Alpha's Regret After Her Rebirth

All the color rushed from M**ey's face.

Alpha Noah, I didn't realize. Please forgive me..."

I raised my hand to put a stop to M***y's stammering

"It's all all right, M***y," I said, my voice calm and even. My eyes did not leave Noah. "I can explain to Noah what was happening"

I could hear M***ey swallowing. Surely, he thought that I was going to tell Noah about him flirting with me. That would be enough to make any lesser male's blood run cold.

I smirked. I wasn't going to be nearly that boring.

I

I sn***ed the business card from M***y's hand and turned it over in my fingers, making sure that Noah

saw it.Content protected by Nôv/el(D)rama.Org.

"I was merely asking this lawyer some questions about our problems."

With an arch of my brow, I challenged Noah to see what I was insinuating. He did not disappoint.

"Hannah, can we talk in private, please?" he said, breathing in and out through his nostrils to keep himself calm.

Before I could answer, Noah took me around the waist and started pulling me out of the dining hall, holding me close. I struggled to keep up with his quick pace, and there was no denying the way that my heart pounded upon feeling our bodies flush against one another. But I kept my chin high and stony, determined not to let him-or anyone else-see my face

As we walked, Noah slipped **y's business card out of my hand and stuffed it into his pocket. "What's going on, Noah?" I asked. "Where are we going?"

We stopped in the lobby, at the intersection of the exit and the restrooms. Noah did not release my waist, instead tightening his grip on me. I felt his fingers dig gently into my hips, and it took all of my willpower to hide the flush that was trying to rise to my cheeks. He did not look me in the eye, instead staring directly at my dress as he spoke.

"I think we might need to have a little talk about appropriate public behavior," Noah said through gritted teeth.

My hand clenched into a fist. He wanted to talk to me about "appropriate public behavior"? After everything he had done with Zoe in public?

I took a deep o breath à to steady myself before I spoke.

"Can I go to the bathroom first?" I asked, my throat tight with emotion.

Noah thought about this for a moment, looked toward the nearby restrooms, then nodded. Reluctantly, he released my arm.

"Thank you," I said sarcastically.

I stormed into the restroom. As I entered, I heard a pair of voices coming from around the corner.

T

"How can I get more money from the Alpha?" one of the voices asked.

I froze in my tracks. I pressed against the wall, straining to listen to the conversation without letting myself be seen.

"You're going to have to blackmail him," the other voice replied. "You have plenty of material to against him."

"But I don't want to hurt him," the other voice retorted. "I still love him, in a way."

I gasped quietly.

o use

Was someone trying to blackmail Noah? No, this couldn't be about Noah. He didn't have anything about him worth blackmailing outside of his relationship with Zoe, and this definitely was not Zoe who was talking. I would know her voice anywhere. Then again, who could they have been talking about? One of the other Alphas? Which one?

.

I decided to risk a peek around the corner. The women had their sides to me, and they did not seem to see me.

One of the women was a hazel-eyed brunette in a flowing blue gown and large hoop earrings. The other had flaming red hair and sapphire blue eyes with a seafoam green dress that cut just above her knee and hugged her form tightly. I could have sworn that I knew the redhead I from somewhere, but I could not quite put my finger on her identity.

"Do you love him more than you want your fair share of the Luna's property?" the brunette asked. "More than you want a comfortable life for yourself?"

"No, but do you really think that anything I have on him will be worth anything?" the redhead asked. "What could I possibly have that would make him give me more money?"

"Try the sordid details of your affair. Trust me, he will do anything to keep you from leaking those particular details to the public."

The brunette leaned closer to the redhead,

"And even if he doesn't, people will pay through the nose for those details-"

Suddenly, the door opened behind me.

rushed

I out of the bathroom as a gaggle of women piled in. I straightened my dress and patted my hair as I walked, pretending to have used the facilities to avoid raising any suspicions. Then I lifted my chin defiantly and strutted toward Noah. "How does my dress look?" I asked him provocatively, placing my hands on my hips.. Noah eyed me for a moment.

"A bit short, don't you think?" he said, folding his arms across his chest. "Especially for an event like this."

I smirked a bit; he was flustered, clearly. He hadn't seen me in anything that wasn't at least ankle-length- "outside of our intimacy nights-in... I couldn't even remember how long it had been. "What, is my figure not good enough for it?" I teased. Chapter 0014

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Noah opened his mouth to respond, but then his eyes froze on my torso. He cleared his throat and pulled at his cufflinks. "Who are you dressed like that for, anyway?"

My smirk widened. So I had thrown him off. Good.

"What's wrong with wanting to look good?" I asked. "Or are you just worried that I'm stealing Zoe's thunder?"

Noah c***d a brow at me. "How could you steal Zoe's thunder? You're already my Luna. The attention tonight is already on you." His voice lowered a bit, and for a moment, his eyes seemed to grow almost husky as his gaze flickered down my body. "Oh, really?" I reached out and stroked Noah's arm with a single finger. "You see, I could have sworn that the woman next to the Alpha is his Luna." I tilted my head and smiled sickeningly sweetly at him. "You're even wearing matching outfits." Noah huffed and rolled his eyes. "If you're talking about Zoe, it's just a coincidence that we are wearing the same color," he said. This time, I was the one who rolled my eyes. "Coincidence, right." I shook my head at him. "You two are too in sync, and I'm not the only one who thinks so."

Noah's brow f furrowed.

"Who else is saying that?"

"Try all of the staff working this event."

"

"And you're willing to believe them?"

"And why shouldn't I?" I asked. "Because they're 'the help"?"

Noah cringed as he realized that he had backed himself into a different kind of corner.

"They're the eyes and ears of the pack," I continued. "What they say is what the pack believes about us. Right now, the pack thinks that you and Zoe are much more in sync than you and I are." Noah scowled.

"You shouldn't believe everything that you hear-"

"Then I'll believe what I see. What I saw earlier certainly backs up what they've been saying."

Noah sighed and slipped his jacket off his shoulders. He placed it around me without a word, his fingertips gently brushing against my collarbone. I shuddered as his hot skin made contact with mine. His jacket smelled like his cologne. "I need to get some air," I muttered, wanting to put as much distance in between us as possible. I could not let myself fall into the trap of physical attraction to Noah again. Clutching his jacket close to me, I hurried to the exit. As I approached, I saw that someone stood in the

I doorway: Zoe.

I halted a couple of feet in front of her. I paled as a realization struck me. Zoe had heard the entire argument between Noah and me.