Chapter 165: An A for swear word

Noah’s POV

I wake up to a muffled groan and when I turn to my side, I find Elias struggling in his sleep. My alpha’s mouth is open, and his chest moves quickly with his irregular breathing.

I sit up and place a palm on his cheek.

"Elias?" I whisper softly and he whimpers in response, turning his head side to side and fighting against the demon haunting his sleep.

I lift his head off the sweat-soaked pillow and take its place by sitting there. I place his head on my lap and run my fingers over his cheek.

"N-no" he mutters helplessly, squeezing his eyes in his sleep as his face contorts to express the pain he’s experiencing.

It’s horrible.

"Elias, wake up" I say gently and he gasps awake. His eyes stay fixed on the ceiling for a few seconds before he drags a shuddering breath in through his nose. He doesn’t look like the man who was listening to my sobs a few hours ago...he looks broken.

"Are you okay?" I ask in a soft tone, and he blinks for the first time.

"No" he says and swallows. My eyes follow the outline of his Adam’s apple as it bobs. "Do you want to talk about it?" I ask again and he shakes his head.

"I want to kill Roman."

"You just woke up, Elias. I don’t think it’s a good time to make such a decision, plus the time is only..." my eyes wander to the wall clock before I stop myself; I still can’t read an analogue clock. Embarrassing, I know. But who even uses an analog clock in the big twenty-first century?

"It’s three forty-five A.M. Angel" he says on my behalf, and my cheeks burn as I continue to stroke his cheek.

My clock-illiteracy at the moment is not the important topic.

"I don’t like how easily you talk about killing people, Elias. Roman is still my friend" I say quietly and wait for him to explode in his possessive rage, but he doesn’t do that. He doesn’t say a word, instead he moves upwards in my lap till his head presses against my stomach and I press my lips together.

"Say something..."

"He’ll pay for kissing you, you can’t change that part of his fate, baby" Elias says and I nod.

I want him punished, but I don’t want him dead.

"Don’t kill him" he looks up at me, and I use the opportunity to run the pad of my thumb over his brow. His forehead is sweaty and it’s a telltale of how horrifying the nightmare had been to him.

"Do you want to talk about the bad dream?" I whisper.

No response.

"I’d appreciate it if you talked more to me. I told you all about my traumatic experience" I say as I move my finger from his full brow to his eyelid.

"I didn’t ask" he says flatly and I freeze. He did not just say that.

"What the hell, Elias?"

"You have a bad habit of talking too much, Noah. You were bound to spill at one point or the other" he says plainly and the soft, lovey-dovey moment evaporates like water in a desert.

This one hurt and it hurts a lot. I push his head off my lap. He can go back to dying in his sleep for all I care.

"Good morning, Elias Jerk Deus, welcome back" I say pettily and get off the bed. He gets up and follows me closely with his front pressed to my back. "Get away from me, asshole."

I give myself an A for the badass swear word.

"Where do you think you’re going, Angel?"

"Away from you. I can never have a sweet moment with you, can I? One moment I’m falling in love with you and the next you’re--"

"You’re in love with me?"

"That’s not the point" I growl as I push my way towards the shut door.

"You love me?"

"Elias, that is not the point" I repeat my words and he comes even closer to me. My heart is jackhammering in my chest. No way. No way. No way I just confessed to Elias while I’m trying to be mad at him!

Oh Goddess, he is right. I suffer from intense logorrhea. I don’t shut up when I should, especially when it comes to him.

"Noah, look at me" he says in a soft voice, and I look at his face. I expect to see soft sad eyes, but instead, I’m greeted with his usual straight expression. Ugh. I’m so embarrassed.

"Don’t follow me or I’ll scream Siren’s name so loud this whole building will wake up" I threaten and leave the room. The moment the door slams shut, I wince. It’s early morning and I’m all alone in the hallway of the house where I have so many haters.

’Alpha...’ my omega whines pitifully and I squint in a dramatic attempt to act tough.

’Don’t be weak’ I scold myself, lift my chin and storm down the hallway.

I keep walking and soon, I am stopped in my tracks by two big black dogs crouched in a predatory position. And just like back then, I freeze. Great...I’ve ventured into Damien’s territory.

Goddess...not this again.

I turn my body around to run, but I am stopped by a loud bark that elicits a yelp from me.

"Pride, sit" Damien’s strong voice orders and both dogs sit immediately. I know I’m not a dog, but with how commanding he sounds, I might sit too. He’s terrifying.

Damien is sitting at a plastic table and chair set up in front of the balcony. There’s a lamp on the table and he’s resting with his elbows on the table. A blunt is between his lips and he’s not wearing a shirt.

May he never get Zane...he looks like those typical bad guys in dark romance books.

"Don’t be a bad girl. Prude, what did I say about telling Pride to behave?" he says to his dogs, and I breathe a sigh of relief as they whine and return to sitting behind him.

Wait a minute...his dogs names are Pride and Prude? Apart from that, is he...reading a textbook?

"What are you doing out here, little Gold?" he lifts his head to ask me and I swallow.

"I...uh...wanted to get away from Elias for a bit" I say and place a hand over my chest. How hard my heart is beating is fast enough to send me into a cardiac arrest, so I lean against the stone railing of the balcony to catch my breath.

A warm breeze blows in our direction and Damien sits up immediately.

"Fuck..." he curses and I turn my head to look at him. Oh right...I’m entering his space uninvited. He literally chose three A.M. to sit here; that’s a clear leave-me-alone sign.

"I’m sorry...I didn’t mean to invade your space..."

"You’re welcome to invade my space whenever you want, little one. Come sit" he says softly as he gets out of the chair for me. I blink in confusion at the three-sixty change. It’s surprising, but I guess it’s better than Elias’s behavior.

That jerk can sleep alone for all I care.

I sit in Damien’s chair and peek into his book. He’s reading from a textbook and taking notes in a smaller jotter.

"Is this a university...?"

"Yeah, I have a test tomorrow" he says casually as he pulls his blunt away from my general direction.

"A...test?" I ask in confusion.

"Yeah. I’m a uni student" he says and I eye him in disbelief.

"What? I’m a lot more than a hot alpha with a big dick, a fat knot, and a lovable personality" he says with a playful grin that doesn’t match his eyes.

"Uh-uh..." I say and he shrugs, turning to the side to put out his blunt. He pulls a gum out of his pocket and unwraps it before popping it into his mouth.

"Can I be the godfather?" he asks and I make a face.

Godfather of what?

"I think you have to stop smoking, you are saying so much nonsense that I’m concerned for you" I say as sweetly as I can manage and he sighs.

"You’ll understand soon, Goldie, till then...I’ll frustrate the fuck out of Elias" he says.