Alpha's Regret After Her Rebirth by Aurora Starling

Chapter 0201
Chapter 0201
Hannah
“Is that so?”
I froze, my heart skipping a beat as I heard Noah’s voice behind us. How much of that had he heard? Enough, apparently, to warrant saying something. Viona and I turned slowly, both of us caught off guard by his sudden appearance.
“Noah,” I said, my voice a bit hoarse. The sensation of Drake’s lips on my hand still lingered, even more so now that Noah was lookin directly in the eyes. “I didn’t see you there.”
His green eyes were hard as he approached. “Clearly,” he said, his tone flat. “I couldn’t help but overhear your… enlightening conversation.”
Viona stepped forward, her chin raised defiantly. “This was a private discussion between friends, Noah. Hannah was helping me with some personal matters. It had nothing to do with you.”
Noah’s gaze flickered over to my friend for a moment before returning to me. “Is that so? Because it sounded an awful lot like my wife was discussing our marriage.”
I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came out. What could I say? He had heard the truth, as painful as it was. Noah and I didn’t love each other anymore-and frankly, I wasn’t sure if he had ever loved me to begin with. I had certainly loved him in the beginning, although those feelings had long since faded.
“Hannah,” Noah suddenly said, his voice softening ever so slightly. “Can we talk? Alone?”
I glanced at Viona, who gave me a concerned look. “It’s alright,” I assured her. “I’ll catch up with you later. Go find Amber and Emma for me, would you?”
Viona pursed her lips, but nodded. As she reluctantly walked away, I turned to Noah.
“What did you need?” I asked.
Noah regarded me for a moment before replying, “Would you care to walk with me?” He nodded his head toward the bustling festival grounds, the throng of people practically solid between the rows of booths
and attractions.

“Sure.” Nodding, I fell into step beside Noah. We walked in silence through the pathways for a few moments, the sounds of the festival fading into the background behind us.
Somewhere in the distance, the drums and flutes of the band were thrumming continually, but I hardly heard it anymore over the sound of my own pulse in my ears.
After a little while, I opened my mouth to tell Noah what I had been talking about with Viona-as well as what he had seen with Drake. But he beat me to the punch.
Before I could utter a word, he suddenly said, “What was that little display with Drake earlier?” When I didn’t answer right away, too stunned to speak, he continued. “I saw you two by the ice cream stand,” he said, his jaw tightening. “It looked… intimate.”
I sighed as I ran a hand through my hair. “It wasn’t what it looked like. Drake,… he misheard some rumors about me. He thought I was interested in him romantically.”
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Chapter 0201
Noah’s eyebrows shot up. “And are you?”
“No!” I said quickly, stopping in my tracks and turning to face him. “Of course not. I told him it wasn’t true and asked him not to do anything like that again.”
Noah was quiet for a moment, processing this information. My face was beet red beneath his gaze, although I wasn’t sure if he noticed or if he was too lost in his thoughts to notice much of anything. “Well
I’m surprised,” he finally said. “Drake seems like he would be a good match for you.”
I inhaled sharply. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
He shrugged and met my gaze squarely. “You two have gotten close in the recent weeks. He seems to like you, and if he’s interested
“Noah,” I said, my voice surprisly firm despite the way that my heart was racing, “I’m not interested in Drake. Or anyone else, for that matter.”
“No one?” he asked. “Even once we’re divorced, you wouldn’t consider being with him?”
I shook my head and lowered my voice. “My only plan after our divorce is to return to my pack. Trust me, I don’t have any… backup men in mind.”
Something in Noah’s posture seemed to change then. Relief, maybe? His shoulders slumped slightly, and he let out a long breath. “Right,” he muttered. “Of course.”
We continued walking through the festival grounds, the atmosphere between us tense and uncomfortable. I was acutely aware of every brush of our shoulders, every sidelong glance.
But then, as we passed by the various vendor booths, something caught my eye. A small stand was selling handmade baby clothes-tiny onesies, knit booties, and adorable crocheted hats in soft pastel
colors.
Without realizing it, I had stopped to stare.
“Hannah?” Noah’s voice broke through my reverie. “What are you looking at?”
I tore my gaze away from the booth, feeling heat rise to my cheeks. “Oh, nothing. Just… those baby clothes.” I gestured to the booth. “They’re sort of cute, don’t you think?”
Noah’s brow furrowed as he followed my finger and looked at the display. “I suppose,” he said slowly. “t didn’t think you were interested in that sort of thing.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, trying to keep my voice casual.
He turned to face me, his eyes searching mine. “Well, you made it pretty clear that you’re not interested in having a baby. Not with me, at least.”