Page 34 of Knot Unwanted: Part Two

“Finn Ironwood,” I rasp. “Which room?”

Her throat bobs. “Are you—do you need medical attention?”

“Which. Room.”

“I’m sorry, sir, but I can’t?—”

“I’m his alpha.”

Her fingers twitch toward the button again.

A shadow looms behind me—a familiar presence, a scent like burnt cedar and rage. Stone.

“It’s okay,” he rumbles. “He’s pack.”

The nurse hesitates, but Stone’s sheer size is argument enough. Her hand moves away from the button.

Stone doesn’t speak as he leads me down the hall, but I feel the questions boiling under his skin. The moment we’re around the corner, he slams me against the wall, his forearm pressing into my windpipe.

“Where thefuckis Ren?”

I bare my bloodied teeth. “Get off me before I break your arm.”

He doesn’t move. “Where. Is. He.”

“Widow has him.”

Stone’s pupils dilate, his breath coming faster. “And Hailey?”

I swallow hard. “Gone.”

The pressure on my throat vanishes. Stone staggers back like I’ve shot him.

I push past him, peering into each room until I find the right one. The door whispers open.

Finn sits up so fast the heart monitor screeches in protest. His face is deathly pale, his gray eyes bruised-looking with exhaustion. The scent of his fear—so sour—floods the room.

“Jax.” His voice cracks. “What?—?”

I don’t let him finish. In three strides, I’m at his bedside, my hands framing his face. His skin is fever-hot under my palms.

“How do you feel?” I say, forcing the words past the knot in my throat. He shakes his head, gripping my hands as his wide gaze takes me in.

“Jax…what happened?”

I swallow hard, hearing the door click shut as Stone enters behind me.

“We went after her. We found a facility, but—” My voice breaks. It’s the first time Finn’s ever seen me come undone. “She wasn’t there.”

Finn’s breath hitches. “Ren?—?”

“Had to leave him.” The admission tastes like ash. “They were waiting for us. Two betas in the fucking ducts. Couldn’t—” I squeeze my eyes shut. “Couldn’t get back to him.”

Finn makes a keening sound that tears right through me. His hands fist in my ruined shirt, his entire body trembling. I expect him to collapse. To scream.

Instead, he drags me closer until our foreheads touch. His tears are hot against my skin. “You’re okay.”

The words gut me. Of course, I’m okay.

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