10. Hannah
Hannah
M y phone rings for the fifth time in the last thirty minutes, and I'm about ready to murder Cady. Grabbing my phone, I'm about to answer it just so I can give her a piece of my mind.
It's only…noon.
Shit. I way overslept.
Figuring she's seen me in worse moments, I answer the video call.
"Oh my gods, you're alive!" Her voice rings out in the room, and I see my own feed in the corner of my screen, my eyes smudged with mascara and my pink hair a mess on my head. She's sitting on her couch, her long blonde hair woven into a braid that's tossed over her shoulder.
"I didn't realize it was so late," I admit, sitting up and propping myself against the pillows.
"Well, nap time is over, sleeping beauty. I've been awake for four hours and have been chomping at the damn bit to figure out what the hell is going on."
Sighing, I run a hand over my face. "Do you know why fucking Charlie Williams was at the party?"
Cady's face morphs to one of confusion before Ollie pops his head in the frame.
"Oh, that's on me. He came to me to get a tattoo yesterday, and when we got to talking he told me he went to high school with Cady.
He didn't mention you so I didn't even think to give you a heads up.
I didn't know you guys had a history, I'm sorry Hannah.
" His expression is full of remorse, and I can't find it in me to be mad at him.
He had no way of knowing just how much seeing Charlie would fuck with my heart all over again.
"It's fine, you didn't know," I tell him, and Cady gives him a reassuring smile before he goes off to do whatever he was going to do. Probably off to cause wholesome chaos somewhere.
"But you know, Hannah…" Cady trails off.
Here we go.
"Don't say it," I warn her. Cady never believed that what I told her was the whole story.
She said she never saw Charlie and Cat together after I left, and that he never dated anyone else.
That he went crazy looking for me, demanding answers from both her and my brother.
It was only out of respect for my wishes that they didn't divulge my location.
"I'm going to say it," she declares. "I think there's more to the story than those texts that Cat showed you."
"What more could there be?" I roll my eyes, ready to recite the same argument we've had so many times. "He told her he liked me, but if I presented as a beta, he'd take her as an omega. I'd stay a 'dirty little secret'. Remember?"
"Okay number one, does that seem like something Cat would have been okay with?" Cady nearly snaps. "Do you think for one second she would have sat back and accepted being put on the back burner just in case you presented?"
…I hate to admit it, but she does have a point there.
But I saw the texts. They came from his phone number.
I'm just about to point that out when she keeps going.
"Number two," Cady says softly. "What I remember is how he used to look at you when he didn't know anyone else was watching.
I remember him seeming distraught up until the day I made my own escape.
I never saw a single cheerleader, girl, or fan on his arm. "
"Cady, it's not that simple—"
"Okay, okay, I'm done." She rolls her eyes. "Now, on to the real reason for my call…you're seriously scent matched with Austin? The security guard from Tito's?"
"Yeah…" I sniff, embarrassed. "And…"
Cady's expression morphs to one of excitement. "And who? Tell me."
I frown. I thought Ollie would have spilled the beans as soon as he got inside. "Ollie didn't tell you?"
The excitable alpha pops his head in again. "I was going to give all the dirty details, but then I got called in for more karaoke by Simon of all people, so you know I had to go, and then Cady said she wanted to hear the details from you."
"Enzo." The word is so quiet as it leaves me, I wonder for a second if she heard, but then her high pitched squeal confirms that yes, she did.
"Titus' brother Enzo? Do you know what this means? We'll be legally related! Sisters-in-law!"
"Hold on just a second there, angel. Enzo already had a true scent match." Titus comes into the frame, frowning. "Hannah, are you sure?"
"I mean…" I shrug. "I already knew about his other true scent match, so I figured it might be some kind of fluke. But…" tears sting my eyes as I remember the hurt look on his face when I pulled away, "It seemed like he felt it too, so I don't even know what to think about everything."
"Oh, sweetie," Cady says, empathy filling her voice. "If you both felt it…then why fight it? Who cares if it's a fluke or a weird biological anomaly? You deserve to be happy."
"I'm…" Titus shakes his head as if to clear it, and gives me an indiscernible look.
"I'm going to have Jameson do some digging on Lizzie Collins.
I was too young to really know her when she was around my brother, but something isn't adding up.
" Before I can say anything, like ask who the hell "Jameson" is, Ollie pops his head back in.
"Also, Banana, it might be worth noting that right when I went back inside, Austin's brother went outside, and they were all out there for a very long time.
" His expression is pensive for a moment.
"Charlie too, now that I think about it, but he might just be a drama watcher.
" Great. Just what I need. My back-stabbing ex-boyfriend having a front row seat to the absolute dumpster fire that is currently my life.
And…Austin's brother? Was that the guy who came into the party with him? Because if it is…my cheeks heat when my perfume fills the air, even though there's no way that Cady can tell that I fucking slicked based on the mental image of that bad-boy alpha bending me over and—
Shaking my head, I realize I need to change the subject. Like now .
"In other news," I say shakily, and Cady looks like she might argue to keep on the subject for a second, "apparently the money that Nana left me was everything , and now the evil stepsisters are pissed because they all got a dollar each. They think that I did something to influence her."
Her expression morphs to one of disbelief as she takes in my words. "What? Do they even know you?"
"You know they've never cared about getting to know me." I snort. "But even if they did, they're so pissed about the whole thing, they wouldn't care."
"You're not going to give it to them, are you?" Cady asks sharply.
Shouldn't I? Wouldn't that solve at least one of my problems? I mean, I'm not even biologically related to Nana.
"I can see the wheels turning in your head, Hannah Beckham, and you will not be giving them a dime," Cady says with conviction.
Giving a defeated shrug, I can't find it in myself to meet her eyes. "It would be selfish of me to—"
"Don't you dare finish that sentence. Look at me.
" I hesitantly meet her eyes, and she softens a little.
"It's not about the money. It's about what Nana wanted at the end.
And she wanted you taken care of. Your step-sisters?
They all have packs. Well, besides Birdie, but she seems to take care of herself well enough.
" She shakes her head, as if annoyed by her own tangent.
"What I mean, is that this was Nana's last wish.
It just so happens that you're the recipient of it.
What's more important—keeping the Evil Step-Sisters happy, or honoring Nana? "
I don't even realize I'm crying until the drops fall from my cheeks and land on my shirt. "Dammit, Cady." I sniffle, wiping my nose. "Why do you have to go and make sense?"
"She is infuriating in that way," Ollie presses a kiss to her nose before leaving the frame again.
"I know a lawyer who owes me a favor," Cady says slowly, eyeing me as I wipe my tears. "I'll have him reach out to you, just in case they try to go the legal route."
A bitter, tear-filled, laugh leaves me. "As opposed to the ultra bitchy route of blowing up my phone and leaving semi-threatening voicemails?"
"I'm sure he's going to tell you to keep all of those, by the way," she says seriously, and I nod.
"I haven't deleted any of them." I confirm, wiping an errant tear away.
"Okay, good." She nods. "Now, back to this whole scent-match business—"
I groan, my head falling back against my pillows.
"There's nothing else to talk about, Cady.
I don't know what to do now. I've built up the whole 'finding my pack' thing so much in my head, and now I have this weird modge-podge of alphas that don't even know each other, and what if I'm not enough to hold the pack together?
Enzo already had a scent match, Austin made his feelings perfectly clear, and if his brother is a match, I don't even know his name…
and I'm going to fuck it all up. There's just no way that this ends with me happy. "
Cady shakes her head. "Okay, you're going to tell me about his whole Austin thing later, but first off, Hannah, you can't fuck it up.
You're the most…omega-y omega that I know.
You were building nests for us to huddle in when we were ten.
You're not afraid to love soft shit and let everyone see the deepest parts of yourself.
If anyone can hold a new pack together, it's you. "
We hang up not too much later, and I lay back in the cushions for a minute, letting myself imagine what life would look like if I tried to make it work.
Enzo, calm and sure. Safe.
Austin, sweet and polite. Comfort.
And though I didn't meet Noah, I can tell he has a dark edge to him. Thrill.
A shiver runs through me at the thought, the sensation going straight between my legs. This could be dangerous.
But…it could also be everything I've dreamed of.