Freeing My Alpha: Book 2 of My Shy Alpha

Chapter 39

Content warning: discussions of past abuse

*****

After the second-to-last day of school, I'm cuddled up with Noah for a much-needed movie night.

But Noah can't stop staring at me instead of the screen.

I giggle. "What is it, cutie?"

He drops his head with a smile, only able to peek up at me in short bursts. "Nothing. I just love you."

I nuzzle his cheek, kissing it over and over again until his lips get jealous and steal the last one.

Laughter sputters from me. "Hey!"

Noah chuckles, cuddling me closer. "Sweet Omega, it made me so happy to see you light up when the Elders talked about Takahiro the other day. And I know I told you I'd tell you more about him. I'm sorry I haven't been in a place to do that yet."

My stomach flips. "Please, don't worry about that. It's a hard subject for both of us.

"I know, but–" He sighs. His thoughts whirl a snowstorm of emotions through our bond. "Maybe, if it h-helps you to talk about it, it'll help me too."

I smile, amazed at how much he's opening up since the pack showed him it was safe to show his emotions. "Okay, I'd love that."

Noah straightens with a rising smile. He shuffles on the couch cushions until he's facing me. "Is there anything about his involvement in the pack that you're more curious about? I can do my best to answer."

My heart aches with both love and pain, but I can't stop smiling. "There's a lot, actually. I guess one of my main questions is how well you even knew my dad?"

Noah hums, tracing my arm with his warm fingertips. "Our dads had been best friends forever - as you know - so I knew him for as long as I can remember. Takahiro felt like my uncle."

My heart lifts. "Yeah? That's how Ritchie felt to me too. I'd get not one but two dad hugs when I'd come home from school on a day Ritchie was over."

Noah's hand freezes, a slow smile breaking across his face. "That makes me so fucking happy."

I giggle. "They were good dads, weren't they?"

"They were, and they were good pack-dads too. They prepared almost their whole lives to do what Yas and I were thrown into. Mediating, problem-solving, refugee support—" Noah's smile fades. "I really regret not being able to give them a break. They were involved in pack work since they were teens, and I'm not sure they ever had much of a life outside of it. Takahiro was the natural choice for top Beta when my grandmother died."

I sit up. "I still can't believe she led the pack back then. Weren't the Alphas twice as hard on her?"

"Yep. But she didn't give a fuck."

I laugh. "God, I love her. She sounds like you."

Noah chuckles, dropping his stare. "That's a high compliment. My mom loves to pretend I'm the first Alpha to break traditions, but my grandma nipped countless gender roles in the bud. We've never been the same pack since."

Neither of us can stop smiling. Noah lightly tugs on my hand until I come closer, and I gladly sit in his lap.

He cuddles into me, wrapping his arms around my waist and nose into my collarbone.

"Your dad was my hero when my parents were too busy, Omega."

The unspoken ache in Noah's words guts me.

"Oh, love..." I kiss the crown of his head, breathing through the past with him. "You were alone a lot as a kid?"

"Yeah. But Takahiro tried to keep Rainn and I company whenever we hadn't seen my dad for a while. He was–" Noah scratches the back of his head, his choppy hair blocking his eyes from my view. "Well, whenever I think of the type of dad I want to be, I think of your dad."