Page 69 of My Shy Alpha

Ugh, fuck. I want to shift so I can kiss you, but I left my clothes in my tree hole, and I don’t trust us naked.

I giggle. “You have a tree hole? That sounds...”

He pants, nudging me to my feet. This is exactly why I can’t be naked. Don’t excite your mate even more. I have a territory negotiation dinner I can’t be late for.

Noah burrows his head into my belly until I’m smushed against his side, failing to escape his ticklish attack with breathless laughter. He wags his tail so hard that his butt wiggles. Let me take you to my tree, then I can kiss you before you go home.

I climb on, taking the chance to hug him with my whole body.

Noah gives a happy growl as he slinks from the cave, weaving into his forest.

When Noah shifts out of his wolf form beside his tree hole, his teal eyes lock on mine. I bite my lips, struggling to stop staring at his gorgeous, copper skin, stripped bare and glistening beneath the orange sunset.

Noah huffs, having to turn his back as our bond tingles with desire. All he can slip on are his boxers before he whips back around, tackles me in a huge hug, and kisses me against the tree. I flush from my core to my ears.

His lips are feverish and serious, his hands caressing me with so much cuddling pressure that I sigh in delight. After his kisses grow soft, losing their desperation, I’m left dazed and smiling. But Noah remains serious.

“Sweet Omega...” His voice is gentle, making me want to stifle my flustered breath just to hear him out loud again. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”

I trace his stare, soaking in his sincerity.

When I lean in to kiss him, I brush his mark with my fingertips - like he keeps doing to that golden spot on my neck. I think I’m finally getting it. It’s an “I adore you” without the pressure of explaining how or why.

Noah sucks in a heavy breath, hugging me as tight as he can as his eyebrows melt into tender emotion. We gaze into each other’s eyes, the tips of our noses touching as we breathe each other in.

Then he groans. “No, I can’t. I can’t let you go for the night.”

“I don’t want to go either, but I have to teach tomorrow,” I say. “Maybe I could sleep over some nights and leave early for work?”

He perks up. “Y-yeah? Will you?”

“As long as you’ll stay at my place sometimes too.”

Noah kisses me through his smile, his warm lips making me ache for more. “Of course I will. I’m still dying to hold you.”

“I want to hold you again too, Alpha.”

He flushes, his head dipping with a soft smile.

Melancholy fills me. “I’ll... keep the door unlocked for you. Just in case.”

“Then I’ll... try not to mindlink you too much.”

I smile. “Please do.”

Noah laughs, and it’s the last I see of him for the night.

As soon as Amy turns onto the forest road home, I’m struggling not to cry in her passenger’s seat. I bottle it all, angrily shoving everything into my gut.

It’s not only from missing him. I’m questioning everything, intrusive thoughts souring my insides with petty, brutal questions about my reality. What if he’s faking it? What if this is just new relationship energy? What if this the best it’ll ever feel, and it’ll only get worse from here?

Maybe, I tell myself. It’s possible, but I can’t know for certain.

That finally settles me into my chair.

But I’m still annoyed at myself. How can I be so pessimistic when I have a chance at everything I’ve ever wanted? Why can’t I accept it’s real and be happy?

Amy grabs my hand as she drives, keeping her eyes on the winding road. “A., you seem on edge. Are you about to have a panic attack? Or did you have a flashback? Or something else?”

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