Chapter 266

Hannah

I awoke to warmth: a warm arm around my waist, a warm body against my back, golden rays of sun warming my cheek, heat pooling in my belly.

It didn’t take long for consciousness to return, and with it came the memory of last night. My skin still felt flushed wherever Noah had touched me, my core pleasantly empty as if a great weight had been removed from my body when I’d peaked in Noah’s arms in the moonlight.

When I rolled over, I found Noah still fast asleep beside me, his dark hair falling into his eyes. I tried to rouse him with a few warm kisses to his neck and shoulder, but he hardly stirred beyond letting out a low groan and nuzzling closer against me.

I rolled my eyes and smiled, shaking my head. I guess I should let him sleep, I thought, figuring that he must have needed the rest. I, however, was wide awake, so I carefully extricated myself from his arms and slipped out of the room in my dressing gown.

Lily was already in the nursery when I made my way in. “Oh! You’re awake,” she said, bouncing Melody in her arms. “I figured you might want to rest, so I took care of Melody’s breakfast.”

Letting out a small sigh of relief, I kissed my sister’s temple, followed by Melody’s button nose. “Thank you, Lily. Breakfast?”

She shrugged and followed me out of the nursery with Melody in her arms. “Noah’s still sleeping, I take it?”

I couldn’t help but blush a bit. “I assume his staying over last night has been the talk of the town already.”

My sister chuckled. “Let’s just say that Mom and Dad couldn’t stop mentioning how glad they were that you’re back together,” she said as we made our way into the kitchen.

I was glad, too. But the mention of our parents just reminded me of last night’s… uncomfortable discussion.

Noticing my apprehension, Lily placed a hand on my arm and said gently, “You know Dad means well. He’d never stand in the way of your happiness. He’s just… from a different era, that’s all.”

I pursed my lips and grabbed the milk and eggs out of the fridge. “Today isn’t so different from his day. Noah and I have a lot of work to do if we’re going to be able to be together and both be Alphas.”

Lily nodded. “Trust me, I know. But you know I’m here for you, right? Whatever you need.”

“Thanks, Lil. That means a lot.”

My sister shot me a wan smile before nodding her head toward the ingredients I’d gathered while we were talking. “Looks like someone is getting breakfast in bed.”

…

A little while later, Lily and I were quietly pushing the tea cart into my bedroom, laden with cheesy mushroom omelets, crispy bacon, steaming cups of coffee, and a vibrant array of fruit. Noah was still passed out on the bed, his mouth comically hanging open with his arms sprawled out to either side.

Exchanging amused smirks with my sister, I took a particularly wiggly Melody and gently placed her in the crook of one of his arms. As if by instinct, she grabbed her father’s index finger and began to gnaw on it.

Noah’s eyes snapped open almost immediately.

“What the… Oh!” He sat up, shirtless, and gathered Melody into his arms. “Good morning to you, too…”

At the sight of my mate’s bare torso, Lily flushed and hurried out of the room without a word.

“Sleeping well, were you?” I asked once we were alone.

Noah’s ears turned a little red as he glanced at the clock, seeing that it was past ten. “I’ll admit it,” he said a bit sheepishly. “Last night was the first good night of sleep I’ve gotten in a while.”

“Oh?”

He nodded, letting Melody play with the seashell around his neck as he bounced her in his arms. “I can’t sleep without you, Hannah.”

He said it so simply, so matter-of-factly; and yet I felt my throat close in response, my heart momentarily stilling in my chest.

Little did he know that I’d had a rough time sleeping since we’d separated, too.

And now here he was, holding our daughter in bed. I never thought it would come to this, but the sight of it made me tear up.

Clearing my throat, I turned and began rearranging the plates on the cart. “Lily and I made breakfast,” I said, pushing the cart up to the edge of the bed. “Thought it might be nice to have breakfast in bed. You, me, and Melody.”

Noah’s eyes widened as he took in the sight of all the food. “Hannah, you should have woken me—”

“I just…” I cut him off, shaking my head. “I wanted to do something nice.”

Noah and I were both quiet for a few moments, although the air was filled with unspoken words—and Melody’s happy little gurgles as she played with her father’s dark hair.

Finally, Noah was the first to break the silence. He held out his free arm, beckoning to me. “Come here.”

Tears pricked at the backs of my eyes as I walked over to him and let him gather me against his side, tucking my legs up underneath me. Noah, noticing my emotional state, brushed a bit of hair out of my face and gently kissed my temple.

“Thank you, Hannah.”

“It’s just breakfast—”

“No. It’s not.” He hiked Melody up in his arms, holding her between us. Her big green eyes, the exact same shade as his own, lit up as she saw my face come into view. I nearly burst out crying when her tiny hands reached out toward me.

“It’s this,” Noah said as he carefully shifted our daughter into my arms. He gestured to me, to himself, to Melody, to the room, to the steaming food sitting in front of us. “It’s everything. Thank you. For doing it all over again with me.”

The tenderness in Noah’s voice left me silent, my throat working uselessly. To think that we had lost this, nearly for good… It was almost too much to bear.

But just as that first tear was about to slip out, Noah picked up a strawberry and held it to my lips.

I hesitated for a moment before opening my mouth and biting down on the sweet berry. The juices exploded on my tongue—and also on our daughter, whose face scrunched up at the sensation of sticky sweetness hitting the tip of her nose.

“Oh—” I gasped, nearly choking with laughter, as her mouth opened in a perfect little ‘o’ of surprise, clearly caught somewhere between giggling and crying.

Noah had to press the back of his hand against his mouth to keep himself from laughing.

“That was my fault,” he said, grabbing a napkin and wiping our daughter’s strawberry-stained face. “I should have known that would happen.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “Maybe breakfast in bed with a baby isn’t the best idea.”

“Not your finest, I’ll admit,” he chuckled.

With that, we gathered Melody and moved to the small table by the window. Noah held her in his lap, bouncing her on his knee as he fed her little berries and dollops of whipped cream from his coffee, practically forgetting to eat his own food in the process.

All the while, I just leaned back, sipping my coffee and watching with a smile on my face.

No tears were spilled that morning—but if they had, then they would have been tears of joy and laughter.