Page 69 of Knot Gonna Lie
“You’re not that powerful,” I said gently, earning a surprised laugh that loosened something in his chest. “This collapse has been building for generations. You’re just one alpha who chose love over law. If that’s enough to bring down their system, then it was already broken beyond repair.”
His forehead rested against mine, our breaths mingling. Through our bond, I felt his anguish start to ease, his body’s tension loosening bit by bit.
“How did you become so wise?”
“Twelve years of watching paradise from inside a cage teaches you to notice things others overlook.” My lips found his—soft, searching—tasting coffee, exhaustion, and a trace of hope.
It wasn’t passion, but comfort. Not claiming, but healing.
When we parted, his eyes had lost their haunted edge, the ghost of a smile playing at his lips. “Thank you.”
“Seth’s making real food,” I murmured against his mouth. “And you need to eat something.”
“I should check these reports—”
“The reports will be there, waiting for you.” I climbed off his lap, catching his hand to pull him up. “You’re on vacation now. Come eat with us. Let yourself have this morning of peace before you invite your brother.”
He rose slowly, fingers interlacing with mine, his larger hand engulfing my smaller one with protective warmth. “Promise me something?”
“Anything.”
“When I call Eli, when I tell him everything—will you be there?”
The vulnerability in his request—this alpha who could command entire crews, yet asking for my presence—made my heart swell with protective love.
“Always,” I promised, squeezing his hand. “We will face the universe together.”
He pulled me against him, his arms wrapping around me. Through our bond, I felt his spirit start to settle, the quiet acceptance that he didn’t have to carry this alone.
“Come on,” I whispered against his chest. “Before Seth sends Jaxom to drag us to breakfast.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
JAXOM
Crossing my arms, I leaned against the kitchen threshold, watching Seth move with practiced ease through his domain. He used the same precision he brought in his research and medical examinations to the kitchen. Just smooth, practiced ease.
The citrus brightness of his scent carried something new—lavender woven through like silk thread, marking him as claimed. Our omega’s mark sat fresh on his neck, barely hours old, yet he moved as if he’d always carried her essence.
Her sweetness clung to him even after his shower. No amount of soap could wash away what Elara had given him—that soul-deep connection I’d only heard whispered in station corridors.
Something that wasn’t freely given—especially to betas and never to gammas.
Curiosity won over restraint. “How does it feel?”
Seth glanced up from dicing vegetables, his knife pausing mid-chop. The question lingered in the air as a faint smiletugged at his mouth. His gaze drifted toward the living quarters—toward the place where our omega’s nest rested.
“It’s something I never thought I’d experience.” His hand pressed against his chest, eyes closing. The knife rested forgotten on the cutting board. “Only ever read about it in medical journals, heard stories from patients who tried to explain what couldn’t be put into words. It’s one thing to study it, but to experience it? As a beta?” His breath shuddered, his fingers curling tight around the counter’s edge. “Nothing prepared me for this… soul-deep connection. No wonder alphas lose themselves without it—without an omega’s light to cut through their darkness, to ground them when the shadows get too heavy.”
Would I ever know what that felt like? The question stirred something restless in my chest—a mix of longing and curiosity I didn’t want to admit.
Would anyone ever look at me—at the beta I am—and see something worth keeping, worth claiming? Or was I meant to stay on the edges, watching, hoping for a chance to share our omega’s nest in her heat? To steal even a moment of the attention she poured so freely into our alpha and the rest of her pack.
A thought hit me. “So when her heat hits… how’s the clan supposed to survive? You planning to ditch the kitchen and hole up in her nest the whole time?”
His ears flushed, the only tell—but his hands never faltered. He kept chopping like his heartbeat hadn’t just skipped. “I already thought about that this morning,” he said, voice calm—too calm. “Right around the time I woke up tangled in her scent.”
“Of course you have.” I leaned more comfortably against the doorframe. “Always the careful one. Bet you’ve got a whole checklist hidden somewhere.”
