Page 73 of Knot Gonna Lie

“You survived.” Seth rolled his eyes, his dry response earned chuckles around the table.

“Barely,” Stella muttered, though she was smiling. “Remember the protein cube incident?”

“We agreed never to speak of that again.” Seth’s ears turned red, turning toward the kitchen.

“What protein cube incident?” Elara leaned forward, genuinely curious, as her concerned gaze followed Seth’s retreat.

“Seth tried to make protein cubes taste like actual food,” Sylas explained, his deep voice carrying amusement. “Added flavor compounds he’d synthesized in the med bay.”

“It was theoretically sound,” Seth defended. “It could work… if the clan just trusted the process.”

“It turned Tobias purple,” Jaxom clipped, raising an eyebrow. “For three days!”

“Purple’s not a bad color on me.” Tobias preened, making Maia roll her eyes.

“You looked like an eggplant,” she informed him. “And you wouldn’t let it go—calling it an ad for—”

“Spare us the details of your quarters,” Luca interrupted, tugging Elara against him and brushing a kiss over her hair. “Breakfast first. Save the rest for later.”

The banter continued, stories flowing as naturally as breath. Elara laughed at Stella’s description of Tobias’s purple phase, gasped when Sylas recounted the time Maia’s engineering experiment nearly vented half the ship, and added her own observations that showed she was learning our rhythms.

“You’re all insane,” she declared, but fondness colored every word. “I’m surprised you’re all still in one piece.”

“Maybe we are,” Luca agreed, his arm draped across the back of her chair. “But we’re your insane clan now.”

“Mine.” She said it quietly, testing the word. Then stronger: “Mine.”

The possessive claim sent something warm through my chest. That she saw us as hers, all of us, not just the alpha who’d claimed her or the beta she’d marked.

We were becoming something new. Not just a crew anymore, not just a clan. Something more integrated, more complete.

Was this the power of having an omega?

I watched Seth clear the bowls, Elara’s gaze following him with quiet satisfaction. Luca looked over the clan, amusement glinting in his eyes. Tobias and Maia bickered about whose turn it was to check the engine coolant, their voices overlapping. Across from them, Stella absently sharpened her psyblade while Sylas worked his thumbs into her shoulders, murmuring something that made her lips twitch.

Xavier kept to himself at the helm, piloting Paradise from the captain’s chair… making sure we’d safely arrive at our destination.

This was family. Messy and loud and imperfect.

And maybe, if I was lucky, I’d find my own place in this new configuration. Not just as the clan’s logistics manager, but as something more. Someone chosen.

Seth returned with dessert—something chocolate that made Elara’s eyes light up.

“You’re spoiling her,” Luca said, but his tone held only warmth.

“That’s the point.” Seth placed the plate in front of Elara with particular care. “Happy omega. Happy clan.”

“Convenient,” Tobias observed.

“Practical,” Seth countered with a sly grin.

The argument might have continued, but Elara reached out and touched Seth’s hand—a simple gesture that silenced the entire table.

“Thank you,” she said simply. “For making me feel special.”

Seth’s composure faltered, raw honesty flickering through as he nodded, whispering, “Always.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE