Page 34 of Her Knotty Alphas

"Hmmm." I think on it for a moment, wondering if Cady would tell us. But…no. Hannah needs to be the one to tell us what happened. Would she though? If it was so bad that she just up and left without an explanation, would she want to relive it when she probably thinks Charlie knows what happened? There's only one way to find out. "I don't mean to make a molehill outta a mountain, now. But, we could…" I trail off, whisking all my ingredients together, "ask her?"

"You think I haven't tried?" Charlie scoffs, but there's no malice behind it. Just defeat. "You think I didn't call and text repeatedly after she left, trying to figure out what the hell happened? She blocked my number." He pulls his phone out of his pocket, opening it and tapping the screen a few times before sliding it across the island to me.

Frowning, I put the whisk in the bowl and pick up the phone, scrolling. Texts to Hannah. All left unread.

Charlie

Hannah? Where are you? Kieran says you left???

Did I do something? Talk to me, mags. How can I fix it if I don't know what happened?

I keep scrolling, my heart dropping into my stomach. It's more the same "please talk to me" and "I miss you" texts, before the texts shift tone. They're more like updates on his life. Annual happy birthday texts.

Charlie

Happy birthday. I miss you.

Charlie

Getting drafted to the Phoenix Coyotes. ABL. They still call me 'Golden Boy', you know.

The texts turn to once or twice a year, always on her birthday. And then, most recently:

Charlie

I'm coming for you mags. We're going to sort this out. I just got confirmation of my trade. I'll be in Starbrook City next week

"Well, I'll be." I shake my head and pass him the phone. "You really never stopped lovin' her, did you?"

"I told you," he says as I pour my mixture into one of my bread loaf pans and smooth it out, sprinkling some extra chocolate chips and walnuts on top. "I'm pathetic. Lost without her. And that was before I even knew about the scent match."

"I could hack into her phone and unblock your number." Noah's voice sounds from the doorway and we both look at him incredulously. I note the imprint of his wrinkled pillow case and his rumpled hair. I'd feel guilty about having woken him up if he didn't just suggest violating Hannah's privacy more than he already had. "What?" he asks defensively, stifling a yawn. "You guys planning on chatting like a couple of teenagers at a sleepover, or do you want to actually do something about it?"

Rolling my eyes, I turn to open the oven and place the bread pan inside, and set a timer for fifty minutes.

"Oooh. Is that banana bread?" Noah asks, perching on the stool next to Charlie.

Charlie runs a hand over his face again, looking exasperated as hell. "Okay, putting aside the fact that would be a major breach of trust, what would we do if she found out? Then she'd be pissed at you too. And…we're going to have a talk about boundaries at some point, but I'm too tired right now."

Boundaries. From the guy who uprooted his life when he wasn't sure if she'd be here.

Noah snorts. "Yeah, good luck with that. Stalker-boy."

Charlie gives him a strange look before chuckling and shaking his head. Noah only gives him a half-hearted scowl before propping his head on his hand and looking over at me. "Oh. Are we done with the sleepover talk?"

My lip twitches as I brace my hands on the counter. "Do you have anything to add thatdoesn'tsuggest we break Hannah's potentially-already-nonexistent trust?"

"I don't know." He shrugs before glancing at the time. "Do we think they're still on their date?"

Then, as if summoned by his words, all of our phones go off in the pack group chat.

Noah grumbles, grabbing his phone out of his pajama pants pockets. "Probably bragging about—" His words cut off, causing me to pull out my own phone to look.

Enzo

Leaving Hannah's. She's a bit stressed. We came back from our date and there was a beta by her door. Apparently, her step-sisters are suing her.

Chapter 16

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