Page 2 of Knotty Pumpkin

Pushing through the crowd of drunken, costumed students, we make a beeline for the makeshift dance floor.The lights are low; the team having installed a strobe and some flashing-coloured bulbs.

The press of bodies and mix of varying scents is overwhelmingly heady, and I let myself fall into the rhythm of the night, my body swaying in time with the beat of the music. First with Izzy, then with an alpha whose scent is like that of a thunderstorm, fresh and electric. It’s not my favourite scent, but it is enticing, and he’s built like a brick wall, meaty and muscular.

He’ll do.

Seeking out Izzy, I see that she’s made her own match for the night. The two of them are locked in a passionate embrace, mouths fused together while their bodies grind against one another. I grin at my friend before taking the drink the alpha offers me and downing it in one gulp. His powerful arms wrap around my waist, and I let my body sink against his, my movements matching his as we continue to move with the music.

“Look at me, Omega.” The alpha barks between songs. I bristle at the command, but obey, my eyes instantly locking with his dull grey ones. Although my omega craves the touch of an alpha and the act of submitting, I don’t appreciate being told what to do.

He leans down, his eyes falling closed as he moves to kiss me. I freeze, his puckered lips seeming to move towards mein slow motion. Is this truly what I want? Some random alpha to fill the void within me?

The room spins, the alcohol I’ve consumed finally catching up with me, and I take a deep breath in through my nose to calm myself.

Mate.

The sweet, homey scent of toasted marshmallows assaults my senses, drowning out every other scent in the room.

Instinct drives me to find the source and I push away from the alpha whose lips are mere inches from mine, spinning on my heels. The world dips and spins as I take off, barely even hearing the growl from behind me as I run out the door chasing down the owner of that heavenly scent.

They can’t be far.

Mine.

My omega is screaming at me as I stagger slowly down the street, pushing through stray party goers as I move away from the frat party, following the indulgent scent. It calls to me on every level of my being, and I know Ihaveto find the person it belongs to.

I weave down the sidewalk, unable to walk in a straight line.

Fuck, why did Idrink so much?

My vision blurs as a second scent joins the first. Rich and creamy, the scent of the most decadent latte. My mouth waters and my core clenches at the combined scents, need consuming me and causing a haze of lust to fall over me.

Mates.

My body and mind can’t keep up as I struggle to stay on my feet and follow the two scents as the trail leads down an alley, two blurry figures not far ahead of me. It feels as if my life depends on reaching the alphas these scents belong to. It very well might. No other alpha, no other scent, has ever captured my attention like this. None will ever compare again.

As I stumble down the alleyway, the world tilts and I reach for the brick wall to steady myself. A third scent reaching me as I press my back to the wall, my stomach roiling at the unpleasant, musty smell.

The familiar scent of week-old dirty socks.

A scent I willneverforget.

I try to focus on the alley as a dark, hazy figure comes in and out of focus, approaching me as that god awful scent grows stronger, engulfing me and bringing an assault of memories with it.

Trying to block them, shut them down, I gag as bile burns my throat. The figure crouches in front of me, his face finally coming into focus.

A face I never wanted to see again.

Luke is here.

My entire body tenses and sweat beads along my spine as genuine fear fills my chest, eliciting a pathetic whimper from me.

“You don’t look so well, Saylor. What a good thing I’m here. I found you.” His uneven, toothy grin is the last thing I see before the contents of my stomach come spilling out from me.

Chapter Two

“That party is wild,” Corey says as he meets me a few houses up the road from where the thumping music originates, his shift as campus security wrapping up. My last PT client had finished at the same time, and it seemed like a pleasant night for a walk. “Kind of glad I was on an evening shift tonight. It might not be on campus, but they’re planning extra safety sweeps. It’ll be a longnight for the guys.”

“What, you don’t want to head back and party the night away?” I ask teasingly, already knowing what his answer will be as we begin the walk home. My alpha pack mate is a homebody, preferring my company over a rowdy party.

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