Page 20 of Noah

I hesitated for a moment, thrown by the shift in his tone. Was something wrong?

The thought lingered for a beat before I shoved it aside. He was probably just tired—everyone was stretched thin with the summit.

I slid into the seat opposite him, feeling a rush of warmth at his easy demeanor.

“It went relatively well. Cooper seems like a solid alpha,” I commented.

Before Noah could respond, Adrian arrived, his usual smirk plastered on his face.

“Noah, it’s been a while,” he said, his voice oozing arrogance.

“Adrian,” Noah acknowledged, blinking as he took in the other wolf’s presence. His polite tone didn’t mask the slight edge of discomfort.

Adrian pulled out a chair and sat down, flashing me a smug grin. My hands curled into fists under the table, my protective instincts flaring.

I dragged my chair closer to Noah, as if to shield him from Adrian’s presence. Adrian mirrored the action, his mocking smile never faltering.

The tension at the table ratcheted up, thick and suffocating. Noah looked a little put out, glancing between the two of us. Honestly, I couldn’t blame him.

This wasn’t how I’d envisioned our reunion.

“We were just talking about how the meeting went,” I said, trying to steer the conversation back on track. “Cooper seems like a good alpha.”

Adrian snorted. “Good? Let’s hope he’s more than that. We all know what happened with the last one.”

Noah’s gaze flicked to Adrian, his expression neutral but his body language stiff. “Cooper is a strong leader. He’s already made positive changes.”

We continued chatting, but Adrian’s constant interjections grated on my nerves. I wanted it to be just Noah and me, our conversation flowing naturally like it used to.

Instead, Adrian kept butting in, his every word a challenge.

“Anyway,” Adrian drawled, leaning back and draping an arm over the back of Noah’s chair, “I was wondering if you could show me around town. We could get reacquainted.”

That did not sit well with my wolf. My anger simmered just beneath the surface, ready to boil over. I opened my mouth, ready to tell Adrian off, but Noah stood up, cutting me off.

“Sorry, but I’m a little busy helping out with the summit. Everyone in my pack is,” Noah said, his tone firm yet polite.

Adrian frowned, his gaze lingering on Noah in a way that made my skin crawl. But to Noah’s credit, he stood his ground, unaffected by Adrian’s intensity.

Griffin, Noah’s brother, called out his name from across the room, drawing his attention.

“It was good seeing you, Jackson. Adrian,” Noah said, then walked away, leaving us at the table.

“Little Noah’s all grown up,” Adrian drawled once Noah was out of earshot, his eyes gleaming with something dark and possessive.

I leaned in, my voice low and deadly. “Stay away from him.”

Adrian’s smirk widened. “I don’t think I can do that. I think he’ll make a fine mate for an alpha, don’t you?”

It took every ounce of self-control to stand up and walk away.

My wolf snarled within me, furious at the thought of Adrian anywhere near Noah. But I knew one thing for certain—I wasn’t going to let Adrian get his claws into him.

Chapter 6

Noah

Before the talk even finished,I quickly darted out of the room. I slipped into the crowd already gathering outside the pack house, keeping my stride steady and my focus fixed ahead.

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