Page 13 of Her Knotty Alphas

"Charlie," the alpha says, taking his hand. "Charlie Williams."

"Austin Sullivan." He nods as he shakes his hand.

That'swhy he looks familiar. "Didn't you just get traded to the Starbrook City Meteors?" I ask, holding out my own hand. "I'm Enzo."

"Yes, I—" His pupils blow as he takes my hand, bringing it up to his nose and inhalingdeeply.

"Well that's not weird," Ollie mutters, but Charlie ignores him.

"I knew it!" His head falls back as he releases me. "I fucking knew it! It's like…peach cobbler or something." He looks between Austin and me, a damn cheesy smile on his face. "Welp, looks like we're pack, brothers. True fucking scent match."

Before I can answer, Ollie's laugh echoes in the backyard, and he shakes his head, walking back towards the sliding glass door. "Oh man, the guys will get a kick out of this."

Which just leaves the three of us staring at each other, and Austin lets out a heavy sigh. "That explains why my alpha isn't threatened by you." He shakes his head. "So…you know her already?"

Charlie gives a grim nod, all previous levity gone. "We went to high school together, and we were in a relationship for a year before she just…disappeared one day. Nobody would tell me why. I only got myself traded to the Meteors because I saw a picture of Cady on Instagram and Hannah was in the background."

"Woah there, stalker much?" A new voice rings out, another alpha we didn't even hear approach. Again, my alpha perks up in interest, but that possessive flair isn't present. He's walking towards us with a bit of a swagger, his shoulder-length hair andspiderweb tattoos reminding me of a cousin that I have. All angst, no real bite.

"Noah!" Austin exclaims, rushing to the other alpha. "Smell Enzo's hand!"

"What the fuck? No, I'm not smelling a stranger's hand." Noah looks at Austin like he's crazy, which, I'm inclined to agree with him at the moment.

"This is my brother," Austin explains over his shoulder, grabbing Noah by the arm and dragging him over to me. "He's pack. I've known it since high school."

Rolling my eyes, I hold my hand out as they get closer.

Fucking pups.

"Pack? Austin what are you talking about—" His words cut off when he gets about a foot away from me, and pupils blow wide. Less than a second later, he's grabbing my hand and holding it up to his nose like a druggie trying to get a hit.

"Holy fuck, whoisthat?" Noah asks in awe, his cinnamon and clove scent swirling around us. "Peach…brown sugar…"

"It's Hannah," I tell him, gently pulling my hand away. Alpha number four for Hannah's new pack…or more, depending on my old pack.

His eyes widen. "Hannah?! Fuck, Aust. I bet that's why you were obsessed with her, your alpha must've recognized her even with all the scent blocking. Shit, you were right, we really are pack. Where is she?"

"She…um…got overwhelmed." Charlie looks at us sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Charlie was just in the middle of telling us how he knows her," I supply, giving him a pointed look. He's a bit older than my typical student nowadays, but it still works.

"I haven't seen her in twelve years. I went to Ollie for a tattoo, and I didn't realize he had any possible connection to Hannahuntil we were talking about his omega, and he invited me to the party tonight."

"Tattoo?" Noah's eyes light up with interest. Of course.

Charlie answers by unbuttoning the top five buttons and pulling his shirt to the side, revealing a fresh tattoo with the plastic-wrap still on it.

"Is that a bird?" Austin squints, moving closer.

Then it hits me.

"It's a magpie," I state, my mind piecing everything together. "You called her 'mags'."

"Yeah," he lets his shirt fall closed, "We were together before she presented, but I always knew she was mine, whether she presented as an omega, a beta, or even an alpha. She used to steal my shirts all the time, one time she pulled a ring right off my finger to play with. When I told her she could keep it, she got all flustered and said she was going to give it back before she left, but I could see how happy it made her. Like a magpie."

"So fuck, I really wasn't off on the stalker comment." Noah smirks.

Austin just looks lost as he looks at all of us. "Three hours ago, I was hoping to charm her with a pink frosted cupcake, and now I have a pack and a true scent match. This is…a lot to take in."

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