36. NOAH

36

NOAH

C harlotte watched as Riley cut into another swath of orange fabric. She had a pile of different shades of orange and pink around her on the floor of the craft room in the back of the clothing shop. Riley had said they needed to create an ombré effect with sunset colors for a beach wedding next month.

When she first asked about going with Riley to work so she could see her mom, Blaire and Lukas seemed hesitant about her leaving the academy grounds, but even Aiden reassured them that Riley could protect her. Riley might be smaller, but she wasn't human. Her preternatural strength would be enough to ensure Charlotte's safety.

Leaning forward, resting her elbows on her knees, she bit the edge of her thumbnail. In the couple of days following her conversation in the forest with Aiden about Noah, she replayed the events of her time getting to know him while she lived in Athens. The correlation between events that happened regarding the stalker and times she saw Noah seemed too convenient .

Was Noah her stalker all along?

She sat up, sliding her hands across her thighs, tapping her fingers where they came to rest.

Her theory made sense but didn't. The biggest flaw in her theory came from Noah's lack of issue with expressing his interest in her. He'd approached her like a normal person who wanted to date her. A stalker wouldn't do that. Would they? A stalker would act unhinged and send stupid notes with flowers, make phone calls, and escalate to threats. The behavior of the stalker didn't align with Noah's attempts at a connection with her.

But the stalker showed up in Rosebrook Valley when she did, just like Noah.

She huffed, slumping against the wall.

"You're gonna hurt yourself if you keep thinking so hard," Riley quipped.

Charlotte groaned, slapping her thighs, and standing. "I know. I know ." She paced to the other side of the room near a drafting table covered in various sketches of different dress designs. "I just can't figure out who this guy is. It's obvious he's after Blaire, but I don't understand his interest in me. Why not go straight after her?"

"Because his job and his interests are different?"

She spun around. "What did you say?"

Riley set the fabric scissors down, looking at Charlotte. "If he's supposed to get to Blaire, then he'd do that, but if he's interested in you, then that's different."

She put her hand on her forehead, placing the other on her hip. "Huh?" Nothing about what Riley said made the least bit of sense to her.

"Okay, so the rogues don't work alone. Like gangs, right?"

"Yeeeeah. "

"So he's not the only one after Blaire. I mean, there were two of them in the alley."

She had told them all about Noah after everything that had occurred, so they knew he shared a connection with her.

"Now, he might be the big kahuna, or he might be low on the totem pole, but if the dude in the alley wasn't him, and that guy Noah isn't him—which I'm still on the fence about—then that means someone else is stalking you."

"What's your point?"

"Uh." Riley looked up at the ceiling. "Oh!" She dropped her gaze back to Charlotte. "Right. That shows you there are more people."

"Uh huh," she said, dragging out the last word. Where was Riley going with this?

"So like, if they all are going after Blaire, then he got sidetracked. Which ended up in all the roses, notes, and all that jazz."

"So you're saying the stalking behavior has nothing to do with trying to get to Blaire through me? It's separate?"

"Yes! That!" Riley snapped her fingers, pointing at Charlotte. "You get it!"

"Why didn't you just say that?"

"I did," Riley said, looking puzzled. "Weren't you listening?"

Charlotte's phone chiming in her pocket saved her from playing ring-around-the-point with Riley any further. She gasped when she saw the sender.

"What is it?" Riley scrambled to her feet, moving over to peer over Charlotte's arm. "Ew. Why is he texting you?"

"I don't know," she said, voice low. She swiped the screen.

Noah:

I owe you an explanation .

"No, he doesn't. He's a rogue, working with other rogues who hurt you. Block him."

Before she could do that, her phone rang, Noah's name flashing on the screen.

"Put it on speaker," Riley said, hitting the button to accept before Charlotte could decide if answering was worth the hassle.

Tapping on the speaker icon, she held the phone in front of them. "Noah?"

"I didn't want you to find out about me that way," he said in a rush.

"That way? Did you plan to tell me what you were?"

"I…"

"That's what I thought. No one was going to tell me anything," she said, a bitterness to her voice she couldn't mask. It still irked that she was kept in the dark. She didn't think she would ever be okay with it, but she accepted it as the necessary evil to keep her safe.

"Charlotte," he said, pleading. "You don't know what my kind does to humans who know the truth."

"Actually, I do."

"What?"

"Memory wipe. I know everything."

A beat of silence.

"How do you know?"

"She's my brother's Korrena, asshole," Riley interjected, a smug smile on her face.

"You have a Korrena? You're human."

"Apparently that isn't a thing, except with one friend of mine."

"Blaire," he said. He already knew; she didn't have to acknowledge it. "Who's with you? Who is that talking? Who's brother?"

"It's Aiden. The guy you met in Athens. And she's a friend—his sister."

"He's your Korrena?" He blew out a sharp breath. A stilted laugh filtered through the phone's speaker.

"That's what she said," Riley snapped. "Why are you calling?"

"Listen, Charlotte. I really like you." When she sighed, he rushed to add, "As a friend! As a friend. I was trying to look out for you."

Riley nudged her arm and when she looked over, she mumbled, "Ask him why." She darted across the room to grab a notepad and marker.

"Why? Why were you looking out for me?"

"I was trying to protect you from something bad."

Riley scribbled on the paper and held up the notebook. It said, why did he attack you?

Charlotte made a face. She didn't think Noah had attacked her. He'd said something, but she couldn't remember what, not after everything that happened. She distinctly remembered the panic in his voice, though. It didn't align with someone attacking her.

Riley nudged her again. She'd been silent too long.

"Um. Why did you attack me?"

"What? I didn't." He paused and then his voice dropped, insecurity suffusing his tone when he asked, "Did I? Please tell me I didn't hurt you."

Why wouldn't he know? Something seemed off.

Riley glared at the phone. "Dude. Are you playing dumb?"

"No. I—"

"If you're not going to be honest, she's hanging up," Riley said, a fierceness to her voice that Charlotte hadn't heard before. Riley's protective behavior made her feel warm inside.

"No! Wait! Please don't hang up, Charlotte. Let me explain."

"Get to it then," Riley snapped .

"Okay. Okay. He gets it." Charlotte turned slightly, keeping the microphone end of the phone closer to her. She fixed her gaze on Riley. "I want to hear what he has to say."

Riley huffed, and when she nodded, Charlotte angled back toward her.

"Thank you," Noah said, exhaling in relief. "I was suffering from sanguis manie . It's this… condition that—"

"I've heard of it."

"Okay, that makes it easier." He cleared his throat. "That's why I wasn't sure if I hurt you. I was trying so hard to fight against it when I approached you. I wanted to get you out of there before Brent got to you."

She shared a look with Riley before asking, "I still don't understand why you wouldn't know if you hurt me."

"I don't respond well to lack of blood. It only takes a few hours and I start experiencing adverse effects."

"A few hours?" Riley asked. "But aren't you older?"

"I'm twenty. I know that's still old enough I should be able to go at least most of the day without issue, but I've never handled it well. I know my limits."

When Charlotte met Riley's eyes again, she asked, "I don't think I understand this part."

"Younger Vasirian struggle more than older ones with lack of blood consumption. Sanguis manie sets in earlier for us."

"There are cases of older Vasirian—much older than me—who have similar struggles to me. No one really knows why, though," Noah added.

Riley shook her head. "I didn't know that."

"Anyway. I had gone almost twenty-four hours without blood. I was on the edge of madness. I barely remember the events of that night."

"What?" Riley set down the notepad and scratched the back of her head. She'd made notes about some of the other things Noah said, not just the answer to her question. "Why did you go that long? No. You know what? Give me that." She snatched the phone from Charlotte's hand and pressed the button to start a FaceTime call.

When the call connected, Noah's face, covered in a dark layer of scruff, came into view. His curls looked disheveled, and dark circles stained the skin beneath his eyes.

"Jesus, Noah. You look terrible."

"Good to see you too, beautiful."

Riley grumbled. "Listen, bud. That's my brother's Korrena, so off limits." She nodded, satisfied when he lowered his gaze in response to her reprimand. "Now." She took a breath, then unleashed, yelling, "What the flying fuck?" She tempered her voice, but the sharpness remained. "What were you thinking coming to a crowded nightclub like Haven if you were suffering from sanguis manie ? Why didn't you get blood from a clinic?"

She looked at Charlotte. "To prevent this very thing, and to uphold the law of not feeding from live sources, the Blackthorn Clan has granted us permission to go to any blood donation center to get blood whenever we need it. Humans donate more than you realize."

"Really?" She hadn't thought it was so common.

"Oh yeah. Millions of units a year. Not only does it help us, but it's used all the time in medicine. Mera told me all about it."

Riley focused back on the screen where Noah was looking between the two of them in silence. "Your story isn't adding up." At least she wasn't yelling at him anymore.

He ran a hand over his forehead, pushing his curls off his face. "I wasn't alone at the club. "

"We know. The asshole attacked Charlotte."

"Brent isn't—wasn't—the only one you need to be worried about." He sighed as if what he needed to say brought him discomfort. "The man who ordered us to watch you kept me locked in a room without blood for the day prior to coming there. That's why I couldn't get blood when I needed it most, and why I couldn't avoid going to the club. He'd have killed me, or made Brent kill me."

"My stalker did that to you?"

Noah ran his tongue over his front teeth. "No. The guy in charge of the local group isn't the one stalking you. That was Brent."

"What? He's dead. She's still getting stupid notes and roses."

"She is?"

"That's what I said."

He looked at Charlotte with concern. "What did the note say?"

"I can't remember everything," she said. She wasn't sure if she should show her hand, but she also didn't remember. "He signed it with a J, though."

"James."

"James? I thought you said her stalker was Brent," Riley said, looking at Charlotte. "Do you know a James?"

"No, I don't think so." She looked at Noah. "Is he a classmate?"

"Not that I'm aware. I haven't actually met him. When he kept me locked up, he had other guys check on me. I've only talked to him on the phone, so I don't even know what he looks like. I don't know anything about him, but I knew Brent. And yeah, Brent was her stalker. He lost his Korrena in an accident a few years back. He's never been the same. You kinda look like her. She had curly red hair and a lot of freckles, not the few you have."

"So he became obsessed with Charlotte, redirecting his longing for his Korrena at her," Riley surmised .

"Yeah."

Charlotte had done a little reading about the Korrena bond. For sealed bonds, losing a Korrena often drove the other to follow soon behind them because of their inability to cope in the world without their pair. Physical pain, mental anguish… it made her feel so terrible for those who'd suffered that loss.

To not only lose their soulmate, but then have to suffer the swift deterioration of their mind afterward? How could fate be so cruel? What did that mean for Aiden when time took her away from him? Were all Vasirian who lose their mated pair destined for such a terrible future, if they saw one at all?

It still didn't excuse her stalker—Brent—but it made her understand the madness behind his actions.

Did she forgive him? No. She didn't know if she could.

He tried to kill her Korrena. Tried to force her to endure the same loss. Maybe if he hadn't tried to kill Aiden when he came to her defense, she could, but she only had it in her to dredge up a morsel of sympathy.

Noah's voice pulled her out of her thoughts.

"James must have picked up where he left off to keep you scared. He's been directing our movements, but someone else is controlling his actions. I've never met them and don't know their real name. I don't even know if what I said will get me killed or not." He slouched. "I don't want to be part of this anymore. I want my life back. What little life I had. I never wanted this, but I didn't have anyone."

"What about your parents? They're in Rosebrook Valley."

He met Charlotte's eyes. "They hate me."

"But why?"

"I don't know if I ever told you if I had siblings or not, but I had a sister. "

Riley tilted her head. "Did?"

"When we were kids…" He sucked in his cheeks, lips pursing as he breathed in through his nose. "I went camping with some friends on the Savannah River. Trudy wanted to come along. I didn't want her to go. You know, annoying little sister and all."

Riley rolled her eyes.

"She was two years younger, so it wasn't like she was out of place with us." He shook his head. "Anyway, she wouldn't let up until I agreed, and my parents told me I was responsible for her since there were a bunch of boys around. The first night there, we'd all settled into our oversized tent to sleep. She slept next to me because Dad would kill me if I let her near the other guys." He laughed. "She woke up and had to go pee. I fell back asleep before she came back. Everyone else was already asleep."

Charlotte didn't like where this was going.

"The next morning, we all got up, and she was nowhere to be found." Noah swallowed. "My buddy Shane went down to the riverbank and…"

"Oh no," Riley said, hand going over her mouth.

"Yeah. Trudy was half on the shore, half in the water. She'd drowned. We have no idea how she ended up in the water. She couldn't swim."

"You can't heal from drowning," Charlotte whispered.

"No. You can't," he confirmed, his voice hard and distant. "Anyway, my parents blamed me for not watching out for her hard enough. They've never forgiven me."

"That's stupid," Riley said, anger in her tone. "It wasn't your fault."

It amused Charlotte how quickly Riley could flip her point of view regarding someone. She wasn't shallow or fickle, but she didn't dwell on the worst in people .

"Well. Enough about all that. It's not relevant."

Charlotte frowned. "You should come to the academy and talk to the headmistress. See if she can help you. You don't have to live like that if you don't wanna."

"I can't do that. I exposed myself to a human. Not to mention I worked with the rogues who are trying to get to Blaire." He scoffed. "They'll ship me off to Cresbel Asylum so fast I won't know what hit me."

"What's that?"

Riley looked at Charlotte. "It's where criminals of our kind go. Whenever Vasirian commit acts that go against our laws, they usually have a trial in front of the Blackthorn Clan, and if it's bad enough, they are sent there. Sometimes they are sent straight there if they do something stupid like kill someone."

It made little sense for Noah to go to prison over what he did. He didn't hurt her. Prison? The punishment seemed extreme. But trusting him to come to the academy… Could she trust he wouldn't sell her out to the rogues? He first befriended her under false pretenses. Who was to say he was telling the truth now?

Still, his life was in danger. She couldn't stand by and allow him to be killed when he seemed sincere.

"You need to do it, Noah. I won't press charges against you."

Riley laughed, and Charlotte turned toward her. She didn't see anything funny.

"There's no charges." At Charlotte's confused expression, Riley added, "It's not your call. If Blackthorn Security is aware of an attack on a human, they normally do the thing with the trial, just with the Order—which is temporarily disbanded as you know. So instead, they would haul them off to the clan."

"So Noah would face your king? "

"Yep."

"Can't we just…" She looked at Noah. "Keep it a secret?"

Noah grimaced.

"The headmistress already knows what happened," Riley said. "My brother and Dom told her. That's why she knows about that guy Brent's death."

"Yeah, but she's keeping Aiden's secret."

Riley shook her head. "The problem is Blackthorn Security knows a rogue attacked you, but they don't know who. They don't know he's dead. They'll likely pin it on Noah if we bring him to the academy."

"What? No!"

"Hey," Noah said softly. "It's alright."

"No, it's not. You're not taking the fall for a crime you didn't commit."

"That's not what I meant. I mean, don't think you need to vouch for me. I did something stupid, and this is the price I pay for it."

"Screw that," Charlotte snapped. She was tired of the people she cared about getting hurt and being forced to sit idle while it happened. "We can say the rogue got away or something. No one has to say anything about anyone dying."

Riley nodded. "We could talk to the headmistress and see if she would keep it under wraps. No promises, though."

"That's treason," Noah said.

Charlotte and Riley shared a look. Was there no way to save Noah?

"Still gonna do it," Riley said, dismissing Noah's look of surprise. "Anyway, I got a question."

"Okay," he said, dragging out the word.

"Why are the rogues really targeting Charlotte? I mean, it seems like it's about Blaire, but why bring Charlotte into it? "

It was a question Charlotte had asked herself over and over since she realized they wanted Blaire.

"Well, you know why Brent focused so hard on her, but the original reason is trying to get to the human of prophecy, which you also know. The thing you don't know is that they believe Charlotte would be an easy way in, with her being a human and not aware of our existence." He sighed, his kind blue eyes meeting Charlotte's. The immense remorse in them pained her. "You were originally an assignment, but I grew to like you so much. You were funny and smart. I enjoyed spending time with you."

"Sucks for you. She's my brother's Korrena."

"Yeah, I get it." He laughed. "You really are protective of him, aren't you?"

Riley crossed her arms and raised a dark brow. "Problem?"

"None at all. I'd be the same way about Trudy if she were still here." He cleared his throat and looked at Charlotte. "Are you bonded?"

Her face warmed, and she shook her head. "We've not done the ritual, no."

"Doesn't matter though, right?" Riley asked tartly.

She looked at Riley and nodded. "I'm not leaving Aiden."

"I know," Noah said. "That's not why I asked. Just curious. Korrena pairs are special. I didn't think another human could be one. I only want to be your friend."

Charlotte moved to sit on the bench behind them along the wall. Riley joined her. She needed to be honest with Noah.

Closing her eyes to recenter herself, she opened them and said, "I need time. I'm not sure about what friendship we could have after all the manipulation."

"I understand that, but I need you to know something."

She didn't respond, instead waiting for him to continue .

"Everything I said and did was real. Everything. I just didn't tell you who I was and my original intent when I approached you."

"Yeah, and what was that?" Riley asked. "You got near her while no other rogues did. Why?"

"I got close to learn how much contact she had with Blaire. At first. I didn't know where the others were gonna go with that information. I was only told to find out how close she was to Blaire now."

Charlotte wouldn't lie and say hearing how innocent his job had been, and how little he knew of the rogue group's intent, didn't affect her opinion of him. She wondered if he knew how far they wanted to go—hurting Blaire, attacking Charlotte—if he'd still have joined them. He couldn't back out halfway through, even if he did like her. She understood the threat to his life if he did.

"Girls," her mom said, pulling back the curtain of rainbow beads separating the craft room from the back hallway. "I'm about to close."

"Okay, Sara. I'll put the fabric away and we'll get going." Riley stood, moving to clean up the mess on the floor.

"It's looking great, by the way," Sara said, her gaze moving over the mannequin in the corner already accented with orange and pink fabric.

Riley bloomed under the praise, wiggling a little as she put the cut material neatly into a plastic bin.

"I have a dinner date with Liz tonight. We're going out with a few friends. But I'd like to get together sometime for dinner with you and Aiden soon. If classes are starting soon, that academy is going to have you too busy for us."

"Sure, Mom." Charlotte smiled at her mom before she slipped through the curtain and back down the hallway.

"I guess you have to go," Noah said when she returned her attention to him .

"Yeah. But we'll talk to the headmistress."

Riley rushed over and put her hands on the bench, looking down at the phone. Charlotte recoiled to give her space. "Lie low. Don't meet that James asshole."

"I'll try. I can't ignore him if he calls me."

"Well, don't meet him. If you don't really know him, there's no telling what he'll do. But we won't leave you hanging long. I don't think you're so bad. That's high praise, so accept it." Riley stood and sashayed over to the mess she'd made.

Charlotte laughed.

"She always like that?"

"A little bit."