Page 229 of Knot Unwanted: Part One

And some bonds, once broken, can never be repaired.

…

Fuck. That.

I’ve spent nine hundred and thirteen days fighting for him. Nine hundred and thirteen nights watching him sleep, memorizing thecurve of his jaw, the flutter of his eyelashes, the way his hand always reaches for us even in dreams. I’ve spent two and a half years learning every detail of his smile, cataloging every laugh, fighting to keep us together even without the bond humming between us.

If he thinks I’m giving up now, he doesn’t know me at all.

Some bonds might break. But we’ll build something stronger in its place—something forged by choice, by stubborn determination, by the kind of love that doesn’t need magic to survive. I’ll rebuild this connection one moment at a time if I have to, one touch, one kiss, one whispered promise until he understands that broken doesn’t mean unfixable.

I’ve never needed a magical bond to love him.

And I’m not about to stop now.

Chapter 53

Hailey

The door to our room clicks shut behind me, but the sound feels louder than it should, like a final nail driven into the fragile silence that’s been hanging between us since Finn stormed upstairs. He’s pacing at the edge of the bed, his movements sharp and agitated, his hands threading through his hair in a way that tells me his thoughts are spiraling, dragging him deeper into the dark.

I stay by the door for a moment, unsure of what to say, unsure of how to reach him when he’s like this. The tension in the room feels suffocating, but I know it’s not directed at me. Finn’s anger isn’t the sharp, hot kind—it’s cold, seeping into every corner of the room, filling the space between us with heavy, unspoken pain.

He’s hurt. Betrayed.

And I don’t blame him.

“Finn,” I say softly, stepping toward him. I can feel his pain. It’s like a hot fire inside me, eating me from within. And I’m helpless. Helpless to take that same pain away from him.

He stops pacing but doesn’t look at me, his shoulders rising and falling with the force of his breaths. His hands curl into fists at his sides, the tremor in them barely contained.

“They lied to me,” he says, voice low and raw, like it’s scraping against the inside of his throat. “Fortwoyears. They kept this from me, Hailey. How the fuck am I supposed to trust them now?”

I don’t have a good answer for him, because there isn’t one. So I reach for the only truth I can offer. “I don’t know,” I admit. “But I know they love you, Finn. I know they thought they were protecting you.”

“Protectingme?” He finally turns to face me, and the fire in his gray eyes makes my breath catch. “By hiding something like this? By pretending everything was fine when it wasn’t?” He shakes his head, a bitter laugh escaping him, the sound sharp and jagged. “Hailey… No. That’s not protection. That’s cowardice.”

The words hang heavy in the air between us, and for a moment, I can only look at him, my heart aching at the raw pain written across his face.

“You’re right,” I breathe, and the admission makes his eyes snap to mine. “They should’ve told you. They made a mistake. But, Finn…” I hesitate, searching for the right words, the ones that will reach that wounded part of him, chase away the pain tearing through him. The same pain I can feel. “They’re hurting too. I saw it in their faces downstairs. This isn’t easy for them either.”

He scoffs, turning away from me, his arms crossing over his chest like he’s trying to hold himself together. “Yeah? Well, maybe itshouldn’tbe easy for them.”

The frustration in his voice makes my chest ache, but I don’t let it stop me. I cross the room and place a hand on his arm, feeling the tension coiled in his muscles, the way his body is practically vibrating with it. “I’m not saying you have to forgive them, Finn,” I murmur. “I’m just saying…don’t shut them out. Not completely.”

Because I know, deep down, even with this earth-shattering realization, he loves them. He loves them more than life itself. And I can’t watch him push them away, knowing it will only rip him apart instead.

He doesn’t respond right away, but he doesn’t pull away frommy touch either. It’s a small victory, and I cling to it, letting my thumb stroke softly along the fabric of his sleeve.

“I don’t even know who I am anymore,” he says finally, his voice cracking under the weight of his pain. “The bond—it wasn’t just about them. It was about me, too. It was part of who I was, Hailey. And now…” He trails off, his throat working as he swallows hard, his gaze dropping to the floor. “Now I don’t know who I am without it.”

His words cut through me like a knife, and I feel my chest tighten painfully. He’s not just angry—he’s lost. Adrift. And I can see how much it’s breaking him, the way his body trembles under the weight of it all, the way his breath hitches like he’s fighting to hold himself together.

“Finn,” I say softly, stepping in front of him. My hands come up to cradle his face, my thumbs brushing the curve of his cheekbones. His skin is warm under my touch, and I can feel the way his jaw clenches, the way he’s trying so hard not to let himself break. “Whatever’s left of the bond is still there…and you’re still you,” I whisper, my voice steady despite the emotion clawing at my throat. “You’re still the same person who fought for me when I didn’t even know how to fight for myself. You’re still the same person who makes me feel safe just by being near. You’re still you. And that’s enough.”

For a moment, he just looks at me, his gray eyes searching mine like he’s trying to find something to hold on to, something to ground him when everything else feels like it’s slipping away. Then, slowly, he leans into my touch, his forehead pressing against mine, his breath warm against my lips.

“I don’t know what I’d do without you,” he murmurs, his voice barely audible, like the words are meant for himself as much as for me.

---