Page 33 of Freeing My Alpha

“We’re just lucky I caught them before their raging pheromones sent me into a rut,” Kira mutters.

My eyes widen. “Oh, God, what?! I’m nowhere close to being in heat.”

Kira and Amy laugh, glancing at one another in a silent conversation I’d never be able to decipher. But after Noah hands us our water glasses, he looks just as nervous as I am, eyeing us three women as he frantically sorts his hair.

Are you going to tell them, or should I? Noah mindlinks.

I swallow hard. Maybe I should, if you think it’s time? I can, right now.

Maybe we should just focus on their baby first. They might be too stressed to commit to our future kids right now.

I bite my lip. I don’t think so— Amy would be honored. But maybe we should take our time to ask Rainn too. Then we can wait to ask everyone officially once I’m pregnant.

As the gravity of what I just mindlinked hits us both, Noah’s cheeks flush, and my stomach grumbles.

Then I feel eyes on me.

“What’s wrong? You have that face,” Amy says.

“What face?” I blurt out. My voice squeaks, and Noah bites back a laugh.

Amy’s eyebrows flatten. “Girl, just spit it out.”

I laugh, plopping to the loveseat cushion beside Noah. “It’s not like that, Amy! This is serious.”

Amy and Kira’s eyebrows furrow in unison.

Then Amy gasps. “Are you pregnant?”

“No!” I sputter, rubbing my flushing cheeks. But Noah is faring worse, burying his head in his hands with soft chuckles. Despite his wide palms covering his face, it’s doing nothing to hide his bright red ears.

But to my surprise, he sits back with a deep breath. Taking my hand, Noah’s low voice silences the rest of us. “We’ve both talked something over.”

“Okay, and that is?” Amy glances between us with tensed eyes.

“We have similar concerns about the future when we start a family. So, we thought—” My stomach tightens, so I look to Noah.

He grips my hand, keeping his eyes on my best friends. “In the horrible circumstances that you’re both no longer around someday, we wanted to offer our readiness to raise your child as our own— I-if you’d want that, of course. And if you’re o-open to it, we’d trust you to do the same.”

“And you don’t have to decide this now! We just—” I glance at Noah, softening my shaking voice. “We felt strongly about supporting you in making sure your little one is protected in the future, and hoped that it would provide some peace of mind to know we’re willing to be there, no matter what.”

I can’t help it, I’m death-gripping Noah’s hand. He squeezes back just as hard as we stare at Kira and Amy, awaiting their reaction.

But as Kira’s lip wobbles, Amy lets out a desperate gasp at her mate’s sudden tears. “Oh, my love—”

Kira buries her face into Amy’s embrace, letting out soft sniffles. “Sorry, it’s just— I really was worried about that, so I’m so relieved.”

“God, so am I,” Amy says. She turns to us, opening her arms to include us too.

We join their cuddle pile, Noah giving all three of us a tight squeeze.

“You really will be her second parents if something happens to us? Just in case?” Amy asks through a weepy smile.

“Absolutely. The second I saw her photo, I knew she was yours, which means I fell in love with her too,” I say. “But please, stay here to live an old, weathered life with me. We need you here, and I’m just as ecstatic to be her Auntie for life.”

Amy and Kira smile through their tears, their scents exploding with a mix of excitement, fear, and love.

“Shit, we’re really doing this,” Kira says.

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