Page 47 of Knot Gonna Lie
My heart stuttered against my ribs as recognition slammed through me with the force of a plasma cannon. Twelve years of separation, twelve years of wondering, and still I knew that scent like my own pulse.
Nova.
“Why do I smell another omega?” Elara’s voice cracked through the ship’s silence like breaking ice, her newfound confidence from the restaurant evaporating into something rawer, more primal. She pulled away from Luca’s protective hold, emerald eyes blazing with territorial fury as her nostrils flared.
Elara’s scent turned sharp, feral—possessive rage rolling off her in waves. Pure omega instinct, staking her claim and warning off the intruder. But under all that heat and fury, I caught the flicker of doubt.
She’d just fought for us. Bled for us. Declared herself ours in sweat and blood. And now, another omega was stepping into a space she’d already marked with violence.
Before anyone could explain what couldn’t be explained, she was moving—instinct driving her deeper into the ship with us scrambling to follow. The cut on her palm left crimson droplets in her wake, a trail of sacrifice leading toward confrontation I’d never wanted.
My temple throbbed where Marcus’s ring had split skin, the wound still weeping despite Seth’s field treatment. But physical pain paled beside the emotional maelstrom threatening to tear me apart.
Two worlds colliding, two loyalties warring, two loves demanding allegiance I couldn’t divide.
We found them in the observation lounge—Nova, looking impossibly smaller than memory had painted her, dwarfed by the vast viewport that framed distant stars. Beside her sat a female gamma with sharp cheekbones and exhausted eyes, both rising as we burst through the doorway like an avenging storm.
Seeing my sister again after fourteen years of forced silence hit hard. She was older, sure—her beauty more refined, the grace of an omega settled into her like second nature. But the stubborn tilt of her chin remained unchanged. Stubborn. Unyielding. The look that had driven our parents crazy, even before her scent turned sweet.
“Why is she here?” Elara’s voice was tight, her shoulders rigid, fists clenched at her sides. “Why is there another omega onmyship?”
Her jaw flexed, barely holding back the rest—like the question had to fight its way through every instinct screamingmine.
The possessive declaration rang through the lounge like a battle cry. This was her territory, her clan, her sanctuary—and Nova’s presence violated every instinct Elara possessed. I watched my sister absorb the challenge, saw the flicker of understanding cross features that still echoed the girl I’d lost.
Nova lifted her chin—that same stubborn tilt that used to drive me mad—and crossed her arms. “I was worried about mybrother. About what trouble he’s gotten himself into.” Her dark eyes locked on mine across the thick silence, filled with both questions and blame—fourteen years of silence tightening into a single moment. “Jaxom, what have you done?”
“Nova.” Her name left my mouth like a prayer fourteen years too late, rough with emotion I thought I’d buried. The datapad in my hand shook as memory and reality slammed together. “How—why—”
“I convinced Alleria to bring me when I heard about the restaurant incident.” She gestured toward her gamma, who watched with professional caution, ready to step in if our omega’s heightened emotions pushed things toward violence. “An omega choosing her first day, violence in neutral territory, identity fraud whispers—did you think I wouldn’t hear? Wouldn’t worry?”
Her concern hit me hard. All these years, I’d told myself that silence meant safety, that distance kept us both protected. But Nova hadn’t stopped paying attention—she’d been watching, listening, worrying from behind her gilded cage.
The same one we were taking Elara from…
Elara stood frozen between us, caught in the crossfire of family drama she’d never asked for. I watched her jaw work, heremerald gaze flicking between us, processing this invasion of her newly claimed space by another omega.
Not just any omega, but one with history. One with a claim tomyloyalty.
The tension coming off her was raw and territorial—primal, impossible to miss.
“I’m sorry,” I said, though the words felt inadequate for the sudden collision of worlds I’d never wanted. “Elara, this is my sister. Nova, this is—”
“I know who she is.” Nova’s gaze swept over Elara with assessment too sharp for comfort, cataloging details with omega precision. “The omega who broke every protocol. Who has half the station in uproar and the other half consumed with envy.” Something shifted in her expression—not approval, but maybe recognition. The kind that comes from shared defiance. “You chose well, from what I can see.”
“I didn’t ask for your approval. Nor did I choose for it.” Elara’s voice steadied, her territorial fury sharpening into something hard and unyielding. “And this ship—this clan—isminenow.”
The declaration hung in the air like a challenge. My chest tightened—torn between loyalty to the sister I’d lost and the omega who’d defended me. Clan bonds strained against blood ties, pulling me in opposite directions.
“Peace.” Alleria stepped forward, gamma authority threading her voice with enforced calm. “We’re not here to challenge anything. Nova needed to see her brother safe before…before she makes her own choices. We’ll leave immediately.”
“Your own choices?” I moved toward my sister, noting how she shifted closer to Alleria, seeking protection from her own gamma rather than the family that should have provided it. “Nova, what aren’t you telling me?”
“Stop.” Seth’s voice cut through the tension like a surgeon’s blade—clean, sharp, and absolute. “This clan needs immediate medical evaluation and care. Everyone who came back is injured, exhausted, and running on adrenaline that’s about to crash.” His gray-blue eyes swept over us with professional assessment, cataloging wounds both visible and hidden. “Whatever family drama needs resolution, it can wait until I’m certain my pack is properly attended to.”
He fixed Nova with a look that brooked no argument. “That includes you, Miss Nova. If you’re genuinely concerned about your brother’s welfare, you’ll allow me to ensure he’s not bleeding internally before demanding emotional confessions.”
Luca’s hand found the small of Elara’s back, his touch gentle but insistent. “Seth’s right. Infirmary. Now.” His ice-blue gaze swept over our battered group with quiet alpha authority, landing on the cut still bleeding through the loose bandage on Elara’s palm. “That needs proper cleaning and sealing before infection sets in.”
