Page 135 of Freeing My Alpha

They high-five over Rainn’s head, forcing her to duck, and when Lexi squeals, her little arms poking above her car seat to high-five herself, the whole minivan bursts into laughter. Lilian shakes her head in the far back seat, but her giggly energy radiates from here.

I’m so happy. I allow myself a soft touch on my belly despite how premature it feels to celebrate the possible-baby growing inside me. But the longer I keep my hand there, the more my heart aches at the deep, nurturing love blooming in my heart. I hope Mom can join in our fun with us, wherever she is.

30

After a long, dizzying mountain drive, I wobble on my feet outside of Celestial Couture.

I’m clammy with nerves. I hope I look nice enough.

But once we’re inside, the grandiosity doesn’t hit me the way the women described the shop. It’s beautiful, but it looks a lot like other wedding dress stores I’ve seen. Maybe Lycans aren’t used to how elaborate human weddings are.

Rainn takes my hand, running me to the nearest dress rack. “What do you think? Do you prefer something minimal? Maximal? Big and flowy, or tight and lacy?”

I grip the back of my neck, struggling to not hide my bloated stomach as nerves settle in. “Well, what do Luna Ceremony dresses usually look like? I know they’re white—”

Kira drops five blaring-white dresses on the floor across the room with a loud clatter. Yasmine backs up with Lexi in her arms, accidentally stepping on the de-racked dresses as she allows Lexi to yank another off the rack.

My stomach sinks. “Oh— Oh, my God—”

Amy rushes over to whisper-scold them, but the minute I turn back to respond to Rainn, she’s face-deep in the wedding dresses, giving them deep sniffs.

With that, I speed-walk to Amy’s side, better equipped at wrangling toddlers than a group of stubborn, hyper Lycans.

Amy nearly drops the dresses she’s cleaning up when she takes one look at me. “Oh, God, what’s wrong? You look pale.”

Everything is chaos, and we just got here!

Amy bites her lip, failing to keep from laughing at me with a snort. I don’t know what to tell you with a pack of excited wolves, girl. Impulse control flies out the window. She stands, linking her arm in mine. But hey, they’re behaving better now, aren’t they?

I look back to find Kira and Yasmine doing their best to fix the dresses, singing a clean-up song with Lexi, and at least Rainn is only sniffing them.

But then Lilian disappears behind the staff-only door at the back of the store.

My heart flips. “Um, is she supposed to go back there? It looks closed off.”

Amy shrugs. “This is a Lycan store, and Lilian is the Greenfield Luna. I doubt Celestia minds.”

Why is everyone suddenly acting like we’re snobby royalty who can do anything we want? I know Noah gives off regal vibes, but that’s just him. Lilian is too approachable with her pack members to expect the royal treatment, and Noah doesn’t even accept an extra pay cut from the Elders unless he can donate it all back to the pack.

Before I can contemplate further, my friends call out from the store’s every corner, holding up dresses.

Kira beams. “You have to try these on! We're making a pile of the hot ones!”

“Oh, um—”

“At least try one!” Rainn says.

Two breaths later, I’m bombarded with a dress pile-on from all angles.

Amy can't stop laughing. “Now that you can't see a thing, let me guide you into the dressing room.”

With Amy steering me by the shoulders, I tuck myself into a small dressing room with two sloppy armfuls of white fabric. The second I look in the mirror at my aghast, windblown expression, I laugh. I really do look like I've been wrestling with a pack of wolves.

I didn’t preview any of these, but my friends are so excited that I better try on the one that I like best to show them.

Flipping through them, I do find a favorite. Its bodice slopes against my ribs, framing my breasts in a lacy heart shape and making them look fuller. Actually, are they bigger? My heart flips. They certainly look it—far more so than when I mistook PMS for pregnancy.

I hoist up the dress to analyze them, but my brows furrow in the mirror at my flat expression. Every dress is gorgeous and expensive, and I love how this one looks.

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