Chapter 14
Noah
Aria wraps her arms around me and pulls me to her. My body immediately relaxes. It’s like her scent calms me immediately. All the pain and anxiety I’ve been feeling suddenly falls away, and all I feel is her. All I can think about is her. It’s like she has become part of me.
“Noah. It’s going to be okay. I promise!” She says.
I pull back a little to look up at her, and she loosens her arms enough for me to look at her face.
“How can you promise that?” I ask her.
Her beautiful face falls a little, and she reaches up and cups my face with her hand. “Because I fought for you before, and I’ll fight for you again.”
What is she saying?
“W-what do you mean?” My heart rate picks up.
Is she saying…
“Aria! We have company.” A man walks in and heads right for us.
He’s big. Muscular and tall, but his scent is mild. A Beta.
“Who?” Aria asks, letting me go and turning to stand in front of me.
The guy looks past her and at me, but doesn’t say anything. “The cops are here.”
Aria curses. “I guess Buck was right. How the hell did they find me so fast?”
The guy scoffs. “They probably had someone on the bar. They might have followed Daniel here.”
“Like hell they did!” Another man comes into the room, and I recognize him.
He was in that apartment.
“It doesn’t matter. We need to figure out what to do.” Aria blows out a breath.
“I can try to distract them so you can slip out back.” The muscular guy says.
Aria shakes her head. “They’ll just show up at the bar, and I don’t want them there. No, I can handle them.”
She turns to look at me, and I see an apology in her eyes. “Stay here, Noah. I’ll talk to the cops and get them to leave. They won’t come near you. Okay?”
I nod.
She nods to me and heads for the door, but stops next to the guy from the apartment. “Stay with him. Keep him safe.”
“You got it, Princess.” She rolls her eyes but walks out.
The muscular guy follows after her. The room feels cold now that she’s not in it. I want to go after her, but I stay rooted in the chair. It’s so quiet, which only seems to make my thoughts louder. Why are the police here? Are they going to arrest Aria?
“Hey, don’t worry. She can handle things.” The guy says, pulling me out of my panic.
He walks over and leans against the wall next to me.
“You’re not worried about her?” I ask him.
He lets out a small laugh. “Fuck yeah, I'm worried, but I know better than to get in her way. She says she can handle this, then she will. It drives me crazy how stubborn she is, but it’s how she is.”
I watch him for a second. Are they…dating or something?
“Are you guys…a couple?” The question slips out before I can stop it.
Another laugh. “Nah. Not for lack of trying, but she’s stubborn when it comes to love too.”
“What do you mean?”
He sighs. “She’s scared. She thinks having someone care that way about her will only end with them getting hurt. Xander and I have been trying to convince her that she should start a pack. It would be safer for her. Having Buck and the club to protect her is fine and all, but it’s not enough. An Alpha needs a pack.”
I consider his words and think about what the guys said last night. The way they wanted to use her…it’s wrong, but this guy says she needs a pack.
“I’m Daniel, by the way.” He says, holding a hand out to me.
“Noah.” I accept his hand, and he gives mine a firm squeeze before releasing me.
“Good to officially meet you.”
The room falls quiet again, but suddenly I hear raised voices. Daniel stands up straight and starts for the door, but stops just before walking out. I follow him so that I can hear what’s going on.
“I don’t have to answer any of your questions. Not without a lawyer.” Aria says.
“Ma’am, if you don’t calm down, we will have to arrest you for-“
“For what? You are asking questions that I choose not to answer. That is my right. Now get out.” Aria’s last word ends with a slight growl.
The sound sends a shiver down my spine.
“You can answer our questions now, or we will take you in.” A man says with the firm voice of an Alpha.
My body tenses up, and my heart starts to race. An Alpha and not a happy one.
“We have to do something,” I say to Daniel.
He makes a sign for me to be quiet.
“All we want to know is where the Omega is.” Another voice says. “He’s a witness to what happened.”
Aria scoffs. “A witness? He wasn’t a witness. He was a victim. Get your facts right, and no, you can’t see him.”
“You have no right to keep us from talking to him, ma’am.” The first cop says.
“Yes, I do. He’s not talking to you because I say he isn’t,” Aria says.
“You have no right to-“
“I have every right! He’s my Omega.” The words come out with a snap of anger. “And you will not go near him.”
She just called me her Omega. Why would she lie to the police like that? To protect me? But if they find out she’s lying, then wouldn’t that just get her in more trouble?
I glance over at Daniel and see a smirk on his face.
“What?” I ask him.
He looks back at me. “Looks like she’s building her pack.”
“That doesn’t change that we need to get his statement.” The second cop says.
“Fine. We’ll come to the station with our lawyer to answer your questions tomorrow.” Aria says. “Now, officers, if there is nothing else.”
There is some grumbling, but soon I can’t hear the cops anymore.
“Aria-“
“Don’t. Let’s go.”
Daniel takes a step back, forcing me to do the same just before Aria comes into view. She looks between us, then rolls her eyes. Not at me…at Daniel.
“Stop smiling like that.” She says.
“You called him your Omega.” Daniel reminds her.
She glares. “So?”
Daniel smiles. “If he’s your Omega, then it means you're ready to build your pack.”
She crosses her arms. “What makes you think that?”
His smile falters, and my stomach drops a little.
“You said-“
“I said he was my Omega, I didn’t claim you.” She smiles at him and walks past him to stop in front of me. “We have a lot to talk about. Come on, we’re going to my place.”
She grabs my hand and leads me out of the room. I glance over my shoulder and see Daniel and the other guy frowning. Clearly, they were hoping for more and are disappointed. I feel bad for them.