Page 38 of Freeing My Alpha

After a tense silence, she treks ahead through the forest so quickly that I have to jog to catch back up.

“Luna? I’m sorry, did I—"

Lilian squares her shoulders as she strides. “Let’s go. We have a lot of preparation to do before dinnertime, and Noah tells me you’re interested in supporting our Rogues. They’ll be pleased to see you.”

We trudge deep into the forest, nearing the Community Center, but my heart is still back in that clearing, restless with distress for Lilian. Just like her son, she can’t accept being held for once.

This trend needs to end in Noah’s and my generation. I want to make sure of it.

We're flooded with wolves the second we arrive at the Community Center. Like everyone has described, it’s fuller than I last saw it, growing weekly. There’s still room to walk, but remarkably less.

As Lilian introduces me to a few adult Rogues, one little Lycan grips onto my skirt, begging me for a hug with desperate, outstretched arms.

Their grown-up gasps, diving to pull the little wolf back. “Honey, don’t interrupt our future Luna!”

“Oh, no, please don’t worry about me! I teach preschool for a living, so this is gladly welcome.” I pat the little wolf’s head, unsure if I should return their hug. But when I look at their grown-up to ask her what’s appropriate, I'm shocked by her furrowed brows.

Lilian mindlinks me without a single glance in my direction, nodding along to another Rogue’s hushed concerns. Lycans will misunderstand your “polite” hesitation as disgust if you follow human rules. Especially as a Luna.

That’s right. Noah said he treats all pack members as a cuddly family. No personal boundaries.

Dropping to my knees, I accept the little one's hug. Then every hug that comes flying toward me—and there’s plenty. Pups dash in, screeching and laughing. I'm grateful to fall back in my element, letting my laughter calm my nerves as ten little Lycans pounce on me.

Once they overtake my head, climbing up my back, Lilian yanks them off me, one by one.

It’s the brightest I’ve ever seen her smile. “Alright, alright! Our future Luna is busy. Go play chase before I lose my patience.”

The little wolves skitter away with squeals of laughter, chasing each other through the courtyard.

The Rogue grown up smiles, a distant look in her eyes as she watches her pup. “Goddess, I gave up everything just to hear that laugh again.”

My eyes flush hot with tears. Before I can think, I slip my hand into hers.

Shit, that was my impulsive wolf. Touching her could’ve startled her after what she has been through—I know from experience—but she must smell my aching heart for her. She turns to me with hopeful, wide eyes.

And I speak my heart despite my shaking voice. “I’d love to support you too. I’m sure it’ll be nothing compared to what you’ve done for your little one, but please, is there anything I can do to make your life easier?”

Her lip wobbles, her stare flitting between my eyes. When she crashes against my chest in a tight hug, all I can do to keep from crying is to hug her back just as hard, squeezing my eyes shut.

“Just being here in Greenfield means a lot,” she whispers. “We’re doing just fine.”

I rub her back, and she purrs. It brings a rush of relief to my heart. “Just fine isn’t ‘great.’ From Omega to Omega, please share anything you’d like with me about your experience here. Even if it’s just needing another pair of socks.”

She takes a deep breath over my shoulder, huddling into me a little tighter. After a silent minute, she mutters, “We lost everything, Luna. Absolutely anything makes a difference.”

My heart shatters. How could anyone be so heartless as to act like these Omegas are making up this pain? It’s so real, I don’t just smell it: I feel her agony in my chest.

Maybe Steven forced me to make a choice to leave him, but it wasn’t without grueling, torturous questions I weighed for years beforehand. I never knew I was getting myself into an abusive relationship, and I know these refugees didn’t either. But with wolves’ social pressure to bond with a fated mate right away, tying our souls to someone before we even know them, how confusing must it have been for this woman to need to leave her abusive mate?

She must’ve held so much hope that her mate was “the one,” only to be crushed when they hurt her. Out of countless difficult questions she must’ve asked herself, every answer had to be horrifying: either fate—her Moon Goddess and source of faith in life—was dead-wrong, fate chose to torture her on purpose, or her mate took advantage of her heart’s trust. No matter what, her abusive mate locked her soul into a never-ending pain spiral, and the only way out was to rip their bond apart. I know from experience that leaving meant losing her livelihood, friendships, and status quo on top of already being hurt by her abuser for years prior.

And yet, we both somehow made it here, into each other’s embrace.

Following my instincts, I wrap my arms as far as I can around her, holding her close. She grips me like a lifeline. It’s not until then that she breaks into tears. My eyes flood with her, just the sound of her broken heart ripping through my chest. But as I whisper my ideas about additional monthly care packages for her and her new Community Center family, she loosens in my arms. A piece of me heals with each of her relieved breaths.

When it’s time to say goodbye to the Rogues for today, I follow Lilian through the Community Center Cafeteria, amazed by the details Noah hasn’t shared with me. There are Lycan pups and adults everywhere, laughing, playing, and eating lunch amongst each other despite their mixed pack backgrounds.

From what Noah described, cultures are wildly different from pack to pack. Most top Alphas claim mixing them is no easy task, warning potential pack traitors that nothing but struggle awaits them as Rogues.

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