Page 13 of Healed in the Alpha's Embrace
“How much sugar has Aunt Heather fed you?” I asked, but I smiled at him as he shrugged. His demeanor was a complete departure from the serious, uptight persona he’d maintained around his father.
“So, apart from pancakes, what’s on our agenda today?” I asked as Heather helped Ro pour batter into a frying pan.
“We’re going shopping.” Heather turned her head, tucking a strand of dark hair behind her ear.
I groaned. Shopping had been an exhausting chore when I was trying to squirrel away money.
“I don’t think Mommy likes shopping,” Ro remarked as he decorated my pancake with blueberries, raspberries, andenough maple syrup to make it all float. No wonder he was buzzing. The kid was hyped up on syrup.
“Don’t you dare groan, Zoey Lester.” Heather waved the spatula at me. “I know you love shopping.” She spoke to Ro as if I wasn’t in the room. “Your mom’s a girl, and girls love shopping.”
They joined me at the table, Ro carefully carrying the plate, his tongue poking out between his lips in concentration.
After we’d eaten breakfast and cleaned the dishes, I couldn’t put off the inevitable any longer.
“Let’s make a list,” Heather suggested as we grabbed our jackets. “You’ll need some things to get by for now.”
“Right,” I said. “Toothbrushes, shampoo... the weather is cooler, so we’ll need warmer clothes, and I didn’t take many of Roland’s toys. There just wasn’t time to pack. I couldn’t do it in advance. George would have noticed…”
When would everything stop revolving around that goddamn twisted shifter?
Heather seemed to anticipate the downward spiral my mood was taking. “Come on, Zoey. Let’s go shopping.”
We walkeddown the aisles of the local grocery store, filling the cart with essentials and a few treats. Every now and then, Heather added something extra, like a coloring book or a pack of Hot Wheels, trying to coax a smile from my son.
“Thanks for letting us stay, Heather,” I said softly as she tossed a box of cereal into the cart.
“No thanks needed. My home is your home, for as long as you need it.”
I nodded, grateful beyond words, but unsure how to express it.
When we left the store, a flyer pinned to the community board caught my eye. It advertised a new gym offering self-defense classes.
“Self-defense could be useful,” I mused aloud.
“Wait, let me see that.” Heather snatched the flyer and scanned it quickly. “Noah Alexander is running it. You know, he’s our future alpha.”
“Oh?”
“He’s amazing. Trustworthy, strong... we should sign up. I know what you’re going to say—that because you’re human, you wouldn’t be any kind of match against a shifter. But it’s not about hitting others, it’s about learning to defend yourself. It’s always good to be prepared, right? You never know what’s in your future. You’ll feel safer, and it’s a good chance to meet Noah before he steps up as alpha.”
“Okay,” I agreed. “If you think it’s a good idea.” The thought of being able to protect myself and Roland was very appealing, and if Heather trusted this Noah, it was enough for me. “Let’s do it.”
“Great!” Heather beamed. “Why don’t we drop by the gym and enroll? It’s just around the corner. Strike while the iron is hot and stop you from talking yourself out of it.”
As we walked back to the car, I felt a little lighter, and a small spark of hope flickered inside me. Maybe, just maybe, things were starting to look up.
3
NOAH
Ishuffled through the stack of applications on my desk. “This is nuts,” I muttered, glancing up at the clock that read just past noon. We’d only been open for a week, and the response was overwhelming. We were receiving more applications every day.
“Tell me about it,” Kyler said from across the desk, his brows raised as he flipped through another batch. “You’re a hot commodity, Noah.”
“Seems like it,” I said a bit incredulously. We had expected interest, sure, but the frenzy? That was something else. I tapped a finger on one of the applications. “Look at these. Trainers from all over want to work here. And clients... half of them just want to say they’ve been trained by the retired boxer who came back home. The other half have never set foot in a gym in their life. They just want to say they met me.”
Kyler chuckled. “Can’t blame them. You’ve got quite the rep. How many titles do you hold? Not to mention an Olympic gold medal. There aren’t many trainers of your caliber out there.”
