Alpha's Regret After Her Rebirth by Aurora Starling

Chapter 0038

Noah

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Noah watched as Hannah stalked off with a scowl, her hips swaying with each step. His jaw clenched as she disappeared into the crowd without a backward glance, her long black dress moving behind her.

She looked so… different lately. Was It Just because she had been eating more? No, he thought to himself. It’s not just that.

It wasn’t just her appearance. It was her demeanor, too. She was more confident, but also more abrasive.

Noah couldn’t decide if it infuriated him or turned him on.

Downing the last of his champagne, he set the empty flute on the bar with a soft clink and asked the bartender for another. As he waited, his jaw worked beneath his skin. That little display with Drake had. been entirely unnecessary on her part. Did she have to play up the fawning devotion quite so much?

No, of course she didn’t. She was trying to piss him off, to make him feel… what? Make him feel bad for getting her a gift?

“It’s not just a gift,” Noah’s wolf rumbled in the back of his mind. “You know that,”

I

Noah clenched his jaw even harder and exhaled through his nostrils. “I know. But how else am I going to get her to listen? I need her to-”

“Alpha Noah.” The sound of an all too familiar voice made Noah stiffen. “A word?”

He turned to find Drake regarding him with an inscrutable look, his piercing dark gaze entirely too knowing for Noah’s liking. With a deferential nod, Noah replied, “Of course, Alpha Drake. Shall we?”

Without waiting for Drake’s response, Noah strode off down the nearby hallway–putting some distance between them and the prying eyes of the gala crowd. Drake fell into step beside him, their footfalls echoing against the marble floors.

to see Drake tonight–for Zoe’s sake. She was still an old friend, and a member of Nightcrest

Drake was on the Alpha council.

Drake began once they were relatively isolated, his tone conversational. “I’ve heard some nasty rumors about the two of you. I’m

to talk about, Drake?” he asked. A ghost of a smile tugged at the corners of Drake’s lips. “Ah, Noah. You’ve never been one to mince words. I’ve always admired that about you.” He paused

“She did.”

quirked an eyebrow. “Did you have anything to do with that? Your wife seemed to handle it so

Chapter 0038

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friends and had

“To both of you?”

lips.

face betraying no emotion as they fell into a tense silence. Noah could practically taste the weight

no attempt to veil the undercurrent of steel in his tone. “I would appreciate the chance to

an unyielding stare. With all due respect,

He was feigning ignorance: Noah could

ticked with barely restrained irritation. Of course Drake would play dumb–it was just like a scoundrel like him. Tamping down the

you have something of a… reputation, when it comes to the fairer sex.” He held Drake’s gaze, letting his words sink in for a moment. 1 simply would hate to see Zoe made uncomfortable in

not like she

you sure about that?” Noah

Drake’s icy veneer cracked–a flash of something dark and volatile flickering across his features. Noah braced himself for the cutting retort, the heated denial, the thinly veiled

it had come, the

bored into Noah’s with an accusatory glint. “Tell me–were these notions planted by Zoe herself? Or did they perhaps stem from your own… indecent feelings toward

Noah like a knife to the gut, his entire body going rigid as he struggled to keep his expression impassive. Yes, he and Zoe had a history–but that was all before any of them got married. He never would have touched another woman,

about my relationship with Zoe. She is

just that Zoe was never one to run away from her problems before. I can’t help but wonder if certain…. outside factors influenced her

Chapter 0038