Chapter 475 Chapter 475
Noah hung his head down and let the water run over him. The rest of the day had gone better than he could have anticipated. When he’d finally tracked down Cooper, he’d been outside the fence with a chainsaw. After the problems at Blair’s, he’d decided it was a good idea to cut back any branches or trees that were too close to the fence. Noah hadn’t thought of that, and he was glad that Cooper had. He had been worrying over leaving here to go out with the team, but Cooper had thought of everything, so his cat and he was more settled about going.
Cooper enlisted the help of the three boys, Julian, Everett, and Liam to drag the brush out of the way. Then there was talk of a fire pit being put in the backyard for gatherings. Noah was all for the firepit, it was a great place to sit and forget things or overthink them—the gathering part he wasn’t too keen on.
He glanced down at his arms, very proud of the fact that once Cooper had let him take over the saw, he hadn’t cut anything off or injured anyone. He couldn’t be held responsible for Liam being clumsy and tripping over things, that was all thanks to a growing body and learning how to navigate it. None of the boys had complained, not once, and they even smiled while working. It was good to see them settling into life here. By the time they were finishing up, Akira and a few of the women, whose names he still couldn’t keep straight had come out to haul the blocked-up wood inside the fence.
Overall, it was a good day for the clan. He flipped off the water and grabbed the towel. He hadn’t seen Emersyn once since they stood in the little house and his cat was not happy with that. If he couldn’t go one day without seeing her, what was he going to do when he went away? He wondered if Cooper would keep him up-to-date or would her just harass him. He frowned; he already knew the answer.
He rubbed his hair with the towel and then started on his body. It wasn’t just his cat that wasn’t happy right now, he still couldn’t figure out what he’d done to make her not look at him. He paused and stood there half bent over when he realized it was the first time in over a decade he wished for a female to look him in the eye.
Tossing the towel at the hamper, he grabbed his clean jeans and yanked them on over still wet legs. He winced as they tried to rip all the hair off his legs. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and then exhaled it slowly before opening them. Tomorrow couldn’t get here soon enough. He needed to get back out there where he knew what was what. Go in, get people out, move on to the next.
Picking up his shirt, he turned it around pulled it on, and then caught sight of himself in the mirror. The scruffy beard he was growing changed his face enough that he didn’t look like that man—the one that had worn a collar. He leaned closer and glared at his own reflection. He could grow a body covered in fur in seconds, but the hair on his face looked so sparse and patchy. How did that even work?
He stepped back and tried hard not to look as he raised the shirt, but he always did. The crisscross white welts over his chest always drew his attention. He knew his back was worse, he remembered when he broke free of their hold and was able to cover his face and throat from the lashes. Pulling his arm from the shirt, he ran his hand over the scars that rose above the rest of his skin. Emersyn had no problem touching them, which he knew of, but he couldn’t even look at them without feeling the pain and fury that he’d felt at the time. His cat had even tried to break free, and Noah had to turn his attention to keeping him contained before it happened. If that had, they would have likely just shot him then and there. Had his cat saved him by distracting him or made it worse? He couldn’t be sure, all he clearly remembered other than the sting on his flesh as he was prepared to do anything to get away from them and go set that girl with the emerald eyes-free.
Blinking, he sucked in a breath and then yanked the shirt over his head. Gathering up his dirty clothes quickly, he opened the bathroom door and almost leaped through it. He just needed to get away from the mirror. Away from the memories that followed him with every step he took. He was almost to the hall to his room when movement from the kitchen caught his attention. Emersyn stood by the counter. She motioned to the plate sitting on it.
“I warmed it up for you.”