Page 136 of Healed in the Alpha's Embrace
With a final smile, Noah headed for the door. He paused, resting his hand on the doorknob. He glanced back at me, eyes soft.
“You know, Zoey, I meant what I said. I have no interest in being on your bad side.”
I quirked an eyebrow, a hint of a smile tugging at my lips. “Oh, really?”
He chuckled, a low, warm sound that had heat pooling between my thighs. “Trust me, I’ve gone enough rounds in the ring to know when to pick and choose my fights. And fighting with you? That’s one battle I’m not willing to take on.”
A flush of warmth spread through my chest. It was a small thing, but his words meant more to me than he could possibly know. In that moment, I saw the man beneath the fighter, the gentle soul who understood my past and the importance of my autonomy.
Impulsively, I patted his cheek, my fingers lingering on the rough stubble of his jaw. “Good choice.”
His eyes widened slightly, and for a breathless moment, we stood there, caught in the gravity of each other’s gaze. I could feel the heat of his skin beneath my palm, the steady thrum of his pulse, and if I let myself, I could so easily get lost in the depths of those blue eyes.
Suddenly, Noah’s lips were on mine, hot and demanding. I melted into him, my body molding to his as he pulled me close. My hands found their way into his hair, tugging him closer.
When we finally broke apart, we were panting. Noah rested his forehead against mine, still gripping my hips.
“Mike and Lance will be on the night shift,” he said. “And Chief Warman has someone watching your place as well. You’re protected. I won’t let George get near you again. I promise.”
I didn’t trust myself to speak. The intensity in his gaze made my knees weak.
Noah brushed a gentle kiss across my lips before stepping back. “I should go. It’s late.”
“Okay,” I said.
He opened the door, then looked back at me over his shoulder. “Sweet dreams.”
And then he was gone, the door clicking shut softly behind him. I pressed my fingers to my lips, which were still tingling from his kiss.
Smiling, I headed up to bed. Tomorrow was a new day. A new beginning. And I couldn’t wait to see where it would lead.
36
NOAH
The morning sun streamed in through the windows as my father walked into my office with a stack of papers and ledgers. He set them down on the desk with a heavy thud.
“Morning, son. Ready to get started?” he asked gruffly.
I grimaced at the paperwork. “Let’s do it.”
For the next few hours, he walked me through all the daily tasks and responsibilities of being alpha, like managing the pack finances, resolving disputes between pack members, coordinating with other packs in the region. I jotted down notes, already coming up with ideas to streamline and improve the processes.
Some of it seemed so outdated and inefficient. Did we really need to keep track of everything on paper? Implementing some basic software programs could drastically reduce the time spent on administration. As my father droned on about the proper way to record transactions in the ledgers, I stopped him.
“Dad, a lot of this could be made way easier if we digitized it. I could set up a quick program and cut the bookkeeping time in half.”
He frowned at me. “Son, this is the way it’s always been done. It works just fine.”
I shook my head. “Just because it’s how it’s always been done doesn’t mean it’s the best way. Times have changed since you became alpha. The pack needs to evolve, too.”
“I don’t know...”
“Here, I’ll show you.” I opened my laptop and pulled up one of the digital tools I had in mind. Within minutes, I had entered some sample data that would’ve taken an hour to log by hand. “See? We can save so much time this way and reduce errors.”
He grumbled. “Well, I suppose it’s worth a try, but don’t go changing everything at once.”
“I won’t, I promise. Let’s take it step by step. This will make things run so much smoother. You’ll see.”
