The Shy Alpha

Chapter 18

Celia's P.O.V

"Noah." I cried out in relief as I saw him in front of me alive but then my eyes traveled over his body, "You're hurt..."

Noah only wore a pair of basketball shorts leaving his torso completely exposed. I saw as his body was raked in bloody claw marks, puncture wounds of bites, and I noticed Noah was keeping his weight off of his right leg as his toes were the only thing that touched the ground.

"It's okay, I'm alright." He leaned forward to give me a gentle kiss.

The kiss of a reminder that it was Noah who had won the fight over his brother, that he was still here for me to love and hold. I reached my hands out to rest them against his chest, feeling his warmth and still beating heart underneath my fingertips. But I pulled away a little short and looked over at the tree we were still behind which was blocking whatever scene was left behind from the fight.

"What happened to Carter?" I ask.

I tried to peek around the tree to see where Carter was but Noah's hands that were still around my face came around the back of my head in a firm grip, forcing my gaze back towards Noah and keeping it there.

His eyes were wide and scared as he let out a shaky breath, "Don't look. Carter is...it was either me or him. I h-had to do it."

The horror of the situation sunk in as Noah cried in front of me. He didn't need to finish his sentence for me to understand what he meant. But before I could respond, even I even had a response to begin with, Noah whined and fell to the ground in pain.

"Noah!" I knelt down beside him and held onto his hand.

"I'm okay." He tried to reassure me but I knew he was in a lot of pain from his severe injuries.

"Just hold on! I'll get help-!" I tried to stand up but Noah pulled me back down again to kneel beside him.

"No, stay here with me." He pleads.

"But you need help!"

"I'm mind linking some pack members, they will be here in a few minutes. Just stay here, by my side."

I agreed with Noah and sat down on my knees beside him. As we held hands and I looked down at him, I began to cry from all the guilt I felt.

"I'm sorry." I cried as my tears fell from my cheeks onto the dirt ground, wetting it.

Noah looked confused as he reached his hand up to wipe my tears away, "Why are you saying sorry?"

"All I did was come into your life and tore your family even more apart."

"Celia, look at me."

I looked up into Noah's eyes that held all of the love and sweetness in the world, my vision slightly blurry from my tears.

"You came into my life and made it so much brighter. I was lost in so many questions of what my mate would be like and you turned out so much better then I could have ever imagined. I love you Celia, I will never stop loving you no matter what happens."

"But..." I choked on my voice a bit before continuing, "If I wasn't your mate then Carter would still be..."

"What he chose to do was not your fault. You didn't tear us apart, Carter just didn't know how to come back together. Never blame yourself for this Celia, never."

Noah's hand reached up to brush some hair behind my ear, "I don't regret anything about you being my mate and if I had to start over, I would still choose you. I love you Celia."

I laughed through my tears and bent down to give him a kiss, "I love you too Noah."

Slowly as the seconds passed Noah looked up towards the sky then back at me. His breathing became deeper and deeper as his eyes began to droop down due to the amount of blood that his hand lost.