Page 91 of Freeing My Alpha

When he looks me in the eyes, I can feel it too. The same angry, confused pain at the injustice of it all.

“You carry it everywhere, don’t you?”

Noah rubs his forehead, hiding his eyes. Eventually, he nods. “But I've never found enough evidence to prove it. It’s nearly impossible since the cops didn’t even know my dad died. We had to say he was our pet, and we were wildlife conservationists. He was just a giant, dead wolf.”

My heart flip-flops as I lock onto Noah’s every move, grief stinging my eyes.

But then it hits me.

“I never thought about that before. My dad was in his human form when he died! He had to be!”

Noah’s smile is riddled with pain. “Your dad saved us so much grief and confusion. If he didn’t shift back before he passed, we wouldn't know nearly as much about how they died. The hunters wouldn’t have run after discovering a human body beside my dad’s big wolf. They would’ve taken their kills like it was nothing.”

My cheeks flush with the rage in Noah’s core, blazing through our bond until my lungs quiver.

“Noah, I have an awful feeling about the whole thing. Beyond the obvious reasons why this is endlessly painful.”

Noah shakes his head, frantically rubbing my hand with his thumb despite his slouched torso. “I can’t believe you have to feel this too. I hate it.”

“But now we’re not alone in it anymore.”

He peeks into my eyes for the first time in minutes. My heart aches at his sudden exhaustion, aging him years.

“Were you able to find any evidence at all?” I gasp. “Oh! Were you able to track their scents?”

Noah is silent for a long time. It looks like he can hardly swallow, his jaw flexing as his Adam’s apple crawls down his throat. “The hunters were wearing wolf hides to mask their scent. We’re almost certain they were Lycan hides.”

I cup my mouth, horror shredding my stomach. “They killed others?”

Noah rubs my shoulders, rage switching to worry. “I-I’m so sorry. I know, it’s fucked up. But it’s not proof. We tried to figure out who else they killed, but the hides weren’t from our pack. We have no clue.”

I rub my temples, groaning away the thought. “The more I’m hearing, the more this doesn’t add up.”

“What do you mean?”

I clear my throat, my heart beating hard enough to thump through my ears. What if I’m just in over my head with speculative nonsense again?

Noah sees right through me. “You’re smart as hell, Omega. I trust you.”

“I trust you too. That's why I wanted to talk to you about this. Only you.”

“Good. I'm not like all those other people who'll dismiss you on the spot. Right now, it's just you and me. I don't care if we sound like conspiratorial freaks. Share your honest thoughts with me. I want to hear them.”

His words inspire me to breathe deeper, building on a confidence I’ve never had around this subject.

Finally, someone's listening to me without calling me crazy.

Or rather, he doesn't care if I am.

But so many things feel off to me. Where do I even start?

With Mason on the mind this week, one topic seems like the most rational guess. “These Alpha challenges happen so often, and they seem extremely calculated. What if this was another one?

Noah tenses. “W-what? Why would they do something like that for a dominance challenge? It’s supposed to be wolf-to-wolf combat in order to properly forfeit the top Alpha title.”

“Do they seem like the type to take the noble option and fight face-to-face? Why else would they want to kill specifically those two high-ranking wolves?”

Noah bites his nails, shaking his head. “Those are great points, but something big is still missing there. I don’t think any ego-boosted Alpha would resort to something so easy. They’d be giving up a chance to steal my dad’s title and win dominance over our massive pack.”

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