**Feel**
Four days had passed. Noah's wounds were healing quickly. According to Nari's calculations, in about three or four more days he would be completely healed. After all, the regeneration of Alphas was impressive. If a Beta had been in his place, even considering Nari's call, recovery from such injuries would have taken at least two months. And that's if he had survived such a fall at all. An Omega would likely have died from such injuries. But Alphas were remarkable in their resilience.
During this time, they had hardly spoken. Their conversations were always mundane, touching on nothing personal. When Noah was finally able to get up from the couch, he began to help Nari in the kitchen, despite her protests. Sometimes she irritably sent him away, but at other times, on the contrary, she would give him some light tasks. Washing dishes or peeling vegetables, for example.
Sometimes a dark-haired Omega, Leo, would come into her apartment. Noah felt that the guy was afraid of him. But his gaze was always filled with hatred and contempt. There was no need to understand anything. Just by the scent of his pheromones, it was clear that the Omega was in love with Nari. And he saw an uninvited guest as a huge problem. Once, he came along with a similarly dark-haired girl with bright yellow eyes. Her gaze held nothing but genuine curiosity. The two seemed to come just to check on Nari to see if she was okay.
Nari had to go for examinations regularly. And when she left him alone, he entertained himself by reading news on closed channels. Because of Sigma's loud greeting, the ghetto was in unrest. The next Arena round was postponed for a few weeks. The management needed to create new tournament tables. There were rumors that the Omegas who opened the season were the real lucky ones. Due to Sigma's attack, they were disqualified and would not step onto the Arena again this season. This meant they would live peacefully for another year until the next season. They were indeed lucky, which could not be said for those who would follow them. After all, the tree not only did not receive enough life energy, but it also lost two flowers. Therefore, Beta from the corporation visited the ghetto almost every day, accompanied by an Alpha. Ado Yomiya was tied to this area. And Noah was only glad that among all the Alphas of the Yomiya clan, she was the weakest and could not sense his presence.
In the hierarchy of her clan, Ado Yomiya occupied the lowest rung. Her roar had not mutated; it remained recessive. So the only thing she was trusted with was observing the examinations in the ghetto area. She decided nothing, and her word had almost no weight either in the Favorite corporation or even in her own clan. Probably, this was the reason for her bitterness, which she aggressively projected onto the Omegas of the ghetto.
Every day after such examinations, Nari would come home feeling down, although she tried not to show it. She would immediately start cooking, cleaning, or inventing where to go to disappear from Noah’s view once again. She would speak aloud about some completely insignificant nonsense. And he tried not to disturb her, thinking it would be inappropriate. This continued for three days in a row. But today was different.
Noah was sitting on the floor, leaning against the couch. He was bored. Nari had left early in the morning. Usually, she returned in two or three hours. However, the sun was already setting outside, and the girl was still not back. He hadn’t felt Yomiya for about three hours; that meant the examination had probably ended a long time ago. Noah caught himself thinking that soon he would have to go look for her, even risking being caught. He was already ready to go when the lock on the door clicked. The door opened.
Diona was the first to enter the room. After her came Leo, supporting Nari, who could barely stand on her feet. There was a rough, bleeding scratch on the girl’s cheek. Noah rushed to her, but Leo shielded her with his body.
– Don’t touch her! – he snapped angrily.
– I’ll help!
– You’ve already helped! – Leo placed Nari on the couch, – don’t come near her!
– Who did this?! — Noah looked at the girl’s face.
– An Alpha! Just like you! – Leo blocked his path.
Noah sensed that the yellow-eyed boy was afraid of him, but the hatred boiling in his chest was so strong it nearly extinguished the instinct for self-preservation.
– They’re still looking for traces of Sigma! – Leo continued heatedly, – someone ratted out that Nari was at the Arena that day and that she fell from that wall with you! It’s because of you!... Get out! Get out now! Otherwise!...
– Otherwise what?! – Noah's patience snapped, – what will you do?!
– Release your pheromones again?! Go ahead! – Leo trembled all over but didn’t back down, – then they’ll definitely find you! What are you waiting for?!
– You’d better shut up! – Noah took a step toward him.
The red-black haze of his roar began to fill the room. But suddenly, Diona leaped onto his arm. She was trembling all over, tears rolling down her cheeks, but she held onto Noah’s elbow tightly.
– Please… stop! Please, you don’t need to!