Page 2 of Freeing My Alpha

A flood of pups trickles in through the forest, brawling, scrambling up trees, and face-planting into the fresh mud stirred up from last night’s downpour.

“One, two, three, eyes on me!” Rainn shouts.

So some things are the same.

Or maybe just this one thing.

Every single wild eye zips to Rainn and me in a millisecond. Their laser focus tempts me to take a step back. The pups might be in a disastrous state of leaves, mud, and scratches, but every pup awaits Rainn’s direction no matter how young, better focused than a crowd of adult human teachers in our board meetings. Survival instincts emanate from them, as well as a gentle, wafting glow of eager curiosity in their scents.

Now that they’re frozen, I do a quick mental check of everyone present, memorizing who I’m accountable for today. The longer I stare, the more pups I spot: tucked behind each other, infants wrapped into their older siblings’ arms, and just the tops of heads and eyes poking through bushes.

Rainn smiles at me before turning back to her class. “I brought someone very special with me today.”

The class’s focus zips to me. They take a collective deep breath, and I feel like it’s the first day of my teaching career all over again, shuffling where I stand as I overthink my nervous smile. All it takes is one little wolf to scream “Luna,” and a deluge of little ones pour onto the path, latching onto my legs and hopping all around me.

I burst into heavy laughter. “Oh, my goodness! Look at all of you sweet pups!”

But there’s no true way to express my vibrating excitement, flowing so strongly through my body that it aches. These aren’t just any pups, these are our pack’s pups.

Greenfield Pack is one huge family. Rainn isn’t the only one to tell me everyone treats each other like their own dearest loved ones, regardless of if they’ve met before.

But carrying the Greenfield family name signifies something deeper: these little ones are Noah’s. Ours.

I hug them back on instinct, gathering as many squirming bodies into my arms as I can hold. My wolf zooms in rapid circles through our bond. I love them! I love them!

Noah doesn’t mindlink anything—our bond tells me he’s running in wolf form, and therefore, full wolf brain—but his wolf certainly notices mine. He’s on the prowl at the perimeter, somewhere to the southwest; our bond tugs my heart toward him like a compass. His heart aches with longing, and I assume it’s because he’s desperate to meet with Rainn and me in an hour, as planned. I have a feeling he’ll show up even sooner.

My heart picks up the pace. What will Noah be like, surrounded by all these pups? Will his playful wolf be in charge, or his steady, quiet pillar of a personality, soothing these pups into tranquility?

“Here you go!” A little voice cries out, depositing a literal infant into my arms.

I gasp. “Oh, my— Who is this?”

“Sarah!” Bright, beaming eyes of an older sibling greet me above a tooth-gapped grin. “She likes your scent.”

My heart flips over itself as baby Sarah burrows her face into my chest, her arms flailing with excitement that she hasn’t figured out how to control yet.

“Oh, God, she’s so— They’re all so—” Nothing can describe my love for the curious eyes around me. I look to Rainn for help, my heart threatening to overflow.

“Okay, okay!” Rainn laughs, shooing pups off me. “We can take turns nuzzling our Luna throughout the day, or else we won’t have enough time to play with her.”

With that, they scurry off, affectionately brushing our sides on their way. Many pups cling to one other instead, nuzzling one other’s faces and glomping into heavy hugs in greeting.

I’ve never seen anything like it. Most of the workweek, I have to stop my human kids from harassing each other too much, not from consensually cuddling too much. My hands shake as I adjust Sarah in my arms, nestling her in a tender cradle when she whines for deeper touch.

Overwhelming instinct takes over, and before I can stop myself, I’m nuzzling her chubby cheek. I freeze the second I realize what I’m doing, but Sarah explodes into a squealing bundle of happiness, her full gums on display.

My heart splits open from how quickly she expands it. It’s not just her unbearable cuteness, but her warm, delighted scent. There’s a hint of wonder in every fleeting waft of it, but most of all, there’s a deep, hungry love for me as her current caregiver. I can’t slow my rapid breath.

Goddess, I can’t take this, Noah mindlinks. I need to see you in action.

2

Ican’t bear to respond, flustered to my core. By the time I can pry my eyes off Sarah’s adorable marshmallow cheeks, Rainn has taken off down the path, leading the little ones with brisk strides. She doesn’t bother looking back despite a few stragglers. But as they keep their eyes trained on me instead, I realize they’re waiting, keeping me looped into the pack.

“Thank you for waiting, pups! Let’s get going so we don’t miss anything Teacher Rainn says.”

With a gasp, the pups scramble over a massive fallen log, darting after Rainn. I laugh, enamored by their excitement. That alone tells me Rainn’s classes are priceless. Best of all, Sarah lets out a gurgly laugh with me.

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