Knotted By The Devilish Alpha Brothers

Chapter 57: Chapter 57: connected secrets.

Her face twisted into a full barf expression.

Gosh. Night Menace is something else.

Was that really how she had been in her past lives? Confident, teasing, completely unbothered about climbing into bed with three dangerous men?

Amelia couldn’t picture herself acting like that. Not even a little. She had done smaller versions of it already—sharp comebacks, the impulsive kiss, the way her body kept answering them—but she refused to admit the connection.

She hit replay.

This time she forced herself to absorb every word. A power-block spell that could only be broken by a heart shattered past its limit. Cruel didn’t even begin to cover it.

So the betrayal from Dylan hadn’t just been pain—it had been the exact key the old version of her had designed.

She remembered that day with sudden clarity: the feeling that her chest was going to explode, the way the world had tilted. A huge part of that intensity hadn’t been heartbreak alone. It had been the seal cracking open.

But why hide the powers in the first place? Was I going to be killed if someone found me too early? That explanation felt uncomfortably reasonable.

Then came the instruction to stay in the brothers’ house. Amelia almost groaned out loud.

The next part made her heart skip hard. The college territory had once been an Underworld headquarters... a century ago... before she tore it apart. Her past-life self hadn’t just been powerful.

She had been the kind of force that destroyed entire strongholds. Amelia was being forced to accept that truth whether she liked it or not.

Her eyes drifted around the bunker. This secret room, these hidden passages—had they once belonged to the same organization? It suddenly felt far less like a coincidence that she had ended up connected to Kate, the one person who knew about this place. They hadn’t been close until after the spell broke.

And Swifty. Swifty had been their companion across multiple past lives. The silver bird finding her in an injured state hadn’t been chance. Swifty had recognized her. Had come to her on purpose.

Fate had a way of bringing them together again.

A sharp tap on her shoulder nearly made her fling the phone across the room. Amelia yanked the earbuds out and looked up. Kate stood over her, one eyebrow raised.

”I’ve been calling your name for like a full minute. Why are you watching a video of yourself talking with your eyes closed? And since when do you have a pet bird?”

Amelia’s mind went completely blank. The first excuse that fell out of her mouth was pure desperation. ”It’s... method acting. On... sleep disorders.”

Kate stared at her for a second longer, then gave a small shrug, apparently deciding the explanation was strange enough to be plausible.

”Okay. Whatever. I’m not judging the method-acting thing.” She paused, then her tone shifted. ”Listen—there’s actually a way we might be able to get real information on the Underworld Territory.”

Amelia straightened in the massage chair, the phone still loose in her hand.

”What kind of way?”

Kate stood, walked around to the front of the chair, pulled a low stool over, and sat directly opposite her. The usual lightness in her expression had thinned into something more careful.

”I don’t think you’re going to like where this leads.”

Amelia held her gaze. ”Just spill it, Kate.”

Kate leaned forward, elbows on her knees.

”In the Blacksmith Territory, crime has been climbing fast over the last year. People who were stable are suddenly turning rogue. Others are showing up with weapons that are clearly enhanced—stronger than anything the regular territories are supposed to have access to. The consistent rumor is that the Underworld Territory is the one supplying them and stirring the chaos.”

Amelia’s fingers tightened around the phone until the edges dug into her palm.

She remembered those reports. About the strange, reinforced blades and energy-charged weapons turning up in the hands of people who should never have been able to afford them. She had brought the numbers to Dylan more than once, worried about what it meant for the territory he was supposed to protect.

Every time, he had given her the same calm, almost bored answer.

It’s just neighboring territories supporting their allies. Nothing for you to worry about, Amelia. Focus on the things you’re actually good at.

And she had believed him.

She had accepted the explanation without digging deeper because she loved him, because she trusted him, because she thought he would never look her in the eye and lie about something that put people in danger.

Now the pieces sat differently.

The Underworld Territory had been active in the Blacksmith Territory the entire time. And fate—cruel, laughing fate—had used that same man to break the seal on her powers.

Fuck you, fate.

Amelia lifted her eyes to Kate.

”So what exactly do you want me to do? You’ve already thought of something.”

”You get close to Dylan again. So that you can get intel from the inside.”

The automatic refusal rose first—hell no—but Amelia forced herself to hold it back and actually think. This was an opening towards freedom.

She would have to ask the brothers, of course. The idea of walking back into any kind of contact with Dylan made her stomach turn, but if the information benefited the Ellingtons directly, they would have little reason to refuse.

And Night Menace had already left her with specific things to tell the men later. That meant the closed-eyed version of herself had somehow sat down and discussed something with them—something regular Amelia still couldn’t imagine doing without calculating her odds of survival.

How Night Menace managed those conversations without getting herself killed remained a mystery.

Amelia drew a slow breath. ”I understand why you didn’t want to bring this up right away. But... I think it’s actually a good idea.”

Kate’s eyebrows rose. ”Are you sure?”

”I’m very sure.”

The sharp tone of the break-over alarm cut through the bunker. Everyone starts preparing to leave the bunker. After saying their goodbyes, kate and amelia left the hidden room the same way they had entered, stepping back into the ordinary hallway as if the last half hour hadn’t rearranged Amelia’s plans.

As they walked, Amelia’s thoughts kept circling the same bitter point. Fate really did have a vicious sense of humor. First it used Dylan to shatter her. Now it wanted her to walk back toward him on purpose.

She would have to find a way to make the brothers agree.

Time to figure out how to seduce three emotionally unavailable disasters into letting me go play double agent with my ex. This is fine. Everything is fine.