36
The next morning, I have no regrets about spending an intimate night in Noah’s arms. Shifting by today was a lost cause, anyway. I’m still terrified to surrender full control to my wolf.
My stomach recoils as I rummage my closet, yanking out options until there’s more on the floor than still hanging. The welcoming ceremony is tonight, and even though word spread about Noah being mated, it’s my official introduction to the entire pack. I need to look nice, especially since I couldn’t get myself to shift in time to run with everyone tonight.
Noah pokes his head into my room, and my shoulders sag.
I’m still in my towel, but he’s looking gorgeous in the Full Moon Ceremony clothes I picked out from his collection: embroidered silver thread outlining forests and moon cycles across a black vest. The ornate design is buttoned over a white, billowy-sleeved tunic that contains whispers of his thick arms in its stretched shoulders. The way Noah holds himself is so casual - relaxing into each step like his nimble wolf - that he fits the part of a confident king.
I can’t get over how stunning Noah is. He seems so gentle when I look into his eyes, but wearing this, he also emanates power. That’s the perfect example of who he is as an Alpha, even if he’s not always into tradition.
Taking in my disastrous room, Noah chuckles. “Sweet Omega...”
I flush. “I know what you’re going to say, but–”
He raises his eyebrows with a soft smile, and I can’t help but smile with him. “Really? Because I was going to say it looks like you were chasing after a squirrel in your closet, little wolf.”
I groan through a laugh, dropping my head back. He wraps his arms around my waist from behind, stooping over to kiss me. I drop my weight into him, closing my eyes. His sweet scent soothes me.
He softens his chuckle into a doting hum. “I mean it when I say all you need to bring is yourself. You’re incredible, as is.”
“But my wolf...”
“We were going to forget the deadlines, weren’t we? She’ll come out when she feels like it.”
I raise my eyebrows. “Well, that’s what you said, but–”
Noah laughs, nipping my neck. I suck in a sharp gasp as it sends tingles down my arms.
“I know. You worked your ass off to try to get her to come out anyway. But you’ll be beautiful tonight no matter what. Not just on the outside.”
My heart flutters at his warm smile. Noah kisses me, long and slow, and before I know it, we magnetize to each other until we’re chest to chest.
A rush of lust hits our bond as our hips meet. Noah groans.
“Fuck. Okay, let’s not let my wolf out just yet.” He takes three steps back. “Full moon, and all.”
At the thought of potentially letting his wolf have me at the ceremony, my stomach growls with a flash of anxiety.
Noah frowns. “I don’t know what Amy told you, but I’m not making you have sex with me at the ceremony. Please don’t think that.”
I laugh, covering my face. “I know, but be honest with me, Noah. That’s normal for the Alpha to do when newly mated, right? In front of everyone?”
Noah softens his voice into a gentle hum as he kisses my hands over my eyes. “It doesn’t matter what’s normal, gorgeous. I don’t give a shit about everyone else’s comfort. I care about you, and I’m never having sex with you when you aren’t a hundred percent on board. Let’s keep it sacred between us - no pressure added.”
I nuzzle into his chest, hiding my face. I’m too shy to admit it, but a part of me wants to try mating in front of the pack adults, especially because it sounds terrifying to my human side.
To my wolf, it sounds like announcing my love for Noah to his pack. I love the sound of that. And if I’m honest, the thrill of being seen in Noah’s arms excites my wolf too.
While I’m lost in thought, Noah shuffles through my closet. “Here, how about we stick with a much less extreme tradition: the Alpha’s mate usually wears white.”
I sigh through my smile. “Okay. I can work with that.”
Digging through a few items and only growing more frustrated, I give up. But Noah’s grip lands on a silvery white, sparkly dress I’ve never dared to wear, buried in the back of my closet.
“Noah...”
I want to refuse, but the light catches on the silver glint of his embroidered vest as he turns toward me, and my heart skips at the vision it creates: Noah and I, side by side, glimmering in silver beneath the moonlight.
I slip the dress on without a second thought. I forgot how much it complements my body: a low dip in the front and a large slit up my right thigh allows the loose fabric to drape against my curves and spill in a sparkling waterfall over the rest.
“Oh, fuck.” Noah’s voice is so rough with adoration that I can’t bear to look at him.
“I-I know it’s not exactly me, but Amy made me buy it once she saw it on me, and you should always trust lesbian eyes–”
“Hell, no - not exactly you? I fucking love it on you. You could look incredible in anything, but this looks like–” He clears his throat, his voice faltering with a heavy dose of shyness in our bond. “L-like you came straight from the Moon Goddess to us.”
My heart whirrs as I dare to look him in the eyes, startled by how serious he is. What spills out of me next shocks us both.
“I asked about the mating ritual because I– I’m curious.”
Noah’s eyes widen.
They also shift into a vibrant green.
I nibble my lip. “I just worry, you know, I’d look... weird. Awkward.”
My mate’s eyebrows raise all the way up. I shuffle my feet in the stark silence, fidgeting with the daring slit in my dress.
Then his irises settle into a yellow glint, deepening his voice. “You think you look awkward when we have sex?”
He steps toward me, and I don’t move. A part of me wants to challenge him tonight. Drive him wild. Maybe the full moon has its effects on me too.
“I mean, yes. I trip over nothing and bump into doorways, so I can’t imagine I’d suddenly be graceful.” I drop my head, unable to look in the mirror at us any longer. Now that I’ve said it, it feels truer than ever, yet I’d hate to hear Noah agree.
But as Noah’s body heat wafts over me - laced with a thick, desirous scent - my skin buzzes, awaiting his touch. I blink through the haze, his pheromones absorbing into the depths of my nervous system until my skin is on fire.
Noah lifts my chin, but not toward him; he redirects my focus to the mirror. I hold my breath, terrified of what I’ll see.
But as I gaze into Noah’s eyes in the mirror, vivid yellow irises stare back.
“Clearly, you haven’t seen what I’ve seen.” The half-shifted depth to his voice surges through my chest, but it doesn’t stop there. It burrows into my lower belly - a sudden swath of intense arousal cramping my uterus. Noah’s eyelids droop as he breathes in my desperate pheromones. “Goddess help me if I think of how fucking good you looked the night before while I’m on my morning perimeter runs.”
As his hands slip down my shoulders, my heart hammers through my ears. I grip Noah’s loose ceremony sleeves, straining the fabric as his thumb slips beneath my shoulder strap.
My focus flickers between Noah’s hands - one on my shoulder and the other warming my abdomen - but I don’t dare look into my own eyes in our reflection. The pleasure I feel whenever Noah’s hands are on me is too raw. I’m afraid I’ll find something to be ashamed of if I catch my expression.
But as Noah’s thumb drags my dress strap low enough to bend the cup, my dark nipple pops from beneath the silvery fabric, standing proud with heavy arousal. I can hardly breathe as Noah’s big, loving fingers trace it, emphasizing the curve of my breast before circling in closer and closer until he softly flicks the bud. My hips wiggle. A strand of damp hair slips off my shoulder, caressing the outer edge of my breast with an icy lick. I twist my torso into Noah, gasping for air.
Noah pauses. His hand on my abdomen wraps around my hip, pressing me safely against him as I catch my breath. “Are you okay?”
It takes me a second to gather my wits, burrowing my face into his chest. “Why does this feel so much stronger?”
Noah breaks into a sultry grin. “You like it when I tell you how much your body reacts to me, don’t you?”
My heart flips. I never admitted directly that I liked that, but that wasn’t a question. Noah is confident in what I like - his wolf’s chest puffing with pride in our bond.
“I figured you’d like seeing it even more than hearing about it.”
Noah slips my hair behind my back, baring my damp neck to the frigid air. He wastes no time dragging his warm nose down it, his breath rushing down my exposed breast as he breathes in my excitement.
“You do. I smell it.” He growls, tightening his grip around my arching back as he nuzzles another burst of pheromones from my neck.
This sequence of events suddenly seems familiar, and I gasp; Noah often breathes me in like this during sex, just before he mates me silly. It’s happened enough times that my body gushes in preparation, wet heat pooling between my legs.
He’s been scenting me to figure out what I like. My wolf paces, drooling for him. What else does he know about my body that I don’t? Does he think I’d not only look okay enough to not be awkward at the ceremony but also love the thrill of it?
I lift my chin, gazing into his eyes. “I do,” I mutter. “I do like noticing how my body reacts to you.”