Alpha Noah

"I'm the new student, Emma Thorne. May I have a copy of my class schedule, please?" Emma said, voice steadier than her nerves.The woman looked up, blinked, and then smiled. A smile that was two parts polite and one part “Why are you disturbing me?” She stabbed her computer’s keyboard with her nails. The printer gave a hoot sound and she picked up the paper, careful not to smudge her fresh manicure."Oh, you! Of course,” she said, her fingers pinching the corner of the schedule like it might bite. “Your first class is down the hall on the left. Your locker number and combination are also on there. You shouldn't have any problem with that."“I’m ninety-nine percent sure I will.” Emma muttered under her breath, offering a sheepish “Um, thanks, ma’am,” before stepping out of the office.The paper in her hand was warm from the printer. Emma barely had time to scan it before, “Hey, wait!”She paused mid-step, almost tripping over her own boots.The receptionist gestured toward an i

Daniel, her brother and her mum were at the kitchen table when she arrived back. The oak surface was cluttered with steaming dishes, brown chicken wings that glistened under the light, piled high next to a mountain of spaghetti with rich spices. The peppered steak, still sizzling faintly, sat beside a bowl of roasted vegetables that nobody except her mom would touch. Daniel, her little brother, as usual was shoving handfuls of chicken wings into his mouth like a starved beast. Her mom had this tradition every time they moved. Emma and her brother had nicknamed it the ‘apology feasts’. It was a buffet of guilt. One Emma always enjoyed. The scent of garlic and curry clung to the air, thick enough to taste. It didn’t erase the sting of uprooting their lives again but Emma wasn’t about to turn down her mother’s signature crispy chicken wings or peppered steak. She slid into her chair, the legs scraping against the well-worn tiles. "So how was school?" Her mom’s voice was light, but ba

Sarah had a way of appearing like an unexpected guest. She practically launched herself at Noah after class, her entire body pressing into his. Her chest was the first thing that made contact, intentionally. She leaned in, her lips already parted in a suggestive smile.“What’s up, babe?” she purred.Before Noah could so much as blink, her tongue was in his mouth.For a second, he froze, trying to determine what was happening. Was this not assault? Could someone be arrested for shoving a tongue down his throat?He jerked back, his head bumping into his locker. "What the hell?" he muttered under his breath.Sarah clung to him, her grip tight. He tried to peel her off without making a scene. Unfortunately, subtlety didn’t work with Sarah. The more he tried to shake her off, the more she clung to him.He shoved her away gently but firmly.Her mouth parted again, about to unleash what he suspected would be a speech dripping in drama and delusion, but he cut her off.“Don’t do that again, S

Emma wiped her forehead with the back of her hand across her temple.Setting up a restaurant, she had learned, was not just hard work. It was bloody hard, messy, draining, backbreaking, and did she mention messy?This was the sixteenth time she’d walked from the food truck to the restaurant, each trip a mini marathon with trays, boxes, or kitchen utensils poking out of her arms. At least the restaurant was conveniently located five houses down from theirs.Emma paused at the entrance of the newly leased restaurant. She squinted at the place. Her mom’s dream had finally taken a physical form. She wondered when exactly her mother had started entertaining the wild notion of diving into entrepreneurship.Maybe she had looked at Daniel and Emma eating and thought: Hell yeah, I could get paid for this.Inside, Daniel was grumbling. He'd been in a mood for twenty straight minutes, complaining about everything from the smell of the cleaning supplies to the music playing faintly from Emma’s ph

Sarah blinked.“I’m not done—”“You are.”His voice was quiet, but filled with threat and with the force of command.Something in Sarah’s posture changed. She shrank back, just slightly.“You’ll come back to me,” she snarled. “You always do.”Noah didn’t move. He didn’t even acknowledge her.“You’ll come back,” she said, forcing a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “You always do. She won’t last. And when she falls apart, you’ll remember what I gave you. What I let you do. And you’ll come back to me.”She turned sharply and slammed into Emma’s shoulder as she passed.“Enjoy your shiny new toy, Noah. You’ll break her soon enough. “she spat.She then turned towards Emma and said. “Don’t get too comfortable, whore,”The door closed behind her with a hollow thud.Emma swallowed hard. Suddenly she was hyperaware of how alone she was with Noah.His gaze never left hers. It burned with something possessive. Desperate. Like he wanted to drag his fingers through her and claim her right there an