25
Noah’s eyes are wider than ever, but I grip his arm, clinging to him for dear life.
“Y-yeah! I’m good!” My voice cracks, exhausted from how heavily Noah just pleasured me. Noah shuts his eyes, breathing away his amusement at the shocked look I just gave him at my own voice. This is so bad! Do you think she saw your feet, Noah?
Shit, I don’t know how she couldn’t have. They’re hard to miss. He hobbles forward as quietly as he can. At least my jacket is covering my giant, bare ass, but—
Mrs. Jacobs gasps. Noah and I freeze.
“Oh, goodness. Are you sure you’re okay?” Mrs. Jacobs asks. “I saw you run off to the teacher’s lounge, but you’ve been in here a while, and you sound stressed.”
I flush, gripping my forehead. “I-I’m fine, thanks. I’ll see you back out there.”
There’s an uncomfortable silence. Mrs. Jacobs seems to rock on her feet, her heels tapping the linoleum. “W-well, just before I go, I wanted to say—”
Oh, my God, is she serious, Noah? What if I was taking a shit?!
Noah rushes to bite his knuckle, barely stifling a laugh. Oh, Goddess, Omega, stop. You’re fucking killing me— He flexes into me with the laughter tensing his abdomen. I have to clench my jaw to withstand how good it feels. Maybe she really hasn’t noticed me?
“It’s sad to see you go. I hope you know I value your efforts for our students here—” Mrs. Jacobs clears her throat. “Although, I know I might not have shown it in the past.”
Irritation flares in my chest. I drop my head against Noah’s shoulder as I mindlink him. Nope, she’s clueless. Of course she finally decides to care about me right when my mate is buried inside me!
Noah bites his lips, squeezing his eyes shut to keep from exploding. Aliya, stop making me laugh! I”m going to—
I take a deep breath, trying not to giggle with him. But Noah”s silent laughter shakes me anyway, his knot pushing deeper as his tip bumps against my cervix, over and over.
I let out an uncontainable whimper.
And Mrs. Jacobs takes another step closer. “Goodness, are you okay?”
My nails dig into Noah’s arm. “N-no! Don’t come closer.”
“No, you’re not okay?”
“I-I’m fine! I’m just—” I look at the toilet beneath my arched torso and blurt out the first thing I can think of. “I’m just puking a little.”
“Oh, goodness,” Mrs. Jacobs says. “Are you sick?”
“I-I don’t know. I’m—” I glance at Noah behind me, wincing at what I’m about to say. “I’ve been trying to get pregnant with my fiancé, so...”
Noah slams his hand over his mouth, forcing back a laugh. Oh, Goddess, Omega... Good thing that”s out of context and she doesn’t know we’re literally trying in here—
Stop! It’s the truth! I bite my lips, staring at the ceiling before I burst into giggles with him.
But his shaft won”t stop prodding me, building enough pressure to make my knees dip for more. When I squish my ass as tight as I can against his hips, Noah”s silent laugh is interrupted by a soft gasp.
Then Mrs. Jacobs is silent for a long time. Too long.
Oh, my God, Noah! She”s getting closer!
Sorry!
It”s not your fault; why isn”t this lady leaving?!
Mrs. Jacob’s voice quivers, scandalization emanating through every syllable. “I-is your fiancé in there with you? I heard a man.”
“Mrs. Jacobs, please, leave us. He’s— He’s helping me hold my hair back, so you don’t have to worry about me.”
Then Noah clears his throat, placing his hand back over my abdomen. “You feel nauseous again, don’t you? It’s going to be okay, love. Just let it out.”
My eyes widen, realizing he’s doing his best to save the situation.
But my heart nearly bursts at the way he’s holding my belly, considering the context; not only did we just have unprotected sex, but he filled me up so much that I feel super pregnant. Especially when he holds my stomach like that.
My breath doubles in speed, my hand skating over my abdomen with him. Emotions erupt in our bond until my heart leaps into my throat, Noah’s wolf nipping my wolf’s neck.
But Noah”s human form hugs me tighter, refocusing me.
Omega, you’re going to have to scare her off. For a species that’s all about privacy, humans made ridiculous bathroom stalls with big-ass gaps.
The heat in his stare tells me he knows exactly what I’m thinking, but he’s right; Mrs. Jacobs needs to leave.
I make the best fake gagging sound I can manage, interrupted by a laugh I can only disguise with a heaving cough.
“Good girl. Let it out,” Noah says.
“O-oh, goodness! Excuse me—” Mrs. Jacobs leaves as quickly as she can, the heavy door slamming shut behind her.
As soon as Noah’s wolf ears signal it’s all clear, we break into laughter, moaning and gripping each other.
“Why wouldn’t she just leave?” Noah says.
“I don’t know! She usually hates me!”
Noah laughs, groaning against my shoulder. “Well, she helped with our knot situation.”
My eyes widen. “Noah, wait—”
But he”s already pulling out of me. I gasp, my knees giving out in both exhaustion and fear that I’ll drip. Noah squeezes me tight to his chest, cupping my swollen entrance before his sperm spills across my clothes. My cheeks have never been redder as he reaches for a tissue to clean me up.
Noah does a double take. He erupts into giggles. “After everything we just did, why is this making you so shy?”
“B-because! You’re completely taking care of this for me, and—”
He chuckles, dropping to his knees to finish licking me clean. I gasp, covering my mouth.
His wolf is still in full force as he stares back shamelessly. And? I made this mess of you, didn”t I?
“O-oh, my God! Noah Greenfield!”
“What? You better get used to it, sweet Omega. Especially now that I just got you pregnant.” He plants one last kiss on my lower abdomen, right above my uterus.
I’m left gaping and speechless. Noah laughs with his full chest, his sly grin telling me he knows he just tortured my ovaries.
I have to laugh with him. “N-Noah! What am I going to do with you?”
“That’s what I think when I see you every single day. I just love you too much.”
“I love you too, so much.” I sigh, my smile growing. “Are you happy, my love? You look happy.”
Noah bites back his grin, nodding as he helps me hobble from the bathroom stall. “My wolf is losing his shit over everything that happened today. And so am I.”
“Good. I love seeing you both happy.”
By the time we can exit the bathroom towards the car, I’m pleasure-soaked and ready for bed, even if it’s only noon. I can’t unlatch myself from Noah’s side. He has to keep nuzzling my neck, reassuring my wolf that he’s still there.
“Omega, are you going to be able to make it through therapy without your Alpha?”
“Yes? I think...”
Noah sputters into laughter, cuddling me closer against the side of his SUV. He presses my back flat against the car, butterflies consuming my belly as he kisses me, long and slow.
Despite how heavily we just mated, my wolf won’t shut up. Luna... I’m ready to be his Luna.
So when I’m sitting in my therapist’s office, Jenny allows me to sit in silence for a good minute before finally speaking up. “Would you like to share what’s on your mind?”
“S-sorry! I—” I bite my lip, returning to my thoughts.
It’s harder and harder to explain everything about the pack to Jenny in human terms. But in human terms, I want to marry Noah after only dating a few months. That’s going to sound impulsive as hell.
Jenny is waiting, regardless.
“I’m worried what you’ll think of something I’ve put a lot of thought into,” I say. “And even though it”s what I want, you might think I”m totally irrational for it.”
Jenny rests her chin on her palm, leaning on her chair’s armrest. “Maybe I will.”
We laugh. Silence chases after it, my worries catching back up with me. Jenny folds her hands, allowing me to take my time.
I glance at the diamond on her left hand. “When you married your husband, did you just look at him one day, and know he was your future husband?”
Jenny breaks into a warm smile. “I knew the day I met him. Which I think you can relate to, judging by that smile.”
“The second I met Noah, I knew I wanted to marry him.” I brush my mark, passing it off as fumbling with my moonstone necklace. I haven’t wanted to take it off lately. “I’ve been thinking about how I don’t want to wait around any longer in my life to enjoy the good things. I want to marry Noah soon.”
My heart leaps as I admit it aloud.
But I can’t stop myself. “Like, eloping-during-this-month”s-cultural-ceremony-if-he-agrees-to-it type of soon. I’ve never felt more certain about anything in my life.”
Jenny stares back for a long time, shifting in her seat.
“W-what are you thinking?” I ask.
Jenny smiles, and I can’t help but laugh, knowing she’s about to deflect my reassurance-seeking compulsion.
“If you’re more certain about this than anything, does it matter what I think?”
“No. But I want to know from an outside perspective if I sound irrational.”
Jenny straightens, matching my serious energy. “Okay, then let’s walk through this. If your past self saw you right now, what would she say?”
I break into a smile as I think of all that’s changed. But most of all, how I’ve found what my past self always dreamed of.
“She’d be crying,” I say.
Jenny’s eyebrows raise in alarm. “What do you mean?”
“She’d be crying because—” I clear my throat, feeling my eyes heat with emotion. “She’d know all that grief and pain would be worth it to live through over and over again, just to get to where I am now.”
Jenny stares for a long moment as I grab a tissue, smiling through joyous tears. Soon after, Jenny has to grab her own tissue, and we both laugh.
“You’ve come so far just to be able to say that at all, honey. That’s incredible.”
“Thank you.”
“If I’m being honest, the first thing I thought when you told me you wanted to marry him was—” She shuffles in her seat, tracing my eyes for a moment. “Is this the same woman who was shaking in my office a couple years ago, apologizing ten times for breaking my pencil lead?”
My cheeks flush. I forgot my harm OCD was that severe.
“And you know what? This is the same woman,” Jenny says. “The same woman who dragged herself through hell, knowing that she can do hard things, as long as she follows her heart.”
I let out a sob, wiping my eyes even though the tears keep coming. Jenny crosses the room to sit beside me, and I lean against her, allowing her to hug me.
“I think you should keep following your heart, whatever that means to you.”
My heart pounds, begging to leap closer to Noah.
“What are your fears about it? That you’ll get divorced quickly? Regret it all? Get hurt again?” Jenny asks.
I think about it, long and hard. “I don’t have fears about Noah. I only have fears about myself. What if I let us down somehow, and ruin the relationship? What if I change somehow, and I’m not the same person one day? What if I lose all my progress in therapy, and become the scared, trapped person I don’t recognize again?”
They’re just thoughts, but my heartbeat gallops, begging me to jump up in overwhelm. But this is something I often experience in Jenny’s office, pushing my limits to build my uncertainty muscles.
“Well, what if? We could work on that fear, whether you’re married or not.”
I smile, my shoulders already relaxing as I break from our hug. “You know, that’s a good point. Whenever I wonder these things, I don’t stop to think that I could get through them, eventually—just with some work.”
“So in the moment, they feel all-consuming. Endless.”
“Yes, exactly,” I say. “But whenever I let Noah in, everything feels survivable. Like I have someone who’s by my side for good, whether I do something incredible or pointless, or do nothing at all. I want to be that person for him too—I love to be. And after being so afraid to be seen or heard, I also love taking up space in his life. Letting him see me.”
Jenny shakes her head in awe. “I’m so proud of you.”
My heart jumps into my throat as my smile widens.
Jenny grins. “You know what? I’ll give you one little bit of an answer: from an outside perspective, you sound like someone who knows exactly what she wants, and she”s finally asking for it.”
I can’t stop thinking about my conversation with Jenny, long after Noah falls asleep. His chest rises beneath my arms, his lungs humming against my chest as I keep him snug against me.
But then my heart starts to pound.
Luna... I want to be—
Noah stirs, his eyes still closed as he shifts himself higher.
Before I know what’s happening, our cuddle ball morphs into him blanketing me to the bed. He presses sleepy kisses into my mouth, melting my worries away as we squeeze each other in our cuddle ball.
Noah pulls back, prying one eye open. “I can feel you thinking in my sleep.”
I groan, stroking back his messy hair with gentle scratches over his scalp. “I’m sorry. Go back to sleep, please.”
He grins. “No. I want to know what my mate is thinking. You’ve been thinking hard all day.”
Noah latches himself around my waist, hugging me with all fours. I laugh-cough as he crushes me. Noah lightens up, rolling off of my chest, but I don’t want to stop holding him. I throw my leg over his hips, and Noah laughs, scooting me against his side with a firm hand on my ass.
“Come on, Omega. You’re freaking me out.”
I swallow hard, propping myself on one elbow to look him in the eyes. “Okay, I wanted it to be special, but I can’t wait any longer, either.”
He tucks my hair behind my ear, keeping his hand there to stroke my cheek. I drop back down to my side, his warm chest automatically rotating to face me.
But he’s serious as we stare into each other’s eyes, waiting for me to speak.
I take a deep breath, bracing myself to feel scared. But the second it comes out of my mouth, I’m not scared.
“Noah Greenfield, my Alpha, I’m ready to be your Luna.”
Noah doesn’t seem to breathe, gaping at me. I rub his chest, nudging him into taking a breath. When he sucks in an inhale, it’s sharp, igniting an excitement I’ve never seen in his eyes.
“W-when—? You—? I—” Noah swallows hard, and I know he’s stifling his wolf; the big beast rapid-taps his front paws in our bond.
The Alpha tackles my wolf in our bond anyway, and I break into a smile.
“What, Noah? What are you thinking?”
“D-do you mean, like... for this upcoming Full Moon Ceremony? In two weeks?”
I bite back a smile at his precious stare, hope shining through every green and blue speckle of his eyes. “Is that too early?”
Noah huffs out an offended breath, sputtering through nonsense syllables I can’t make out.
I burst into laughter. “Noah, what—”
Before I can finish my thought, Noah tackles me even harder than his wolf, kissing me into the pillows.
I squeal against his lips as his excitement pours throughout every muscle in my body. Noah kisses me over and over again, growing frantic.
I pull back, burying my face into his chest just so I can breathe. “Noah! Talk to me—is it too early?”
“No, it’s not! Hell, no!”
I sputter out a laugh at Noah”s exasperated tone, tracing my nails across his back to settle his charged energy.
“Oh, Goddess,” he breathes. “I just can’t believe my favorite wolf in the world wants to be my Luna.”
I lift my chin, gazing at him hovering over me. “What?! Of course I do. I did when we first met, and now I love you more than ever!”
“I-I know, but it’s different, now that it’s finally happening after waiting my whole life for it. This is a million times better than what I dreamed of as a kid. Because it’s you.” He shakes his head in disbelief, unable to contain his massive smile. “Fuck, maybe I’m still asleep. You’re going to be my Luna.”
I had no idea it was this important to him. He tried so hard to protect me from feeling pressured that he stored all this hope inside himself. I don’t want him to do that with me anymore.
I cup Noah’s face between firm palms, making sure he’s looking straight at me. “Listen to me, okay?”
He nods, hyper, nocturnal irises glinting in the darkness as they flick across my face.
“I already know you’re going to protect me, so this is my way of signifying my commitment to you and your pack. Let me be your protector and nurturer, for life.” My heart is racing, but I’ve never felt so certain.
Noah melts above me, his shoulders crumbling as he droops against my chest. As his lips crash against mine, his shaking breath tugs at my heart.
“T-thank you.” His voice comes out as a broken whisper. Noah’s tears drip onto my cheeks, startling a gasp from me.
I lean in twice as hard, desperate to share the love overflowing in my heart. Skating my fingers into the back of his hair, I urge him to my lips over and over again.
I’ve got you too, sweet Alpha. Always.
He whimpers, caressing my back as our kissing turns into a full-body makeout. Noah rolls his hips into me, kneading my clit in a slow, tender dance. I moan into his mouth as his hands worship every inch of me, my knees opening to welcome him between my legs.
As we gaze deep into each other”s eyes, mating face-to-face, I know my life has been upended today. I’m no longer a school teacher, I’m committing myself to Noah for life, and I’m asking for exactly what I need.
And I couldn’t be happier.