Page 89 of Freeing My Alpha

“Okay...” He frowns. “But when my friends are sad, I want to help.”

The way he stares into my soul with worry wracks my heart. I inhale, and whether it’s intentional or not, he takes a deep breath with me. I smile, giving his shoulders a soft squeeze.

“It sounds like you’re such a great friend. I also want to help my friends when they’re sad too. But I’m not a student in preschool, right?”

“Right. You are my teacher.” He leans in to loudly whisper. “And my Luna.”

I laugh. “Exactly! I’m one of your grown-ups. My job as your teacher is to be someone who helps you learn. It’s my job as your Luna to keep you safe, even if you’re a smart, independent Alpha pup. Even if you can sense I’m upset, it’s okay for me to work on it, myself, or with another adult.”

He hums, thinking over my words. Eventually, he nods. “Okay. I’m going to go on the playground now.”

I stifle a laugh, blinking a few times to zip forward in time with his ever-present wolf brain. “Oh, how fun! Did you finish your snack so you can go play?”

“Yep! I’m going to play tag with Cory.”

He darts onto the playground. I smile at my screeching, playful students before falling back into my thoughts.

Do all Alphas take over-responsibility like this on instinct, or is it a social expectation placed on them? I can feel how gutted Noah is every second today too. I wish he didn’t blame himself for my pain, but I don’t know what else to say to convince him he’s not at fault.

By the time Noah picks me up after school, I can’t stop picking at my nails in the car. Noah places his hand over mine, stopping my nail-picking with his eyebrows drawn.

“I’m so sorry. I hate making you anxious.”

I hug his hand to my chest. “You’re not the one making me anxious.” I drop my head against my chair’s headrest with a sigh. “And you didn’t intentionally hurt me, this morning.”

“So, basically, I'm not taking in what you’re saying about accidentally hurting you, and therefore, I’m making you anxious.” Noah bites back his smile, peeking at me for a split second as he continues to drive.

I burst out laughing. “God, you’re such a cutie! What am I going to do with you?”

“I love you with my whole heart, sweet Omega.” Noah's smile falters. “That’s why I’m so crushed about accidentally hurting you. I can’t stop replaying it, wondering what I could’ve done differently to prevent it.”

I suck in a breath to debate him, but Noah squeezes my hand.

“But that’s not your problem to solve. I need to work through this on my own, okay?”

My heart pounds as I gape at him.

Oh. I’m taking over-responsibility too.

Noah clears his throat, parking in our cabin’s driveway. “Did I say something weird?”

“No! Sorry, was I staring?”

“Y-yeah.” He chews on his lips, unable to stop a slow smile from growing. “But I guess that's sort of normal now.”

I giggle, throwing off my seatbelt. Noah’s grin is such a relief to see that my heart squeezes as I wrap my arms around my mate. “I'm just amazed by you. You’ve taught me so much about myself and about life already.”

“I feel the same, sweet Omega.”

Noah tilts my chin with a delicate finger. His eyes trace my stare before he leans in with a slow, thorough kiss. Each millimeter of his lips sends tingles down my spine, urging me to hold his cheeks for more.

Noah purrs, nuzzling my nose as he shuts his eyes. Something else is on your mind.

My mind darkens, racing back to our fathers’ deaths. It feels too irrational to talk about aloud, but with the concern behind Noah’s stare, I blurt out the truth before I can overthink it.

“A few things are on my mind, actually. Things that I want to talk to you about before the meeting. Privately.”

Thankfully, Noah gives me a soft smile. “Okay. I’ll make us some tea.”

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