Page 231 of Knot Unwanted: Part One

Finn doesn’t seem to notice my reaction. He’s too focused on the quilt, his fingers smoothing out every wrinkle with meticulous care.

“Finn,” I say gently, stepping toward him.

He looks up at me, gray eyes wide and a little dazed, like he’s been pulled out of a trance. “Yes, sunshine?”

“Are you…are you feeling okay?”

He blinks, as if the question catches him off guard. “Yeah. I’m fine. Why?”

I hesitate, not wanting to push him, but the worry gnawing at my chest won’t let me stay silent. “You’ve been… different lately,” I say carefully. “And your scent…”

His expression shifts, a flicker of uncertainty crossing his face. “My scent?”

“It’s sweeter,” I say, trying to keep my voice calm, but my heart is racing. “And the nesting…”

He stiffens, his hands freezing on the quilt. “I’m not—” He cuts himself off, his jaw tightening as his focus lands on the quilt in his hand. I see the moment his throat bobs as he swallows hard.

“Finn,” I say softly, reaching for his hand.

He lets me take it, but he doesn’t look at me. His fingers are warm and trembling slightly in mine.

“Finn,” I say again, more gently this time, my thumb brushing over his trembling fingers.

His gaze darts to mine, wide and full of something raw—fear,uncertainty, denial. “I can’t be going into heat,” he whispers, his voice trembling. “It’s not time.”

I don’t say anything at first. I let him process, but the way his fingers grip mine, tighter now, like I’m the only thing anchoring him, tells me he’s not just trying to convince me—he’s trying to convince himself.

“It’s not time,” he repeats, voice rising slightly. He pulls his hand away and starts pacing, fingers dragging through his hair. “I can’t…I won’t. Not now. Not after what they did.”

“Finn…”

“No, Hailey.” He turns to look at me, his chest rising and falling with rapid breaths. “It’s definitely not time. Do you know why? Because I can’t—Iwon’t—let them have even apieceof me right now. Not after…not after they lied to me. Fortwoyears.”

The anger in his voice is sharp now, cutting through the air like a blade, but I can still hear the hurt beneath it, the betrayal that’s been eating away at him.

“Finn,” I say softly, stepping closer. “Your heat isn’t about them. It’s about you. Your body, your needs?—”

He shakes his head violently, cutting me off. “No. No, I can’t.” His hands curl into fists at his sides, and I can see the war waging inside him—the fear, the anger, the denial all crashing together in a storm he doesn’t know how to weather. “They don’t deserve to be part of this. Not Stone, not Jax. And Ren? He’s not even here. How the hell am I supposed to?—”

He breaks off, his voice cracking, and I can see the sheen of unshed tears in his eyes.

I step into his space carefully, my hands coming up to rest on his shoulders. “Finn,” I whisper, surprising myself with the steadiness in my voice. “You’re not alone in this. I will help you. Like you helped me. I?—”

He looks at me, his eyes searching mine for something—reassurance, maybe, or hope. “Oh, Hailey,” he whispers, his voicebarely audible. “My sweet precious sunshine.” He swallows hard, his throat working against the lump I know is there.

“You don’t have to handle it alone,” I say firmly, my hands sliding down to take his. “I’ll do my best.”

His throat moves. “You have no idea…” he whispers. “You’ve never seen me like that before. The heat…it takes over. Every instinct, every thought, every fiber of my being will scream for one thing—them. My scent…it becomes…overpowering. Sickly sweet. And my slick… It drips from me, coats my skin, fills the air. I’ll be desperate, Hailey. Writhing, begging, clawing at them for relief. My body…it’ll betray me. My hips will buck, my thighs will clench, I will ache with a need so intense it’ll feel like I’m being torn apart. I’ll crave their touch, their scent, the feel of their knots inside me, filling me, claiming me. I’ll beferal, Hailey. An animal driven by pure instinct. I’llneedtheir knots, their scent, their everything… so desperately that I won’t even recognize myself.” His voice drops to a barely audible whisper. “And they…they’ll be just as wild. Driven by my scent, by the need to claim me, to possess me, tobreedme.” A shiver goes through him, his eyes wide with a mixture of fear and a dark, desperate longing. “It’s…it’s primal, Hailey. Raw. And…I don’t want you caught in the center of it. After everything that’s happened in the last few days, you don’t need to deal with that.”

My heart aches. He’s still thinking of me. Even now.

“I want to help.”

He grimaces.

“I don’t care about seeing you desperate or seeing you need them? You’re my best friend. My—” My cheeks heat. Maybe because the words still feel so unbelievable. “Mymate. My family.”

“Hailey—”

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