Page 92 of King Luna

But how do you feel?

I told you, Noah: I love you no matter what.

Noah softens his shoulders, rolling them as he pads forward. Nuzzling into my fluffy chest fur, he gives my neck a soft lick, washing me in a tingling warmth.Not about that. How do youfeel about yourself? When those assholes mocked your Alpha musk, you felt so much shame... It fucking crushed me.

When my gaze lands on Noah’s legs, my heart splits in half; his massive wolf is quivering, each paw vibrating in the sand.

I whine, nuzzling Noah’s ear in an attempt to convince him to unbury his face from my fur. When he refuses with a deep grumble, my wolf nibbles at his neck.

He grunts, flopping to the ground and rolling himself in the sand. Some of it flicks up at me, and my wolf sneezes.

Noah!

No matter how tightly his sad ears are smushed to his head, his tail wags at my irritation.

Soon enough, we’re both flopped on the sand, smacking it everywhere with our tails.

You goofball,I mindlink.

I fucking love you, Luna.

I love you so much.

Noah freezes, his focus switching between my eyes.There’s something different about us.

My wagging tail slows to a halt.I know.

Noah can no longer look at me, his wolf busying himself by sniffing the air for anyone that could barge into our private alcove. With a soft whine, he settles his cheek back onto the sand, verifying we’re alone.For me, it’s something I avoided about myself since I was a pup.

My wolf whines without my permission.

Noah sulks even lower, burrowing his nose into the cool sand with deep sniffs.But now I feel like an ass. I don’t want you to be ashamed of yourself for being different, especially not just because I’m ashamed. I’ve got my own shitty biases about myself, and I don’t even agree with them. Not when it comes to other wolves. If you look at me close enough, I’m a fucking hypocrite. A-and I’m sorry you had to see it.

I huff, accidentally spraying sand into Noah’s face. He bats me in playful retaliation, his paws poking my chest fur, but I can’t find the humor in this conversation.

I'm a hypocrite too, then, Noah. But maybe we all are.

He grunts, jumping to his paws to claw an angry hole in the sand.

I allow him his moment, my wolf admiring his ability to dig in deep with such speed. A burning instinct within me craves for him to build me a makeshift nest, right here and now. Does his Omega side give him similar nesting urges, or is his Alpha side too in control of his instincts?

Or is it that his Alpha side simply covers up his internal Omega—just like Noah once divulged to me about his Grandma Greenfield, the Lycan who mastered masking herself using her scent?

Do you think—I pause, nerves stealing my thoughts. Shit, this might be an insensitive question.

Noah stops digging, staring back with alert ears.

I don’t want to offend him, but we have to be honest with each other.

Noah, do you think you really are an Omega, at heart?

Stock-still, Noah grows more rigid by the second. A long silence stretches between us.

When he finally mindlinks me, my stomach lining stings like it's raw with stress.

What do you think I am?Noah asks.

My heart throbs; I’m unsure what the right answer is.

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