Page 33 of Noah

Adrienne sighed knowing he wouldn’t let it go.

Without opening her eyes, she said, “She was concerned they may have touched me.” There was silence. “Specifically, the males. Lila thought…”

Well, if the sounds growing louder in his chest were any sign, he knew what Lila had meant.

An outraged snarl escaped him, and her eyes flew open. Noah’s eyes flashed, and his fangs dropped down. She arched a cautious eyebrow.

“They touched you?” He looked so frightening.

Her mouth flapped open and shut for a moment. “No, they did not,” she replied quickly, hoping to defuse the tension and help him relax.

She didn’t know if she could handle his anger. As selfish as it may sound, she believed that she was entitled to only think about herself, particularly given how terrible she was feeling at the moment.

He should be okay now. He had his people.

The only thing she needed to do was get out of bed and go home. She was already concerned about her cold and lonely apartment. The niggle in her mind about how she would pay rent grew larger. After applying for the warehouse job, she was accepted and hadn’t applied elsewhere.

Looking at her exhausted and beaten body, she almost snorted.

Nothing could be done. It would take her days to get back on her feet. Rent was a concern she couldn’t fix she decided.

“Ren. Talk,” Noah demanded.

God, he was so pushy. “What would you like me to say? If you’ve been dealing with it your whole life, can I complain about my treatment to you or anyone here? The mere mention of it makes me feel ridiculously weak, but I’m tired. I have to get home. My bills need to be paid. My life doesn’t just stop because some crazy shoved me into a freezing, half-padded room with a male who strangled me.”

Noah’s face fell, his hands dropping into his lap. Adrienne felt guilty but pushed it down ruthlessly and quickly.

So what? Should she lie to him? It happened, it was horrible, and now she needed to focus on what she needed to do next and how soon she could get up out of bed.

“You should leave. Take the time to get to know your people.”

“With Ren,” he growled.

“No, not with me,” she snorted.

He insisted, “With Ren.”

She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye as she rubbed her forehead. His eyes narrowed in determination as he sat up straight and his hair fell into his eyes. Weird and wonderful. He had tied it and forgotten about it, so when he ran his fingers through it, it snagged. A habit of his.

“Home,” he said suddenly, more to himself than to her.

She hoped that was some sort of generalisation about where he was. She knew it must have been shocking for Noah, yet he seemed to be taking it all in stride.

An open smile on his face, as if he liked his place in Moon. His legs were kicked up and he wore an air of dominance about him. The life he would live now was entirely up to him, but it was strange how easy he seemed to find it.

Adrienne expected hesitation, shakiness, and maybe anger after how Noah first responded to Adrienne in his space.

The reaction Noah had to the marks on her neck was almost comical. Lack of experience with humans made him unaware of how long the marks would last, how they would hurt, and how slowly they would heal.

Adrienne shook her head and clarified. “My home.” With the severe lines on his face, she knew he understood. “I need to go home. Can you get the doctor?”

His legs dropped to the ground as he growled. His head hung and he stared at a spot between his knees. She couldn’t know what he was thinking because he ignored her.

His features were unusual, but she had gotten used to seeing what he was thinking and feeling. Perhaps that was why he was hiding.

“Noah, are you paying attention to me?”

He responded with a snarl, and she quickly ceased speaking.

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