Page 170 of Knot Unwanted: Part One

The unease that’s been sitting in my gut since I left the office sharpens into something colder, heavier. I put the car into park and kill the engine, sitting there for a moment as silence settles around me.

This isn’t right.

They should be home. Stone, Finn, Hailey, Ren—someone should’ve left a light on.

As I step out of the car, the crisp night air bites at my skin, but it does nothing to cool the rising tension in my chest. The papers on the passenger seat are forgotten; the strange encounter with the two betas on the road pushed to the back of my mind. Right now, all I can focus on is the house and the suffocating wrongness pressing down on me.

The gravel crunches under my boots as I make my way to the front door. I reach for the doorknob, but the moment I open the door, it hits me.

The scent.

Sweet. Musky. Overwhelming.

Omega.

Hailey.

“Fuck,” I hiss, stumbling back a step as the smell slams into me. My cock stiffens instantly, straining against my slacks, and I grit my teeth against the rush of heat that floods through my frame. My skin suddenly feels too tight, my mouth dry as I try to swallow.

Hailey. She’s in heat?

The scent is everywhere, wrapping around me like a vice. My head swims, my body reacting instinctively, aching for her, needing her.

I can barely think past the pounding in my skull, the way my cock throbs against the zipper of my slacks. My hand grips the edge of the doorframe, as I fight to stay upright.

“H—” My voice comes out hoarse, rough. “Hailey?”

Before I can say anything else, a hand clamps down on my arm, yanking me inside.

Stone.

He looks like absolute shit. His hair is a mess, his face pale and drawn, his jaw tight with strain. His eyes are wild, and there’s a faint sheen of sweat on his forehead.

But even as I take in the state of him, I can’t ignore the way mybody is reacting to the scent permeating every atom in this space. I can smell her on him—on his skin, his clothes—and it only makes the fire inside me burn hotter.

“Jax,” Stone snaps, his voice low and urgent. “Focus.”

He drags me into the sitting room, shutting the door firmly behind us. The action does little to block out the scent, but it’s quieter in here, the overwhelming pull of Hailey’s heat slightly muted.

Still, my cock is rock hard, my body aching with the need to go to her, to touch her, to bury myself inside her. My hands shake as I press my palms against the wall, trying to ground myself.

“What the fuck is happening?” I rasp, my voice raw. “Why are the lights off and is that—shit, Stone, is that Hailey?”

Stone’s jaw ticks, his own struggle written all over his face. His hands are clenched into fists at his sides, his posture rigid, like he’s barely holding himself together.

“Lights were the least of our concern when this started. And yes,” he grits out. “It’s Hailey. She’s in pre-heat.”

“Pre-heat?” I echo, my breath feeling like it’s too hot for my airway. “That’s not—fuck, that’s not pre-heat.” I can feel her. Smell her. Her need is everywhere, clawing at me, demanding my attention. “That’s?—”

“Jax.” Stone’s voice is sharp, cutting through the haze clouding my mind. “Focus.”

I blink at him, my vision swimming. It’s hard to concentrate, hard to think about anything other than Hailey and the sweet, intoxicating scent of her slick.

But then I see the look in Stone’s eyes—the tightness in his jaw, the faint tremor in his hands—and it pulls me back just enough to register that something isn’t right.

“What’s going on?” I ask, cringing slightly at the fact my voice is thick with need. “Why does it smell like this? Where’s Finn? Where’s Hailey?”

Stone exhales sharply, running a hand through his hair. “Finn’s with her,” he says. His tone is clipped, strained. “He’s handling it.”

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