17. Noah
Noah
I t's been four days since we scent matched with Hannah and I'm fucking itchy all over. Enzo's been on a damn date with her for crying out loud, and I haven't even laid eyes on her in person.
I'm hunched over the island, stuffing a piece of the banana bread that Austin made last night into my mouth when the smug bastard himself waltzes into the kitchen, running a hand through his hair.
He has a light sheen of sweat from all the boxes he's been moving but I can't find it in myself to help him.
Charlie and Austin are somewhere around here, helping him with his stuff and seemingly unperturbed that he's the only one that's been in contact with our omega the last four days.
"Do we have water bottles?" He asks breathlessly, and I grunt and point over my shoulder to the fridge. The sound of my chewing and him opening the fridge and cracking open a water bottle are the only sounds in the room for a minute.
"I want to see her." The words coming out of my mouth surprise even me as I turn to face him. His brows shoot up as he puts the cap back on the water bottle. He opens his mouth, but I keep talking. "I'm the only one who's never officially met her, it's driving me crazy, and it's not fair."
"It isn't about fair , Noah." Enzo frowns at me, placing his water bottle on the table. "She's not a toy that we're all taking turns with. She's upset, and we need to give her space."
Space? Isn't that like…what omegas like the least ? If we give her too much space, she's going to think we don't care.
"We're her alphas." I challenge, taking a step towards him.
He may be all cool, and sophisticated, and fucking toned for an old man, but he's wrong about this.
I can feel it. "She needs us. She's been on her own for far too long.
She's given up, and we aren't giving her a reason to change her mind. "
Enzo regards me for a moment, looking me up and down.
Assessing.
I'm not stupid. He was a damn Fed. I know he's reading me—he's trained to. Right now, when he looks at me, all he'll see is an alpha who knows what his omega needs.
He still shocks the hell out of me though. "What do you know?"
My guard goes back up. "What do you mean?"
"You know something. You've dug into her, haven't you?" I can't tell if he's pissed or not and it's freaking me the hell out.
"I looked into her records at the OMS. Maybe I shouldn't have, but I did. I'm not going to tell you what I found, though. That's for her to tell. Just trust me when I tell you she needs us to prove ourselves right now."
Enzo looks at me for a moment longer, and to my complete surprise, nods once. "Alright. Go to her. Make sure she knows we're just trying to not overwhelm her."
A sigh of relief leaves me. I'm not sure where Enzo falls in the dominance department, but there's something about him that makes my alpha want his approval.
So fucking annoying.
An hour later, though, I'm staring at her apartment door, ice cream in one arm, and a bag of salty snacks in the other, and I knock.
There's a split second where panic fills me.
What if I'm not what she was expecting? Tattoos and piercings and jagged lines?
Enzo and Austin, hell, even Charlie, they're all…
respectable. A professor, a baker, and a pro basketball player.
Where the hell does a hacker two steps away from the wrong side of the law fit in?
There's shuffling on the other side, before a devastatingly beautiful voice calls out. "Who is it?"
"Hi, Hannah," I put my face near the door, hoping she can hear me okay, "my name's Noah. I'm…well, I'm Austin's brother."
It's quiet, and then the door creaks slightly like someone's leaning against it from the other side. "The other scent match?" she asks in a breathy voice, making my cock twitch. Damn, if this is effect she's having on me through a damn door—
"It would appear that way," I say as lightly as I can. "Can…can I come in? I brought snacks."
The door opens a crack, and I'm met with the greenest eye I've ever seen peeking out at me. Her pupils blow wide as she looks at me, and then the door opens enough for me to see the flare of her nostrils.
I know I'm mirroring her movements, because damn, smelling the remnants of her scent on Enzo's hand had absolutely nothing on the real thing. Luckily for me, though, I already had an idea of what I was walking into.
My alpha is still howling at me though. Peaches and warm brown sugar smell like fucking home.
Mine.
Mine.
Mate.
Her soft, plush, pink lips open slightly in surprise, and I can't help but notice how fucking gorgeous she is, even with her half-pink hair piled on top of her head, her freckles on full display due to her lack of makeup.
A big t-shirt hangs off one shoulder, and the peek of bare skin has my mouth watering.
Black leggings cling to her curves, and I want to run my hands over them.
She's perfect.
A small gasp leaves her, and in the next instance, she's slamming the door in my face.
"I'm sorry!" Her voice is panicked. "I just…I need a minute. Last time this happened, I ran."
A small chuckle leaves me. "That's alright, princess. Take your time." Less than a minute later she cracks the door open again, her cheeks flushed a beautiful pink.
"Can…can I…?" She takes a step forward, and I don't stop her as puts her nose to my chest, inhaling deeply. Her body visibly relaxes at the scent. "You smell…" she sighs, nuzzling into my chest in a way that makes my alpha pride soar, "you smell like autumn. And home."
"I feel the same way," I can't stop the purr that rumbles in my chest, "I'd put my arms around you, but they're kind of full."
Her eyes light up as she backs up, looking at the goodies I brought over and snatching the ice cream from my grasp. "Strawberry cheesecake ice cream! How did you know?"
"I have my ways," I grin, not telling her that I may have been scrubbing security footage from the grocery store down the street I know she frequents to find out her favorite snacks.
"The same way you knew where I live?" She asks, brow furrowed in an adorable way. "Or did Enzo tell you?"
I could lie, and tell her that he gave me the address. But…she's going to have to get to know the real me at some point. "I'm a hacker. I looked you up."
Instead of anger, like I half expected, she…blushes. "I forgot you work for Titus. I don't know whether I should be scared or impressed."
A smirk tilts at my lips. "I feel like it's good to be a little bit of both."
But then she's biting her lip. "You…you looked into me?" There's worry lining her brow, and I can tell she's wondering if the OMS records are public. They aren't of course, but that didn't stop me.
Is she worried that I know how many packs in this city are too stupid to know the best thing they've ever seen when she's staring them in the face?
"Of course I did, princess. It killed me that I wasn't able to meet you when everyone else did."
"I…what did you find?" Trepidation lines her voice, and that won't do at all. Does she think we won't want her when we find the trail of idiots behind her?
I give her a feral grin. "I feel like there's a fun game we could play to find out the answer to that question." She fucking perfumes .
Okay, mission accomplished, now reel it back, Noah.
Guess she's not put off by my profession after all.
She realizes the change in her scent, because then she's stammering, trying to change the subject.
"Do you want to come in? I mean, it's a studio, so it's also my nest, but I'm not inviting you into my nest. Yet.
Today. Enzo didn't get invited either." She shakes her head, an adorable look of frustration crossing her features. "What I mean is—"
My alpha bristles at the thought of my mate being confined to one room, while the rest of us are all moved into the giant-ass mansion Charlie bought. She deserves to have more space.
But, I shove those instincts deep down where I can't feel them anymore.
She doesn't need to think we're looking down on her or her living situation.
"I would love to come in, and I realize that you're not inviting me into the nest section of your apartment.
" I give her an easy smile, which really throws me, because when have I ever given anyone an easy smile?
Less than two minutes in this woman's presence and she's already soothing my jagged edges.
She bites her lip, nodding, and steps back into her apartment. I'm immediately encompassed in her scent, and it's a wonder that Enzo was able to control himself. It's taking everything in me to not bend her over the nearest surface and sink into her hot, wet heat.
The room reflects her personality perfectly.
It's easy to tell, even if we just met for the first time.
Everything is pink, and either sparkly or fuzzy.
Hell, I see a pink, fuzzy pillow with sparkly threading.
Her little fairy lights light up the nesting area, which is in the back corner, and in front of us is a small couch and tv against the wall adjacent to the front door.
The couch is lavender, with a well-loved blanket draping over the back.
The small kitchenette in the corner is pretty homey looking.
Everything, from the blankets in the nest, to the couch cushions, to the damn tv remote, is saturated in her scent.
"Sorry," she stammers, noticing my sharp inhale. "Living in one room doesn't really allow my scent to…disperse."
Her words shake me out of my daze. "Princess." I look at her incredulously. "Did you really just apologize for your own scent, in your own apartment? Which, by the way, smells amazing. But I'm the one who stopped by unannounced, and it's your home . It's going to smell like you."
"You don't mind?" She asks hesitantly, and this time I don't temper the urge to pull it out with my thumb. Moving my thumb under her chin, I tilt her head up to look at me.