Page 43 of Knot Unwanted: Part One

She slides to her knees, head bowed, neck exposed in the ultimate submission pose. She’s presenting. Tome? I’ve never fucking seen anyone, not even the meekest omegas, do it in public. It looks wrong on so many levels. The jacket falls from her grip, pooling around her knees. Up close, I can see she’s trembling.

She’s curvier than the shadows first revealed. Soft, feminine lines that the oversized clothing tried and failed to conceal. Even trembling, there’s something entrancing about her. Something exquisite.

But she’s kneeling on the floor before me like a dog that’s been trained to serve.

“Fuck,” I utter.

She whimpers and bends lower, arms outstretched on the floor, forehead into the wood, ass in the air.

The gesture throws me completely off balance. This isn’t…this isn’t what I expected. I expected defiance, maybe. Or guilt. Something sassy, or at least some explanation for why my alpha is sneaking around with another omega.

Not this. Not submission. Notfear.

So many omegas would give their right arm and a leg just to be part of the Ironwood pack. To even get their attention. The fact she’s here should be some kind of victory for her. Something to make her gloat.

But…she isn’t.

She’s whimpering. The bitter fear entangled in her scent affecting mine. Making me want to whimper, too.

She’s either playing some wicked trick on me—my brows dive as I watch her—or she really is that scared.

“What are you doing?” I ask, my voice smaller now. “Get up. I’m not…I’m not going to hurt you.”

She doesn’t move, doesn’t speak. Just keeps her head bowed, whole body radiating submission and fear and something else…something that makes my chest ache in a way that has nothing to do with anger.

I take a step closer, fighting against her overwhelming scent. Fuck, we need to open a window to let some of it out. She’s not perfuming anymore, but getting some airflow going would do us both good. Clear our minds.

“Please, just…talk to me. Tell me what’s going on. I think I deserve that, at least. Why are you here? Why is he hiding you?”

The questions hang in the air between us, unanswered. Outside, a bird calls, and somewhere in the distance, a branch snaps. The sound makes her flinch.

And suddenly, I’m not angry anymore. I’m just…tired. Confused. Lost.

Because this isn’t what I imagined at all. This trembling, silent omega wearing my alpha’s clothes, bandaged and scared and submitting like she expects to be punished—this isn’t the threat I built up in my mind.

This is something else entirely.

I study her, trying to make sense of what I’m seeing. Stone’s Henley drowns her small frame, like she’s trying to disappear inside it. The bandages peek out from beneath the sleeves—medical-grade wrapping, the kind Stone keeps in the medical kit back at the house. Recent injuries, then. But from what?

She won’t look at me. Won’t speak. Just maintains that submissive pose like her life depends on it.

Like she’s been trained to.

The thought hits me like ice water. The missing food containers. The late nights. Stone’s early morning “run” to the cabin. The way he came home last night smelling like her…

I was right, too. There, on the table is Ren’s dinner that had vanished from the fridge—the one I’d made special, with those little roasted potatoes I know he loves. Still neatly packed.

My eyes drift to Stone’s jacket, still clutched to the omega’s chest like a shield.

“Oh…oh no…that’s not…”

That’s not Stone. Stone wouldn’t hurt an omega. Stone wouldn’t…

The cabin suddenly feels different. Not Stone’s little secret spot anymore, but something darker. More sinister. A prison, maybe?

Is that why he’s been sneaking around? Not because he’s found someone better, but because he’s been hiding…this?

“Oh my God…” The pieces click together, forming a picture I don’t want to see. My heart pounds against my ribs as I stare at the terrified omega. “Stonedid this?” My hand is trembling as I move closer and reach toward her.

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