Page 139 of Knot Unwanted: Part One

The words don’t make sense at first. They can’t make sense. “What do you mean, you won’t be here?”

He’s quiet for so long I think he might not answer. When he does, his voice is barely audible. “I’m leaving the Ironwood pack.”

“No.” The word bursts out before I can stop it. “No, you can’t—they love you.”

“They loved who they thought I was.” His fingers play with the edge of his bandage. “Or who they hoped I could be. This gentle, perfect omega who could be everything they needed.” Another bitter laugh. “Look how well that turned out.”

“But they don’t want that. They want you.”

“Do they?” He finally pulls back enough to look at me, his eyes still red-rimmed but dry. “You should have seen Jax’s face today. When I came back with bloody knuckles instead of being the one who needed saving. You heard what they said downstairs.”

“They were scared?—”

“They were right.” His voice cracks. “I’m not…I can’t be what this pack needs. Whattheyneed. It’s been clear for two and a half years. And staying here, pretending I can be, it’s killing all of us.”

“Finn.” My hands frame his face, forcing him to look at me. “I think you’re exactly what they need.”

He closes his eyes, leaning into my touch like it hurts. “Youdon’t understand. These past few days, seeing them be present because of you…it’s reminded me of how things used to be. Before everything went wrong.”

I think about Stone’s hungry kiss this morning. About Jax’s worry. About Ren’s quiet presence, always watching, always aware.

“They wouldn’t survive losing you,” I whisper.

“They already have.” He pulls away, standing on shaky legs. “They lost me the moment things changed between us. And now…” He looks down at his bandaged hand. “Now they have you. Someone who actually needs their protection. Who can be what an omega should be.”

“Finn, no. I don’t want to stay here alone with your alphas.” My heart thumps hard against my ribs, my lungs working overtime to keep up with the demand. “You can’t leave me with them.”

Finn pulls me into him so suddenly that a gasp leaves my throat. His large frame envelops me as his forehead drops to rest against mine. I can feel him trembling.

“I won’t go,” he whispers, “not until I know you’re safe. Not until I know you’ll be okay.”

“No.” I shake my head against his, hands fisting in his shirt. “No, that’s not?—”

“Shh.” His lips brush mine, stealing the protest from my mouth. When he pulls back, just enough to speak, his words ghost across my lips. “Until then…until then, I’m done holding back. Done pretending I don’t feel what I feel.”

“Finn—”

“This might be the last time,” he breathes against my mouth, “that I let myself feel like this. Want like this.” His hands tighten on my waist. “Love like this.”

And before I can argue, before I can beg him to stay, his lips find mine again, and everything else falls away.

Finn’s lips are gentle, but there’s a hopelessness beneath the softness that makes my heart ache. When he moves us toward thenest, it’s with careful steps, like he’s afraid I’ll shatter—or maybe that he will.

“You’re trembling,” I whisper against his mouth.

“I know.” His voice breaks on the words. He lowers us into the nest, and I let him guide me down into the cushions. For someone so large, his touch is impossibly tender. “I can’t seem to stop.”

When he settles over me, his weight pressing me down into the cushions feels better than it should. As if something deep within me calls to be crushed by him. His scent wraps around me, and when I reach up to touch his face, he turns into my palm like he’s freezing and I hold the only warmth.

“Finn…”

“Hailey,” he whispers. “You don’t need this. Not after what happened today.”

I pull him down to me in answer. This kiss makes the world around us melt away. It’s filled with all the words we can’t say. When I thread my fingers through his hair, he makes a sound that’s half sigh, half sob.

Something shifts between us. Finn rolls, taking me with him until I’m straddling his waist, his large hands spanning my ribs. In this position, I can feel the way his chest heaves with uneven breaths.

“You’re crying,” I realize, tasting salt on his lips.

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