Page 83 of Knot Unwanted: Part One

In the bathroom, I hear Finn moving around, the sound of water running a counterpoint to my racing thoughts. Part of me wants to follow him, to see if his scent has changed with his…condition. Would he smell different? More intense? The curiosity burns in my belly, making me squirm.

I press my hands to my burning cheeks, mortified by the direction of my thoughts. What am I even doing? Finn has a pack—a real pack, with strong alphas who want him. Who probably already… My stomach clenches at the thought. Of course, they would. For one, Stone is nothing like the masters that came to the Academy, and from what Finn has let slip, his other two alphas aren’t either. They probably mate with him very often. He’s beautiful and kind and everything an omega should be. My cheeks grow even hotter, images flashing into my mind even though I know I shouldn’t be thinking these forbidden things.

Here I am, spinning fantasies about him like some love-struck fool just because he got…got hard. It probably doesn’t even mean anything. Maybe it’s just some normal male omega thing I don’t understand. The Academy kept us so ignorant about our own biology, about anything that didn’t directly serve their purposes. There could be a hundred innocent explanations for what I saw, and here I am building castles in the air like a child.

I take a deep breath, willing my racing heart and flushed cheeks to calm.

I force myself to sit back down, pulling the blanket around my shoulders. It still smells like him—sage and rain and that sweet undertone I’m only noticing now. My body responds to it in ways I don’t fully understand, ways the Academy never prepared me for. There’s a warmth building low in my belly, a restless energy in my limbs.

Is this what desire feels like? Real desire, not like the training at the Academy where I was taught to whimper and keen on command. These are dangerous, confusing feelings. And it’s all happening at lightning speed. Too fast for me to grab hold of my own thoughts and reason things out. Almost like something else is at play here that I have no control over.

I’m biting my nails, thoughts going awry when the bathroom door opens.

The bulge is gone and Finn is smiling. He motions at the door as he claps his hands together.

“Right, let’s go get some grub.”

He takes my hand in his, tugging me from the blankets as we move toward the door together, and I realize he’s positioned himself slightly in front of me.

The hallway seems longer than I remember, each step taking us further from the safety of the nest. Finn keeps hold of my hand,thumb brushing soothingly across my knuckles. The touch grounds me, keeps the rising panic at bay.

Until we reach the top of the stairs.

Finn freezes so suddenly I almost run into him. His whole body goes rigid the same moment I catch the scent—cedar and distinctly alpha. My stomach drops as I peer around him.

A man stands at the bottom of the stairs, looking up at us. He’s tall—taller than Finn. Solidly built. Dark straight hair in a crew cut, sharp cheekbones, and eyes so dark they look almost black in the lighting. Handsome in that classical way that makes my skin crawl with remembered pain.

“Finn.” His voice is deep, resonant. Not angry, but something else I can’t read.

Every instinct screams at me to drop to my knees. To show submission before I’m forced to. The training is so deeply ingrained I can feel my legs starting to buckle.

But Finn’s arm hooks through mine, keeping me upright. The gesture looks casual, but I can feel the strength in his grip. Feel the way he shifts subtly, putting more of his body between me and the alpha.

“Jax.” Finn’s voice is steady, but there’s an edge to it I haven’t heard before. “Thought you’d be at work.”

The moment Jax’s gaze shifts from Finn to me, every lesson from the Academy slams back into place. My heart lurches so hard I gasp, each beat hammering against my ribs so hard I’m sure they will break. My eyes drop immediately to the floor, shoulders hunching as I try to make myself smaller. Less noticeable. Less of a target.

“Aren’t you going to introduce me to your friend?” The alpha—Jax’s—tone is carefully neutral, but there’s something underneath it that makes my pulse race even harder.

I’m in his house. I was in his omega’s nest. He’s probably wondering where the hell I came from and what I’m doing here in their safe space.

“No.” Finn’s response surprises me enough that I jerk my gaze from the floor to him. The arm linked through mine tightens slightly.

The silence that follows feels charged, heavy with unspoken words. I drop my gaze again, studying the hardwood beneath my feet through lowered lashes, noting the way the grain creates subtle patterns. Anything to avoid looking up. To avoid meeting that dark gaze I can feel burning into me.

“Finn…” There’s a warning in Jax’s voice now and my fear spikes for Finn. His alpha will punish him and it will all be because of me. I shouldn’t have stayed. I should have left when?—

“We’re just getting breakfast.” Finn’s thumb strokes across my knuckles. “Nothing to discuss.” The fact he ignores the alpha’s warning sends a strange sort of chill down my spine. I can’t even breathe, waiting to see what will happen next, even as my mind creates the most horrible narratives.

When I sense movement at the bottom of the stairs—a slight shift of weight, the rustle of fabric—every muscle in my body tenses, waiting for…I’m not sure what. Punishment maybe. Commands.Something.

But Finn is already moving, guiding me toward the first step. My knees lock, refusing to cooperate. The thought of walking past an alpha, of being within reaching distance…

“Hey.” Finn’s voice is soft, meant just for me. When I dare to glance up, he’s smiling—that bright, genuine smile that makes his eyes crinkle at the corners. “I make a mean grilled cheese, remember? Can’t let it go to waste.”

His casual tone, the normalcy of it, creates a strange disconnect with the tension thrumming through the air. I want to believe in that smile, in the safety it promises. But years of conditioning scream at me to kneel, to show proper respect before the alpha grows angry—no,angrier.

“I should…” The words catch in my throat as I try to pull away, to assume the position I was taught.

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