Alpha Noah

~Abella

My first reaction is to run.

Despite my weakening limbs and clouding vision, I stumble into the club. The pounding music isn’t helping, and neither are the lights, as I squint, looking around for the sight of the immortal. Instead, I see dancing bodies and alcohol being passed around. A parting in the crowd allows me to see Cian by the bar, holding the bartender by the collar of his shirt.

“Cian…” I call out hopelessly, although my voice is drowned out by the drowning pop music that is going to make me pass out any moment now. People stand in front of me, who I ruthlessly shove with all my effort. “Get out of my way.”

Cian turns just in time to see me, as he lets go of the innocent bartender. He takes one look over me to realise something isn’t right.

“What are you doing?” he asks, grabbing my arm as I nearly topple over completely. At this point, I can hardly see anything, moments away from losing myself. I don’t want to die…“Let’s get out of here, you can sober up back home.”

“No, I was poisoned…by a man who-“

My words fail me, my last bit of energy draining out as I crumple down. Cian catches me, pulling me into his chest. His expression swims in my view, but I know he is concerned. I’m going to die. I’m going to die, and the last thing I see is Cian, my mate. We never had a chance to get to know each other, to see where our relationship could go.

“Abella, what man?” he questions, shaking me slightly. Opening my mouth to utter his name, my voice fails me. I can’t give up now. The last thing I want is to die without him knowing who killed me. Maybe he can figure out why someone would do this to me.

Thankfully I can cough out enough intelligible words. “He was…tall and…magical.”

“Stay with me…Please Abella. I can’t lose you,” I hear him say.

But it’s too late. I take one last gasp, before everything goes black.

***

I wake suddenly.

My body jolts up, as if a surge of energy courses through my body, sending me into sitting positions. Blankets cover my legs, so heavy they weigh me down. Looking around, I see Cian sitting in a chair beside the bed, watching me intently. By the door, a girl, whose dark hair drapes down to her waist is also watching me, looking bored.

“She’s awake,” I hear the girl say. Whirling around to look at Cian, I see a mixture of relief and concern, which is honestly the first time I’ve seen him be anything more than cocky and arrogant. Something isn’t right.Content bel0ngs to Nôvel(D)r/a/ma.Org.

I feel as though I’ve woken from a wild night out, which honestly must be it. A headache pounds persistently at my temple, my memory from last night completely out of whack.

“Abella. How are you feeling?” Cian asks, moving from his seat onto the bed beside me.

“I feel fine,” I tell him honestly, rubbing my head. I’ve been sweating, I can feel it on my palm. I don’t drink often, but when I do, I don’t typically feel this way. However, drinking what I assume is Cian’s magic elixir, who knows how I’m meantto feel. “Aside from a minor hangover.”

Cian reaches outward, brushing my hair away from my face in the most affectionate move that I could ever expect from him. “That wasn’t a hangover. You died.”

I blink. Excuse me?

“Dead? Pretty sure I look and feel alive,” I tell him, looking down at my body. I’m dressed in an outfit I don’t remember ever putting on, but at least I’m alive. When I look back up at Cian, he is looking at me with a sadness in his eyes that is impossible to fabricate. “Why are you giving me that look? How long have a been asleep?”

“Eight days. It took some negotiation with Death to have you brought back here to the immortal realm safely. You’re officially an immortal,” he tells me. Looking up quickly to find the girl who I assume is the Death immortal he is speaking of, I see she has disappeared.

I lick my lips, which are dry to the bone. “Immortal? Please don’t mess with me, because I can’t handle this.”

It can’t be true.

As I sit here, though, I can feel the memories of last night seep into my brain. The strange, enigmatic figure who appeared out of nowhere and forced a tablet down my throat, and the strange words he left behind are suddenly in the forefront of my mind. Looking down at my palms, I can hardly piece together the idea of me having actually been killed, to be resurrected by Death herself, surely narrowly escaping the clutches of her jury, and the sentence most mortals have to serve in her realm before they are free to live as immortals.

“I’m sorry I let this happen to you,” Cian says, clutching the palms I have been staring at. “You need to tell me who did this to you.”

“I don’t know. A man put a tablet on my tongue and made me take it, but I can’t remember what he said to me,” I tell him. I remember a few words, about how he wants to kill me, but that is all that sticks with me. His name is a blur within my consciousness.

Cian’s expression turns dark. “I’m going to kill them.”

“Don’t. He’s powerful…I think,” I tell him assuredly. No one would do this to me without cause, especially with Cian involved. They have to have some kind of power to pull that off and risk having a Sin come after them. But aside from that, the look in his eyes were enough. Even the power he radiated doesn’t even compared to Sinful.

I just want to know who he is.

“You think? You need to tell me everything you know about that night-“

“Oh crap, my job. It’s been over a week,” I say, the sudden terror consuming me. I’m not even considered about being immortal, but I am concerned about losing the new job promotion that I was meant to start over a week ago. “I was meant to start my new position and now Noah is going to fire me.”

Cian looks shocked that it’s even at the forefront of my mind right now, but I’m not going to pretend like I wasn’t riding on that promotion. “Abella, none of that matters anymore. You belong here, in the immortal realm.”

“No, I’m still,” I break off, going to say mortal before I realise that’s no longer true. “An immortal killed me no doubt, which means none of this is fair. I’m going back to my old life. So take me back.”

I step out of bed, but Cian grabs my arm. “Didn’t you want to talk?”

“You’ve done enough Cian,” I mutter. “Take me back.”

***

As per my demand, Cian takes me back to my room, leaving me in a wordlessly flurry. He’s upset, I had to leave so swiftly, but I have no other choice. I’ll deal with his feelings later, once I can ensure my job is still intact. It’s unlikely, since it’s been eight days and returning to my room, I see nothing of familiarity in here. Maybe he’s already trashed my belongings.

Rushing in through the back door of the estate, I make my way up the stairs, ignoring the protests of all who are walking. The foyer is empty, so I move upstairs, on the hunt for his office. Gia is at her desk when I walk in. Ignoring her, I stride right to his door, and open it.

“I am so sorry,” I say immediately, breathless. Noah sits at his desk, startled by my sudden interest. “I know you can’t forgive me, and I’m a horrible person, but I promise I can explain.”

He blinks once, twice.

“Abella. I thought you had left forever,” I can’t tell if he’s glad to see me, or if he’s angered. His expression is a mixture of emotions, as he looks me up and down, as if he can’t quite believe I’m standing here. I would be shocked too. He must have thought that after our conversation…Nevermind. “Your belongings had been taken.”

Cian must have been behind that. “Great. Well I’m back now.”

“You okay? You look, different. I mean you look great, like you’re so much more alive than I’ve ever seen you,” Noah breathes, as if he is stuck in a trance. Ironic, since I’ve died and come back, but he’s not about to find that out any time soon. Well, at least not in front of his assistant.

“Truly…Your skin,” I hear Gia say from behind me.

“Noah, did I lose my job? I swear I can explain everything. Like, I’m back now and not going anywhere,” I tell him, hoping he can hear the desperation in my pleading tone.

“Okay,” he says, leaning back in his seat. “Then explain.”