Page 61 of Her Knotty Alphas

"Hello, alphas." She nods at us before approaching Hannah. "I'm going to take a look at your omega for a moment." I do my best to stifle the growl that rattles in my chest. This is the doctor. She's here to help.

Enzo shoots me a look that looks a little murderous, and I clear my throat, taking a step back.

In the middle of Doctor Mejia pressing her abdomen, Hannah's eyes flutter open. "Doc…Doctor Mejia?" Her voice is scratchy as she blinks, looking around the room, her eyes widening as they land on all of us.

"Hello, Hannah," the doctor says kindly, moving her hands to feel her lymph nodes under her throat, "I hear you passed out at work."

Hannah flushes pink in realization, no doubt remembering our conversation just before she lost consciousness. When her head falls back into her pillows, she lets out a little groan. "Oh my gods, what happened?"

"You had a conversation with Brody Sheffield regarding your Nana's case," Enzo says gently, walking to the other side of her bed, "which Doctor De Lucca—"

Hannah's head shoots up and she finds Simon standing by the door. "Shit. Hi, Simon."

"Hi, Hannah." He gives a little wave.

Enzo continues. "Simon believes that put you in a rather stressful situation, and since you were already battling with scent sickness—"

I don't think anyone is ready for when tears well up in Hannah's eyes. She looks at Doctor Mejia accusingly. "Youtoldthem?"

Simon steps in. "Hannah, we called your emergency contact, which, as you know, is Cady. She confirmed these alphas as your new pack, and therefore they are privy to your medical information in a situation such as this."

"I didn't. But I would have," Doctor Mejia says a little harshly as she steps back. "This is serious, Hannah. If you continue on like this—"

"I was with them last night!" She argues, the tears that had gathered in the corners of her eyes start to fall.

"It's not enough then," Doctor Mejia's voice switches back to gentle as she sits on the stool I had been occupying before, "you need more, Hannah. I'd say constant exposure for at least forty-eight hours. This will stop you from having withdrawals, but it might push you into an early heat."

"Do we know what caused this when she was just with us all last night?" Noah asks, voice tight.

The doctor shakes her head and sighs, turning back to Hannah. "I believe that when you got that call, your omega went into fight or flight mode, but without a bond or scents to ensure that your alphas were nearby or available to take care of you…"

"It just…quit?" Hannah's voice is tiny. "Shit, I really am broken, aren't I?"

Enzo, Austin, Noah, and I all make sounds of protest, but the doctor ignores us. "Why are you digging your heels in on this? I know you've always wanted a pack, and from what I can tell, these true scent matches of yours are good alphas, and they want to take care of you. Why can't you let them?"

My brows shoot up at the doctor's words, thinking she sounds like a therapist and a doctor all rolled into one.

Hannah looks down, her eyes trained on where her hands are fiddling with the hospital blanket in her lap.

"Doctors, could we please get a moment with our omega?" Enzo is as polite as ever, and both doctors exchange a look beforenodding and leaving the room. The door clicks shut behind them, and to my surprise, Enzo gets on his knees. Hannah won't meet his eyes as he takes her hands. "Preciosa, didn't I tell you last night that you being in danger is something that I will not stand for?"

Lower lip wobbling, she nods slightly.

"Will you please tell us why…why you won't let us all the way in? Why you won't allow us to take care of you?"

The room is silent. The heart rate monitor picks up slightly, betraying our omega's nerves.

"Twenty-three." The words are so quiet, I almost don't catch them.

"What's that, darlin'?" Austin asks from behind me.

"Twenty-three," her voice is clearer as she looks up at us. "That's how many packs I've met with since I first went to the OMS."

My heart drops in my chest, my blood turning to ice.

Twenty…three?

"That's how many packs didn't want me when they hardly knew anything about me," she continues, voice wavering slightly. "How many packs went on one date with me and said 'no thanks, not interested'. There's obviously something wrong with me, so why…" She chokes on her words, and I hate how broken she looks. "What's going to stop you from seeing the same thing those other packs saw and decide that I'm not worth it? That you don't really want me? It seemed too good to be true, and then this whole scent sickness bullshit happened, and I thought, 'okay, this is what makes them run'. How can you bear to be tied to an omega so…so broken that she gets sick if she doesn't have your scents?"

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