Page 65 of Knot Unwanted: Part One

“It’s just from the garage to here. I’m not an invalid, Jax.” The words come out sharp, but there’s something else there—a thread of steel I haven’t heard in his voice since before the accident.

He storms off before I can say another word, and when I glance back at Stone, he shrugs. But I catch the way his eyes follow Ren’s retreating form, the same careful hope I’m trying to suppress reflected in his gaze. Even with everything else threatening to tear us apart right now, even with an omega possibly dying in our woods, we both know what this means.

We just have the good sense not to mention it.

“The omega,” Stone says.

“We’ll find her,” I say firmly. “We’ll find her. We’ll bring her home. And then I’ll deal with whatever comes next.”

Stone hesitates, watching me. “We’lldeal with it. You may be pack leader, but you don’t have to carry all the weight on your shoulders, man. That’s why you have us.”

His words hit a note; a part of this that I just don’t want to face right now.

I nod, turning toward the house as I pull out my phone, pulling up a map of the surrounding property. “We’ll grid search. Stone, you’ll take the north section—you know her scent best. Ren will take the east. I’ll cover the west. We meet back here in two hours.”

“What about Finn?”

I check the time—barely past dawn. “He usually stays in the nest for a while longer after we’ve been gone all night.” The words taste bitter, reminding us all of how much distance has grown between us and our omega. “We have some time.”

As if to mock my words, a light flicks on upstairs. We both freeze, watching the window of the nest room. A shadow moves across it—Finn, probably checking if we’re home.

“Go,” I tell Stone. “Start searching. I’ll handle this.”

He hesitates only a moment before heading toward the shed. I watch him go, then turn to face the house once more. My heart is pounding as I climb the porch steps. How do I explain this to Finn? How do I tell him that we’ve found another omega—one that might be meant for all of us? What does that even mean when we already have an omega? What does this even mean for Finn?

If he asks, I won’t be able to explain.

My footsteps feel heavy, as if my legs have ten-ton weights strapped to them. By the time I reach the landing, I’m still not sure what the hell I’m about to say.

As I reach for the door handle, I stop short, a heavy breath pushing through my nose.

I swallow hard, lifting a hand to knock instead.

“Finn?”

The room is silent. There’s just the slightest whimper that makes every instinct in me come alert.

“Finn?” I’m grasping the doorknob now, all hesitation and uncertainty leaving my mind. My omega is in distress and every cell in my body screams at me to get to him, to gather him close, to fix whatever’s causing him to whimper.

I crack the door open when something stops me. Finn’s voice. Loud and distinct.

“Don’t you fucking come in here.”

It’s dark in the room. He’s turned off the light.

I blink, a lump forming in my throat. My hand tightens on the doorknob, caught between the desperate need to protect and the absolute command in his voice. He doesn’t want me. He’s hurting, and he doesn’t want me.

“Finn, I…there’s something…”

“Just go, Jax!”

The alpha in me rages, claws at my insides, demands I ignore his words and go to him anyway. I’ve been measuring myself so much. Measuring my reactions, measuring my voice, measuring my instincts, even the very commands that I give. And for what? Everything seems to be falling apart around me, anyway. Some great pack leader I’ve been. Ren thinks he’s the cause of us all splintering when the truth is…it’s me.I’mthe reason for all this.

With great effort, I force my fingers to release my tight hold on the doorknob. Force myself to step back. Force myself to respect Finn’s boundaries even as everything in me screams to do otherwise.

But as I pull the door closed, air pushes out from the room and something snags on my senses. A scent—faint but distinct. Something sweet and vanilla, mixed with…

Honey.

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