Alpha Noah

~Abella

I let the water run over me.

This past month has been a whirlwind, my entire life having been turned on its head. The only moment my life isn’t insane, is when I’m sleeping, or standing in the shower, which I’m doing right now. Leaning back against the cool glass, I let the water run into my hair, washing away some of the tension in my shoulders and temples.

I’m an immortal now, yet I don’t feel any different. I pinch my skin, and there’s pain, I scratch an itch and it’s satisfying. The only thing different as I feel as though I’m on a high, all my emotions heightened to the point I’m struck in constant jitters. Thankfully the hot water and steam floating around me are enough to have me relaxing for the first time in a while.

The sound of a door closing pulls me back away from the glass door, looking around through the steam that cloaks the bathroom for the source of the stand.

“Who’s there?” I question warily into the air.

There’s no answer. Instead, a figure emerges from the steam, right outside the door to the shower. The shock if black and gold hair and dark ebony eyes has me backing up until my back hits the other end. It’s Cian, who stares at me through the veil of fog that has drifted up the glass, hopefully concealing most of my naked body which I cover with my hands and arms.

“Cian!” I shriek, gasping at the sight of his smile which only grows larger on his face. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“I came to talk,” he admits, brazening looking down at my body. I’m mortified. The last thing I expected was for my mate to come walking in here, when I hadn’t heard from him since his meeting with Noah a few days ago.

I glower at him. “I’m showering…you creep.”

He doesn’t open the glass door, thankfully. His voice is muffled through it, but the layer of thick mist between us is a more appreciated barrier. Hopefully he can’t see much, especially since my limbs can’t cover everything on my body. Cian’s wandering eyes don’t help, considering he has no shame in letting me know visibly that he is assessing every bare inch of my exposed body.

“Oh, don’t worry, I’m not bothered,” he comments, smiling at me with that lazy, boyish smile. You would think that many years of life would teach an immortal common decency.

I roll my eyes. “What do you want?”

“I wanted to see how you are feeling,” Cian admits, raising an eyebrow at me through the door. How about violated, or mortifyingly embarrassed. Does he do this to anyone he meets? “About this whole immortal thing.”

“Oddly enough, I don’t really feel anything. There are so many things going on-“

Before I have a chance to finish my sentence, Cian opens the glass door, steam billowing up everywhere, the cold air from outside hitting my bare skin. I gasp, pressing myself into the corner, wondering how much a hit in his face would actually hurt him.

“Oh…Cian, get away!” I scream, reaching my hand out to push against his chest, leaving a wet stain against his shirt. He still remains outside, but now there is no door between us, he can reach out and touch me, if he wanted to. Now all that keeps him from stepping inside is my incoherent screeching and the stream of water that hits the drain between us.

Cian’s smile makes my stomach turn over, but annoyingly enough, not out of disgust. “You have nothing to be embarrassed about.”

“That’s not for you to decide,” I snap at him, which only seems to grow his smile even more. “Now some privacy would be nice.”

His eyes wander. “How did I get so lucky to have such a beautiful mate.”

“Do you have no decency at all?”

“Look, I just want to talk to you about moving in with me,” Cian offers, ensuring that the only expression I can offer is a gaping mouth and raised eyebrows. He can’t seriously be presenting an offer to live with him while I’m standing completely naked in a shower right before him. “I know we have just established we are mates, but there is no longer a place for you in the mortal realm.”

I’m not sure how to reply, right away, until I realise that the only way to deal with Cian, is to give him what he his own medicine right back at him. “Well Noah still has the promotion on offer for me, so I think there is.”

Cian looks at me flatly, his mouth set in a grim line. “Don’t take it. Noah doesn’t like me very much, so how am I meant to come visit?”

Despite his expression, I can hear the underlying tone of teasing.

“You’re insufferable, you know that?” I growl under my breath. I’m not sure why I’m still standing here in this shower, trying to validate myself as if he shouldn’t be the one apologizing and closing that door right now. “And for your information, I know about your past with him. I hope you know that doesn’t make you look any good to me.”

“Ah yes, I’m sure Noah divulged plenty of honest information,” Cian says, the sarcastic drawl to his tone doing him no favours. I may have been doubtful about Noah at times, but he was honest with me that night, and I respect him for that.

“He did. I trust him more than you.”

“Is that right?”

“You need to leave, before I scream or something,” I growl under my breath, hoping the sound of the water hitting by my feet doesn’t wash away what I have to say. I should be protesting more, the rational side of me scolding me for being so complacent. However, my heart doesn’t race in fear, and I feel more confident than I would like to admit.

Cian licks his lips, drawing my attention right to his mouth. “You won’t do that. You want me to see you, because I’m your mate and that’s what the bond does.”

“Fine, look at me all you want then…but know that you’re my mate and I trust a random guy over you. In fact, I’m more attracted to him,” I blurt out, before I can even think through what I said. I still, and so does Cian. He doesn’t look mortified, like I revealed the worst information. He looks hurt, but he quickly shakes that off.

“Do you want to know why you feel that way, Abella?” he says, his tone settling into a dark, serious tone which is so cold, the hot water against my skin isn’t even enough to mitigate the shivers streaming down my back. “If you think Noah is such an angel who is always honest with you, why don’t I tell you his one dark secret. And by the sounds of it, you’ll like it.”

“Cian-“

“I don’t want to have to share you, but when I share this information…I’ll have no other choice,” he admits, his voice almost strangled. His suddenly change in attitude is both confusing and jarring. I didn’t know Cian had this range of emotion.

I shake my head at him, sick of the way he steps around the subject, building it up the to the point where I’m no long bothered by my body, but by this discussion. “What are you talking about?”

Cian loosens a frustrated breath, stepping inside the shower with me, the water hitting his clothes – but it’s not like that bothered him. I’m dumbfounded, stuck to the spot as he cups my cheeks, pulling himself down to kiss me.

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All the breath in my lung vanishes. The kiss is quick, desperate. When he pulls away, I can see both desire and maybe sadness in his eyes. He closes them slowly.

“I had to do it,” he breathes. “Just once.”

“What did you want to tell me?” I question uncomfortably, hoping I can wish away what just happened so I don’t have to ever admit that is happened. And most importantly, that I liked it. “About Noah?”

Cian pulls his hands off me, but doesn’t step out of the shower. “He’s hiding things from you, mainly that…what is that?”

I’m confused at his suddenly divergence of attention, until I follow his gaze down to my feet and realise what’s going on. I’ve cut myself, blood pouring out of my toe, diluting into the water before sliding down the drain. Cian’s mortified expression suggests that he doesn’t like the look of blood.

“I cut my toe on the drain,” I mutter, running it under the water, although it continues to bleed unrelentingly. Nasty cut for a drain.

“What is that purple stuff?” he questions warily.

I look back up at him. “What, you’ve never seen blood before?”

“Abella…that’s not normal,” he murmurs, looking at me with furrowed brows and frightened eyes. “You’re bleeding the wrong colour.”