Page 43 of Shaken Knot Stirred

“Nico.” Star’s voice is dead.

I shake my head free and throw off Beg’s arm. His laughter stings as bad as the healing bite.

“Why?” Star says with no emotion.

I don’t know who he’s asking, but I can’t answer.

“Because, little brother, when you forced my mother out of the pack…”

“I was fucking twelve. I had nothing to do with that.” Despair and decades of petty bullshit with his brother paint an ugly tone in Star’s voice.

“When you forced my mother out of the Knightbridge pack, I told you I would take everything you loved.”

Ah, there it is. This wasn’t about Moxie or the money. This was about Star. It was always about Star. Beg had wanted me to break in here and steal a ring given to Star by his family. I never found it. I didn’t even bother looking for it after that first glorious night.

Beg nods towards the door. I don’t move. My brain empties, trying to find something to say that won’t hurt as badly as goodbye.

And then it starts. A resonant pressure sparks in my stomach and radiates out, shattering everything except what Beg wants. Pack lead domination. It feels like being in a trash compactor. I clench my jaw when the pain starts. Pinpricks grow to hot slashes. I drop to a knee, doubled over. I will not obey Beg. My ears ring from the pain.

“Did Star like you on your knees too? Get up or we’ll see if Star likes it when you crawl.”

I stagger to my feet and make the mistake of looking up. Star’s face is pure white. Like a drunk, I weave my way into the hall, chased by Beg’s laughter.

“Yo, alpha. You with me?” I spun out of the hold, hands coming up to fight. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. We’re cool.” A beta in a security jacket and headset had his hands up, placating but using his presence to push me back.

“Nico, you good, man?” Another beta. Took me a second to place his face. Ethan. Ethan was one of my part-time bouncers.

I felt for Beg’s bite mark on my neck and tried to orient myself in the space.

“Okay, man, I don’t want to put hands on you, but I want to get you out of here. Too many people.”

The two worked together to break the waves of people and herd me outside. I took a clean breath of the fresh air. I cracked my neck, hoping to shake off the energy.

“I got these. Emergencies, you know.” Ethan pulled a foil packet of rut suppressants out of his wallet. Smart for a kid who was surrounded by alphas constantly. His young face was creased with concern. Less because I was his boss, and more because an alpha going into rut at the Gala would cause a riot the national guard couldn’t stop.

“It’s just stress, man,” I said, but took the pills, amazed that they didn’t pop right out of my shaking hand.

“You kicked my ass hard, the last time we trained, but we could go again,” Ethan joked, knowing if he got in the ring with a rutting alpha, he’d be dead instead of knocked unconscious for an hour. But this wasn’t rut, not really, just a possessive reaction to having an omega around and the general shitstorm my life was now.

I looked back at the convention center teeming with people. Going back in was not a good idea at the moment.

“Do me a favor? See if you can find Lana and tell her I got pulled back to the Pax. And get her some orange juice.”

“Juice? I’ll do my best, but it’s a madhouse in there.”

I clapped his shoulder and turned to walk toward the subway station. I made it about 10 feet before I changed my mind. Being underground with a crowd of people and scents probably wasn’t a good idea either. I dialed Beg’s car service. He could pick up the tab for this one.

Chapter 23

Moxie

I reluctantly leaned intoher touch as her fingertips grazed my hip, her voice as smooth as butter. Everything about her exuded softness and light.

“Oh, sugar, we definitely need lunch. I’ll take you to Cuddle Puddle. If you’re new in town, you’ll need a good shop for nest supplies,” Alice said, practically vibrating at the thought of the opportunity.

“Alice, that would be delightful,” I replied, allowing a hint of a Southern drawl to creep into my voice.

Suddenly, she squealed,“Jessie!,” and flung me aside, rushing across the lounge space to embrace another omega. She pushed,pushed, aside one of her alphas. They exchanged girly air kisses and compliments, a common greeting among fancy omegas.

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