Page 252 of Knot Unwanted: Part One

I shake my head slowly. “I don’t know. When the beta came after me, I just…ran. Everything was chaos.” I bite my lip, looking between them. “Do you really think Ren could find Vi?”

Jax lets out a bitter laugh. “Probably. At this point, I don’t know who the fuck he is. Anything is possible.”

“He’s still around,” Stone says quietly, and something in his tone makes us all turn to him. “He’s been checking the security logs. Monitoring the cameras.”

My gaze automatically shifts to one of the mounted cameras outside the kitchen window—one of dozens now surrounding the property. I swear the lense moves when I focus on it. The thought of Ren watching, invisible but present, sends a shiver down my spine.

“You knew?” Finn’s voice is tight. “This whole time?”

Stone meets his stare evenly. “I can see the access logs. He’s been logging in regularly, checking the feeds. Making sure we’re safe.”

“Safe?” Jax’s laugh is harsh. “Is that what we’re calling it now?”

“He’s protecting us,” Stone says firmly. “In his own way.”

“His own way almost got us all killed.”

“You don’t think he knows that? Why the fuck do you think he hasn’t come back?!” Stone’s words drop like boulders, and there’s an edge to his voice now. “Right now, he might be our best chance at finding this omega before the Academy does. He might be our only chance at putting all these pieces together.”

I watch the tension build between them, and that guilt resting just under my skin rises. Ren’s gone because of what he did to me.My thoughts shift to Vi, too. She’s alone, hunted, trying to survive just like I was. Just like I still am.

“We need him,” I whisper, and they all turn to look at me. “We need Ren now.”

“I’ll reach out,” Stone says finally, breaking the tense silence. “I still have ways to contact him. Whether he responds…” He lets the thought hang unfinished.

“He’ll respond,” Jax says, and there’s something almost resigned in his voice. “He always does when it matters.”

I glance at Finn, finding his eyes already on me. He gives me a small nod, and I can see the wheels turning in his mind, planning, calculating. That brilliant brain of his never stops working.

“If Vi’s still free, still running,” he says slowly, “she might know things. About the Academy, about their operations. Things that could help us understand what we’re up against.”

“Ifwe can find her,” Stone adds.

“Whenwe find her,” Finn corrects, and his certainty makes something warm bloom in my chest.

Finn smiles at me and I feel a little stroke of excitement.Finally, a real thread to follow. Through the tentative beginnings of our bond, I can feel his steady warmth, his unwavering support.

“Breakfast?” Stone suggests, clearly trying to shift the mood. “I can make those protein pancakes you like, Finn.”

“The ones with chocolate chips?” Finn’s eyes light up slightly, though I notice how they drift to the window again, searching.

“Obviously.” Stone’s lips quirk up. “Hailey, there’s fresh berries if you want them. And before you say anything—” he holds up a hand when I start to protest, “—it’s not special treatment. They were on sale.”

They weren’t. I know they weren’t, because I saw the receipt he tried to hide yesterday. But the fact that he’s noticed I like berries, that he went out of his way to get them…it makes something warm swell within me.

“Thank you,” I say softly, and I mean it for more than just the berries.

As Stone moves to the stove, I watch him work. His movements are efficient, practiced, but there’s a gentleness to them that I’m starting to notice more and more. The way he measures ingredients carefully because he knows Finn likes consistency. How he heats the pan to exactly the right temperature because he’s learned my preference for golden-brown edges.

I’m watching Stone prepare breakfast when a sudden wave of warmth ripples through me, starting low in my belly and spreading outward. I grip the counter harder, my thighs pressing together as I try to breathe through it. The sensation isn’t overwhelming yet, but it’s insistent—a warning of what’s to come.

Finn notices first, his head snapping up from the plant he’s tending. His nostrils flare slightly, and I watch his pupils dilate as he catches my scent. He sets the spray bottle down carefully—too carefully—and moves toward me.

“Hailey,” he murmurs, voice low enough that only I can hear. “Do you want to go upstairs? To the nest?”

The heat in his gaze makes my breath catch, but I shake my head. “After breakfast,” I manage, trying to keep my voice steady. “I’m okay for now.”

It’s not that I don’t want his help—gods know how much easier he makes these moments. But I can’t bear to pull focus right now, not when Stone’s phone keeps buzzing with cancellations, not when Jax is busy trying to find who is behind the Academy, and not while Ren…while Ren is missing. My discomfort can wait.

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