The Legacy : His Mate

#1 Noah

"Where have you been?" Julius asked Noah, who was again out for two days straight.

"Random pubs," Noah gloated, ignoring his scornful look. He was in no mood to receive his or Naomi's judgemental looks. It was the last time he returned here before leaving for somewhere else in the coming morning.

Six months back, out of the blue, Noah lost his best friend and his chance at love. He still could not get rid of the guilt that Kyra, his best friend, loved him since always, and he was blind enough not to see that when almost everyone else did. Nightmares of how Kyra died in his stead, trying to protect him from the pureblood wolf, Anthony's clutches, kept tormenting him. Sometimes, he would wake up imagining Kyra trying to reach out to him, but only to realize that she was already dead.

On the other end, Elsa quite conveniently went to Rafael, her mate. Elsa never felt the need to talk with Noah or share her part of the story. Everyone expected Noah to be the one understanding everything. He did outwardly, but his insides crippled him. It's not that he hated Rafael after knowing him. Noah, in fact, left the Opals under Rafael and Elsa's able supervision. But he could not get over his heartbreak for the second time.

Noah had turned into an aloof and reserved person ever since his fated mate Fiona died in a battle with the creatures and the beasts. At least, he took that revenge and fulfilled his promise to Fiona. But the things it cost him were too much. He ended up with heartbreak and a dead best friend, who apparently loved him.

Noah had spent months drinking and spending time in the human world to stay away from mates and loves. He felt the humans were impulsive and easier to handle, with no commitments. He was wasted in some bar when Julius, his sister Naomi's husband, found him and brought him back to his place. Julius was a human, and Naomi had already lost her wolf, which made it easier for Noah to live with them. He was near the human settlements, and no one would doubt his wolf's side.

Noah, at first, liked it here until he stumbled upon the room where once he and Elsa had shared a warm moment of intimacy. That night he drank for the entire night and ended up hooking with the stable hand of his sister. Naomi found out about it, and Noah, ever since then, kept his activities away from their house.

But lately, Naomi and Julius were giving Noah judgemental looks and trying to persuade him of things he did not want to do. Noah was not interested in leading his previous pack, the Opals, anymore. He knew they would be safe in the Moonlit city under the careful watch of Rafael and Lucian. Plus, with someone as powerful as Elsa, he hardly had anything to worry about for Opals. Noah also did not wish to settle in the human town for too long. He was getting quite the name here, and by now, he had seen almost every girl the township had to offer. Noah wasn't a Casanova from his heart. But the s*x and drinks were the only way he could keep his mind off Kyra and Elsa.

Noah lit up his cigarette, a habit he had got quite recently, trying to release some of his anxiety with the smoke. He had not shifted into his wolf for several weeks now, and Adoff, his wolf, was beginning to feel the pressure. When nothing worked out, Noah finally decided to run.

Noah jumped from his big balcony, shifting mid-air, standing on all four. He could not help but walk towards the area where Elsa stayed once. He looked up at the balcony, only to find a girl standing on the mezzanine of the room that once belonged to Elsa.

Noah, in his wolf form, had better night vision. He tried to figure out who the girl was, but it was no one he knew. It irked Noah that Noami had given the room to someone else.

The girl was wearing a red dress, staring at the moon for quite a while. Noah wondered if she was a wolf, but his wolf could feel nothing. He quickly shifted to his human form, picking up a boxer from nearby boxes that Noami and Julius had kept for the Opals.

Noah stared at the feminine figure, trying to understand her. The fact that she reminded him of Elsa from far made him feel anxious. In all honesty, the girl was nothing like Elsa. She had magma-red hair that tumbled over her shoulders. She had a curvaceous figure, unlike the imp-thin figure of Elsa. She had a dainty nose that suited her impeccable, porcelain skin. A pair of arched eyebrows looked down on sweeping eyelashes. She had saccharine sweet lips. They were blossom-soft. Her enticing, constellation-blue eyes gazed at the moon over her puffy, heart-shaped lips. Despite that sublime face of her, the hint of loss and confusion set Noah's heart into a thump. She appeared to be soul fire sparking against the ice.

Noah wondered who she could be. She was the first woman ever since that fateful battle in the Moonlit city who managed to gain Noah's attention. Noah tried to brush off his feelings. He certainly had a soft spot for impaired people and the ones he cannot have. Noah shrugged off his revolting thoughts, trying to move away. He was anyway, leaving the coming morning.

Noah had barely moved when he stumbled upon a branch, making a noise. It was partly because his mind was still with the red dress girl and partly because he still was in the phase of recovering those unwarranted thoughts. But it was enough for the girl to notice Noah.

Noah hoped it had not done much damage and looked up, only to meet her rapture blue eyes already staring at him. Noah swallowed hard to hide his guilt. He wasn't even sure why he was feeling like that. He had done nothing wrong. Yet, he found himself flustered, wondering what the girl thought.

The girl did not retaliate or scream. She even did not wave her eyes off. She kept drooling at Noah as if he was some alien. She looked at him with such perplexity that it confused Noah if she had ever seen any man. Suddenly it dawned on Noah that he was standing only in his boxers. Despite being a wolf and someone who had been spending every night for several months with a random girl, he found himself in a compromised state.

Noah quickly looked for a box nearby, carrying clothes. He grabbed a t-shirt, wearing it instantly. But when Noah looked up to see the girl, she had already left. He wanted to retire from there and not look back. But he simply could not walk. He again looked up, hoping for the girl to show up. But when she didn't, Noah sighed, walking away.

The girl in the red dress came out of her hiding place. She had been hiding behind the curtains the entire time and watching Noah. As soon as Noah left, she came out to look for him. She was not sure what she felt. It was the first time she saw a man who wasn't Wicca's guard or her protectors.

She could not help but fluster. The man staring at her was the type of handsome that got into her bones. The kind that spoke to her of things she did not understand. She felt shy, guilty, and yet pinning for one more look. The man had dirty blonde hair that he styled back cleanly, making him look dapper. His crescent-of-moon eyebrows were thin and narrow. He carried an imperious nose well, and his angular cheekbones carved down towards a flinty jaw. When his warm, light brown eyes met with her blue ones, sparkles erupted inside her. He had the kind of face that could make someone forget everything. What was that weird thing she was feeling in her heart?

She sighed, trying to flush out her crazy thoughts. She had bigger things to concentrate on than men. Plus, what can a human do in her life? She must find Elsa. She closed her eyes, letting out a deep sigh, trying to shrug off the memories of the sculpted man.

When she opened her eyes, her jaws dropped. In front of her stood the most handsome man she had ever seen. He was impeccably gorgeous. Her heart skipped a beat to see him that close. Her body was on fire, and she was unable to understand such feelings. Was it normal? The way he looked at her made her blush and fluster. She bit her lips.

She should scream or call for help. The man had jumped all the floors to reach her balcony. He moved with the grace of a leopard; she thought. But she found herself glued to her position, drooling over his features.

"Who are you?" A dishy voice echoed through her ears. His voice possessed a latent, leonine power. She could not help but feel more drawn to him. With eyes as bright and spellbinding as lodestars, they bewitched her as she fell under his steady gaze.

"Freya!" She wanted to sound confident, but her voice came out shaky.

"Noah!" He introduced in a dominating, bass voice. His rich voice could be foghorn loud when he was booming out a guffaw or screaming at someone, but it sounded mellifluous to Freya's ears.

'Noah!' Freya repeated in her head as her heart skipped a beat with their brief introduction.