Chapter 16 Mind Made
"You okay?" he growled softly, his Alpha presence radiating through the room.
I nodded, heart racing, feeling the intensity of him. The raw power in his body, the heat of his touch, made my skin tingle, and I tried to ignore the feeling pooling in my gut.
I steadied myself, my hands still brushing against his chest, and the room seemed to hum with tension. Jane’s eyes narrowed from the doorway, her presence unnoticed as I was caught in Warren’s protective hold.
"You need to watch your step," he murmured, almost a warning, almost a comfort. I swallowed hard, feeling both terrified and drawn to him, his scent, strong, warm, and commanding, filling my senses.
I nodded again, finally finding my balance. My legs felt weak as I moved away from him.
"I'm fine, Alpha," I muttered, avoiding his gaze as I steadied my legs on the ground.
An amused smirk pulled at his lips, though his gaze never left me. "Alright," he said softly, voice deep and calm again, "let’s continue."
I took a deep breath and walked to the other side of the house as Noah and Warren followed me closely. My gaze drifted toward Jane, and seeing the smug smile on her face gave it all away.
She was the one who had made me trip. If only I could understand why she hated me so much.
After walking around the house and showing Noah the major sections, using my love for the building to explain further, a part of me started to wonder if I would someday be able to live in such a luxurious house. Where everything is where it should be, not like the two-bedroom apartment Layla and I had been living in for years.
"This is good, Alpha Warren," Noah said as we walked out of the house toward the car. "I'll take it. Based on your personal assistant’s advice, this is a good place to start my family."
"Thank you, Mr. Andrew," I said with a smile as I stepped forward with the file in my hand. "Here’s the amount, and I’ll need your signature here. After the payment is made, you can come to the office with us to get the documents."
Noah collected the file from my hand.
"Alright, I’ll make the payment for it now."
I watched as Noah walked over to his car. Through my peripheral vision, I caught Warren looking in my direction, and my cheeks flushed.
"Diana," he called, making me turn toward him.
"Good job."
I smiled as our eyes met, but the smile faded the moment my gaze shifted to Jane. She was standing by the car, her hands wrapped over her chest, and I suddenly felt a cold chill run down my spine.
I looked away and walked toward Noah, who was sitting in the car reviewing the documents. He looked up at me with a warm smile.
"I’ve reviewed the documents, and I’ll make the payment once we get to the company."
I nodded and turned to leave, but he held my hand.
"Why haven’t you told him yet?" he asked, looking at me closely, as if he could read my thoughts.
I tried to wiggle my hand free, glancing back at Warren, hoping he had noticed before things got worse, but he was talking to Jane, who was showing him something on his tab.
"You know, it’s so obvious that you are drawn to the Alpha," Noah muttered.
My gaze snapped to him, and I pulled my hand away harshly.
I stepped back. "You’re wrong, Mr. Andrew, and I don’t think it’s proper for us to be having such conversation."
Noah scoffed with a smirk. "Cool. It’s obvious you’re new to your job. And I don’t mean to make you think I have any ulterior motives. I just think you should be more careful around the Alpha."
I swallowed the bile rising in my throat, my heart hammering in my chest as I collected the file from him and walked back toward Warren, thinking of what Noah had said. The fact that he had warned me to be careful after acting like a jerk made me so uncomfortable that I found myself moving closer to Warren, as if danger was lurking in the shadows for me.
When we got back to the company and Jane processed the documents for Noah, he signed and paid for the apartment. I found myself sitting at my desk, staring into nothing as I tried to think of what to do.
I needed to focus on my job and avoid the feelings I was getting for Warren. Moreover, he had a mate, and the fact that Noah had warned me to be careful made me even more on edge. I took a deep breath and brushed my hand through my hair, closing my eyes for a moment to process my thoughts.
"Having a tough day?" a familiar voice said.
I opened my eyes to see Cora standing close to my desk, resting her hand against it.
I smiled, though my chest still felt heavy.
"Yeah, I’m tired." I tried my best to give her an honest response.
She chuckled softly. "Oh, same here. But I’m done with work already. What do you think about a bowl of hot chicken soup to soothe our nerves?"
"That’s not bad," I muttered. Being around Cora did something to my worried thoughts, and suddenly, I started to feel more relieved. "But I don’t know if I’ll be able to do that with you. I need to follow Alpha Warren home… in case he might need me to work for him there."
Cora gave me a pitiful look before a warm smile. "I guess you weren’t aware, Boss just left not long ago with his mate."
My heart thudded suddenly, and I wondered why. I thought I was starting to get over my feelings, but hearing Cora mention the Alpha leaving with his mate seemed to hurt me.
But instead of drowning in the feeling, I stood up and mustered a smile. "Then I’ll have the chicken soup with you after all."
She lifted her hand in excitement. "Then let’s go enjoy ourselves."
I picked up my bag from the desk, turned off the monitor, and walked toward the exit with her.