Page 93 of King Luna

That’s when it clicks. We're seeking certainty where there is none, just like OCD does to my brain.

There isnoright answer.

I inch closer to Noah, keeping myself low to the sand without putting pressure on our pup.Listen to me closely.

Golden eyes meet my stare, Noah’s focus unwavering despite our bond fluctuating with intense emotion after emotion.

My lungs quiver as I take short, tentative breaths.Noah, I think you’re an Omega, like me.

His breath tenses, and ironically, his Alpha musk explodes.

I pop upright on all fours.And I think you’realsoan Alpha... Like me.

Noah’s ears lift.

I take another step forward, tilting my head to meet his gaze, snout to snout.Why do we have to pick one?

Silence consumes the forest around us. Noah doesn’t breathe, let alone blink. I gaze at my mate, breathing through the rollercoaster for him as a flurry of emotions in our bond rises, rises, rises...

Then our emotional bond crashes, hard.

Noah huffs short, quick bursts of air from his snout against my chest fur, sending a shiver down my spine. His inner turmoil fluctuates too rapidly for me to grasp each complex shard of it. Otherwise, he still hasn’t moved.

My teeth chatter with anxiety, but not because I’m doubting what I said. This is also the closest I’ve ever had to an answer aboutmyself—all my “weird,” “unladylike,” and “improper” traits that caused me to bury my truths, and then bury them again once I realized I was an Omega Lycan, supposedly designed to nurture pups. But if this Lycan fluidity could be true about Noah, it could be true about anyone. About me. Beneath the surface, I thought something was still wrong with me, but all I had to do was add “Alpha” into the equation.

But one of the only certainties in life, change, is terrifying. Noah fights through this change, processing it like I am—stuck in the raw silence. When our bond settles into an emotional melody I’ve never felt from him before, Noah’s wide wolf eyes still haven’t left my stare.

I’ve never seen Noah so centered. I almost don’t recognize the sensation floating between us, shaking our fears free, but as soon as I land on the description I’m seeking, my whole body settles into acceptance.

Peace. That’s what I see staring back.

My wolf pants as powerful, gutting emotions overwhelm me; I think I just witnessed my mate’s entire world perspective shift. I think I watched a part of him be set free.

Noah’s chest tenses. That’s all it takes for my confidence to plummet, fear striking deep into my bones that I’ve spoken way too far—filled in my perspective of Noah’s identity for him, which I know is out of line. My wolf rolls onto her back, submission overcoming me.

Noah’s ears flick back in adoration.Well, you look like an Omega right now. But I can’t fucking believe it.He sucks in a deep breath through his snout, shutting his eyes as he raises his chin to the sky—as if in preparation to howl to the Moon Goddess.

But he doesn’t howl. His heart settles before my eyes, lowering the tension in his fur.

I gaze in awe. I never realized his wolf was fluffy because he wastense—not until his form softens into true neutrality. He’s still bulky, but his fur takes a new sleek, softened edge, dropping its guard to leave him bare before me, a picture of sculpted muscle beneath silky, smooth fur.

Noah blows a slow breath from his snout, the frigid air clouding over his jet black nose.I think I’m mated to an Omega-Alpha. And I’m an Alpha-Omega.

As Noah mindlinks these raw, vulnerable declarations, I’ve never been more proud of him. Excitement floods my veins, making me shudder.You’re beautiful, Noah. So beautiful.

That’s all I can think about you as I feel more and more of your heart each day. Thank the Goddess you’re carrying ourpup.Noah drags his chilly, wet nose down my belly, placing a soft lick over my uterus. I whine, unable to store the overflowing love in my heart.The three of us might be the only ones who ever understand the full truth of who we are, Aliya.

I stare into the honest, vulnerable eyes hovering over my belly, and I know he’s right.

But my ears soften.I don’t care if they don’t understand. We don’t need to understand everything about ourselves yet, either. All that matters to me is that you grow to love your Omega side, Noah. It hurts me to watch you hate a part of you that I absolutely treasure.

Noah carefully rests his forehead against my belly, his silky coat tickling my skin beneath my abdomen's wispy, thinner fur.

I get it. I fucking get it. And I don’t want you to hate your gorgeous Alpha side either.Noah’s ears droop.B-but... This is rooted in something dark for me, Luna. I’m going to have to work on it. Possibly for a long time.

My heart sinks.

This is it—the root of Noah’s PTSD. I don’t know how or why it began unless he shares the details someday, but I can feel it in our bond: the sickening, inescapable type of horror that I feel when I think of Steven.

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