Page 80 of Her Knotty Alphas

Having the match set up as a tag team makes it go on for much longer than a regular fight, since when one team member is in a tight spot, the other can just tap them out and switch places.

Enzo obviously knows what he's doing, having been a federal agent, and yeah, he's big, but these guys are bigger. I'd never met Cat's pack, so I didn't even realize she was into guys that look like that.

"Get him, Enzo!" I scream, jumping to my feet as Enzo manages to get one of the guys on the ground. The sheer size difference alone makes this an incredible feat, and I watch with bated breath as Enzo wraps his legs around the guy's torso, pulling out jiu-jitsu moves.

I canjusthear Cat on the other side, screaming, "Don't you dare tap out! You better lose consciousness first!"

Of course, David reaches his hand over to the edge of the rink, which is just close enough for Hanson to tap in.

"Fuck," Austin hisses, watching as their hands touch, and Hanson storms into the ring, pulling Enzo off him. David scrambles out of the ring, breathing heavily while Enzo and Hanson battle for control. Enzo manages to get him on the ground, but in the next instant, he's being bent in half by the brute, and I have to stifle a whine. Luckily, they're close enough to the edge of the ring that Noah can tap him out, but now we're back where we started, With Noah facing off against Hanson.

My heart is pounding in anticipation, sweat running down my back as I watch my alphas battle it out. Formybenefit.

I never should have agreed to this. Any injuries they get will be my fault. "Dammit," Charlie rubs a hand over his face. "They need to do something to get out of this endless cycle."

It occurs to me then, these guys, David and Hanson, they've always been the bigger fish. My alpha? He learned out of necessity. He's a scrapper. He's bigger than he used to be, but still leaner than most of the alphas who fight, and he knows how to use that against them.

Noah lunges into the ring and immediately unleashes a brutal left hook on Hanson. He hits him just right, because the guy topples over like a giant stack of bricks, hitting the floor with a thump. I jump up, screaming his name with my fists raised as he turns to me and points a finger straight at me, winking. My heart flutters in my chest as a ref quickly drags Hanson out of the ring. Well, not quickly, because Hanson is huge and at least two hundred and fifty pounds, but quickly enough, and Noah turns to face David, who's climbing back in.

One down, one to go.

Noah dives for his waist, surprising him and bringing him down to the ground. They grapple for control, David trying to get his legs around Noah's head, but my alpha is too fast. He maneuvers them so his leg is across David's chest, pulling one ofhis arms with one hand, while his other arm hooks around his leg.

David struggles, and I can see from here that if he moves wrong, he could break his arm. My eyes flick to Cat, whose face is set in rage, and I can barely hear Noah screaming at David. "Dude! Tap the fuck out!"

Finally, he stops struggling, and his hand taps Noah's chest.

Cat screams in rage while I jump up, hugging Austin and Charlie. "They did it!" I run to Enzo, who's standing at the side of the ring, covered in sweat and a huge smile on his face, and wrap my arms around his neck. "You guys did it."

Noah climbs out of the ring, and I detangle myself from Enzo, whirling on him. "What the hell, Noah?" I snap, planting my fists on my waist. "You were just going to face off against two guys bigger than you? What was your plan here? To…to…ignore me telling you to forfeit and get beaten to a pulp for…for what?"

"How could I forfeit when you put your faith in me?" he asks. "You never would have even agreed to this if it weren't for me in the first place. I had to do what I could to get you out of this mess."

"Noah." I shake my head, stepping towards him. "No amount of money is worth the hurt that you would have gone through." Because I know that he never would have tapped out. He would have kept going until he dropped. The thought of receiving that much money while my alpha lays broken in a hospital somewhere makes my stomach turn.

He looks at me like I've slapped him. "Princess, you realize fivemilliondollars is on the line?"

"You think I care about that when it comes to my alpha's safety? Noah, you could have—" I'm cut off by the feel of Noah's hand bracing my neck as he crashes his mouth to mine. All anger dissipates as it sinks in that he'ssafe. He didn't get hurt, and he didn't get hurt trying to save me.

I'm held in place as he dominates my mouth, his mouth moving against mine with purpose andpossession. Wolf whistles and cheers from the crowd go up around us, but I can hardly hear them over the sound of my own heartbeat. Over the feeling of his hand grounding me.

When he pulls back, he rests his forehead against mine. "I fucking love you, Hannah Beckham." I pull back slightly, blinking up at him.

Did he just…?

He doubles down. "I don't care that it's only been a few weeks, I don't care that you're my true scent-match. I loveyou. You're sweet, and you meet my sarcasm head-on, and you always put everyone ahead of yourself. You light up any room you walk into and you…you make me want to be a better alpha, Hannah Beckham. One who's worthy of you."

I blink away the tears that had started welling up in my eyes.

Noah…Noahlovesme? His words race through my head as I try to wrap my mind around the fact that this strong, smart, sexy alpha lovesme.

Me. Hannah rejected-by-tweny-three-different-packs Beckham.

But maybe…maybe the rejections don't matter if they weren't the right packs for me to begin with.

That's the thought that gives me the courage to blink away my tears and lift my chin as I look at him. "I fucking love you, Noah Jameson."

This time my arms wrap around his neck as he kisses me, and the crowd goes wild.

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