Page 21 of Her Knotty Alphas

"Okay, good." She nods. "Now, back to this whole scent-match business—"

I groan, my head falling back against my pillows. "There's nothing else to talk about, Cady. I don't know what to do now. I've built up the whole 'finding my pack' thing so much in my head, and now I have this weird modge-podge of alphas that don't even know each other, and what if I'm not enough to hold the pack together? Enzo already had a scent match, Austin made his feelings perfectly clear, andifhis brother is a match, I don't even know his name… and I'm going to fuck it all up. There's just no way that this ends with me happy."

Cady shakes her head. "Okay, you're going to tell me about his whole Austin thing later, but first off, Hannah, you can't fuck it up. You're the most…omega-y omega that I know. You were building nests for us to huddle in when we were ten. You're not afraid to love soft shit and let everyone see the deepest parts of yourself. Ifanyonecan hold a new pack together, it's you."

We hang up not too much later, and I lay back in the cushions for a minute, letting myself imagine what life would look like if I tried to make it work.

Enzo, calm and sure. Safe.

Austin, sweet and polite. Comfort.

And though I didn't meet Noah, I can tell he has a dark edge to him. Thrill.

A shiver runs through me at the thought, the sensation going straight between my legs. This could be dangerous.

But…it could also be everything I've dreamed of.

Chapter 11

Enzo

My eyes crack open as the bright rays of sun shine through the apartment blinds, and I groan, throwing an arm over my eyes.

Sleep was more elusive than ever last night, and after I tossed and turned for hours, sleep finally took me around four in the morning. The thoughts that had kept me awake are the same ones that now prevent me from closing my eyes and going back to sleep.

The little omega I've had a crush on, the same one who I had to keep myself from hunting down all night is…mine.

Hannah is my true scent match.

But how is that even possible?

I mean, it makes sense now. My infatuation with her despite her being thirteen years my junior. I should feel like a dirty old man. But Hannah makes me feel…strong. And fuck, herscent—

I groan as the memory of her peaches and warm, sweet brown sugar scent makes my cock so hard I'm surprised there's any blood left in my brain for me to think at all.

She nearly gave me a heart attack, with the way she fell back from behind the house, pointing at some unknown danger and my alpha had snarled within me, ready to rip the head off anyone who would dare threaten her.

Thank goodness it was only a Halloween decoration, otherwise…a shiver runs through me. I'm no stranger to violence, but I retired from my job as a federal agent in the Omega Crimes Bureau for a reason.

If I had thought I was overprotective before, it was nothing compared to actually scenting her and having my alpha react. He raged, desperate to go after her, butsomeonehas to keep a cool head around here.

Being near Hannah incites this protective urge that I never felt with Lizzie. Sure, I was protective of her in the way that alphas inherently are of all omegas, but not like I would want to rip out the heart of anyone thatlookedat her wrong.

Dammit.

That's some pretty intense shit. Rubbing a hand over my chest like that might ease my alpha, who is now up in arms at the thought of our omega being in any kind of danger.

With Lizzie, I had been so,sosure at the time. She made me react in all the uh…right, ways. Rut, knot, bite.

But with Hannah? It's almost like my reaction to Lizzie was a lust-filled fever-dream rather than a true connection. I wonder if the rest of my old pack feels the same way. If Hannah is my true scent match, then there's a chance that the rest of the guys are matched to her too. Hank, Jamie, Laurent, and Stanford.

We started hanging out in college, right here at Starbrook University, and the five of us never realized we were pack until Lizzie, a doe-eyed freshman, had shown up to our house with a flyer for a party her sorority was throwing. The reaction from all of us was instant.

I grab my phone off the nightstand and curse when I see the time. I slept until twelve-thirty in the afternoon like a damn teenager.

I suppose it's good that I got eight hours of sleep though, if I'm going to put myself through seeing some of my old pack again. They deserve a second chance at happiness, just like it seems I'm getting.

It's not that we ended on bad terms, we just…ended. All of us distraught and heartbroken after our true scent match left us. She only lasted a few months with us before packing a bag in the middle of the night, with nothing but a vague note. No real explanation, no reason as to why she brought us together as a pack only to rip us apart.

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