Page 45 of Knot Gonna Lie
It wasn’t long before Marcus had rallied—his eyes locked on Jaxom, jaw clenched, every step heavy with violent purpose. His face was a snarl of fury, scars pulled tight, hands curling like he already felt the break of bone beneath them.
Time slowed. Seth was struggling to breathe. Jaxom’s shirt was soaked in blood. Luca was caught between two attackers, both fighting with the wild, reckless force of men who had nothing left to lose.
I looked down at the wine glass in my hand—delicate crystal, still sticky with the last traces of something sweet and meant for celebration. Moments ago, it had been part of a toast.
Now, it was a weapon.
Instinct took over. I may be an omega, but this wasmyclan.
As Marcus raised his fist and Owen lunged for Seth, I moved.
The crystal shattered against the table, leaving a sharp shard in my hand. Blood welled from my palm where the edge bit deep, but I barely felt it. All my focus narrowed to the space between the threat—and my clan.
Owen’s fist was already traveling toward Seth’s unprotected face when I struck. The improvised blade sliced through the air between one heartbeat and the next, finding the soft flesh of Owen’s forearm. His scream echoed through the restaurant as blood bloomed like crimson flowers against his pale skin.
“Touch him again,” I snarled, my voice sharper than I’d ever heard it. “And I’ll cut your throat next.”
The violence around us stuttered to a halt as every eye turned toward me—the sweet, sheltered omega no one expected. I stood over a bleeding alpha, murder burning in my emerald gaze, a blood-slick shard of crystal clutched in my hand like the promise of death.
“You think this changes anything?” Keanu spat, cradling his twisted wrist against his chest. “You’re still bonded to a fraud. Still—”
“Still. Not. Your. Business!” I cut him off, each word hitting like a strike, echoing through the sudden silence.“I choosehim. I choosethem. Something you’ll never understand, because you’re too busy feeding your ego to realize why no one chooses you.”
I stepped forward, the crystal shard steady in my grip. My pack’s blood and scent clung to me—wrapping around me like armor woven from loyalty itself. “You want to know why no omega has ever chosen you? Look around,” I spat, motioning to the restaurant. “This is why. Not because of fraud or politics or gamma conspiracies. Because when faced with a choice between protection and possession, between love and ownership, between partners and property—you choose wrong. Every. Single. Time.”
Marcus straightened, slower now, his size less threatening with rage solid and cold in my chest. “You think your precious alpha can protect you forever? When the truth comes out—”
“The truth?” I laughed, the sound sharp as breaking glass. “I’m Luca’s—by choice, not force. His clan, his loyalty—they’remine.” I looked at each of them, disgust curling in my gut. I didn’t care about politeness. I wanted these pathetic excuses for not only males but alphas out of my sight. “You had your chance to earn what he claimed. You blew it. All of you.Spectacularly.”
Owen clutched his bleeding arm, his face pale with shock and pain. “The Matron will hear about this. About all of this. Your bond—”
“I would never have been yours,” I snapped, voice low and cutting as I turned the crystal until it flashed like a warning. “Not if you were the last alphas in the galaxy. Not if it meant saving my life.” I glared at each of them in turn—Owen with his bitter obsession, Keanu with his cold calculation, Marcus with his brutal presumption—and felt nothing but pity for their emptiness. “Because you don’t want mates—you want trophies. You don’t seek bonds—you crave conquests. And I would rather die free than live as any alpha’s prize.”
The restaurant erupted. Alphas took sides or closed in, surrounding us in a crush of growls and sharp, competing scents. Betas scrambled for the exits, while the few gammas on-site rushed in, shouting orders and trying to contain the chaos.
But I stood in the eye of the storm, watching my clan defend me with breathtaking efficiency. Pride swelled in my chest, fierce and hot as starfire. These were my males—my chosen ones—and they fought for me like I was worth dying for.
Was this the true power of being an omega?
“Enough!”
The bark that followed didn’t come from any alpha. It hit like a shockwave, rattling the walls with gamma authority and freezing the chaos in its tracks.
Quinn stood in the doorway—her presence sharp and commanding—eyes scanning the room with calculated focus. Authority radiated off her in steady, disciplined waves. Beside her, a tall gamma with tightly braided hair held an enforcement baton, its crackling edge a clear warning—compliance or consequence.
“Owen, Keanu, Marcus.” Quinn’s voice could have frozen supernovas. “You’re in violation of station code 247-OC. Assault on a bonded omega’s clan.”
“He stole—” Owen began, blood streaming from his nose.
“Nothing.” Jenna stepped forward, adding her authority to Quinn’s like storm fronts merging into something unstoppable. “The selection was valid. Your complaint was reviewed and dismissed.”
Owen’s face twisted with desperate fury. “She’s bonded to a fraud! The contract is void!”
“The contract,” Quinn said with deadly precision, “is between an omega and her chosen alpha. Identity verification was the station’s responsibility, not hers. Your failure to identify the discrepancy before the ceremony invalidates any claim you might think you may have had.”
My heart hammered against my ribs as the legal implications crystallized. They couldn’t break our bond. The connection I felt thrumming between Luca and me—that golden thread that had become as essential as breathing—was protected by the very bureaucracy that had tried to control it.
Quinn’s eyes found mine, something soft flickering through her professional mask. “Are you hurt, Elara?”
