Page 82 of Knot Unwanted: Part Two

I stiffen, not sure I’ve heard correctly. “What?”

“Stay,” he repeats, more firmly this time. “With us. With her.”

Stone moves to stand beside Jax, united in this as they are in everything. “You can’t miss another of our omega’s heats,” he says. “Not now. Not after everything.”

Something breaks inside me at his words. A dam I’ve held in place for so long, keeping back emotions I couldn’t bear to face. The longing, the regret, the desperate need to belong again.

“I’ve been so afraid,” Jax says, his voice quieter now, meant only for me and Stone. “So afraid that the pack would fracture, would break apart. For the past two and a half years, I haven’t been doing what I should as pack leader.”

His eyes, usually so confident, show a vulnerability I’ve rarely seen. “That ends now. Because if what we just went through didn’t break us, nothing will. And I won’t let anything try.” He reaches out, gripping my arm. “Stay, Ren. You belong here. With us.”

I nod, unable to speak around the lump in my throat. But then I wince, looking down at myself—at the dried blood, the bruises blooming across my visible skin.

“I need…” I gesture vaguely at my appearance. “I should clean up first.”

Jax’s eyes narrow as he truly takes in my condition. “Can you manage that on your own?”

The old Ren would have said yes automatically. Would have pushed away help, insistent on handling his own pain. But that Ren nearly lost everything that mattered.

“Maybe not,” I admit. “But I’ll stay.” My gaze shifts to Hailey, who’s now grinding on Finn in the nest, her head thrown back in ecstasy as he guides her hips. “For her.” Then my eyes find Jax and Stone again, these men who’ve been my family, my home, through the darkest times. “And for you. For all of us.”

Something eases in Jax’s posture, a tension I hadn’t even realized he was carrying. “Good,” he says simply. Then, to Stone, “Help him get cleaned up. I’ll join Finn and Hailey.”

Stone nods, his hand settling at the small of my back as he guides me toward the en-suite bathroom. Behind us, I hear the rustle of clothing as Jax undresses, followed by Hailey’s delighted gasp as he joins them in the nest.

His hands find her—gentle, reverent, so different from the commanding presence he shows the world. “Sweet girl,” he murmurs against her temple, his voice breaking slightly. “I thought we’d lost you.”

The raw emotion in his words catches me off guard. This is a side of Jax I’ve rarely glimpsed—the alpha beneath the leader,the man beneath the alpha. His fingers trace Hailey’s cheekbone with such tenderness she leans into his touch.

“I’m here,” she whispers.

“Never again,” he vows. “I’ll tear the world apart before I let anyone take you from us again.”

From the way she whimpers, I can tell she believes him. Hailey melts against him, and in this moment, I remember what made this beautiful, broken pack follow him without question. His capacity to love fiercer than anyone I’ve ever known.

The moment Finn slides inside Hailey, all three of us groan in unison—me, Jax, and Stone. The sound seems to reverberate through the room, through our very bones. Hailey’s eyes flutter closed, her body arching as pleasure overtakes her again.

In the bathroom, Stone turns on the shower, adjusting the temperature before facing me. “Arms up,” he orders gently.

I comply, allowing him to pull my vest over my head. He winces at what’s revealed—the rainbow of bruises covering my torso, the unnatural swelling of my recently relocated shoulder.

“Jesus, Ren,” he breathes, fingers hovering over the worst of the injuries. “You need a hospital.”

“Later,” I say. “I’ll call Dr. Greene. After Hailey’s heat breaks.”

He looks like he wants to argue, but instead he shakes his head, moving to help me out of my pants. Once I’m naked, he guides me into the shower, the warm water a blessed relief against my aching muscles.

Stone strips down and joins me, soap in hand. “Let me,” he says, beginning to gently wash away the blood and grime of the past twenty-four hours.

We’ve done this before, countless times over the years. Taken care of each other after long days in the gym, and intense nights during Finn’s heats. But it’s been a long time since I’ve allowed this kind of intimacy, this vulnerability.

I close my eyes, surrendering to Stone’s ministrations, to the simple comfort of pack touching pack. Of being cared for after so long caring for myself.

“I thought we’d lost you,” Stone says quietly, his hands working shampoo through my hair, careful of the gash at my temple. “When Jax turned up at the hospital without you…without Hailey…I thought you were gone.”

The raw pain in his voice makes me open my eyes, meeting his gaze. “I’m sorry,” I say, meaning it more deeply than I can express. “I’m sorry for all of it. For pulling away after the accident. For making you all think you had to handle things alone.”

Stone’s hands still in my hair. “We all did what we thought was right,” he says after a moment. “You included. But maybe now we can try something different. Something better.” He sighs. “We have to make it up to those two omegas out there…and to ourselves.”

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