Page 144 of Freeing My Alpha

“Agreed,” Yasmine says. “Noah is on his way and giving me orders. Amy and Rainn, we’ll let you know if we need you outside as backup. Luna, please protect our future Luna.”

“And Lexi, please,” Kira growls.

As Kira and Yasmine take off, Rainn and Lilian sit at my sides, nuzzling me.

But I can't smell them anymore.

All I see are Amy’s wide eyes in front of me as she shifts poor Lexi’s scared body to her hip. “Oh, God. I remember this look, Luna. She’s maybe ten seconds from dissociating beyond our reach.”

I can’t really understand what Amy is talking about. In fact, I’m not fully aware of what I’m thinking about.

But my teeth chatter at the wolf eyes lighting up all around me, even Celestia reared up in defense. My mate feels the worst of all. He’s not just stuffed to the brim with rage; he’s terrified.

“I’m sorry!” I sputter. “It’s my fault Mason's mad. I spoke up, and—”

“Shh, sweetheart. Come here.” Lilian pulls my head against her chest, rubbing my back fast and hard. “Breathe all the way down to your toes and focus on the feeling of my hands on you.”

It’s only then that I realize it sounds like Lilian is speaking through a long tunnel, and I’m numb to her touch.

I close my eyes, fighting to take the reins on my own breath. As I deepen each breath, I focus on Lilian's hands, allowing them to root me back into awareness. Her cold fingers wrap around my temple and forehead, pressing me to her chest, and a strong hand on my back jostles my limp body.

But the more her touch brings me back to earth, the sicker I feel. I groan, hunching over.

“Shit, you're really pale. Are you going to throw up?” Amy asks.

My stomach recoils, threatening to spill with her words. But I shake my head, refusing to get sick. After a heavy swallow, I croak out a whisper. “I hate this. I want to protect you all too.”

“You are protecting us!” Amy says. “You told us the truth, right away, even while you were worried you caused harm by speaking up. Please, don't let Mason bully you into victim-blaming yourself again.”

Ugh, she's right. I groan, lifting off of Lilian to grip my churning stomach. “I want to protect Noah, but my wolf is freaking out. All I feel like doing right now is cowering in the corner.”

“You just got hit with a pretty bad trigger, A. You sometimes throw up from all the adrenaline, and it’s normal to go into ‘flight’ mode of fight or flight—or freeze or fawn, of course.”

Lilian sniffs my neck, and just like Amy mentioned, I freeze in submission.

Our Luna softens her voice into a comforting purr. “You’re okay, sweetheart. I’m just smelling you to see if I can sense what's wrong.”

I relax, allowing Lilian to analyze my scent freely.

But Lilian’s eyebrows furrow, taking another sniff. Then another. Soon, all three wolves are sniffing me.

Rainn’s eyebrows shoot up. “She smells... Extra sweet?”

Lilian hums. “Rainn’s correct. Your wolf isn’t jumping to protect Noah because she’s busy protecting someone else already. And if she’s telling you to cower, that ‘someone’ is inside you.”

My stomach drops. “Wait, what? What did you just say?”

Amy and Rainn meet Lilian's eyes.

“Mom, you think she’s pregnant?” Rainn breathes.

My heart leaps into my throat, followed by a million thoughts at once. I knew I could be pregnant, but I didn’t think anyone else would notice for weeks. The fact that both Amy and Lilian brought it up feels like truer confirmation than Noah and I have had yet.

But Lilian still hasn’t answered. She furrows her brows, puzzling over a few more sniffs before shaking her head. “I genuinely can’t tell. Maybe it’s because it's super early, or maybe because she's a hybrid...”

“But I haven’t missed my period yet. Noah would’ve noticed it on my scent, too.”

“Let’s follow your wolf’s instincts, regardless. She knows what’s best for you, whether we understand it or not,” Lilian says.

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