Page 67 of Freeing My Alpha

My shoulders shake through silent tears. I got laid off.

Oh, sweet Omega... Do you need me to come give you a hug?

I cover the seat with sanitary paper, deciding I might as well use the toilet while I’m stuck here, crying. But when I slip my pants down, my heart drops to the floor.

“No,” I whimper, choking out a sob.

Oh, shit... What else just happened?

My pained weeping echoes throughout the bathroom, unable to remain stifled. I can't bear to answer Noah.

Omega? I’m already looking for you. Where are you?

Teacher’s bathroom.

Between my hint and his nose, Noah rushes in within a minute. But I stay put, hiding my face in my stall.

Noah’s sleek black boots stop in front of my door. My heart races into my throat, wondering how much of the truth he can smell.

But his voice comes out soft and pained. “Hey... What’s going on?”

“Someone’s going to get mad at you for being in here.”

“Then let me in.”

“No,” I whimper.

“Oh. Okay...” Noah’s feet point left, then right. “Should I leave, then?”

I sigh, burying my head in my hands. “No. Please, don't go.”

My sobs escalate, overturning my stomach in a nauseating threat. I don’t want to tell Noah why I'm upset, but I have to. But every time I take a breath to speak, nothing comes out.

Until Noah rests his back on my stall door, his voice softening. “Your period started?”

All that comes out of my mouth is another whimper.

Noah doesn’t push me to let him in this time, although I feel how badly he wants to see me in our bond.

My watery voice shakes through every syllable. “With how stressed I made myself, I feel like it’s my fault it didn’t work. I’ve felt so sick because of what he did back then, and—” I choke out a heartier sob, its raw sorrow echoing throughout the bathroom. I push through heaving breath after breath, struggling to get out what hurts the most. “I really thought it would work this time, but I let my past get in the way.”

I can barely sputter the words through a whisper.

Noah lifts his weight from the door, jostling the hinges. “No, sweet, no. Please don't blame yourself. This is normal. Totally normal. We just started trying, and half the time we couldn’t—”

Despite how soft our voices are, we’re both aware someone could overhear us outside the public bathroom.

Noah drops his voice lower, whispering through the door gap. “You’ve been going through so much. So much. It’s not your fault.”

A sob escapes me on its own as I clean myself up, rushing to flush the toilet.

Noah’s aching heart only strains mine worse, a fresh flood of my tears spilling as I unlock the door.

When Noah sees me, his expression melts into reflected sorrow. “Oh, Goddess. My poor, sweet—”

I burrow my face into Noah’s chest as he cuddles me into his warm embrace.

“It's going to be okay. We have so much time.”

---