Page 136 of Freeing My Alpha

But they’re wedding dresses. And I’m not getting married, I’m becoming the pack’s Luna. Noah's Luna.

My shoulders deflate in the reflection, and my hopes fall with it. I don’t know what I’m imagining myself to look like, but when I imagine myself mating with Noah in this, it’s not quite there.

But I don’t want to have to go out there and sound like a spoiled brat for not feeling this one. I’m not royalty.

Amy pops her head in, and I yelp in surprise.

When she jerks her head back, offended, I have to laugh. “Hey! What if I was naked?”

“Are you serious?” She breaks into a devilish grin. “There’s not a single portion of your body I haven’t seen after your first heat—”

I slap my palms over my eyes. “Oh, my God, stop, stop! Don’t remind me! My wolf had zero filter for everything I said and did that day.”

We laugh, but my smile quickly fades as I catch a glimpse of us in the mirror. I can’t bear to look at Amy’s sobering expression.

She softly strokes my back. “Hey, you okay?”

I try to smile, forcing back the water clouding my vision. “Sorry, I’m overwhelmed.”

Amy draws me in for a tight embrace. I sigh in her arms, laying my head on her shoulder. She whispers, ensuring no one else can hear us, but it feels like we’re 13 again and having a sleepover. “Are you still having a lot of pregnancy symptoms?”

“Yes. I really need to pee again.”

Amy giggles. “Then let’s go. They can all wait a few extra minutes.”

Wriggling ourselves out the dressing room door in an epic battle against this fluffy skirt, Amy and I dissolve into giggles. She has to hold my dress for me as I pee, and I groan.

“I don’t think this one’s going to work for a mating ritual.”

Amy’s grin darkens, and I know I’m in trouble. “Yeah, how’s Noah going to find your clit in this mountain of fabric?”

I gasp. “Amy!”

We erupt into laughter, howling loud enough for Kira to knock on the door. “You two sound like you’re up to something in there. Everything okay?”

“We’ll be out in a minute!” Amy laughs. Then she sniffs the air. “Hey, this might be kind of weird, but my wolf smells something different on you today, A. Especially since you just peed.”

“Ew, stop! What do you—" I check behind myself to wipe, and my heart stops. I cry out, forcing Amy to suck in a panicked breath.

“What’s wrong?!”

I’m in tears within seconds, hardly able to breathe. “Amy, no— There’s pink— It’s blood—”

Amy gasps. “Aliya, wait! Wait, look at me—”

I shake my head, choking out desperate sobs. I thought I wasn’t getting my hopes up that our pregnancy attempts worked this time, but now I feel my world crumbling, spinning on its head just before it falls. The first thing I imagine is Noah’s crushed expression when I tell him tonight.

Right on cue, Noah mindlinks. Are you okay?!

But Amy steadies me on the toilet seat, gripping my shoulders hard. “Listen to me before you freak out: it’s not what you think!”

“What?” I grip my aching heart. If Amy gives me false hope, I’m afraid it’ll destroy me.

But she squeezes my shoulders again. “Right before you saw that, I was about to tell you something huge, okay? Take a big, deep breath.”

I try to suck in a shaky inhale, but it ends in a harsh cough. “I can’t. My heart hurts so badly, Amy—”

“You’re pregnant, A.! It’s implantation bleeding. I can smell it.”

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