Noah closes his eyes, taking a deep breath. When he opens them again, his eyes are stark yellow. “You’re right.”

Before he can flip around, seven burly men stream from the forest thickets behind Noah, setting their sights on us. Not a single pup makes a sound, cramming themselves behind Noah’s protective form as Rainn huddles into my side. Her frantic glances over pup heads as she counts them beneath her breath sends my heart into overdrive.

Are these pack members? Wait, they have to be, otherwise Noah would’ve chased them from Greenfield already. Even still, they look furious. How concerned should I be for our safety? I shuffle a few pups behind me, reassuring two little ones who grip my thighs with my hands on their heads.

The men still haven’t said anything. I’m on the verge of panic; we can’t stop all of them if they attack, not with this many pups to protect.

But our Alpha doesn’t panic.

Noah crosses his arms. “Class is in session. I’m not available right now.”

A pale, muscled man with auburn hair flashes a sharp smile - his incisors on display. He comes to a halt ten feet from us, leaning one shoulder against a tree before crossing his arms to mirror Noah. “We didn’t want to have to interrupt playtime either. Unfortunately, you’ve left us no choice.”

The bearded, scowling man to his left doesn’t look as relaxed. “Let’s get to it. I’m wasting my lunch break for this, and we have urgent demands for our family’s safety that require your attention.” 

Noah nods, motioning to a clearing about 30 feet to our left. As Noah strides toward it, the Alphas follow without complaint.

Rainn and Aliya, feel free to continue class. They won’t bother the pups, Noah mindlinks.

Rainn meets my eyes, fear creasing her forehead. As she herds the pups away, I can’t bring myself to follow.

My heartbeat is thready, and my knees weak. I don’t like something about those Alphas’ scents. Noah is walking further from me by the millisecond, and the sight of his back to me gnaws at my stomach.

Before I can stop myself, my wolf takes charge: I scamper back to Noah’s side.

His sharp stare meets me over his shoulder. Yellow irises flip my heart.

“Our future Luna is joining us?” The grinning Alpha asks. Except he’s not really asking; his eyes sweep my body before I’ve even had a chance to say hello.

Noah puts himself between us with his next step, tucking me into his side. My guts churn, but Noah’s voice is still calm. “Of course she is. She’s your future Luna. Show her respect.”

The Alpha laughs. “Of course, Alpha Noah. I’ll be a true gentleman, at your request.”

“That wasn’t a request. It was an order.”

I don’t want to say hello anymore. We walk in silence, and I burrow deeper into Noah’s side.

Are you okay? I ask.

Yes, I know these guys. Which is why I’m more worried about you. They’re extremely sexist, so the second you feel too uncomfortable or triggered, please allow yourself to leave. Noah’s jaws tighten. But you have to walk when you go, Omega. Absolutely do not run.

I swallow hard. One of the silent Alphas meets my eyes, and I shrink. He must smell my petrified scent. Now that I’ve figured out how to track Noah’s scent, it’s easier to single out others. These guys’ grungy, angry scents didn’t come to praise Noah’s leadership skills.

As we come to a stop in the open clearing, putting distance between our two groups, I feel like I can breathe a little deeper. 

Noah releases my side, his arms crossing back over his chest. “Alright, Alphas. What’s on your mind?”

“It’s been three years since you signed the Fair Territory Act into law, and it’s still far from fair. Things are becoming unsustainable,” the auburn-haired Alpha says.

My eyebrows furrow. I have no idea what that law entails, but it doesn’t sound bad from the title.

But Noah’s heaving sigh only tenses the Alphas’ shoulders. His voice is low and commanding. “No matter how many times you return to debate this with me, I will not take any land away from Omegas or Betas in favor of Alphas. Every wolf has their equal share. That has been, and still is, my final word on the Fair Territory Act.”

A man with dark brown hair speaks up. His voice is as shaky as his trembling, rapid hand gestures. “But there’s nothing ‘fair’ about it. You should know this - Alphas are naturally superior, and a large majority of us are mated to Omegas and Betas that rely on us. We can’t protect them without more resources for our bigger, stronger bodies. You’re taking away from everyone by taking away from Alphas.”

Noah shakes his head. “I haven’t taken anything from you. I’m refusing to give you an unfair advantage just because of your pheromones.”

“Unfair? How is it unfair when, biologically, we–”

 “No sex is superior. We are all Lycans,” Noah says.

The Alphas meet eyes, shaking their heads. The largest of them all has been silent this entire time, but as he steps forward, I’m tempted to step back; he’s a little wider than Noah, and almost as tall, his hazel, brooding eyes not sparing me a single glance. 

When he speaks, there’s a subtle growl behind each deep syllable. “It’s no wonder other packs think we’re weak. You let so many Rogues in that our Omega population exploded. Do the math. Alpha allocations are only getting smaller.”

“I don’t know who told you that, but again, nothing of yours is shrinking. The math is that everyone who joins our pack is provided for. We’re sheltering refugees in the Community Center temporarily, and unfortunately, yes, things are getting crowded there. If you’d like to help us construct new housing, I’d be happy to direct your applications to Dave. We can even give you provision bonuses in return if a bigger share is what you’re looking for.”

The man shakes his head. “You’re avoiding the subject. We’re talking about Rogues invading our pack due to your weak influence around ‘Omega abuse.’ But these are Rogues, Alpha. Not refugees.”

Noah uncrosses his arms, standing taller. The Alphas freeze at the sight. But as acid burns through my veins, I can’t stop myself.

“Are you seriously implying these Omegas all lied about their abuse, just for an excuse to invade your land?” I ask.

With my angry, pointed stare, the men remain silent. They fidget a little, but not a single one of them meets my eyes more than a glance. 

Except the man with auburn hair.

He laughs. “Now, that’s a reach, Luna. It’s unfortunate that a few of them have struggled, but a vast majority haven’t–”

Noah huffs out a dark, interrupting laugh. “Wow, that sounds so much better. So basically all of these abuse survivors are faking it, except a rare few that aren’t master-manipulators? What a fucking joke, man.”

“You don’t need to be a dick. This is a serious issue,” the auburn haired Alpha snaps. 

“Yeah? But you’re telling me that based on conspiratorial bullshit, I should exile pack members I’ve already vetted. If that’s not a big fucking joke, then you agree you’re threatening the livelihood of other pack members, and we’ve got a bigger problem here. And it’s not with the Rogues. I hate to break it to you for the millionth time, but they already belong here.”

Spittle escapes the Alpha’s lips as his face blazes red. “I’m not talking about them all, just some. Enough to make a sizable dent in what you owe us.”

With his smile erased, the Alpha’s bared fangs look even longer. It sets my blood on fire. My wolf howls to run. 

But Noah’s hand settles on my back. A gentle sweep of his fingertips soothes my pounding heart, but it’s not enough. The Alpha eyes me, and I swear I can feel his gaze burning my skin. I almost wish he had that snarky grin back.

“Big mistake.” Noah steps in front of me with a growl. “Do not intimidate your future Luna.”

My heart flips. I grip the back of Noah’s shirt, afraid of what he’ll do. But to my surprise, his show of dominance makes the Alphas relax, their focus turning to the trees or floor - anything but Noah’s stoic stare.

The auburn-haired Alpha sighs. “Alright, whatever. Here’s the thing, man. We’re cramped, so what the hell are you doing about it?”

“The Community Center is cramped, not our territory. It’s one of the largest in the US.”

“You won’t claim more land? We’d help you fight for it.”

Noah somehow grows larger, his chest expanding with each breath. “That will never be an option. This is its maximum size. I refuse to wage unnecessary wars with our neighbors to make it any larger, and I disagree with the packs causing so many Rogues to flee in the first place, so a merger is off the table. We can comfortably house our new pack members with proper materials and time. There will be no bloodshed.”

The Alpha scoffs. “But it’s an Alpha’s Goddess-given right to dominate–”

“Fuck, no. There will be no bloodshed, especially not in the name of Alpha domination. Do you understand me?”

The auburn-haired Alpha stares deep into Noah’s eyes, and every bird silences for miles. I hold my breath, afraid the slightest movement will set them all off.

But the auburn-haired Alpha drops his head with a scowl. “I understand, Alpha.”

As I struggle to catch my breath, my eyes race between the Alphas. Noah’s wolf stands guard over mine in our bond, and his human form tucks me even tighter behind his back. 

He must’ve seen it coming: from behind Noah’s back, I recognize the dark brown-haired Alpha’s growling tone as he invades Noah’s personal bubble. “What are you so afraid of? That one day soon, you’ll have to face the truth from the Alphas around you? That if you try to expand Greenfield territory, the other pack leaders will find out you’re more Omega-like than some Omegas we know? Are you afraid they’ll hunt you down, or deep down, do you think it’s rightfully so, because this isn’t your true place, Alpha?”

All I can do is gape wide-eyed into Noah’s back. What the hell is this Alpha talking about? If their philosophy is that Alphas are defined by pure-blooded muscle, no one is more Alpha than my mate. But for whatever reason, Noah’s wolf bristles, baring his teeth in defense.

I grip his shirt tighter. Noah was right, this is triggering - they sound exactly like Steven, but the Lycan version. And if these Alphas are like Steven, unpredictability is in their nature. I’m afraid they’ll be set off at whatever Noah says next. What should I do? Should I mindlink Yasmine? Dave?

No, Noah acted like this ambush was normal. He’ll know what to do, won’t he?

God, does Noah have to deal with aggression like this every day?

But as Noah’s wolf expands, Noah’s human form stands as tall as he can. His next words are quiet, but I can hear his dark grin in his deep voice. “Alright, so what if I really was an Omega?”

Noah steps forward, out of my hands. With one step, all seven Alphas take three steps back.

“You can’t handle being smaller than an Omega? Weaker than one?”

I grip my heart as it pounds harder and faster than I’ve ever felt it. 

I was wrong: Noah was slouching. He’s at least three inches taller than the bearded Alpha, and with his muscles tensed, he’s twice as wide. My mate backs multiple large men into the thickets with just two steps.

The auburn-haired Alpha swallows hard. “No. We will never tolerate being dominated by one. That’s an insult to our genetics and intellige–”

“Enough,” Noah growls. 

We all hold our breaths, blinking rapidly as Noah’s Alpha musk burns our eyes. 

“You’ve wasted my morning spouting sexist shit. Get the fuck out of my sight.”

The Alphas don’t take another breath before turning their backs to Noah, shuffling through the leaves in retreat. But they don’t leave without a few mutterings.

“Sexist, what the fuck?”

“Dude, maybe he really isn’t an Alpha.”

Noah laughs, but his unenthused tone is chilling. “Uh-huh, whatever. Challenge me face-to-face if you really want to prove those superior genetics.”

A few of the Alphas look back. But with one glance at Noah’s fanged grin, they shut up and scurry away.