Page 140 of Knot Unwanted: Part Two

“Is that how you see me?” I whisper, almost afraid to break his concentration.

His brush pauses, those ice-blue eyes meeting mine with surprising warmth. “It’s who you are,” he corrects gently.

Tears prick behind my eyelids at the simple certainty in his voice.

As he returns to his work, completing details with meticulous care, I find myself thinking again of the omegas at the rehabilitation center. Their haunted eyes, their hesitant voices…

“Ren,” I say softly, “they’re all afraid. None of them will speak up. I’m afraid Heath will get away.”

His brush slows but doesn’t stop completely. He doesn’t offer false reassurances or empty promises that justice will prevail. That honesty is one of the things I’ve come to value most about him.

“I’ll have to,” I continue, the thought crystallizing as I speak it aloud. “I’ll have to use my voice.”

Now his hand freezes, his entire body stiffening. “What do you mean?” he asks, his tone carefully neutral but tension evident in the set of his shoulders.

“I’ll have to speak up. Testify. Be the face and voice for those who can’t yet find their own.” The idea terrifies me—placing myself publicly in opposition to Heath, making myself visible when all my instincts scream to hide, to protect myself. But the alternative—Heath escaping justice, free to rebuild her operation elsewhere—is somehow more terrifying still.

I brace for his argument, for the protective alpha instincts to override everything else and forbid such exposure to potential danger. But Ren surprises me, as he so often does lately.

He simply nods, his gaze returning to the canvas where my likeness watches with brave, determined eyes. “Yes,” he agrees softly. “I think you will.”

His simple acceptance fills me with a quiet confidence. He sees me.

“You’re not going to try to talk me out of it?”

Ren sets down his brush, apparently satisfied with the portrait for now. “Would it matter if I did?”

“It might,” I admit honestly. “I value your opinion. All of you. But…”

“But this is your decision to make,” he finishes for me, moving to crouch before my chair, taking my hands in his. “Your trauma, your voice, your choice to use it how you see fit.”

I search his face, finding nothing but sincerity in his expression. “The others might not agree so easily.”

“Probably not,” he acknowledges with a slight smile. “Jax, in particular, will have concerns about your safety. Valid ones, given what we know of Heath’s network. But that doesn’t make your instinct wrong.”

His thumb traces circles on the back of my hand, a grounding touch as he continues. “Sometimes the most courageous thingisn’t fighting or running, but simply standing and speaking truth, even when your voice shakes.” He glances at the portrait, then back at me. “That’s the strength I see in you, Hailey. That’s what I tried to capture there.”

I follow his gaze to the painting, seeing myself through his eyes. I don’t look broken at all. I look strong. Fierce.

“Thank you,” I whisper, leaning forward to rest my forehead against his. “For seeing me. For painting what I could be.”

“What you already are,” he corrects gently, his hands coming up to frame my face with careful tenderness. “The canvas just makes it visible.”

Chapter 29

Jax

Ihate this plan.

The thought repeats like a mantra as I watch Hailey adjust the bulletproof vest beneath her sweater—a simple blue cashmere that makes her look impossibly vulnerable despite the Kevlar underneath. She catches my eye in the mirror and offers a small smile meant to reassure. It doesn’t work.

“It’s heavier than I expected,” she comments, rolling her shoulders to settle the vest more comfortably.

“That’s because it’s the best available,” I reply, checking the fit with critical eyes. “The latest composite materials, rated to stop everything short of armor-piercing rounds.”

I don’t add that if Heath truly wants her dead, armor-piercing rounds wouldn’t be difficult for someone with her resources to acquire. Some fears are better left unspoken.

“Try to move normally,” I instruct, watching her range of motion. “If you look uncomfortable or restricted, it might draw attention to the fact that you’re wearing protection.”

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