Page 57 of Knot Gonna Lie
I couldn’t fault Nova for falling on her gamma—Quinn was easy to lean on. But comfort wasn’t the same as longing. Her scent soothed, never stirred.
“Thank you,” I whispered against her uniform. “For everything.”
“Thank you for choosing to become more than what they wanted you to be.” She pulled back, hands framing my face with infinite gentleness. “Now go build an extraordinary life with your new clan.”
The farewell stretched between us, laden with twelve years of shared history and an uncertain future that would unfold on different paths. But beneath the sorrow lay something stronger—pride, love, and the absolute certainty that whatever came next, we’d both remain in each other’s life.
“Promise me something.” Quinn stepped back. A shadow passed through her expression, quickly buried before it settled—she’d always known how this would end.
“Anything.”
“Don’t letanyonedim your fire.” Her voice was firm, edged with authority—almost like an alpha bark. Her brown eyes held mine, blazed with fierce conviction that sent a shiver down my spine. “What you showed in that restaurant, the way you stood up and fought back—that’s who you really are. Don’t let anyoneconvince you to be otherwise. The galaxy needs more omegas like you.”
“I promise.”
Quinn’s gaze swept past me to encompass my clan—Luca’s protective stance, Seth’s quiet concern, the others arranged like sentinels behind us. She nodded—a gamma’s final acknowledgment that her omega had chosen well, chosen truly.
Then she spun away from me in a flutter of midnight fabric, her enforcer’s cape snapping through the cargo bay air like a banner of authority and grace. Each step down the loading ramp echoed with finality, the metallic ring of boots against steel marking the end of one chapter and the reluctant beginning of another.
Jenna waited at the bottom, hand extended. When Quinn’s fingers found hers, something in my chest both shattered and soared—seeing love that had found its way despite the harsh reality within the station.
They turned as one to face the ship, to face us, their bodies fitting together like they’d belonged that way. Quinn’s arm curved around Jenna’s waist while Jenna’s hand rose to rest against Quinn’s heart, and in that simple gesture I saw everything I hoped to build with my own chosen family.
Warmth bloomed against my shoulders as Luca’s hands settled there, grounding me to the present even as my past walked away. Xavier’s sharp nod from the doorway carried approval—the pilot recognizing it was time for departure.
Away from my old life…to begin a new one.
Tears gathered at the corners of my vision like morning dew on flower petals, each drop threatening to spill over as I fought to remain strong, to honor Quinn’s wish for me to remain strong. She’d raised me to be fierce, to stand tall in the face of uncertainty. I wouldn’t crumble now when she needed to see me whole.
But then Luca’s arms enveloped me from behind, pulling me back against the solid warmth of his chest, and his purr rumbled through my bones like distant thunder promising shelter from the storm. Through our newly forged bond, I felt his strength flowing into me—not overwhelming my own, but supporting it, amplifying it until I could breathe past the ache in my throat.
Seth’s fingers found my free hand, squeezing gently, earning him a soft smile—fragile but genuine.
“She’ll be free to visit whenever she wants,” Luca whispered against my ear, his breath warm against my skin. “Once we’ve settled, once your heat has passed—it’s within your rights to maintain contact with your gamma. No law can sever bonds forged in genuine care.”
The promise settled into my bones.
Quinn wouldn’t disappear into the void of space and regulation. We would find each other again when the time was right, when the chaos of transition had smoothed into something resembling peace.
The communication device pressed against my palm with weighted significance, its cool metal surface warming under the heat of my grip. Would I ever need to activate its hidden frequencies? Would circumstances arise that my clan couldn’t handle, that would require Quinn’s aid?
I hoped not. But hope and preparation walked different paths, and Quinn had never been one to leave me defenseless against possibility.
Not with everything crumbling around us.
As the loading ramp began its slow ascent, sealing us into our chosen future, I pressed my face against Luca’s shoulder and breathed in his tropical essence. Below us, Quinn and Jenna grew smaller, two figures etched against the station’s metal landscape like a promise that love could survive even the most impossible circumstances.
The last thing I saw before the ramp closed completely was Quinn’s hand rising in farewell—not goodbye, butuntil we meet again.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
ELARA
The station’s lights became distant stars through the viewport, each one a memory fading into the cosmic dark. I pressed deeper into Luca’s embrace, letting his tropical aroma wrap around me like a soothing blanket, chasing away the hollow ache Quinn’s departure had carved beneath my ribs. His purr rumbled against my spine—both soothing and pleasant—a sound that spoke of safety and belonging in a language my omega instincts understood without translation.
But beneath the comfort, questions churned like storm clouds gathering on the horizon.
“Something’s wrong with the numbers,” I murmured, watching Syzygy shrink to a silver speck against the void. “The ratio between available omegas and desperate alphas—it doesn’t make sense.”
