Show Me You Love Me, Alpha Chapter 07

Show Me You Love Me, Alpha Chapter 07

After that night, I never heard his wolf’s voice again.

I could no longer hear the love Noah had always buried inside himself.

Not that I cared anymore.

There were plenty of people around me whose love put his to shame.

Like my best friend, Sophia.

She was loud and brash, always carefree.

Whenever I was hurting, she’d rush over and wrap me in the biggest hug.

Whenever I went quiet, she’d notice right away and ask, “What’s wrong today?”

And then there was Julian.

He probably thought he hid his feelings well.

But after everything I’d been through, I’d developed an uncanny ability to sense when someone cared.

Besides, once my mate bond with Noah was gone, Julian stopped trying to hide how much he cared.

Faye started spreading rumors.

She claimed I’d seduced the border commander before leaving Noah.

That I’d dumped him for another man, which was why he’d fallen

—

apart.

Several pack guards even came looking for trouble. They never made it past the camp gates.

Julian made sure I was always protected.

After I settled in at the border, he became even bolder.

Every day after work, he’d casually drift over to wherever I was.

Finally, I decided to say it outright.

“Julian, if you date me, people will talk.”

“My former Alpha’s notorious enough as it is. Besides, military regulations strictly prohibit relationships between ranking officers and their subordinates.”

Julian toyed with a bone carving between his fingers, studying a block of ice with an unshaken smile.

“Then I guess I’ll resign as commander when I get back.”

“…That’s not funny.”

“I wasn’t joking.” He looked at me with complete sincerity.

“Anna, are you looking down on my feelings or something?”

I blinked, caught off guard by how easily those words rolled off his tongue.

For a moment, I was at a loss.

“You sound like a reckless kid. You didn’t even try to deny it or hide it.

—

That’s nothing like the sly negotiator everyone knows.”

Julian lowered his head.

Without missing a beat, his hands continued carving.

Then he held it out to me. An ice rose with petals shaped like wolf fangs.

“Love has to be declared out loud, or you’ll live with regret.”

“What if the ice melts before I ever get the chance to give you the flower?”

I pressed my lips together and carefully accepted it.

He was right. Love was never meant to stay hidden.

It was never supposed to be cloaked in cruel words, coldness, or pride.

Those things only became claws and fangs that wounded the person you claimed to love.

Even though I was stationed at the border and stopped paying attention to Noah, news about him still found its way to me.

After disappearing for a while, the elders dragged him back to the training grounds.

But he was never the same.

He looked exhausted every day. Even his punches had lost the strength they once carried.

He started drinking to numb the pain.

—

But when the alcohol wore off, reality hit even harder.

Worried about both his body and his mind, the elders used the former Alpha’s seventieth birthday banquet as an excuse to gather the entire pack.

They had hoped Noah would finally move on.

But the moment he saw Faye, his wolf lost control.

With one swipe of his claws, he flipped the banquet table, sending food crashing to the floor.

“Get out!”

“All of you, get out!”

Broken porcelain sliced across Faye’s cheek.

The elder hurried to shield her.

Noah pointed straight at him and shouted, “And you, old man!”

“Why didn’t you tell me Anna went to the border?”

“What gave all of you the right to keep that from me?”

The former Alpha was so furious he could barely contain himself.

After downing several calming potions, he banished Noah from the pack in front of everyone.

“You worthless fool!”

“Your talent is extraordinary, Noah, and it’s a shame to waste it.”

—

“But this pack has no place for an Alpha who refuses to take responsibility.”

After one of my subordinates excitedly finished telling me the whole story, I only smiled faintly.

It felt strangely bittersweet.

The image of the boy I’d once loved was becoming blurrier every day.

I shook my head. There was no point thinking about him anymore.

What I never expected was to see Noah among the welcoming party when I returned to the central territory.