Page 44 of Knot Unwanted: Part One

I hear when she inhales, probably only now just catching a whiff of my scent as the potency of hers filters through the opendoor. When her head suddenly snaps up, wide eyes on me again, the utter shock on her face does nothing to clear away the revelation warring within me.

“Stone…hurtyou?” The words feel wrong in my mouth, like weeds and dirt and worms. Everything I thought I knew starts crumbling, replaced by something darker, more horrifying.

Not Stone. Not my gentle alpha who would cradle injured birds in his hands, who always touched me like I might break. But the evidence is right in front of me—this terrified omega wearing his clothes, bandaged and submissive, hidden away inhiscabin.

My insides twist, the contents of this morning’s breakfast threatening to expel themselves.

“Did he…” I can barely form the words. “Did he force you to…” I gesture helplessly at her position, still on her knees, still showing submission. Still presenting as if she expects to be fucked despite her state, despite the fear, despite the tears in those wide hazel eyes.

She remains silent, but something flickers in her eyes. Recognition? Fear? I can’t tell through the haze of her scent and my rising panic.

“This isn’t…he wouldn’t…” I can’t take Stone’s knot without being in heat. I can’t takeanyalpha’s knot without being in heat. But…is that really a good reason to…would he really go so far?

The room suddenly feels too small, too full of her scent and my horror and possibilities I don’t want to consider. I stumble backward, needing air, needing space, needing something solid to hold on to as my world shifts on its axis again.

“I have to…I need…” I turn, practically falling through the doorway onto the porch. The fresh air helps clear my head, but it can’t erase the pain or the confusion.

My feet carry me a few steps away from the cabin, mind racing. What do I do? Call the police? Confront Stone? Try to help her escape? She’s clearly traumatized, probably won’t even talk to?—

“Wait!”

The word stops me in my tracks. Her voice—the first time I’ve heard it—rings out clear and desperate. Something in it pulls at me, tugs at something deep in my chest that shouldn’t respond to her at all.

I turn slowly, and there she stands in the cabin doorway. Stone’s Henley revealing the soft curve of one shoulder, hair catching the morning light, those honey-blonde highlights creating a halo effect around her face. Her eyes lock with mine, and for a moment, everything else falls away.

Two omegas, standing amid the ruins of what I thought I knew about my alphas. About myself.

Her lips part like she might speak again, and I find myself holding my breath, waiting for whatever truth she’s about to reveal.

“Please…don’t leave me here.”

Chapter 14

Hailey

“Please…don’t leave me here.”

The words escape before I can stop them. He freezes mid-step, one hand braced against his knee as he takes deep, gulping breaths. His scent hits me again—sage and rain and something earthy. Calming. Soothing.

Omega.

The realization keeps shocking me. I’ve never met a male omega before. Never even heard of one outside of whispered stories. But there’s no mistaking that scent, or the way it calls to something deep inside me, making me want to trust him despite everything.

He’s beautiful in a way that defies everything I thought I knew about omegas. Honey-gold hair curling slightly at his nape, broad shoulders tapering to a lean frame. His stormy gray eyes are squeezed shut now as he struggles to breathe.

“You’re an omega,” I whisper, taking another tentative step onto the porch. “I thought…when you first came in, I thought you were…”

He makes a sound—half laugh, half sob—and suddenly tears off his shirt like it’s suffocating him. I gasp, not at the action, but atwhat it reveals. Scars crisscross his midsection, old wounds that have healed silver against his skin. Even with them, he’s beautiful. Maybe even more so.

“I can’t…” he gasps, pressing a hand to his chest. “I can’t breathe…”

I move closer, instinct overriding fear. “Yes, you can. Just…just breathe with me, okay?”

He’s having a panic attack. I recognize the signs—I’ve had enough of my own lately. His scent has gone sharp with distress, making my own anxiety spike, but I force myself to stay calm.

“Please,” I say again, softer this time. Even as I take another step toward him, I tremble. “I know you’re scared. I am too. But…but you’re like me. An omega. We can…maybe we can help each other?”

He does another one of those strange laughs. “Omegas helping each other. I never heard a stranger thing.”

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