Page 61 of Knot Unwanted: Part One

For several long minutes, I consider hopping the perimeter fence and pushing deeper into territory I barely know. But the forest seems endless, full of hidden valleys and dense underbrush where a small omega could easily hide—or get hurt.

She wouldn’t have gone back over the fence, would she? The thought makes me get up and begin searching again. I move faster, more desperately than before.

Dawn begins to paint the sky in pale grays when I finally stop, leaning against a tree to catch my breath. My suit is torn from pushing through brambles, my hands scratched and dirty. But none of that matters. All I can feel is the hollowness spreading through me as each passing hour confirms what I’m becoming increasingly afraid to admit.

I’ve…I’ve lost her.

The thought brings a pain so sharp it steals my breath. Not just physical attraction or alpha instincts—though those are certainly there—but something deeper. In the few days I’ve known her, she’s worked her way under my skin. Her quiet strength, her resiliencedespite everything she’s been through, the way she looked at me with such tentative trust…

And I betrayed that trust by leaving her alone, by not bringing her into our pack immediately.

I collapse to the ground, chest heaving.

As the first rays of sunlight filter through the trees, casting long shadows across the forest floor, I know I should head back, face my pack, tell them everything. Maybe they can help search. Maybe?—

My phone buzzes in my pocket, startling me. It’s Jax.

Fuck. I can’t…

The thought of having to talk to him now…

But I can’tnotanswer his call. With everything that’s been happening, with what happened last night in the car, I’ll only stretch the threads between us farther apart.

“What?” I try to keep my voice level.

“Where are you?” His voice is tight with worry. “Your bed hasn’t been slept in.”

I close my eyes, pressing my forehead against rough bark. “I need to tell you something,” I say, my voice raw from hours of shouting. “All of you. It’s important.”

“Stone?” Now there’s genuine concern in his tone. “What’s going on?”

“I’ll explain everything. Just…” I swallow hard. “I need help. She’s out here somewhere, alone, and I can’t—I can’t find her.”

“She?” Jax’s confusion is clear. “Stone, who?—”

“Please,” I cut him off. “I’ll explain everything. Just help me find her.”

There’s a long pause, then: “I’ll wake Ren. Where are you?”

A huge lump forms in my throat for what I’m about to do. What I’m about to undertake. The entire pack is about to be forever changed.

“No. I’m coming back. Wake Ren. Don’t wake Finn. Not yet. He can’t…I don’t know how to?—”

“Stone, you’re not making sense. Hurry back and we’ll talk about this.”

The call ends as I sink at the base of the tree. The morning air is cold, but I barely feel it. All I can think about is Hailey, somewhere in these woods, probably just as cold and alone as she was when I first found her.

Only this time, it’s my fault.

Rising, I stagger. Exhaustion finally taking its toll. As I head back to the house, I see only empty forest before me, the morning light creating strange patterns through the leaves. And somewhere out there is our omega, running from the only safety she’s known in years.

I have no one to blame but myself.

Chapter 20

Jax

Ipace the length of the front porch, my thoughts racing. Calling Stone has left me with more questions than answers, and the raw desperation in his voice has set every alpha instinct on edge. Behind me, Ren leans against the wall, outwardly calm but radiating tension.

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