left on the burner,” Finn finishes, and there’s that hint of fondness again. “And then you panicked and tried to put it out with flour.”

“Which is flammable,” Jax adds helpfully.

“Which we discovered,” Stone sighs, “is very flammable.”

“The fire department was impressed though,” Ren says,reaching for something off Stone’s plate. Stone bats his hand away. “They’d never seen purple flames in a kitchen fire before.”

“Purple?” I ask before I can stop myself.

“The flour mixed with some protein powder he’d spilled earlier,” Jax explains. “Created quite the light show.”

“We had to repaint the whole kitchen,” Finn says, and this time there’s definitely a smile in his voice. “Stone wanted to do it himself to save money.”

“Oh god,” Ren groans. “The polka dots.”

“They were tasteful!” Stone protests.

“They were neon green!”

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