Page 58 of Knot Gonna Lie
Luca’s hands stilled their gentle stroking along my arms. Through our bond, I felt his attention sharpen, the lazy contentment replaced by something harder, more calculating.
“What do you mean?”
“Birth rates.” The words tasted like metal and conspiracy. “Equal numbers of alphas and omegas are born each year, with gammas matching both combined. So where are all the omegas? Why are there so many unmated alphas fighting over scraps?”
His silence spoke volumes, confirming my suspicions. Whatever was happening to missing omegas, it wasn’t natural selection or personal choice. Something deliberate lurked beneath the station’s careful choreography of mate selection.
“I can sense what you’re thinking,” Luca whispered, combing stray strands away from my healing mark with fingers that trembled slightly. “Let the gammas handle it. They’re finally starting to see the cracks—and it’s their job to fix them before things spiral any further. You’re out of that now. We’re heading to our new home. Your only job is getting ready for your heat.”
“I can’t wait to build my nest.” The deflection felt weak even to my own ears, but the weight of systemic corruption was too vast to carry right now. Later, when my body wasn’t humming with approaching need, I could unravel conspiracies.
And perhaps, help the clan attempt to get Nova out of the station.
“I know.” He leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss directly on my mark. “I can’t wait to see how you design your space.”
Lightning crackled through my nervous system, pleasure so sharp it bordered on pain. I gasped and squeezed my thighs together as energy coursed through my veins like liquid starfire, every nerve ending suddenly hypersensitive to his proximity.
“Did it hurt?” Concern colored his voice as he pulled back.
“No,” I breathed, shaking my head as aftershocks rippled beneath my skin. “I just wasn’t expecting that.”
“Good.” His chuckle vibrated against my shoulders as he leaned down again, this time dragging his tongue across the tender flesh with deliberate slowness. Each stroke felt like healing balm, soothing the bite’s angry heat whilesimultaneously igniting new fires beneath my skin. “Let me know if it becomes too much.”
“Are you going to continue bathing her like a mother cat with her kitten?” Tobias’s voice cut through my haze of sensation, drawing my attention back to the mess hall where the rest of the clan had arranged themselves around the central table. “Because it’s distracting.”
“It’s only distracting because you’re losing,” Stella countered without looking up from her virtual game pieces. Her fingers moved with predatory precision across the digital board, each placement calculated to maximum advantage. She caught my eye and winked, warmth dancing in her green gaze. “Let our omega enjoy herself while her alpha tends to her.”
Our omega.
The possessive declaration sent warmth spiraling through my chest, not the territorial heat I’d felt with Nova’s presence, but something softer. Acceptance. Belonging. The slow, careful weaving of new bonds that would hold us together as clan through whatever storms lay ahead.
“It’s natural for an alpha to tend their fresh mark,” Seth added from the kitchen nook, where he stirred something fragrant and herbal in a steaming pot. He’d abandoned the clan’s game in favor of culinary alchemy, transforming simple ingredients typically found abound vessels into something that smelled like home. “If he doesn’t, infection could set in and prevent proper bonding.”
“No one asked you.” Tobias waved him off with a scowl. “Mind your own business.”
Seth spun around, wooden spoon raised like a weapon, his apron boldly declaring:“Chemist at work—keep out of the kitchen.”He shook the spoon in warning, gesturing toward his brother. “Our omega’s healthismy business.”
“Crew.” Luca’s voice carried alpha authority wrapped in velvet warning, the kind of command that could stop arguments before they began. “Let’s not ruin Elara’s first evening of freedom off the station—as not just a clanmate, but our omega.” He shot Tobias a pointed look. “I know we’ve been within these walls too long, but we’ll reach Tera in two days. Think of cool breezes and sunshine instead of whatever petty grievances you’re nursing. We’re heading into a much-needed vacation.”
“I can’t wait to swim,” Stella sighed, her usual sharp edges softening with longing as she looked out the window—not back at where we came from, but ahead to where we were going. “And work on this pathetic excuse for a tan.”
“You don’t need a tan,” Sylas soothed, reaching across the table to cup her cheek. “I’d love you regardless.”
“Sweet words won’t distract me from you trying to steal my lead,” Stella said, but she leaned into his touch before batting his hand away with mock annoyance. “What kind of man do you think I fell for?”
“The kind who’d cheat his way to victory given half a chance,” Maia observed dryly, moving a piece. The holographic board shifted, pieces cascading in a pattern that made Tobias groan with dismay. “And I win. Again.”
“How?” Tobias scrambled to his feet, scanning the display with the desperation of someone who’d just watched their carefully laid plans crumble. “I had you three moves ago!”
“Maybe if you spent more time studying strategy instead of complaining,” Seth suggested with brotherly cruelty, “you’d occasionally win something.”
“I don’t need advice from you!” Tobias collapsed his cup into a disk and flicked it across the room.
Seth snatched it midair. “No, but you might consider asking your partner for tips,” he continued, undaunted by projectiles ashe slid the disk into the drink dispenser’s cleaning slot. “Since she can demolish anyone without breaking a sweat.”
Tobias’s growl dissolved into clan laughter. I found myself smiling despite the emotional whiplash of the day, watching these people who’d become mine navigate their familiar rhythms of affection and competition.
My instincts hadn’t led me wrong—Luca was the kind of alpha I needed. And his clan…they were the kind of people I wanted to build a life with.
