Page 80 of Shaken Knot Stirred

I slammed him into the wall and covered him with my body just to shut him up and not hear that name on his lips. He went for my belt, his hand grazing my still-hard cock. I slapped his hand and tore myself away with a growl, the rut drugs still running hot in my blood.

Star did not let go. He would not let go. He had one fist in my jacket, the other wrapped around the back of my head. He searched my face with concern I didn’t deserve.

“Tell me. What happened?”

I struggled to get out of his hands, but he held on. He backed me into a corner, capturing me with his hands and body.

“Rut,” I blurted it out like it was my last word and gulped for air. “He locked me in a room with her.”

His eyes went wild, lit up with pain and rage. He brought our foreheads together as I clawed at his hands to let me go.

I had told Star about the one that got away that night, careful to not say too much, just in case it somehow got back to Beg. How she was perfect and not meant to be. How she tasted like summer and scared me because I’d never be as smart as her. He pulled back and wiped my cheek with his thumb.

“You have to get her out of here. Away from him. Me.” I ran my hands through my hair and avoided his eyes.

He stepped back, like he knew I needed space to breathe. “Not without you.”

I snorted out a laugh. He knew as well as I did that was not happening. Sure, I could leave the Pax, leave Port Haven, but we were still pack.

“There’s no court in the world…” I cut off what I knew would be his next line. “That would interfere in a Knightbridge pack.”

A pack lead was the only one who could break pack bonds. The courts rarely stepped in to make that happen. And Beg had enough influence to ensure it would never happen. Death was the only other way bonds broke.

I scrubbed my face and tugged my jacket straight. My hand froze on the doorknob.

“Tonight. Take her tonight.” I stepped through the door and pulled it closed.

Ethan jumped to attention in the hall. I ignored him and all the others who shouted for my attention. The pounding music of the Pax drowned out everything as I made my way to the fight ring.

Chapter 45

Moxie

I absolutely was notdoing as I was told.

Bars were just my comfort place.

I had changed quickly into a black skirt and top and pulled on my boots. I had considered a wig, still uncomfortable with my white hair shouting to the world that I was an auracle. But my hair was still damp, so I would take that risk.

“Yo, what are you doing here?”

I did a double take at the bartender next to me. Ella from the Vig had morphed into a little goth girl with pigtails, blacklipstick, and a tank top whose sole purpose was to rake in the tips.

“Oh, you know, plotting murder, but I need to keep my hands busy,” I said as I slid my soda bottle into the well and swept an inventory of what I had to work with. The Pax was a plastic cup only kind of establishment, and not even the clear crystal ones. Those shattered into sharp spikes.

Ella snorted. “If tips weren’t so good, we’d all have murder on our minds. Beg okay with you here?” Concern flashed through her beta aura. Not concern for me, but for herself, which was totally understandable given how Beg was ever so fond of group punishments.

“So, we carrying tabs tonight?” I tapped my fingers on the bar, not really keen on having to learn a POS system to run cards.

“Nope. Cash only.” She pointed to a bank of ATMs off to the far left of the bar.

“Perfect.” I should have worn my knee-high boots to stuff cash in.

I kept my head down as I tidied up the area and got familiar with where all the supplies were. Dumb move for a bartender, smart move for an auracle who needed to keep her wits about her. I’d worked big venues before. I would just have to remember to focus on one customer at a time and make their aura the only thing that mattered.

A tall, thin alpha slid in front of me, resting his forearms on the bar.

“Te cupio,” I muttered to myself. His aura was dripping with longing. Especially around his hands. They practically glowed neon. I could tell they were rough and callused, but not from work.

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