Page 87 of Her Knotty Alphas

"What is it, baby?" I ask, grabbing her chin and making her look at me. Fuck, why are there tears in her eyes?

"You waited for me," she says, sounding a little pitiful and her eyes darting down. "But I couldn't…my heats…"

Realization dawns, and my heart hurts for my little magpie. "Hannah, look at me." My voice is serious as she hesitantly raises her eyes to meet mine. "You can't control your heats. Ofcourseyou had to seek help. And even if you had other relationships before we found each other again…" I trail off, trying to find the words. "Waiting for you was a choice thatImade. You thought that I betrayed you. You thought that I didn't want you. I wouldn't be able to be upset about that. And if I was, I'd have Noah beat me to a pulp."

A small giggle escapes her, making me grin. "Never any relationships," she says, her voice going quiet. "Only heat clinics. Which I despised." She scowls.

I'm not surprised at the "no relationships" bit, considering she said she was let down by so many different packs. But then she says something that makes my stomach sink. "Doctor Mejia…she has a theory about why none of the packs were interested."

I continue stroking my hand down her hair, my other hand rubbing her back. "Do you want to tell me?"

"I do," she sniffs, "Doctor Mejia thinks…maybe because we were a true scent match, even though my omega hadn't presented at the time, my omega was waiting for you. And somehow, the alphas could sense that on a primal level. That I was already spoken for."

I don't know what to say to that. On one hand, I feel bad that she spent so long feeling unwanted because of me, but on the other hand, I'm glad that her omega somehow always knew she was mine. "How do you feel about that?" I ask quietly, instead of voicing my mixed feelings.

"Really pissed at Cat," she snorts, drawing a little chuckle from me. "But at the same time…relieved? To know that I wasn't broken, there wasn't anythingwrongwith me….they just weren't the right alphas."

"And we are?" I ask, already knowing the answer but wanting to hear her say it.

"Of course you are," she sighs a contented sigh, laying her head back on my chest. "Enzo is the wise, steady one, Austin is my sweet and gentle giant, Noah has a bit of a rough edge but he uses it to protect his family….you? You're my Golden Boy. The one who's protected me nearly my whole life. Who loves me fiercely and no matter what, just wants…me." I can feel her smiling into my chest as I press a kiss to her hair. "I love all my alphas."

I don't think she's quite realized what she said as she's drifting off, but I'll let her have her moment of quiet. Her eyes flutter closed, and I take a deep breath, wondering how the hell I got so lucky.

Chapter 36

Hannah

My phone ringing has everyone groaning around me.

"Turn it off," Noah grumbles, putting a pillow over his head.

"Darlin', can you grab that?" Austin asks sleepily, and Charlie grunts, pulling me closer. Yesterday's trip to the beach was unexpected but more than a little fun. I mean, there was sandeverywhere, which made for an uncomfortable ride home, but one shower and deep soak in my tub later, and we were right as rain.

"Here you go,reinita," Enzo, who is up and getting ready for his seven am class, hands me my ringing phone. "It's the lawyer."

I shoot upright, grabbing my phone from Enzo's hand. He never calls this early.

"Hello?" I answer, my voice a little raspy from sleep.

"Hannah—oh, dammit, I'm sorry. I've been up all night and I didn't realize how early it was."

"Oh, that's okay…is everything alright?" My heart is still pounding from the burst of adrenaline that hit me when I realized Brody was calling.

"Well, that depends on how you feel about what I'm going to ask you. I've just been informed that the prosecution is requesting a lie detector test."

"A lie detector?" I ask, my brows shooting up, and my alphas stir around me. I can feel their eyes on my face, watching my reactions. Concern radiates off them in waves. "I thought…didn't I read something about them not being admissible in court?"

"Usually, yes." Brody sighs. "But since the prosecution is the one requesting it, if we agree, meaning both parties would find it beneficial, then the judge will view it as evidence. This could be good for you, Hannah. A chance to answer the questions and nobody can accuse you of lying or manipulating."

This could be it. This could be what helps the judge see that I'm not some lying, manipulative monster.

"Okay," I nod, confident in my decision. "This can only go well for me. I have nothing to hide."

"Okay great." The sound of clicking fills the background on Brody's end of the line. "They tried to tell me they'd use a polygraph company they have on retainer for things like this, but I don't trust it. We'll be going to a private polygraph company. Can you make it today, or is that too short of notice?"

"Hold on," putting him on speaker, I open up my schedule for work on my phone. "All my clients are in the morning, so I'll be able to make it after one."

"Okay…" more clicking, "how about two-thirty? The office is downtown."

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