Chapter 135 My Angel | 028
NOELLE
I slip out of the bedroom and press my back against the cool wall just outside the door, one hand resting over my racing heart. My pulse is so loud in my ears that it drowns out everything else. My legs feel like jelly, but I force myself to stay upright.
Inside the room, Azren curses, his voice laced with frustration.
"Noelle?" He calls out, his voice strained.
My name on his lips sounds wrecked. It feels like he's chasing something he can't quite reach.
I let my eyes slip closed for a moment, basking in the warmth of relief.
It's working.
The jealousy. The distance. The little barbs I threw on my way out. He felt it. He's feeling it right now. The spell might still have its grip on him, but something is cracking.
I let out a shaky breath and slide down the wall until I'm crouched, hugging my knees.
"Well, at least, she knows her place now," I hear Sabrina say.
But Azren ignores her.
"Noelle!" he yells, and I grin, pushing back to my feet with the bag I'd dropped there earlier.
Then I hurry down the hallway before I lose my nerve.
The stairs feel endless. But I'm determined to get away before he reaches me.
When I get to the foyer, panting, Jake is already there. He's leaning against the front door frame, his arms crossed, one boot propped casually against the wall. The second he sees me, he straightens, his eyes widening.
Then he whistles under his breath.
"Damn, Luna," he drawls, a wicked grin spreading across his face. "Are you trying to give my alpha a heart attack before noon?"
I manage a small, shaky laugh. "Do I look okay?"
"'Okay' is not the word I'd use." He pushes off the door and opens it for me. "Did he see you before you left?"
I shrug, moving past him into the crisp morning air. "Briefly."
Jake's grin turns sly. "Good. He deserves it after last night."
He falls into step beside me as we head towards the sleek black SUV waiting in the drive. Someone is already behind the wheel, but Jake waves him off with a lazy flick of his wrist.
"Change of plans," he calls. "I'm driving her today."
The other guy nods without argument and climbs out.
I glance at Jake as he opens the passenger door for me.
"You swapped shifts?"
"Someone else was supposed to play chauffeur," he says, shutting the door after I slide in. He rounds the car and drops into the driver's seat, buckling up. "I figured you could use a friendly face after... everything."
I pull the seatbelt across my chest. "Thank you."
"Here. Azren asked me to give this to you last night," he says, handing me a brand new phone.
My eyes go wide. "Oh...this is...I appreciate this. Thank you."
"Azren's contact is in there, and so is mine," he goes on to say, and I nod, smiling.
He starts the engine, pulls out smoothly, and glances sideways at me.
"Security will shadow you at school today," he says, his tone shifting to something more serious. "Close enough to step in if Haden's people try anything, far enough that you won't feel like you're in a cage. We're not taking any chances with that bounty on your head."
I nod, staring out the window as the gates slide open and the estate disappears behind us.
The silence stretches for a minute. It's not...uncomfortable.
Then I turn to look at him.
"How did you not get affected by Sabrina's spell?" I ask. "Everyone else... they believed her. Even Azren."
Jake's fingers tighten on the wheel only for a moment. Then he relaxes, shooting me a crooked smile.
He rolls up his sleeve, revealing the intricate black tattoos that cover both of his forearms in geometric lines.
"These aren't just for show," he says, returning his hands to the wheel. "They're talismans, protection wards and spellbreakers. My mom was a witch before she mated into the pack. She inked them herself when I was eighteen. She said if I was going to stand next to an alpha like Azren, I needed every advantage I could get."
I can't take my eyes off the tattoos.
"They block most mental magic," he continues softly. "Illusions, memory twists, and suggestion spells. Sabrina's glamour works on almost everyone because it isn't subtle, it's heavily layered. But these?"
He flexes his arm. "They burn like hell when something tries to get in. That's how I knew something was wrong the second she started twisting reality last night. I saw the knife in her own hand before anyone else did."
My eyes sting.
"You've been protecting him this whole time," I whisper.
Jake shrugs. "He's my alpha and brother. I feel like I haven't done enough yet. He's still under her spell, and that's why I need your help."
I swallow hard, blinking back the sudden heat in my eyes.
"Thank you," I say, my voice thick. "For believing me. For... seeing me."
He glances over, his grey eyes steady and kind.
"You don't have to thank me for that, Luna. You just have to keep fighting like you have been. We're going to expose her together."
I nod, curling my fingers around the black card in my hand.
Together.
Hope blooms in my chest, a smile tugging at my lips.
...
The lecture hall looks exactly the way I remember. Three months away and nothing's changed. The rows of tiered seats are still scratched up, the projector screen still has that permanent smudge in the bottom right corner, and the fluorescent lights still buzz like dying insects.
I haven't been here since before Haden. Before the abduction. Before Azren.
Before everything.
Exams are in two weeks. Two weeks to somehow catch up on three months of missed classes, missed assignments, missed everything. I'm supposed to be studying office administration and business communication. It was supposed to get me out of the cleaner's uniform and into a cubicle where no one would ever call me Dumpster again.
I feel like a fraud just standing here.
I used to come to class in oversized hoodies and baggy pants, hood up, head down, trying to disappear. Back then I was skinny enough that people whispered that I looked like a ghost. No one ever sat next to me. No one ever asked for my name. I liked it that way. Invisible was safe.
Now I'm wearing a dress that feels alien to me. My curves are fuller, and I can feel every single eye in the room slide over me as I walk down the aisle.
I don't look up. I can't. I just pick a seat in the middle row, far from the front, and slide into it.
I close my eyes and try to breathe. In through the nose, out through the mouth. The dress feels too tight across my chest. I tug at the hem uselessly. My skin itches. I can feel people staring at me.
The chair beside me scrapes back, and I flinch.
"Hey, Noelle."
My eyes snap open.
A girl is sliding into the seat next to me. She's got long dark hair with caramel highlights, glowy tanned skin, winged eyeliner sharp enough to cut glass, and a gorgeous smile.
She's wearing a cropped black blazer over a white bodysuit and high-waisted trousers. She's hot. Like, unfairly hot.
She leans in a little, her blue eyes shining. "You remember me, right?"
I blink. My mouth opens, and nothing comes out.
She laughs softly.
"Thought so. I'm Blair. Blair Emerson. We had Intro to Management together last year. I tried to talk to you a couple of times, but you always looked like you wanted to melt into the floor."
Heat floods my face. I honestly...haven't met this person before... I think.
"I... I'm sorry," I mumble. "I wasn't—I didn't—"
She waves it off. "No apologies. You were always in your own world. I get it. But I do remember one thing." Her smile turns softer.
"You stood up for me once. I'd never forget it."
I stare at her. I... don't remember standing up for anyone.
Blair leans even closer, lowering her voice.
"You didn't even know me. But you did it anyway. I never forgot that."
My throat tightens. I don't know what to say.
She reaches over and gently touches the back of my hand.
"I'm glad you're back," she whispers. "And I'm glad you're... you know...glowing. You look good, Noelle. Really good. If you ever need anything, I'm here."
I swallow hard, my eyes burning.
"Thank you," I manage.
Blaire grins again. Oh, it’s such a relief. My phone buzzes right then, and a message from Azren slides in.
Smirking, I open it. It reads:
AZREN: Oh, you’re playing games now? Cute. I see you, little tease. I dare you to try and pretend that I don’t exist. See you soon.
I blink. See you soon?
He’s talking about me going home later, isn’t he?
Surely, he’s not going to come here, right?