Alpha Noah

~Abella

A million thoughts go through my head at once.

My first instinct is to jump to his defense and let him know that I suffer from the same problem…Maybe he knows something I don’t and he can help me get better, or at least explain to me what is going on. But the moment I allow my mind to wonder to that weak place, I immediately reprimand myself. After all the advice my mother told me about keeping what I know a secret, I can’t just let that all go now.

I like Noah, and I trust him…enough. But this I’ll have to approach with caution. Maybe I’ll see if he will first admit what is wrong with him before I’m honest with him that I share the same problem, or disease, or whatever this is.

“Noah…Your blood is purple,” I say, my voice shuddering, and not because I’m acting. Seeing someone with blood like my own is jarring. Especially since I’ve spent my entire life thinking I’m the only one.

He turns to look at me, eyes wide, mortified.

“Please don’t freak out,” he says, the blood running down the hand which he holds up defensively. I’ve never seen someone so panicked, which is so unlike an Alpha. It makes sense, since I know how I felt when Cian saw my blood for the first time.

“Why? Why is your blood purple?” I ask him, hoping he will admit something, anything. I’m relying on him not only telling me what is wrong with him, but also what is wrong with me. However, my desperation is backing him into a corner, making him feel bad about an infliction which he doesn’t know is the same as mine. “You have to give me answers.”

“I don’t want to scare you,” he says uneasily, backing up another few steps, forcing me to stand and face him. “You’ll run away if you find out.”Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

Find out.

Even those few words send chills across my skin. Find out what? That means he knows the answer to his condition…and maybe I’ll know too. Is it a disease, or is it a special kind of immortal thing I had, even when I was mortal? Or maybe I’m related to an Alpha line of family. Okay, now I’m just letting my mind wander to think this is a good thing.

I’m almost too desperate as I question him. “What is it? Please tell me.”

“I’m not who you think I am,” he says, the pained look in his eyes pulling at my heart. This is horrible of me…I should just tell him, right? “What you think I am.”

“And what is that,” I ask him, approaching him with slow, cautious steps. Finally, he doesn’t back away from me, but I can still see the wariness in his eyes, as he struggles to trust me. “You can tell me, we are friends. You know I won’t judge you. Trust me.”

He blinks, once, twice. Both our gazes meet the slow drip of each drop of blood falling from the cut on his hand to the carpet at his feet, staining the off-white carpet violet. Thankfully, my paper cut from earlier has since dried up, but I’m ready to show it to him the moment I feel safe enough. I’m not sure why I’m putting it off so much…maybe I’m scared of his reaction, or for all my secrets to be exposed.

“You’re the one person who I do trust. But I care enough about you to not tell you,” Noah says honestly, his voice turning hoarse. My heart jumps into my throat.

I should just tell him.

“Noah, you shouldn’t be worried about telling me. Because I think we have more in common than you think,” I tell him. I watch his face contort in confusion, as he tries to piece together what I’m saying, and completely fails.

The moment I go to open my mouth to admit to him, finally, after all my apprehension, the windows around me shatter in an explosion of glass shards and loud noises. Immediately, I drop to the ground, a flash of white striking my vision, the ears immediately ringing from the explosion. Maybe I’m screaming, I can’t tell. All I know, is I’m hunched on the floor, fear streaking through me.

Someone is calling my name. Noah. Suddenly the ringing dies down, and I force my eyes open, looking around the room. Every window is now a gaping space of nothing, the glass now having rained down upon us.

“Abella. Are you okay?” I hear him say, as my hearing slowly comes back. He inches toward me carefully, avoiding the glass. He surprisingly is untouched, and when I look down at myself, I’m also perfectly safe, not a single scratch on my body.

How did we get so lucky?

“What was that?” I question, massaging below my ears as if it’s going to bring my hearing back. The weather outside it perfectly still, so that can’t have been the cause. But what else would cause all the windows in this one room to spontaneously explode into a thousand sharp shards, which failed to leave a single scratch on both our bodies.

“I have no idea. Let’s get out of this room first,” Noah says, his voice quivering around the edges. He is trying his best to appear in control of the situation, but he is just as shaken as me. Grabbing the sleeve to my jacket, he leads me out of the living room and into the foyer, where the stained glass by the door is perfectly intact.

I rub my arms warily. “Do you think that was random or do you think someone did that?”

I’m not sure I even want to know the answer, as Noah appears grim. “I don’t think that would happen without someone being behind it. Don’t worry about it, though. That’s not for you to worry about.”

Even though his words are meant to be comforting, I can’t help the uneasiness that creeps in like a shadow behind me; stuck to me, dark. Even though it might not seem likely, that happened for a reason. It interrupted our conversation, which I doubt after that event, will come up again in the near future.

“I should probably go then,” I say, although I don’t mean it. I don’t actually have any urge to leave, especially since whoever caused this could be lurking outside.

Like Stace…

“No, you can stay here for awhile, at least till morning. I’ll call in some staff to check the area,” he tells me assuredly. He’s starting to appear more confident now, as if none of this even affected him in the first place. He’s stepping into his role as an Alpha.

I agree, only on the grounds of my own fear. Noah offers me a room upstairs, in a guest suite. I’m thankful, that he’s being kind enough, despite everything, to let me stay. However, there’s a tension in the air between us in the form of unanswered questions. He doesn’t know the colour of my blood yet, but I know his. And that’s frightening.

He allows me to retire to my room, while he alerts me that he will be around, checking the property and managing staff. Alpha duties, of course.

However, there’s no way I’m going to sleep.

Waiting patiently until the area stills, I emerge from my room, still wearing my day clothes, despite the night gown Noah offered me. It feels odd, having him offer me clothes, despite it being such a mundane concept. Maybe it’s because every time I’m around him I feel guilty. I’m mated to Cian, and that’s not going to change. But the way I feel around Noah is sinful… it’s wrong. My body shouldn’t react to him in the way it does.

Padding with bare feet down the hallway, I make it to the top of the stairs, which looks down into the foyer where the front door stands proud and tall next to thick, white marble pillars.

Out of the corner of the eye, I see Noah approaching the front door, despite there not having been any knock that I heard.

The moment he opens the door, I watch Cian saunter in.

Of course.

“I’m here to collect my mate,” he says, his tone the usual half amused, half cocky mix he adores so much. From up here, I can only see Cian’s face, while Noah’s back is facing me. I’m assuming his expression is hardly impressed, though. Does Cian really have to come here and stir up drama considering his and Noah’s last?

“And who said she wants to go with you?” Noah questions, his tone dark and serious, making me shiver. He may not be immortal, but as an Alpha, he still remains intimidating.

Cian laughs. “Ah, hello. She knows I’m her mate, therefore, she will want to come with me. Where are you hiding her anyway?”

“I’m not hiding her.”

Cian steps inside the room, looking around the foyer. Immediately, I duck down behind a pot plant, avoiding the sweep of his gaze. He’s clearly looking for me, so hopefully he will assume I’m in a room, oblivious to his presence. I’m not even sure how he knew I would still be here since not returning to my room, especially since I told him it was to just drop something off. Either he is suspicious of me and Noah, or he knows something I don’t.

“Then why do you look so flustered?” Cian questions, his tone amused, as usual, although there is a dark undertone to it. Maybe he is jealous, which only makes me feel guiltier for the thoughts that often go through my head.

“Something happened,” Noah says uneasily, for the first time, not sounding completely bothered by having to speak to Cian. “We were in the living room, and the glass exploded out of nowhere. I have no explanation for it.”

It’s so irritating that I can’t see Noah’s expression, as Cian speaks. “Why are you giving me that look? I’m not behind this. Why were you in the living room with Abella anyway?”

Oh no.

“She’s going to know what I am,” Noah says, piquing my interest. Leaning back around the pot plant, I look down to see the mortified expression on Cian’s face. My throat goes dry. If he has that reaction, knowing whatever is wrong with Noah, means that because we must be the same, Cian is going to have the exact same reaction to me. It scares me even more than the fact that Cian knows what is wrong with Noah and didn’t tell me.

“How? Why?” Cian demands.

“Don’t worry about that. She’s going to know, and that’s final,” Noah says firmly, digging his hands back through his hair. “I don’t think our secret is going to last much longer.”

I can see Cian rapidly shake his head. “No, don’t say that. It has to stay a secret. I don’t care if you hate me, but you know that it’s not a good thing if she knows.”

My breath hitch’s, as I lean back against the wall. More secrets. More secrets that I’m going to find out about.