Page 14 of Her Knotty Alphas

"That's an understatement," Charlie mutters. "I'm going to be honest with you guys, I have no idea what happened to make her leave, so I don't even know how to fix it."

"We'll figure it out together," I tell him, clapping a hand on his shoulder.

"Fuck, this is some kumbaya shit, huh?" Noah looks between the three of us. "Magic of the damn true scent match. Is that why I don't want to murder all of you for being near her scent? Austin, I get, but I just met you two—the long-lost love and the professor."

My brows shoot up. "How do you know I'm a professor?"

"It's my job to know things, Lorenzo Mendez, especially when I work for your brother."

Ah, it all makes sense now. Though I haven't heard of my brother employing anyone named Noah. "He hasn't mentioned you."

"When he first hired me, he thought my last name was my first name, so now he still calls me Jameson. I'm the one who tracked down the dirtbags who were harassing his omega."

Sothisis the alpha I'll need to look up Lizzie. Good thing we have a common interest now.

"Shit, so you must be in his good graces then?" Charlie asks, and Noah shrugs.

"As good as they can be. He's a great boss, but a grumpy fucker." He shoots me a shrug. "No offense."

"I'm pretty sure it's universal knowledge at this point." I let out a wry chuckle. "Wait a minute, if you two are brothers, why do you have different last names?"

"Foster brothers," Noah clarifies, "I came to live with Austin's family right after I turned fourteen. They pretty much adopted me even though it never legally went through. My birth parents are in jail and wouldn't sign the damn paperwork."

Austin lets out a breath. "You know Mama and Pa never cared about that."

Noah chuckles and shakes his head. "The way she berates me about each tattoo and piercing I have every time I see her makes me feel like family enough."

"So…" Charlie trails off, looking at me. "What now? You saw how she ran off. And I don't think she even scented me."

"I've been getting my haircut by her for a while now…" I trail off, feeling a little embarrassed about my crush despite the fact we're scent matched. It's not lost on me that the other alphas in this forming pack are much younger than me. "The salon has astrict 'no-scents' policy, which is why I never scented her before now. I can go again tomorrow, try to talk to her."

"When did you go last?" Noah asks skeptically. "Would it make more sense for one of us to go instead?"

Shaking my head, I run a hand through my hair. "It's familiar territory for us. I think I'll get her to listen better if we're in a familiar routine." No, theydon'tneed to know that my last appointment was earlier today.

"Okay. So you go to the salon tomorrow, and then what?" Austin asks, crossing his arms.

"We exchange numbers tonight, and I'll reach out with more news tomorrow. You guys will just have to be patient until then."

"Easy for you to say," Noah mutters. "I haven't even seen her in person yet."

"I haven't seen her for twelve years," Charlie reminds him. "You'll live."

Noah just rolls his eyes, and I can't help but wonder if I'm in over my head with this still-forming pack.

"There's something else," I say hesitantly. "Hannah…well she might have four other scent matches."

"Your old pack?" Noah asks, and before I can ask how he knew, I remember. He already looked me up.

"What do you mean, your old pack?" Charlie looks rightfully cautious.

"I…we had a scent match. Which is why this whole thing with Hannah is throwing me for a loop. Though what I feel for Hannah blows everything I felt for Lizzie out of the water."

"How is that possible?" Austin gapes.

"I don't know…" I rub the back of my neck. "But it's a stark possibility that all my old packmates are matches as well. I'll have to reach out. I was actually going to ask you, Noah, if you could look into Lizzie Collins? She’d be about thirty-eight now."

"Got it." Noah nods once. "Whatever there is to find on her, I'll uncover it. Are you thinking…I mean, I know hormone sprays exist, but are you thinking she tricked you guys somehow?"

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