Alpha's Regret After Her Rebirth

Hannah

"Ow."

I cried out in pain as Noah's shoulder collided with my outstretched wrist, slamming it directly into the section where the soft mats ended and the hard gym floor began. Tears instantly sprang to my eyes, and the sound that escaped my lips next was a pathetic whimper. Noah reacted quickly, although not in the way I expected, I really expected him to tell me that I was fine and to stop being a baby, but he didn't. Instead, with a muttered curse, he pushed himself up into a seated position, his weight shifting off of me so I could finally His gentle fingers then circled around my hurt wrist, inspecting it closely as concern flickered through his handsome features.

breathe.

"Hannah? Are you alright?" His voice was tight with a sense of worry that made me pause. I blinked rapidly, fighting back the tears that were already spilling over despite my best attempts. For several long moments, Noah hovered over me, his large frame surrounding mine protectively as he cradled my injured wrist in one warm palm. The furrow between his brows deepened as he took in the hot tears that had streaked down my face. "1-I'm fine," "I lied.

"No, you're not. Shit, I'm so sorry," he murmured, using his free hand to tenderly brush away my tears with. the pad of his thumb. "I didn't mean to hurt you. You know that, right?"

I could only nod mutely, made speechless by the unexpected tenderness of the man who I had never seen being tender in my life-not toward me, at least. But now, his touch was impossibly gentle, a stark contrast to his usual surly demeanor.

"Let me look," he said softly, placing my wrist flat on his palm. He turned it this way and that, poking and prodding for a moment. I winced a bit when he turned it, but it wasn't too bad. "It's not broken. Can you bend it?"

I nodded again, bending my wrist to satisfy him. It moved easily, indicating that although the pain had been a shock, I was fine.

Toda

When Noah finally seemed satisfied that I wasn't seriously injured, he made to pull away-only to freeze, his green eyes widening almost comically. I followed his gaze down to where our legs were still bound together by the length of rope, intimately tangled on the floor. A blush crept up my neck as the realization hit me. Noah cleared his throat roughly, color flooding his cheeks as he quickly got to work untying us. I sat up and moved to help him, our fingers brushing and bumping against each other as we worked. Once we were finally free, Noah immediately turned his attention back to me.

"You're sure you're alright?" he asked, his voice gruff as usual but laced with a certain sort of tenderness that made my heart flutter. "I can call the doctor."

I swallowed hard and shook my head. "N-no, I don't think so. It just startled me, that's all.Content rights belong to NôvelDrama.Org.

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Some of the tension seemed to bleed out of Noah's shoulders at my words. He cradled my hand between both of his, cupping it gently and causing my heart to pound just a little harder.

"I hope you know that I would never intentionally hurt you, Hannah," he said softly. "No matter what happens between us... you have to know that."

come.

His gaze burned into mine, leaving me speechless again. All I could manage to do was blink stupidly up at his blazing green eyes like a deer caught in the headlights. My mouth worked uselessly, opening to let out a response but then closing again when no words would Finally, I managed to mutter out two tiny words: "I know."

Noah let out a soft sigh and nodded, and for the briefest of moments, I swore I could see the faintest hint of a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. But it came and went so quickly that I was certain I had imagined it.

Then, seeming to realize he was still gripping my hand, Noah abruptly dropped it and cleared his throat again, the tips of his ears turning red. "Right, well... I think that's enough training for today."

We helped each other to our feet, an awkward silence falling over us in the wake of whatever the hell had just happened. I rubbed absentmindedly at my wrist, not because it was still hurting me, but because 1 could feel the ghost of Noah's touch lingering there like his fingers were still wrapped around me.

Noah turned, grabbing his shirt off of the bench and slipping it over his head. I watched out of the corners of my

y eyes and tried not to let myself blush at the sight of him.

But then my eyes wandered to his forearm-to the spot where I had bitten him a month ago. It was healed now, but I could still see two small white scars where my fangs had sunk into his flesh.

The thought made me shudder.

"You know, I never did properly apologize for... that," I said softly, gesturing to his arm. "The bite I gave you. I'm sorry. Really."

Noah turned to face me, one eyebrow quirking upwards as he looked at me. "Why are you apologizing?" he asked.

"I made you bleed. And I left a couple of scars, from the looks of it."

.

For a moment, Noah's gaze fell to his own arm, turning it this way and that as he took in the scars. But then he shrugged. "It's nothing," he said, then paused, swallowing. "And if I'm being honest... I'm glad you did it."

"Why?"

"Because it lets me know that you're capable of protecting yourself if someone ever tries to hurt you."

My lips parted, but no words came as Noah reached out and traced the faded mark on his forearm.

I swallowed hard, recalling the night in vivid detail-the brief moment of him grabbing my arm, making me feel cornered. The fight or flight instinct kicking in. That feral need to bite down, to show him that I was no longer the meek little Luna who could be bossed around so easily. Finally, I found my voice. "Still, I'm sorry about that. You didn't do anything to warrant it, and it was an overreaction and-"

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"Don't." Noah cut me off with a shake of his head, letting his hand fall back to his side. "I deserved it. I scared you that night, and you reacted the way anyone should."

We lapsed into silence once more, each of us seemingly running out of things to say. A slight smile twitched at my lips, but I quelled it and looked away whille Noah gathered his things.

"Let's call it a day," he said, checking his watch. I have a meeting to get to."

I nodded, noticing how his all-business demeanor returned so quickly. Well, that was the end of that, I supposed.

With that, I turned on my heel and left, knowing that whatever moment we had shared back there had been impermanent, just a fleeting sensation.

But I couldn't stop touching my wrist as I walked back to my room-not because it still hurt, but because I could still feel the heat of Noah's fingers around my