Page 178 of King Luna

But most of all, I tell them about the depths of our love for them. About how their dad inspires me to feel more of it, every second, with how much he loves us both—even without having met them.

By the time we finish, Noah and I grip our hands tight over the kitchen table. As we meet eyes, only to find each other brimming with giddy smiles, we giggle at the same time.

Noah gives my hand a soft squeeze. “Aliya, can I tell you something before we put these away?”

I freeze. “Oh, of course.”

Worry strikes my chest as Noah grows quiet. But as I straighten, Noah breaks into a hyper smile, vibrating in his chair.

I sputter out a laugh, gripping his arm. “Noah, what? What is it?”

He chuckles, scooting his chair closer. “We wanted to pick a name that they would still like, no matter who they turn out to be, right?”

“Right.” My voice comes out as more of a breath, my chest too stuffed with excitement. “You thought of something you liked?”

Noah bites his lip. When he nods, I break into a wide smile with him, playfully shaking his arm.

“Then tell me already, goofy Alpha! I can’t stand it!”

Noah giggles. “I will, I’m just nervous. I don’t know why. I can just picture them here so clearly, all of a sudden.”

I clasp his hands. “Me too, oddly enough. I was so afraid to let go of that cottage, but I feel like moving our little family here made things fall into place.”

Grinning even wider, Noah’s eyes flit between mine.

“Ari,” he whispers.

I suck in a tight breath, unable to blink. “Ari...”

My heart leaps. As I picture Little Wolf dashing around this kitchen, forcing us to scramble after them with laughter, I can’t help but smile with Noah, loving the thought of that name echoing through our new home.

As our focus turns to my belly, Little Wolf stretches right in time—likely responding to my pounding heart. Noah shakes his head, beaming at me. “You’re so beautiful. I still can’t believe you’re doing this for us.”

“We’re doing it together.” Drawing Noah in for a kiss, I press his hands tight over our pup. “Soon, we’ll be holding them together too. Holding—”

My heart flips as a rush of shyness strikes me to the core.

But as Noah’s soft smile stretches up to his eyes, I can’t help but smile with him, allowing my voice to shake.

“Holding Ari,” I whisper. “How does it sound?”

Noah’s voice comes out fragile. “Our Ari. God, Aliya, I—”

As my mate breaks into wobbly tears, we sputter into wet laughter together. Handing us both tissues, I stroke Noah’s hand over my belly until he’s calm enough to speak.

Cerulean, overjoyed eyes stare back. Noah whispers, “If you love it, I love it. And I love Ari so much already.”

At the sound of Little Wolf’s new name on Noah’s lips, I tremble with excitement.

I stroke Noah’s cheek. “Iloveit, Noah.”

As if they agree with us, Ari brightens our smiles as they wiggle against our palms.

We giggle, drawing closer.

“And I love Ari too,” I whisper. “You’ve both stolen my heart.”

We tuck our letters away, storing them in a small box for Ari to open in the future—whenever they’re ready. Alongside our letters, we add keepsakes from each of us: photos of our dads, my mom, our best friends, and the picture of us at the airport before we left for Sweden—with Ari in the picture too as they form my first tiny baby bump.

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