Page 234 of Knot Unwanted: Part One

They lied to me. For two and a half years, they let me believe everything was fine, that the distance I felt was just in my head. But it wasn’t. The bond was gone. The piece of them that should have been tethered to me, that should have made me feel whole, was shattered. And they didn’t even tell me.

The ache in my chest is almost as bad as the ache in my body. Almost.

I grit my teeth, pacing the length of the bedroom for what feels like the hundredth time. My hands are shaking, my breaths coming too fast, and the pressure building inside me is unbearable. My cock is painfully hard, and it jerks involuntarily. Fuck. I let out a low, frustrated growl, my nails biting into my palms as I try to fight the instinct to call for Stone.

No.

I won’t.

He doesn’t deserve it.

Another wave of heat crashes over me, and I stumble, catching myself against the edge of the bed. My head drops forward, sweat dripping from my forehead onto the sheets. My scent is stronger now, filling the room like a thick, cloying fog. I can’t think.

Some part of me is aware of Hailey sitting on the floor where I left her a moment ago. I can’t even look her in the eyes. If I do, I’m sure she’ll see everything I’m trying to hide. The need. The want. That if she gets too close, Iwillpin her down and fuck her.

She’s not ready for that. Not yet.

I need to cool down. I need to breathe.

Staggering, I make my way to the bathroom. The cold tile under my feet is a small relief, but it’s not enough. I strip off my clothes with shaking hands, barely managing to turn the shower on before stepping under the icy spray. The shock of it steals my breath, and for a moment, I feel like I can think again, like I can claw my way back to myself.

But it doesn’t last.

The water hits my overheated skin, and instead of soothing me, it only heightens the sensations coursing through my body. My cock bobs so hard it’s painful, my hips jerking involuntarily as the ache builds, sharp and insistent. My head drops back against the tiled wall, a choked sob escaping me.

“Fuck,” I whisper. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.”

The tears come on their own accord. Just another visible indication of my weakness. I can’t stop them. They spill down my cheeks, mixing with the water from the shower even as I press the heels of my hands against my eyes, trying to block it all out—the heat, the ache, the desperate, clawing need for something I can’t bring myself to ask for.

Not from them.

Never from them.

But gods, my body doesn’t care. It doesn’t care that I’m angry, that I’m hurt, that I feel like I’ve been ripped apart from the inside out. It just wants relief. It wantsthem.

Another sob wracks my body, and I slide down the wall, curling in on myself as the water beats down on me. My hands grip my hair, pulling hard enough to hurt, but even that pain isn’t enough to ground me.

I don’t know how long I sit there, trembling and broken, before I hear the soft knock at the door.

“Finn?”

It’s Hailey’s voice, soft and hesitant, cutting through the haze.

Before I can answer, the door creaks open, and I hear her footsteps on the tile. Through my blurred, teary vision, I see her figure, her hair loose around her shoulders. She’s not alone. Stone is just behind her, hovering in the doorway, his broad shoulders filling the frame.

“Finn,” Hailey says again, her voice trembling slightly. Her brow furrows, and she steps closer, her bare feet making no sound on the floor. Stone stays where he is, but his presence feels like aweight pressing down on my chest. I can feel his gaze on me, the tension rolling off him in waves, and it’s too much.

“Get him out of here,” I snap. My voice is a sharp, ragged thing I don’t even recognize.

Stone stiffens, but Hailey glances over her shoulder, her voice steady despite the tension in the air. “St-Stone, give…give us a minute…please.”

He hesitates, his jaw tightening, but after a long moment, he nods. “I’ll be right outside,” he mutters. The sound of his low, rough voice only makes me yearn more.

Finally, the door clicks shut behind him, and the air feels a little lighter.

Hailey kneels beside the shower, her hand pressing against the glass. “You’re hurting,” she whispers.

“I…” My voice breaks, and I shake my head, unable to put it into words.

---