Page 29 of Freeing My Alpha

“Should I come in with you?” Noah asks.

I stop in front of Amy’s closed door. The second her stressed pheromones hit me from beneath the threshold, I nod. “Please.”

Without wasting another second, I turn Amy’s doorknob, speed-walking through her living room. I follow her scent down the hall, but I know where she is.

I find my best friend bundled beneath her comforter, her nose redder than ever from crying.

“Oh, A.,” I whisper.

This, of course, inspires Amy’s fresh tears.

I’m relieved she doesn’t seem physically hurt. Granted, Amy looks out of sorts. An expanding mass of tissues clutter her lap, each one as rumpled as Amy’s sweat-creased pajama shirt, but there’s no sign of forced entry into her apartment; her strewn navy, pleated comforter and teetering book stack on her golden-brown, wooden nightstand look the same as always.

I let out a shaky breath. Actually, my whole body is quivering. I take a deep whiff of Amy’s scent as I wrap my arms around her.

Noah’s voice softens behind us. “You want me to stay or go, Amy?”

Amy shudders through a bout of heavier tears. “Could you maybe stay?”

My heart warps as her eyes cloud over again. I glance at Noah, and his forehead is similarly scrunched in shared pain.

Noah crouches at my side. “Of course I can stay. We’re both here.”

I tuck Amy’s short, vibrant hair behind her ear to nuzzle her cheek. Her straight, red hair is messy from sleep and stress, but it’s still so silky that it glides from her ear, falling back into place.

Giving her a soft kiss on her cheek, I rub her shoulder. “Talk to me, A. When you’re ready.”

She huffs, a strand of hair puffing off her cheek. After a heavy silence, she reaches for our hands. “I need to get us a wolf pile going first.”

I flop onto Amy, making her let out a heavy grunt.

Amy sputters into nasally laughter. “Wow, okay! I guess I got what I asked for!”

Noah and I smile, climbing onto Amy and Kira’s bed; I pull Amy into my arms as Noah settles into my side. I sigh as I snuggle in, content to be stationed between two of my best friends.

“Where’s Kira?” I ask.

Amy sighs, straightening against her headboard with a loud drop of her arms against the comforter in her lap. “She’s at work. I told her not to come home for my ridiculous meltdown, especially because we’re going to need the funding.”

Noah’s concern spikes in our bond. “Are you having a hard time making ends meet? Be honest. I want to know, because that shouldn’t be happening in Greenfield, so if those Elders—”

Amy shakes her head, looking past me to meet Noah’s eyes. “No, no— We’re good, Alpha. It’s just, we’re budgeting for only two people right now, and—”

As if she didn’t realize what she was saying until it fell from her lips, Amy’s eyes bulge as mine pop open.

“What?!” I gasp. “Are you—"

“I’m not pregnant!” Amy squeezes her eyes shut.

My mouth is left hanging as I whir over the remaining possibilities. But the more I come up with, the more my heart hurts. This is huge news, and it usually takes years to even come close to adoption for most prospective parents. Why didn’t she tell me any of this?

Amy groans, hiding her face in her hands. “I didn’t know how to bring this up with you this week, A. I was going to, but Kira and I just started talking about it, literally only on Wednesday, but then last night an opportunity came up out of nowhere, just three days later, and— Fuck, this is all happening way too fast!”

“Hey, hey, let’s back up.” I grip Amy’s arm, pulling at her hand until she allows me to lace our fingers together. “Start from the beginning.”

Amy whistles out a slow breath. She bites her nails on her free hand like she always does when she’s anxious, glancing between Noah and I before dropping her focus to our clasped fingers. “Remember how you, me, and Kira talked about potentially co-parenting next year?”

I clear my throat, sharing a surprised glance with Noah. My cheeks flush; Noah’s puzzled stare tells me he didn’t realize how serious I was about having kids so soon before meeting him. “Yes. But that was before I met Noah.”

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