Knot Unwanted, Part One by Tessa Rain

Six years in a “Reform Academy” taught me exactly what an omega like me deserves: nothing.

Too curvy. Too loud. Too broken to be wanted.

When I escape with nothing but the clothes on my back and the scars on my skin, I expect to die in the wilderness. Instead, I stumble onto Pack Ironwood’s territory—and into a fairy tale I was never meant to have.

Three alphas who look at me like I’m something precious. Stone with his amber eyes and pine scent that whispers of freedom. Jax, whose cedar and calm strength slip past my defenses. Ren, fierce and protective, his sandalwood presence both terrifying and intoxicating.

And then there’s Finn—an omega like me, but everything I’m not. Strong. Confident. His sage scent and storm-gray eyes see right through the walls I’ve built.

They claim I’m their missing piece. Their scent match. Their true mate.

I know better than to believe them.

Because omegas like me don’t get happy endings. We don’t get alphas who cradle instead of control. We don’t get packs that feel like home.

But when my pre-heat symptoms begin—subtle yet undeniable—their protective instincts surge to life. Suddenly, I’m surrounded by growls of possession, by touches that border on reverence, by promises whispered against my skin. And the knowledge of what will happen when my full heat finally arrives hangs between us like a gathering storm.

Mine. Ours. Stay.

The Academy couldn’t break me, but this pack’s tenderness might. Because the most dangerous thing isn’t their alpha strength—it’s the way they make me want to surrender.

How can I trust a mate bond when I’ve never trusted anyone?

How can I be wanted when I’ve always been too much?