Chapter 47 Don’t touch him!!

Chapter 47: Chapter 47 Don’t touch him!!

Marcus lifted his face from Noah’s arms and looked at the three with teary eyes.

"Where were you three? I was looking everywhere for you, Ashton. You weren’t anywhere. What exactly happened?" he asked, clearly expecting a full answer. Noah didn’t even know where to start. How could he explain being pulled into a strange room where nothing made sense, only to stumble through a mysterious door that led them to an unknown land before somehow returning to this very room?

"Tell me where you were, Ashton, and why... Wait, what were you three doing in our room?" The question forced Marcus to finally look at them properly. Confusion clouded his face as he tried to piece everything together.

"What happened here? Just tell us what happened. That’s the main issue," Eugene demanded. His expression had turned curt, a far cry from the easy way he had been speaking with Noah only minutes earlier in that strange room.

Marcus shrugged off Noah’s hands and stood up on his own. "Are you guys in this together? Coming here to have some fun at my expense? You can just tell me, because this feels like you’re all trying to make me look foolish." Noah noticed how seriously Marcus was taking everything. Moments ago he had been crying, and now this sharp suspicion had taken over. Noah had only wanted to help, drawn by a strange sense of connection he couldn’t quite explain.

"You won’t understand, Marcus. It’s complicated, and I don’t think you’ll get it even if we explain," Killian said plainly. But Marcus took the words the wrong way.

Noah shook his head. He didn’t always understand how these Alphas thought. Sometimes their reasoning seemed completely backward.

"So now you think I’m dumb?" Marcus shot back. "How are you going to explain the three of you coming out of our room? Ashton, I thought you had changed. Is this your way of getting back at us? Using us and then dumping us?" Noah stared at him in shock. What was Marcus even talking about?

"I made birthday arrangements for you, Ashton. I waited. Damian waited. And look at him—almost everyone knows about his secrets now." Marcus turned to face Noah directly.

Killian stepped in front of Noah protectively. "Don’t do that, Marcus. It’s selfish. You’re not the only one with problems. Did you even ask him what he’s been through? What if he had died while we were gone?"

Marcus began laughing bitterly. He looked at the three of them with narrowed eyes. "So you three are a team now? And Damian is left alone? Is that what this is?" Noah watched in stunned silence, unable to believe the accusations flying so freely.

"Just stop lying to my face," Marcus continued. "You were fucking him because he’s a whore and will always remain one. That’s who he is and what he always will be."

Killian’s jaw twitched. Without hesitation, he grabbed Marcus by the face and delivered a deafening slap that twisted his head sharply. Blood began dripping from Marcus’s lip as he staggered backward into the passage.

"How dare you talk to Ashton like that, you piece of shit? Who the fuck do you think you are?"

Almost immediately, Eugene froze Marcus in place with a burst of ice, turning him into a rigid statue, then kicked him hard in the stomach. The frozen figure shattered on impact before reforming as a bleeding, stumbling Marcus once more.

"We may be jerks to him sometimes, I know that," Eugene said coldly, "but calling him a whore? Are you out of your goddamn mind?"

Noah stepped forward quickly, positioning himself between them and holding both Killian and Eugene back. "You’re nothing but an idiot," he said, voice steady but burning with anger. "Let me get this straight. You come into my life and make demands like you own me? I wasn’t around, so you assume the worst? Even if I was hiding something, what makes you think it had anything to do with you?"

He couldn’t grasp the sheer entitlement these Alphas sometimes displayed, acting as if the world revolved around their insecurities. He had been in serious danger, they had barely escaped together, and yet here he was being labeled a whore simply for his absence. The entitlement felt bizarre and exhausting.

"Marcus, I’m sorry for whatever Damian is going through right now. I’ll try to help him. But as for you—go to hell." Noah’s eyes, once pure silver, shifted to burning embers as rage built inside him. "I was judging Eugene, thinking he was the worst. But it’s always the playful ones who stab you in the back when you least expect it. Don’t ever talk to me like that again in your worthless life. I hate that word ’whore,’ and now you’ve made sure I associate that hatred with you too."

Marcus saw the raw fury in Noah’s gaze and looked terrified for the first time.

"I was insecure," he muttered. "I thought you were all here... together."

Noah raised his hand sharply, cutting off the vile words before they could finish. If this was how Marcus viewed him after one unexplained absence, then those thoughts had clearly been lingering for a long time. Noah wouldn’t waste energy trying to change that. Marcus could deal with his own block-headed assumptions. Right now, Noah had far more pressing concerns, especially after everything that had happened beyond that mysterious door.

"Come on, you two," Noah said, turning away. "Let’s get to the bottom of what happened to Damian. I don’t want to stay around him anymore, or I might actually get sick."

Marcus tried to follow, but Noah spun around and delivered a thunderous slap across his cheek that stopped him cold. "Don’t touch me. I’m a whore, aren’t I? Well, don’t associate with one then."

Like bodyguards, Killian and Eugene flanked him on either side as they walked away. Killian gently arranged Noah’s curls back into place while Eugene adjusted the jacket that now covered him, since his shirt had been torn earlier during their intense moment in the strange room.

"Are you fine?" Killian asked quietly. "We need to stop and talk properly. It’s high time you start thinking about yourself too. What happened when you passed out after going through that door? What did you see? I know you’re worried about them, but what about you? Are you alright, Ashton?"

Noah stopped walking. His heart suddenly beat faster. Had someone actually asked if he was okay—just that, nothing else? It had been so long since anyone showed that kind of simple concern. He felt his eyes grow glassy with emotion.

"It’s your birthday," Eugene added, his voice softer now. "This isn’t how today was supposed to go. It’s almost the end of your day, and we haven’t celebrated properly. That doesn’t feel right, Noah."

Noah swallowed hard, holding his feelings in check. "I’m fine, guys. Thanks. But Damian not being around... it could only mean he transformed into something dangerous. I can’t let that happen to him." He kept walking, determination pushing him forward.

Eugene looked shocked. "Damian? A monster? How is that even possible?" He glanced at Killian, who only shrugged.

"You knew?" Eugene pressed.

Killian shook his head. "I didn’t know for sure. I just suspected, and it looks like I was right."

They hurried after Noah, catching up as they reached a large open area where the entire school had gathered. The crowd chanted two words over and over in a menacing rhythm: "Burn him. Burn him."

Tied to a huge pillar in the center was Damian, wrapped in so many heavy chains that Noah flinched at the sight. The setup looked brutal, like they were preparing to execute a dangerous beast rather than a student.

"What is all this?" Noah muttered, pushing through the crowd. "Are they tying up a barbarian or something?" He refused to let this continue. No one would lay another hand on Damian Whitmore if he had anything to say about it.

"Stop, Ash... please don’t go further," Killian and Eugene called out behind him, but Noah ignored them. He stepped forward with purpose.

"Don’t you dare touch him," Noah yelled, his voice carrying over the chants, "or you all burn!"