Page 233 of Knot Unwanted: Part One

Jax exhales sharply, running a hand through his hair. “Well…we want to wait a little longer before we go back. Doesn’t matter anyway. House is probably still a mess. And Ren…”

He trails off, his frustration evident.

“And Ren’s not here,” I finish, understanding the weight of that absence.

Jax nods, his lips pressing into a thin line. “Yeah. And that’s not helping.”

It’s late afternoon when it finally happens.

I’m sitting in the living room with Stone, the silence between us heavy. Jax is out getting the last items on his list, and Finn is upstairs, rearranging the cedar chest for what feels like the hundredth time.

“He’s close,” Stone says quietly, amber eyes fixed on the stairs.

I nod, my hands twisting in my lap. “I know.”

Stone exhales sharply, his jaw tightening. “Hailey…Fuck.” He runs his hands over his face. “I’m so fucking sorry this is the messed up pack you’ve been saddled with. If I could change it all…make us better before we found you…I would go back and do it all over again. This isn’t how any of this should be playing out and I want to apologize beforehand for what’s about to?—”

Before he can finish, there’s a crash from upstairs, followed by Finn’s muffled curse. We’re both moving before the sound fully registers, taking the stairs two at a time.

We find him in the bedroom, surrounded by the contents of the cedar chest he’s apparently upended. Blankets and pillows litter the floor around him, and he’s kneeling in the middle of the chaos, his hands fisting the fabric of a quilt.

“I don’t…” he starts, his voice trembling. “I was just trying to organize them, but they didn’t feel right. Nothing feels right.”

His voice cracks, and he looks up at us, gray eyes wide and glassy. His cheeks are flushed, his skin damp with sweat, and his scent—gods, his scent—is so thick and sweet now that it’s almost unbearable.

Stone releases a choked groan, injured arm slamming into the door frame as he closes his eyes shut tight.

“Finn,” I whisper, moving toward where Finn’s settled on the floor.

He shakes his head, his hands tightening on the quilt. “I can’t… I can’t stop it,” he says, his voice breaking. “It’s too much. I feel like I’m burning up.”

I kneel beside him, my hands coming up to cup his face. His skin is so warm. Like there’s a fire right underneath my fingers.

“It’s okay,” I murmur. “You don’t have to fight it. Just let it happen.”

His breath hitches, and he looks at me, his eyes filled with fear and something darker—something desperate and primal. “I don’t want to lose myself,” he whispers, right before he glares in Stone’s direction.

“You won’t,” I say firmly, my thumbs brushing over his cheeks. “I’m here, Finn. I’ve got you. I won’t let you lose yourself.”

He exhales shakily, his body sagging against mine. But his scent only grows stronger, wrapping around us like a cocoon, and I know, without a doubt, that his heat has started.

Chapter 54

Finn

It’s happening.

I can feel it clawing at me from the inside out, an unbearable warmth that starts low in my belly and spreads through my limbs like wildfire. My skin becomes like a fleshy prison. I want to rip off my bones, and I can’t stop shaking. I can even catch how my scent thickens, the sweetness of it wrapping around me, suffocating me.I hate it. I hate how it makes me feel weak, desperate,needy.

And worst of all, I hate that I can feel them.

Stone is close. I know he’s just outside the door, his presence heavy even without him saying a word. His fresh pine scent lingers, pressing against the edges of my awareness. It’s stirring something deep within me, something I don’t want to feel. I can’t let myself think about him.

And Jax? I know he’ll be back soon. His absence should be a relief. Instead, it just feels like a countdown. The closer he gets, the heavier the air will become.

The bond might be broken, but the pull between us is still there—a shadow of what it used to be, a cruel reminder of what’s missing.

The betrayal sits heavy in my chest, twisting like a knife.

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