Page 4 of Freeing My Alpha

“You are!” One of the older pups shouts.

A little one stands on her toes, pushing through the crowd to mold herself to Rainn’s side. “I-I love you!”

Rainn’s laughter brightens, filling the forest with more open love than I’ve witnessed in another teacher. But I know the feeling well. They really are our daytime kids.

Which is also why my attention zips behind me, pulled by pure instinct. “Where are you all off to?”

“Tracking the deer!” A distant voice cries.

But another head pops out of an even farther bush. “Not me! I smell Alpha Noah!”

This gathers everyone’s attention. Before we can stop them, pups spill into the thickets, darting away from us. It ignites a primal fear in my chest, but Rainn calmly pulls herself upright, lifting Sarah over her shoulder to burp her. Her tranquility relaxes my shoulders, especially as she smiles adoringly at her class.

“Alpha Noah, huh? Well, who can tell me how long ago he scouted this section of the forest for his daily check?”

My heart races at the thought, still unable to grasp how my regal mate exists. The first time I saw him shift for a perimeter run, bristling with focus, every bone in my body trusted the territory he protects. I never felt safe in this winding forest growing up, but Noah’s presence changed everything for me.

“Alright, Teacher Luna, here she is.” Rainn plops a milk-drunk Sarah back into my arms.

Sarah’s eyes droop with satisfaction. I erupt into adoring, silent giggles, overcome with Sarah’s smacking lips.

But by the time I can sort her wispy hair back into order, I get the sense we’re no longer standing back from the crowd.

I gasp as little noses sniff the air around me, a pile-up of bodies gathering at my feet. “Oh, my— What do we smell, now?”

“We told you. Alpha Noah!” A pup shakes his head as if that’s the most obvious answer in the world.

I sputter out laughter. “I did say goodbye to him recently, so I’m sure I do smell like—”

Words escape me as pups swarm my personal space, sniffing my legs in a voracious wolf pile until I nearly topple over. Rainn steadies me, but the pups’ laughter rises throughout the forest, spurring me into contagious giggles. Self-control lapses from there; we’re all cracking up, excited to share this space together.

Until a scent catches my nose: the sweetest, most endearing hint of cinnamon and sugar I’ve ever smelled.

I lift my head, feeling new eyes on me.

Noah and I lock stares.

Our bond spikes with such heavy emotion that I suck in a startled breath. Every single pup freezes, following my gaze.

Noah hasn’t expressly said he wants to have kids. Whenever we’ve talked about it, it’s been surrounding my desires, not his. It sounds like he generally plans to have them in his lifetime. I just don’t know if he feels the same deep, unshakeable desire to raise them, or if it’s just a social expectation placed on him. And I don’t think I’ll feel okay with planning to have a baby until he makes it clear.

His gaze is so powerful that my knees feel weak. Leaves pepper his dark hair thrown to one side, and his clothes strain around his broad shoulders, telling me he’s newly shifted into his human form and still bristling with energy from his scouting run.

But those sharp, stoic eyes aren’t their usual teal; they’re stark yellow.

His wolf has shown up to greet us.

No one dares to move, awaiting the top Alpha’s cue. But he can’t seem to move either. Heavy emotion ripples over his brow, his eyes locked on my form like he’s craving to absorb the picture I paint. I look down at the little ones at my feet and Sarah in my arms, warm, chubby pups squished against me from every angle. Noah must’ve seen us interacting the whole time.

Or maybe there’s even more to it. Noah mentioned he’s bonded deeply with not just me, but every single Greenfield pack member. Does this mean he felt us celebrating our excitement together until his wolf couldn’t resist checking for himself? Could he feel these pups’ laughter in his heart, sharing it with us too? I love that thought so much that my chest aches, stealing my breath until it becomes uneven bursts.

The youngest pup can’t contain herself, throwing her tiny arms in the air with a delighted screech. Noah melts into a grin wide enough to show off his sharp incisors, and the forest fills with screams and laughter as the pups sprint to their Alpha. Well, not just sprint to him—they launch themselves at him, thrusting their bodies into the air with full confidence he’ll catch them.

Rainn bursts into a cackle. “There’s one... Two... Three, four, five! Six!”

Noah’s eyes widen, but his smile turns mischievous. He snatches up every airborne pup until his sturdy arms spill over with too many pups to hold. They crawl across his biceps and shoulders, overtaking him until he crumbles beneath them around nineteen, sputtering into deep belly laughter that even I can rarely rouse from him.

And I’m stuck standing here, cuddling Sarah against my throbbing heart as my brain restarts. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to process the vision in front of me, more gorgeous than anything I’ve imagined our lives to become together.

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