Page 39 of Shaken Knot Stirred

“You just can’t go up to a Knightbridge. You need an introduction,” the sister scolded.

“Can you imagine? Being a Knightbridge omega?” Dawnya fawned.

Lana and I traded a look. That would all depend on which Knightbridge. If Star was anything like his brother, Beg, my stomach churned at the thought.

“Oh look, his bio is on the Gala website. I swore it wasn’t there this morning.” Dawnya and her sister huddled over the phone. “Star Knightbridge enjoys boating, racing, and literature and thearts.” Dawnya frowned slightly as she scrolled up and down the page.

“That’s it? That’s the whole bio?” Her sister said, looking over her shoulder.

“Star is a very private person.” An older woman had finally manhandled her way through the crowd to catch up with the girls. I didn’t need to read her aura to know she was Dawnya’s mother. They had the same nose and hair.

“Mommy, you have to. You have to get me an introduction.”

Dawnya’s mother pushed them deeper into the chaos of the Gala. “We’ll see. You have a laundry list of packs you want to meet tonight.”

“At least you know who your competition is now.” Lana said as the crowd swallowed the trio.

“This isn’t a competition.” I muttered. All the excited auras and scents in the room were starting to make me dizzy.

We rode the wave of other Gala attendees into the main section of the convention center. The perimeter of the room was broken into what looked like living or reception rooms. The helpful signage had them labeled as “Lounge 10B” with pack names and business logos. Each was decorated in a different style. 14 F looked like a CEO’s wet dream of an office complete with a file cabinet and an imposing desk. 14 A was a British pub. 12 C was someone’s idea of the perfect nest with furnishings right out of the Nesting Needs catalog. I turned away from that one. It was best not to think of nests for too long.

The crush of the crowd was a little less intense physically as people dispersed into the space, but that just made all the auras and scents stand out more. It was a kaleidoscope of colors and textures. Everyone was hyped up. Auras were bigger, more dynamic, loud, and everywhere. My vision went fuzzy, blurring into a rainbow palette. Nico grabbed me and crushed me to his chest, giving me a little shake.

“Moxie.” He shook me again when I didn’t answer.

“Oh, she’s bleeding. Hold on.” I barely heard Lana’s voice over the buzzing in my head. I didn’t see her go, but I felt her aura melt away and get swallowed. That felt like a shock, a sudden loss. My knees went weak.

“Just one person. Just one person, one aura at a time. Moxie.”

I nodded and licked my lips. Having my eyes closed helped a little. Nico’s woodsy scent helped more.

“How long?” Nico knew that extended use of blockers could produce nosebleeds. We had been here before.

I shook my head. The answer didn’t matter.

He ran his finger over my upper lip. My eyes flew open in panic. My mother had said you could taste your scent match in their very blood. Lana was back and dabbing at my face with a limp hope of not destroying my makeup. I wiped my hands and Nico’s with another wet napkin.

“I’ll get some orange juice,” Nico said. Sugar would help me feel less drained. He gave Lana a significant look before he stepped away.

“What’s happening?” Lana asked softly.

I dabbed at my nose. The bleeding had stopped.““Is my makeup okay?”

“It’s fine.” Lana ran her hand up and down my arm. I finally let myself truly feel her aura. It was warm and velvety, just like the inside of Nico’s sweatshirt. She felt like home and safety.

“Are you okay?”

“Over stimulation,” I said, nodding. “There’s just a lot going on.” I made a vague gesture at our surroundings. “It’ll be fine. I just have to focus.”

We wandered deeper into the room. I needed a moment to collect myself. The plan was to hit a few lounges of potential marks, flirt outrageously, and score invites for other events.

We were almost at the top of the hall and I felt like I could breathe again. If I focused just on one person at a time, it wasn’t so terrible, so I made it a point of finding pack leads of each booth we passed.

I eliminated some potentials just by aura alone. Longing had a particular signature on your aura. Nico and I had made a joke out of it. He’d scan a crowd and pick out the most desperate or horny dude, and I’d have to confirm it. That’s why the “te cupio” locket was so funny.

I gasped and touched my chest. The locket. I wasn’t wearing it. Hopefully, I shouldn’t need the blockers, and if worse came to worse, they’d have some at concession or the ladies’ room.

We slowly made our way forward. I axed more alphas who were desperate for a mate or scent match. Lana rejected some for shady reputations. I needed someone who was going to honor their word and fulfill any pre-bond agreement, someone who wanted an omega withoutwantingan omega.

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