Page 172 of Knot Unwanted: Part One

I rub the back of my neck, my mind still spinning. “Where’s Ren?”

Stone’s jaw tightens immediately, and his eyes flick away from mine.

The shift in his demeanor is subtle, but it’s enough to set me on edge.

“Stone.” My voice is a growl this time, a fresh wave of unease rolling through me. “What the fuck happened with Ren?”

Stone doesn’t answer right away. Instead, he exhales slowly, dragging a hand down his face as if trying to buy himself a few more seconds. But the look in his eyes when he finally meets my gaze tells me everything I need to know.

Whatever Ren did, it’s bad.

And it’s going to make everything worse.

Chapter 41

Stone

When I tell Jax what happened between Ren and Hailey, his reaction is exactly what I expect.

The moment the words leave my mouth—“Ren choked her”—I see the fury snap through him. His entire body goes rigid, his fists clenched so tight I think he might break something, and his jaw flexes with the effort it takes to keep his voice steady. I don’t blame him. Hell, I’d barely managed to walk away from Ren without losing it myself, and I’m usually the calm one.

But Ren crossed a line.

The kind of line we can’t ignore.

And now, as I sit on the edge of the couch in the dimly lit sitting room, I can still feel the anger simmering beneath my skin. Ren isn’t here. I don’t know where the fuck he’s gone and Jax hasn’t asked. But his absence doesn’t solve the problem.

Not with everything else going on.

The scent of Hailey’s heat lingers in the air, thick and sweet, wrapping around me like a noose. It’s quieter in here than it is upstairs, but it doesn’t matter. I can still feel her. Smell her.

And hear her.

A soft, broken moan filters down from above, followed by theunmistakable sound of Finn murmuring something low and soothing. My jaw clenches, and I force myself to focus on the laptop in front of me.

“Cameras are clear,” Jax says from across the room, his voice tight. He’s standing near the window, his shoulders tense as he surveys the front of the house.

“For now,” I mutter, my eyes scanning the security feeds. The tension between us is palpable, thickened by our shared frustration and the constant pull of Hailey’s pre-heat.

“If we notify the police…” Jax muses, pacing. But he doesn’t continue. I know why he doesn’t. What’s going on here is bigger than the city police. We need help from higher up, and discreetly. Like the Feds. But none of us have contacts like that. What’s worse, we both know how the city police operate. How they can be bought. The corruption under high-profile alphas is hidden but often whispered about.

We don’t know whose attention we’d draw by bringing this to them.

We have to try to figure this out ourselves.

The sound of Hailey’s cries reaches us again, louder this time, and I see Jax’s hand tighten around the edge of the curtain.

“Fuck,” he mutters under his breath, his head dropping forward for a moment before he straightens and steps away from the window. He’s been pacing on and off all night, the restless energy in him barely contained.

“She’s safe,” I remind him, though the words feel hollow in my mouth. Safe from the outside threat, maybe. But not from us. Not from what we’re both feeling.

Another moan, this one sharper, more desperate, cuts through the air, and I can’t stop the way my body reacts. My cock twitches in my sweats. It’s been consistently hard and aching. I bite back a growl, forcing myself to stay seated. I’ve changed sweats twice now. It doesn’t matter. Pre-cum has soaked the fibers again.

“They’ve been at it all night,” Jax says, his voice rough. He’s standing near the fireplace now, his back to me, but I can see the tension in his shoulders, the way his hands curl into fists at his sides.

“She’s in pain,” I reply, voice strained. “He’s giving her what she needs.”

Jax doesn’t respond, but the look in his eyes tells me he’s fighting the same battle I am.

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