Alpha's Regret After Her Rebirth by Aurora Starling

Chapter 0201

Chapter 0201

Hannah

“Is that so?”

| froze, my heart skipping a beat as | heard Noah's voice behind us. How much of that had he heard? Enough,

apparently, to warrant saying something. Viona and | turned slowly, both of us caught off guard by his sudden

appearance.

“Noah,” | said, my voice a bit hoarse. The sensation of Drake's lips on my hand still lingered, even more so now

that Noah was lookin directly in the eyes. “I didn’t see you there.”

His green eyes were hard as he approached. “Clearly,” he said, his tone flat. “I couldn’t help but overhear your...

enlightening conversation.”

Viona stepped forward, her chin raised defiantly. “This was a private discussion between friends, Noah. Hannah

was helpingwith spersonal matters. It had nothing to do with you.”

Noah's gaze flickered over to my friend for a moment before returning to me. “Is that so? Because it sounded an

awful lot like my wife was discussing our marriage.”

| opened my mouth to speak, but no words cout. What could | say? He had heard the truth, as painful as it

was. Noah and | didn’t love each other anymore-and frankly, | wasn’t sure if he had ever lovedto begin with.

| had certainly loved him in the beginning, although those feelings had long since faded.

“Hannah,” Noah suddenly said, his voice softening ever so slightly. “Can we talk? Alone?”

| glanced at Viona, who gavea concerned look. “It’s alright,” | assured her. “I'll catch up with you later. Go

find Amber and Emma for me, would you?”

Viona pursed her lips, but nodded. As she reluctantly walked away, | turned to Noah.

“What did you need?” | asked.

Noah regardedfor a moment before replying, “Would you care to walk with me?” He nodded his head toward

the bustling festival grounds, the throng of people practically solid between the rows of booths

and attractions.

“Sure.” Nodding, | fell into step beside Noah. We walked in silence through the pathways for a few moments, the

sounds of the festival fading into the background behind us.

Somewhere in the distance, the drums and flutes of the band were thrumming continually, but | hardly heard it

anymore over the sound of my own pulse in my ears.

After a little while, | opened my mouth to tell Noah what | had been talking about with Viona-as well as what he

had seen with Drake. But he beatto the punch.

Before | could utter a word, he suddenly said, “What was that little display with Drake earlier?” When | didn’t

answer right away, too stunned to speak, he continued. “I saw you two by the ice cream stand,” he said, his jaw

tightening. “It looked... intimate.”

| sighed as | ran a hand through my hair. “It wasn’t what it looked like. Drake,... he misheard srumors about

me. He thought | was interested in him romantically.”

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Chapter 0201

Noah's eyebrows shot up. “And are you?”

“No!” | said quickly, stopping in my tracks and turning to face him. “Of course not. | told him it wasn’t true and

asked him not to do anything like that again.”

Noah was quiet for a moment, processing this information. My face was beet red beneath his gaze, although |

wasn't sure if he noticed or if he was too lost in his thoughts to notice much of anything. “Well

I'm surprised,” he finally said. “Drake seems like he would be a good match for you.”

| inhaled sharply. “What's that supposed to mean?”

He shrugged and met my gaze squarely. “You two have gotten close in the recent weeks. He seems to like you,

and if he’s interested

“Noah,” | said, my voice surprisly firm despite the way that my heart was racing, “I'm not interested in Drake. Or

anyone else, for that matter.”

“No one?” he asked. “Even once we're divorced, you wouldn't consider being with him?”

| shook my head and lowered my voice. “My only plan after our divorce is to return to my pack. Trust me, | don’t

have any... backup men in mind.”

Something in Noah's posture seemed to change then. Relief, maybe? His shoulders slumped slightly, and he let

out a long breath. “Right,” he muttered. “Of course.”

We continued walking through the festival grounds, the atmosphere between us tense and uncomfortable. | was

acutely aware of every brush of our shoulders, every sidelong glance.

But then, as we passed by the various vendor booths, something caught my eye. A small stand was selling

handmade baby clothes-tiny onesies, knit booties, and adorable crocheted hats in soft pastel

colors.

Without realizing it, | had stopped to stare.

“Hannah?” Noah's voice broke through my reverie. “What are you looking at?”

| tore my gaze away from the booth, feeling heat rise to my cheeks. “Oh, nothing. Just... those baby clothes.” |

gestured to the booth. “They're sort of cute, don’t you think?”

Noah's brow furrowed as he followed my finger and looked at the display. “I suppose,” he said slowly. “t didn’t

think you were interested in that sort of thing.”

“What do you mean?” | asked, trying to keep my voice casual.

He turned to face me, his eyes searching mine. “Well, you made it pretty clear that you're not interested in

having a baby. Not with me, at least.”

The memory of that night in the woods, which weren't far from where we stood now, hitlike a punch to the

gut. “I... that’s not...” | stammered, struggling to find the right words. Involuntarily, my hand moved to touch my

lower belly where, unbeknownst to Noah, his child was currently taking route.

Noah's gaze dropped to my belly, then back up to my face. There was a question in his eyes, one that made my

heart race.

“Hannah,” he said slowly, taking a halting step towardand narrowing his eyes, “Are you sure there isn’t

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Chapter 0201

something you're not telling me?”

| opened my mouth, but no words would cout. My mind was spinning, trying to cup with an

explanation, an excuse, anything. Once again, | was on the verge of being found out-and once again, a little part

of me, no matter how small, wanted to tell him.

“I'm pregnant,” | wanted to say. “I'm pregnant with your baby.”

As | stood there, Viona’s words from the night | had told her everything cback to mind. Maybe she was right;

maybe | should tell Noah. Maybe it wasn’t fair to keep the truth from him. Maybe it was time...

| could only imagine his reaction; perhaps he would be so thrilled that he would kissright here, right in front

of everyone. Perhap would pickup and spinaround and vow to make things right between us.

But | knew that that wouldn't be the case. He would be furious that I hadn't told him sooner. And he would hold

bothand my baby hostage in a loveless marriage... forever.

“Hannah...?” Noah urged, snappingout of my reverie once again.

| opened my mouth to respond with something, anything. But before | could speak, a loud crack of thunder split

the air.

Suddenly, rain began to pour from the sky, fat droplets splattering against the ground and soaking us within

seconds.

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