Page 251 of Knot Unwanted: Part One

“The truck you were in,” he continues, keeping his voice low. “Do you remember how long you were traveling? Any landmarks, sounds?”

I close my eyes, trying to force my mind back to that day. But like always, it’s just fragments. Darkness. The scratch of the blindfold. The rumble of the engine. “I…I don’t know. They kept us blindfolded.”

Jax nods. “What about at the Academy? Anything you ever saw…or heard?”

“Even something you might have smelled,” Stone adds, stepping closer.

I squeeze my eyes shut tight, forcing my mind to find something.Anything. I want to help. Need to help. After everything they’ve done for me, every small detail I can remember might be the one that matters. The one that helps keep us safe.

“Bleach,” I say finally, the memory sharp. “Always bleach. They kept everything so sterile. It was mostly betas handling us, and they have no scent at all…” I feel the familiar guilt creeping in—how useless my memories are, how little help I can be. But then my breath catches as another memory surfaces. “There was one. An alpha. A woman.”

“Widow,” Stone offers. “Yes. You mentioned her before.”

“And you’re sure she was an alpha?” Jax’s voice is careful, controlled.

“Yes. I only knew because I caught her scent once. Just once.”

“What scent?” Stone presses gently.

“Jasmine.” The word comes out barely above a whisper. “But faint. Muted. Like she’d bathed in blockers to try and hide it.”

“Jasmine?” Finn’s voice makes me open my eyes. He’s moved closer, a small spray bottle still in his hand.

I nod slowly.

Stone nods, too. “That’s new information. Jasmine’s distinctive. We can work with that.”

“Can we?” Finn’s voice has an edge to it. “How many people wear jasmine perfume in this city alone?”

“It’s something,” Jax says firmly. “More than we had before.”

“We need something more concrete.” Finn bites his lower lip and I can tell he’s turning things over in that brilliant mind of his. When his gaze snaps to mine, I know he’s got it.

“That girl,” he suddenly says. “The omega on the TV.”

My heart stutters in my chest. Vi. The alphas immediately tense, sensing my spike of anxiety.

“What omega?” Stone asks, his voice careful.

“Vi,” I whisper, and the name feels foreign on my tongue after so long. “She was…she was with me. At the Academy.”

“Vi?” Jax steps closer, his dark eyes intent. “Who is this Vi?”

“Another omega. We were in the truck together.” The words start spilling out now. “When we escaped…she had to run. Into the forest. She couldn’t—couldn’t stay with me or they would have caught us both.”

The silence that follows is deafening. I can feel the weight of their stares, the shock rippling through the room.

“How long?” Jax’s voice is dangerously low even as he turns to Finn. “How long have you known about this?”

“Since the mall.” Finn’s jaw tightens defensively. “And when exactly was I supposed to bring it up? Between the attacks and the threats and everything else going on? Besides, she’s not lost in the forest anymore—she’s been caught stealing. That means she made it out.”

Jax starts pacing, his movements tight and controlled. “If she’s from the Academy, they’ll be after her, too. If they haven’t caught her yet, maybe we can find her first.”

Stone shakes his head. “The police are already involved. We don’t have more resources than they do?—”

“No,” Jax stops abruptly, his gaze shifting to the new bulletproofwindows, the reinforced doors. “Maybe we don’t. But we know someone who does.” His eyes meet Stone’s. “Ren.” The tension in the room shifts at Ren’s name.

For a moment, no one speaks a word. Jax’s throat moves, his voice softening as he turns to me. “Was there anyone else? Other omegas who made it out?”

---