Page 23 of Knot Their Safe Haven (The Omega Rebellion Movement #3)

As “hot” the display of authoritative confidence and guaranteed violence was, this was getting a lot and I’d actually be lying if I pretended like it wasn’t making my head throb painfully.

"Stop," I said softly, injecting exhaustion into my voice. "Please. I don't...I can't handle this right now. My head is killing me."

Alessandro immediately turned to me, his face shifting to concern.

"We’ll get the doctor and nurse in here so we can see what can be done about that headache,” he says to me so tenderly before he’s glaring at our obvious intruders. “Everyone out. Now."

"Velvet—" Knox tried one more time.

I looked directly at him, putting every ounce of blank non-recognition I could muster into my gaze.

"I'm sorry, but I really don't know you. Can you please leave. I’m tired of repeating myself."

I really wasn’t lying when about that part. I was tired of repeating myself.

Only difference now was it didn’t matter like it could have back then.

Repetition proved I wasn’t being listened to.

I watched him stagger slightly, Malcolm catching his arm. They looked at each other—twenty years of rivalry suddenly meaningless in the face of shared loss.

"This isn't over," Knox finally said, but he was looking at Alessandro when he said it.

"No," Alessandro agreed. "But your part in it is."

Is this how it’s supposed to be like? To sit back and watch a man fight for his claim for you?

We barely knew each other, with no mark to prove this connection that he’s practically laid his life and resources for, but none of that seemed to matter to him.

All that mattered in this moment…was me.

They left slowly, reluctantly, throwing looks back like they expected me to suddenly remember, to call them back, to end this cruel game.

Adyani was the last to go, pausing at the door.

"I love you," she said quietly. "Whether you remember or not. That doesn't change."

I said nothing, keeping my expression carefully neutral until the door closed behind them.

The room was quiet for a long moment, like pin drop silence as we heard the footsteps fade.

I knew these private rooms were probably well insulated or even soundproof for privacy with how luxurious it looked with a glance, so even if they lingered behind, they wouldn’t be able to catch our conversation.

Then Alexis started laughing, slow applause following.

"Oh, that was magnificent," she said, moving to perch on the foot of my bed with casual familiarity. "Absolutely brutal. The Rebel Queen indeed."

I looked at Alessandro, who was studying me with those impossible green eyes.

"How did you know?" I asked.

"Your breathing changed during the entire confrontation.

You were awake from the moment Knox started yelling.

" He smiled slightly. "Plus, you squeeze hands when you're concentrating on staying still.

You did the same thing during French lessons when you were trying not to react to my deliberately terrible pronunciation. "

“B-But I tried to change my breathing so you wouldn’t know,” I huff in vain. "You knew I was faking and played along anyway?"

"Of course,” he makes it seem like this was an expected result or some grand performance he was proud of. “You needed to establish control after everything that's happened. This was your way of taking it back." He leaned back in his chair. "Plus, watching you destroy them was oddly satisfying."

He clearly enjoyed it.

"They think I have amnesia now."

"No," Alexis corrected. "They think you're playing a game. But they can't call you on it without looking like assholes who are harassing a traumatized Omega. It's brilliant, actually."

"It's cruel," I admitted.

"Yes," Alessandro agreed simply. "But so was letting you deteriorate for twenty years while they played it safe thinking you’d be available for them forever."

I looked at the three strangers— pack, they were pack now, legally at least —who'd inserted themselves into my life without invitation.

"So what now?"

"Now," Alessandro said, standing and moving closer, "you decide what you want.

The game you just started has multiple possible endings.

You can maintain the amnesia, make them work to earn back your recognition.

You can dramatically 'remember' at a strategic moment.

Or you can drop the pretense entirely and just tell them to fuck off directly. "

"All while dying in six months,” I quietly mutter, trying not to acknowledge that looming time bomb now in my orbit.

"Less if you don't accept a pack bond," he said bluntly.

Some would probably be offended by his honesty, but I liked when people were direct with me.

No dancing around the bush nonsense. "Your body is shutting down, Velvet.

It has been for months. The surgery bought time, but without biological intervention?—"

"I need to be claimed." It was obvious.

"You need to be claimed by a pack that actually wants you,” he emphasized, as if reminding me that I’m still in control of this situation and have options.

“Not out of obligation, guilt, or medical necessity, but because they choose you.

" His eyes held mine. "The question is whether you can accept that from strangers, or if you'd rather die than surrender that control. "

The weight of it all—the betrayal, the medical reality, the game I'd just started—crashed over me like a wave.

I was thirty-nine years old, dying, and playing chess with the hearts of everyone who'd ever claimed to love me.

Staring at my hands, I tried to think of everything that was now weighing on my shoulders, but I realized it was really exhausting to even try.

"She needs rest," one of the twins said softly. "Real rest, not pretending to sleep while processing trauma."

He was right.

Exhaustion pulled at me, the kind that came from emotional warfare rather than physical healing.

"We'll be here," Alexis said, standing gracefully. "All of us. When you wake up, when you're ready to talk about what comes next, we'll be here."

She really did give Alpha authority vibes, but I loved that feminine tenderness she projected, as if she could truly understand my predicament, which was truthfully nice.

She didn’t have any “female” friends, mostly because she never had enough time to keep these friendships thriving with how unpredictable the haven was.

What would it be like dating a female Alpha though…

It felt taboo, but I also felt a tad eccentric about it.

A younger Alpha, older Alpha twins, and a female Alpha…

"Why?" The question escaped my lips before I could stop it. "Why are you giving me this golden chance. You don't know me."

"No," Alessandro admitted. "But we know what it's like to be failed by people who should have protected you. We know what it's like to build your own family when blood isn't enough. And we know what it's like to see something worth saving and actually save it, instead of just talking about it."

They filed out slowly, leaving just Alessandro.

He adjusted my blankets, checked the water pitcher, all the small caretaking gestures that Knox had always been too rough for, that Malcolm only did in darkness, and that Adyani performed from across oceans.

"The first chess piece has made its move," he said quietly, and I wondered if he'd heard my thought or if we just thought alike.

"What's the endgame?" I whispered.

He smiled, and it was sharp as winter.

"You tell me. You're the one playing. It’s time to make your first move."

Then he was gone too, leaving me alone with monitors, memories, and the knowledge that I'd just destroyed twenty years of careful balance in five minutes of calculated cruelty.

But they'd left me to die.

All their love, devotion, and careful dancing—and they'd left me to die rather than claim me.

So maybe cruelty was exactly what they deserved.

The first chess piece had indeed made its move.

Now to see if the kings would fall, or if pawns could somehow cross the board to claim the ultimate queen.

The real game begins…