Page 79 of Knot Gonna Lie

Two omegas refusing competition. Choosing collaboration. Building bridges the matrons never designed. Rewriting the narrative we’d been force-fed since our scents turned sweet.

Here in his cabin, I felt the stirrings of revolution—not with weapons, but with code and choice.

“Wouldn’t you think it would be a nice idea to have your sister and me working together?”

“Yes, it would,” Jaxom whispered, his gaze searching mine. “But she’s still there, trapped behind those walls.”

We needed to find an alpha for Nova who was willing to take her gamma Alleria too.

“Don’t feel guilty about your sister. We will save her,” I told him. “Your own survival isn’t cowardice. It’s rebellion against a universe that wants us to crumble into stardust.”

“Is it?” His laugh was bitter. “I’ve spent years perfecting systems, praying to numbers, making myself useful but never essential. Knowing that I can continue to do what I enjoy, with a clan that I love, while she’s been stripped of the future she’d always dreamed of. Never deserving an omega’s consideration. Never—”

I silenced him with my mouth, swallowing doubt, turning poison into medicine. For one heartbeat he froze, then he shattered into motion, responding with the force of storms breaking against cliffs. His hands found my hair, tangling in the strands like he was anchoring himself to something real, something present, as he pressed me back against his desk.

Data constellations erupted, painting us in sapphire flame and molten gold. His mouth devoured mine with desperate reverence, tasting of hurricanes and want, of years believing he lived only in margins of other people’s stories.

This wasn’t the tentative kiss of the mess hall. This was claiming and being claimed.

My instincts roared awake, recognizing not just desire butnecessity. I needed his steadiness like roots needed soil. His devotion like stars needed night.

“Elara.” My name broke from him when we tore apart for breath, each syllable a vow.

“You catalogue everything,” I whispered against his throat. “Every resource, every fraction. But you’ve never counted your own worth.”

His hands shook on my waist. “I don’t know how—”

“You’remine.” The declaration burned through me, primal and fierce. “My pack. My beta. Mine to keep.”

“I’ve been waiting for you my whole life.” His confession fractured, raw. “Even when I thought I didn’t deserve you.”

“No more waiting,” I breathed, pressing our foreheads together. “No more yearning, and pretending you’re just the clan’s inventory manager.”

“Luca—”

“Knows.” I touched our alpha’s claim on my neck. “He can sense everything and would’ve stopped the dare if he had a problem with it. Seth all but pushed me toward you. They know it’s my choice. And I choose you.”

His arms closed around me, erasing space. “The others will understand. Xavier—”

“Xavier thinks I’m nothing but a disruption.” I traced my mark, sending Luca my happiness. “He doesn’t matter. What I feel for you eclipses any judgment the universe might offer.”

Through my bond with Luca, warmth pulsed. Not jealousy. Satisfaction. Pride in his omega claiming what she needed to feel complete.

“Stay with me tonight?”

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

JAXOM

“Stay with me tonight?” The words slipped out, rougher than I intended, my voice betraying the ache I’d buried for too long.

She didn’t speak. Instead, she tilted her head up, her green eyes locking onto mine with a spark that hit me low. Her lips met mine, soft at first, a quiet affirmation.

But something snapped in me—the need to savor her, to please her, to be the one she turned to. I deepened the kiss, my hand cupping the back of her neck, fingers tangling in her long blonde hair. My tongue traced her lower lip, demanding entry, and she parted for me with a sigh that vibrated through my chest.

I took control, angling her head to taste her fully, my other arm pulling her tighter against me.

The kiss broke only when I needed air, but I couldn’t stop. My lips trailed to her jaw, then her neck, inhaling deeply—vanilla and lavender, sweet and floral, stirring the storm in my scent.