Page 33 of Her Knotty Alphas

"Hey man," the guy at my door, a wiry beta, I realize now, raises his hands, a manila envelope in one. "I'm just here to deliver some mail to Hannah Beckham."

Mail? At ten on a Saturday night?

I frown, my cheeks flushing at the memory thelasttime I had come home to some mail when with an alpha. Shaking my head to clear the offending thought from my mind, I step out from behind Enzo, a reassuring hand on his back. "That's me." I hate how small my voice is.

He approaches, ignoring the growly alpha next to me, and hands me the manila envelope. "You've just been served." His words echo in my mind long after he's disappeared down the hall, and I stand there, staring at the envelope in my hand,"Herman & Sons Law Offices" stamped in the upper left-hand corner.

Chapter 15

Austin

Hmmm. Zucchini bread? Red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting?

Humming, I look through the pantry of the freshly stocked, state-of-the-art kitchen at the damn mansion Charlie bought.

I don't have any powdered sugar to make frosting, but I do spy some chopped walnuts and chocolate chips, and I distinctly remember saving three browning bananas from the wrath of Noah's trash bag earlier.

"Hannah is going to think we're disgusting if we have rotting bananas lying around!" he had said, trying to hold them out of my reach. Once I informed him that there were many uses for browning bananas in the kitchen, however, he relented. Giving them to me, he had grumbled something about blaming me if the omega thought our house stank.

Piling the ingredients in my arms, I put them on the counter just in time to see Charlie in the doorway of the kitchen, grinning at me. "Settled in quickly?"

Wincing, I glance at the time on the stove as I go to pre-heat it. Eleven at night. "Couldn't sleep. I bake when I'm stressed—hope I didn't wake you."

"Nah, man, you're good." Charlie yawns as he walks over to one of the brand new bar stools for the kitchen island. "I couldn't sleep either. Keep thinking about Enzo and Hannah on their date."

My brow furrows as I start mixing all my dry ingredients into a bowl. "You think they're still out?"

"I don't know. And I hate that. I used to know so much about her. Now I wouldn't be able to tell you what time she goes to bed or if she's likely to invite our most experienced pack member in for a nightcap."

It's not like I have any insight either, so I give a noncommittal hum, continuing my process of mixing the flour, baking soda, chocolate chips, and walnuts in the bowl. Charlie's eyes are trained on where I'm mixing the ingredients, but I don't really think he's looking at me. It seems like he's in a daze, almost. Lost in his own thoughts.

Itisrather strange being in the same kitchen as Charlie Williams. I don't really follow basketball, but I know enough to realize what a big deal he is. Apparently his teammates seem to agree, as they all showed up at mine and Noah's apartment thismorning, helped us load everything into a truck they rented and drove it here.

"So you…you'd met her before?" Charlie asks, his question snapping me out of my own daze.

"Yeah, once," I admit, turning to open the fridge and grab the eggs. "The night pack Sheffield went after Cady, I had been working security at the club. Ladies' night."

"And you guys didn't hit it off? What about her scent?" He shakes his head like he can't get the questions out fast enough. "What aboutyours?"

"Well, as an unbonded omega, Hannah'd gone the smart route n' took scent blockers." I shrug. "And it's protocol for security as well, so we don't intimidate or scare any of the female patrons. Especially on ladies' night. I stayed with her and her friend while Titus Mendez and their friend's alpha went after Cady." A shiver runs through me at the memory of the burly alpha pinning me against the wall, demanding to know what other exits were in the building. Man was a scary motherfucker when his mate was in danger.

"And did you know that it was Noah's boss at the time?" he asks, curiosity lining his voice.

"Nah. I just saw a scary fucker who wanted to save his omega." I grin, shrugging as I whisk the eggs, and then start adding the rest of my wet ingredients. "Didn't find out until I told the story to Noah and he recognized Cady's name. He's the one who nailed the Sheffield pack on their harassment of her."

"So what happened between you two?" Charlie asks, his eyes narrowing. "She didn't seem very warm towards you either."

I sigh, thinking back to the night we first met. How I had been distinctly aware of her even then. The way she looked, happy and carefree, dancing with her friends. The way our stares had collided over the throng of people writhing on the dance floor. She had looked at me with such hunger in her eyes, and thenshe had instinctively moved closer to me when I was with her and Wren. Like she knew I'd protect her. Then I had insisted on driving her home, and I thought I'd get her number…

And it all went to shit.

"It don't matter now." I shake my head, giving Charlie a pointed look. "At least she doesn't hate me, so there's hope. You wanna tell me what happened with the two of you to make you think she'd resist joining the pack if she knew you were a match?"

"That's the thing," Charlie runs his hands over his face again, his eyes tired, "I don'tknowwhat happened."

That has me frowning and looking up from where I've started mashing bananas. "You havenoidea? You gotta havesomenotion as to why she ran."

"Trust me, man I don't." He looks dejected, his eyes shining with remorse. "One night, she snuck out of her room to come hang out with me in my car for a little bit. We had a conversation where I told her no matter how she presented, we'd be together. Then the next day, she was just…gone. Nobody would tell me where she went, and whatever happened, she didn't tell Kieran. Cady wouldn't say two words to me about it. I have a sneaking suspicion that her step-sisters had something to do with it, but it's not like I have proof. We were happy. In fucking love. Like, the purest form of love. She wouldn't have just…left."

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