I’ve never kept a secret from my team. Ever. I always run everything by them and we figure out what to do together, but Noah didn’t want that. I found myself being torn between being his girlfriend and being loyal to my team. I guess it comes along with the territory of dating a demon.
Noah gave me three days to give him an answer. I hoped the Republic would come calling and give us something to do to distract us, but it was Thien’s little fling with Desiree that provided me with that distraction.
Whatever he did to that girl must have caused her to lose her mind, because when she came back to the house the next day she had his initials tattooed on her ankle. Thien was less than thrilled about it and the two of them got into a huge argument that eventually led to makeup sex. They would continue this cycle of madness for days.
The next day Desiree called him at least a hundred times. When he wouldn’t answer right away, she started calling everyone else in the house non-stop. After no one would answer her calls, she came by in tears and refused to leave until he talked to her. By this point Thien had grown irritated, they argued for about an hour and then the soft moans of Thien doing the last thing he should probably be doing could be heard throughout the house.
Seeing first hand how Thien operated made me see him in a different light. For the longest time I saw him as the kid I hung out with. He wasn’t a big deal to me I just…loved him. But now…watching him in action…another undeniable truth is very apparent. Thien Youngblood is no longer the little boy who’d help me make mud pies and get my dress dirty so I wouldn’t have to wear one. He’s not the awkward looking kid who’d always follow me around because he had no one else to play with. Nope…he’s a full-blown, devastatingly handsome, hormone filled teenaged wing with crazy sex appeal that every girl who lays eyes on him wants a piece of.
“How long is this going to go on?” Noah sighs. “And I thought I was bad.”
“You are.” Qi glares at him. “And I could ask you the same question.”
I’m about to give Qi a piece of my mind when her nose starts to bleed. She cups her hand to her nose and her eyes grow wide with fright. She’s staring at Noah, but he couldn’t have done that, could he?
“Perhaps you should clean that up.” Noah suggests.
Qi rushes out of the room practically in tears. She looked back at Noah as she walked up the stairs with a pained expression on her face.
“Did you do that?” I ask.
“Come on Skittles, you know I don’t have that kind of power.” He replies.
I want to believe him, but I don’t. The fear in Qi’s eyes when she looked at him…it was real. She’s afraid of him. I follow her upstairs to make sure she’s okay and find her in the bathroom crying.
“You okay?”
“What do you care?” She quickly wipes away her tears and washes her hands. “You got what you wanted and he’s all yours.”
“Did he do that to you? Did he make your nose bleed?”
Qi began to fidget nervously and lowered her head so I couldn’t see her face. After drying her hands, she went into her room and locked the door.
“Why would you ask Qi after I already told you it wasn’t me?” Noah startled me.
“She’s afraid of you.” I point out.
“Of course she is and she should be. I’m first in command and what she did was disrespectful.” He explains.
“Well what do you expect? I may not like her all that much, but you’ve kind of given her a reason to be as bitter as she is.”
“She knew what-”
“Saying the words and putting action behind it are two different things Noah.” I cut him off.
“So now I’m the bad guy? I stop her from disrespecting you and you choose her side?”
“I’m not choosing any side I just…”
“Just what? Don’t accuse me of trying to hurt someone I care about?”
“Wait, what?” His confession catches me off guard. “What do you mean care about? I thought she didn’t mean anything to you.”
“Well she does. She’s loyal and she always has my back. Aria, I would never hurt her…or you.” Noah sighs.
I feel foolish. I’m standing here defending Qi to Noah and she’s locked in her room ignoring us both. Not to mention I’m venturing into bad girlfriend territory at this point.
“Have you given any thought to what we talked about?”
“Yes, I have and I’d feel better running it by Thien.”
“You can’t.” He sighs.
“What you’re asking me to do…it will undermine his authority Noah.”
“Great. So I have to run my life by your ex-boyfriend in order to get his approval.” Noah shakes his head. “Thanks for nothing Skittles. Thanks for turning your back on me when I need you the most. Do you know what that feels like?”
“No.” I sulk.
“Let me show you.”
Noah walks away from me, and heads back downstairs. He’s pissed at me and I feel torn. Dear Alpha, please tell me what to do, UGH!
Qi’s door opens and she has a smug smirk on her face as she walks over to me with her arms folded across her chest. “That didn’t take long.” She laughs.
“What are you talking about?”
“A little word of advice…Noah’s very big on loyalty. You’re either loyal to him or you’re loyal to Thien, but you can’t have it both ways. And if you’re not loyal to Noah then he loses interest…quick.”
Qi grabbed her jacket and headed downstairs. Now that she’s peaked my curiosity with her smile, I follow her down to the foyer where it looks like she and Noah are about to leave together.
WTF!
Noah opens the door for her and they both head outside. A panic I’ve never felt before came over me and I follow them. “Noah what the hell?” I call out to him.
He motions for Qi to give us some privacy and she waits for him on the sidewalk. I’m trying not to be pissed, but the longer Qi has that goofy ass smile on her face, the angrier I get.
“What’s up?” Noah asks casually.
“What’s up?” I scoff. He’s obviously in asshole mode right now. “You tell me. Maybe I missed this part of being in a relationship where it’s okay for a guy to go hang out with his ex, because I’m pretty sure I never said that shit was okay.”
“Duly noted. Is that all? Can I go now or does your little tantrum require more of my attention?” He casually dismisses my feelings.
I’m going to kill him…I’m going to gouge out those electric blue eyes of his, scalp the black hair off his head, and chop his chiseled physique into tiny pieces. No…don’t give in. He’s testing you…stay strong and hold your ground.
“If you leave with her, you and I…we’re done.” I declare, putting my foot down.
Noah takes a deep breath, thinks about it for maybe a second and then nods, “Okay.” He shrugs.
SERIOUSLY, WTF!
He conjures up a motorcycle and climbs on to it. Qi climbs on back and my heart drops. What strength I had is now gone and I’m in full on panic mode. Before they can take off I place myself in front of his motorcycle. “Noah it’s me…Aria. Why are you doing this?” I ask.
I don’t know what I expect him to say, I’m just trying to figure out how to get him to stay and talk to me. He was my first love, and standing in front of his motorcycle like a lunatic, I quickly realize that he has a hold on me. The ache in my heart is taking over and if he leaves with Qi I’m probably going to lose it.
“I know who you are, now move.” He replies.
I swallow hard. My feet won’t move…they won’t move. He rev’s the engine at me, and I flinch, but I still can’t move. I’ve never felt anything like this before. My heart is pounding in my chest and I’m afraid. I’m afraid that if he leaves he’ll end up doing something with her and I don’t want him to. He’s supposed to be mine, but in this moment he doesn’t feel like mine. I feel like I’m about to lose him.
“Aria.” Thien calls out my name.
I glance over at him, then back at Noah. Why won’t he just stay and talk to me? Why is he doing this? And now we have an audience. Everyone in the house is watching and waiting to see what will happen.
“Why?” I ask him one last night.
“You know why. I gave you a choice and it wasn’t me.” Noah replies.
“Aria just let him go.” Thien calls out to me again.
I look over at Thien then back at Noah. I know I should move and I’m embarrassed, but this deadly sexy fucker has me stuck. Thien literally walks over to me and has to physically remove me from Noah’s path. I watch helplessly as he drives away with Qi and that’s when the real fun starts.
I feel gutted from the inside out and I’m on the verge of tears. I don’t want anyone to see me this way, so I break free from Thien’s hold and hurry up to my room, closing the door behind me.
At first I paced the floor replaying everything in my head, trying to figure out where things went wrong. The longer Noah stays away the more impatient I grow. I just wanted to hear his voice and know what he’s up to. Mostly I want to know if he’s sleeping with Qi.
It’s only been ten minutes, but he isn’t back yet. I pull out my cell phone and text him. The read receipt quickly follows, but he doesn’t call and he doesn’t text back. Silence.
I pace the floor some more and check my phone every ten seconds to see if he’s responded, but there’s nothing. The anxiety gets the best of me and for the second time in my life I’m crying over a guy. I used to make fun of girls who cried over guys, but now I understand it. Now I know what it feels like to love someone so much that their silence causes you pain.
ns 15.158.61.16da2
