Page 98 of My Shy Alpha
“Uh... Hello?”
I flush at his precious, confused voice. Hearing his rich tone through the phone for the first time wipes the tension from my forehead as I break into a beaming smile. “Hi. I know I’m in the middle of therapy, but I wanted to see if you had time to join me?”
Noah chuckles softly into the receiver. Did Jenny notice your adorable, blank-faced mindlinking too?
Yes! Play along!
He doesn’t skip a beat. “I’d love to join you, sweet Om– Heart. Sweetheart.”
It’s my turn to giggle before saying goodbye to Noah. I awkwardly smile at Jenny. “He’s on his way.”
Jenny fills the waiting time for Noah, checking in about my Exposure and Response Prevention homework, but I have trouble focusing. When Noah arrives within three minutes instead of five, his text’s vibration jolts me in my seat.
Jenny gasps. “Oh, my goodness! Are you okay?”
I sigh, gripping my pounding heart. “I was getting anxious for Noah’s text to come in. I guess I just care about him so much that I’m a little frazzled.”
“Do you not want to do this today? If you’re not feeling ready, we can try again soon.”
“No– I’m nervous, but I know I want to do this.”
Glancing at Noah’s text, I break the tension with a sputtering laugh.
Noah (5:23PM): here.. texting like a human. fingers 2 big
Jenny laughs at my reaction, even without knowing what Noah wrote. “Well, laughter is one way to help with nerves! What did he say?”
I swallow hard, biting back the fear as it chokes out my smile. “He’s here.”
“Aww, honey... I’m going to be here the whole time, okay? You don’t have to do this alone.”
“Thank you, Jenny.”
We have to listen closely for Noah’s quiet entrance into the waiting room, muffled by Jenny’s office door. But I already know it’s him. His wolf bounds up to mine in our bond, and I smile despite the nerves.
By the time Jenny greets Noah and he awkwardly shuffles his massive frame through her door, Noah cuddles in next to me, studying my face.
I have no idea what to say. “Uh– w-well...”
Noah puts his arm around my shoulders, his scent softening them just as much as his touch. “It’s okay. I’m here because I want to know how I can support you.”
Already on the verge of tears, I look at Jenny for her reaction. She mouths, “So sweet,” and I couldn’t agree more. Gazing into Noah’s eyes, I steel myself.
“Remember when you mentioned never wanting to hurt me, even by mistake?” I grip the couch cushion between us, knowing that’s an obvious “yes” from Noah. “That’s actually what my OCD makes me afraid of the most too. Then PTSD sort of tag-teams with it, trapping me in a fear cycle...” I pinch my palm, unsure what else to do with my nervous energy. “Basically, I have both.”
“Oh, my sweet– M-my love.” Noah strokes my hair, and I bite back fresh tears.
Emotions swirl across his face - impossible to ignore, even if I couldn’t feel them in our bond.
But Noah doesn’t say anything else. He hesitates, and it spikes a primal fear of rejection through my bones.
“Do you know what OCD is, or are you confused? What are you thinking?” I ask - a billion other questions itching to follow.
“W-well, I...” He clears his throat. “I wish I did, but I only know a little. I know more about PTSD since I have it too, but–” Noah eyes Jenny warily before dropping his stare. “I-I don’t usually talk about that with anyone.”
I snuggle in closer, my heart aching for him. “That’s okay. There’s no pressure to share anything you don’t want to.”
Jenny nods. “Just knowing you have PTSD, I’m willing to bet you might be able to understand what Aliya experiences better than the average person.”