Page 119 of Knot Unwanted: Part One

“Oh.” I start to sit up. “I can go back to that other room—” The thought of being alone in that room makes me shudder. But I can do it. Every day I get better.

Finn’s hand catches mine again. “No. Stay. Please.”

“But—”

“They want you to stay.” His voice is soft but certain. “They’re trying to show us both that they…that things can be different.”

I sink back into the blankets, confused. “Different how?”

“Than what I knew before.” He’s quiet for a moment. “Do you trust me?”

The question catches me off guard. “I…yes. I do.”

“Then trust that this—you being here, them giving us space, all of it—it means something. Something good for you…sunshine.”

Sunshine.

The nickname makes something hot and warm spring up in my chest.

From down the hall, I hear a door close. Another. The house settling into nighttime silence.

A shuddering breath breaks the quiet, and I realize with a start that Finn’s shoulders are shaking. He sniffles and Iknowthat sound. The sound of silent tears.

“Finn?” Alarm shoots through me and I reach for him in the darkness. “What’s wrong? Did I—is it something I?—”

“No,” he chokes out. “God, no, Hailey. It’s not you. It’s…” Another shaky breath. “You have no idea how long it’s been sinceIfelt…safe. Like this. With someone.”

The raw honesty in his voice makes something hurt in my chest. I shift closer, my free hand finding his face in the dark. His skin is damp with tears.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper, though I’m not sure what I’m apologizing for. For making him cry? “Maybe I shouldn’t?—”

“No.” His voice cracks. “Please don’t say you shouldn’t be here. I can’t—” He breaks off, turning his face into my palm. “I need to tell you something,” he says after a moment. “Something important. But I need you to promise me you’ll listen. Really listen.”

I nod. “I’m listening.”

He shifts closer, the mattress dipping under his weight. His scent wraps around me—sage and rain, warm and comforting, but with an edge of something sharper, something that makes my skin prickle with awareness.

“The way you’re feeling right now,” he begins, his voice steady but soft, “the way you feel about me…it might not be entirely real.”

My cheeks warm even though confusion fills me. “How I feel…” I clear my throat.

“I know you feel something,” he whispers. He sniffs again and I get the sense he’s pushing his tears back.

I can’t lie about it. He’s right. I’m silent for a few moments before I decide to face the music.

“I know I shouldn’t…” I murmur.

Finn releases a slow breath. “Because it might not be real.”

I freeze, confusion knotting in my chest. “What do you mean, not real?”

He hesitates, and I can feel the tension in his body, the way he’s holding himself back. “You’ve never been in heat before…”

The statement makes my cheeks warm immediately. Heats were something that would only happen after I was bought by my master.

“No,” I admit, my voice barely above a whisper. “I haven’t yet.”

The admission makes me feel less than. By omega standards, I’m ancient to have not flowered yet.

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