Chapter 171 He is alive

Chapter 171: Chapter 171 He is alive

Noah’s hands glided over his face as he tried to convince himself that what he was feeling was real.

He touched his cheeks, his forehead, and finally his jaw, carefully tracing every familiar feature. His skin was smooth, almost doll-like, and his delicate facial structure was nothing like the sharper features he had possessed in his original body as Noah Evernight.

His breath caught in his throat.

He was back in Ashton’s body.

The realization hit him so suddenly that he almost forgot how to breathe.

His fingers moved to his hair, which felt longer than he remembered, slightly tangled, and in desperate need of proper care. He hurriedly pulled some strands forward, bringing them closer to his eyes so he could examine their color.

Purple.

The unmistakable purple strands stared back at him.

Oh, God.

Ashton’s hair was back, too!

Noah stared at his fingers for several seconds before slowly lowering his hands. This was insane. Absolutely insane.

What the hell was going on?

First, he had somehow entered this supernatural world and found himself living inside a novel he had once read. Then he had returned to his original world, where he had been forced to confront the disturbing reality of his own existence.

And now, after everything that had happened, he was back here again.

In Ashton’s body.

Inside what appeared to be a glass cage.

What the actual hell?

He turned his head, studying his surroundings with growing suspicion. The transparent walls reflected the dim light around him, making it difficult to determine just how large the enclosure was. He could see beyond the glass, but he couldn’t understand why anyone would put him inside something like this.

Who had locked him up?

And more importantly, why?

Had Lysander done this?

No, that couldn’t be right. Why would Lysander put him inside a cage?

Unless something had happened while he was gone.

A terrible possibility suddenly occurred to him.

Wait a minute.

Was he dead?

Had he somehow died permanently this time?

Noah’s eyes widened.

Oh, hell no!

He wasn’t ready to die!

What would happen to Evelyn if he never returned to his original world? His sister might never even know what had happened to him. And what about Dr. Whitmore? What would happen to the man who had written the story of this supernatural world? Would he even realize that Noah was gone?

And his responsibilities in the modern world?

He had barely begun to understand the truth about his existence, and now he might have lost the opportunity to return.

Noah pressed his palms against the glass.

"Seriously, what the hell is happening to me?"

His voice sounded strangely familiar, and that only made his confusion worse.

He was back in the body he had grown accustomed to, yet his mind was still filled with the memories of his life as Noah Evernight. Two worlds, two identities, and a series of impossible experiences that would have sounded like the ramblings of a madman if he tried explaining them to anyone.

He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself.

Panicking wouldn’t solve anything.

He needed answers.

First, he needed to get out of this enclosure.

Noah shifted toward the edge of the glass structure and tried to stand. His legs felt unsteady, as though he had just woken from an incredibly long sleep. He placed one hand against the transparent wall to support himself, wincing slightly as his muscles protested.

Just as he was about to take another step, he heard footsteps rushing toward him.

His head snapped toward the sound.

Two familiar figures appeared on the other side of the enclosure.

For a moment, Noah simply stared.

Rose.

And Eugene.

His mouth fell open.

Holy shit!

Those were really his people!

His crazy best friend was standing right there, looking as though she had seen a ghost, while Eugene stood beside her with an expression Noah couldn’t immediately decipher.

One of his mates.

One of the people he had desperately wanted to see again.

They were both here!

"Oh my God! You’re really back!"

Rose’s scream nearly shattered the peaceful atmosphere of the cottage.

Noah flinched.

Good Lord!

Was she trying to burn the entire place down with her voice?

Then he remembered something important.

Rose was a witch.

Of course she would have a dramatic reaction to his return.

"Rose? Is that really you?" he asked, staring at her in disbelief.

Rose pointed at herself, her eyes widening even further.

"Me? Who else would it be, you silly idiot? Do you think another witch would come here just to welcome you back?"

She hurried closer to the enclosure and pressed both hands against the glass.

"I would have hugged you already, but this stupid thing is blocking me!"

Her complaint brought Noah’s attention back to the transparent walls surrounding him.

Right.

The glass.

He was still trapped inside it.

Wonderful.

He had returned to a supernatural world filled with dangerous creatures, powerful witches, demons, and a whole collection of people who could probably kill him in a dozen different ways.

And his first welcome home involved being locked in a glass box.

What a lovely reunion.

Still, despite his confusion, a smile slowly spread across his face.

Rose was alive.

Eugene was alive.

They were standing in front of him, and he could finally see them again.

He had missed them more than he wanted to admit.

Then his gaze shifted toward Eugene.

And the smile on his face faltered.

Good heavens.

What had happened to him?

Eugene stood almost motionless, his hazel eyes fixed on Noah as though he was afraid that blinking would make him disappear.

His red hair had grown longer and wilder, falling around his face in a way that made him look completely different from the person Noah remembered. There was something exhausted about his appearance, something that went beyond ordinary tiredness.

He looked as though he hadn’t properly cared for himself in a very long time.

And Noah didn’t like it.

Not one bit.

For five months, Eugene had lived without his mate.

Five months without hearing Noah’s voice, seeing him smile, watching him move around, or feeling the comfort of knowing he was nearby.

The absence had slowly eaten away at him.

He had tried to hold on to hope, even as the mate bond began to feel distant and the possibility of never seeing Noah again became harder to ignore.

He had continued living because he had to.

But living without Noah had never felt like living at all.

And now?

Now Noah was standing right in front of him.

Alive.

Beautiful.

Looking at him with those familiar silver eyes.

Eugene couldn’t speak.

He couldn’t even trust what he was seeing.

Was this real?

Had he finally lost his mind after months of searching for someone who might never return?

"Noah," he whispered.

The name barely escaped his lips.

Noah’s heart clenched.

"Oh, Eugene."

He moved closer to the glass, placing his palm against it.

"What happened to you? You look horrible."

Rose rolled her eyes.

Seriously?

That was the first thing Noah had to say?

But Noah wasn’t finished.

"And don’t even think about using that as an excuse to avoid coming closer. Get over here."

Something finally shifted in Eugene’s expression.

He moved as though waking from a trance, his steps slow and hesitant. It was almost painful to watch him struggle to believe that the person standing before him was real.

When he finally reached the enclosure, he raised one trembling hand and placed it against the glass.

Noah immediately pressed his own palm against the opposite side.

Their hands aligned perfectly, separated only by the transparent barrier.

"My love," Eugene breathed.

His voice cracked.

"You’re really here. Is that really you? Am I seeing you right now?"

Noah stared at him, and suddenly, all the words he had wanted to say disappeared.

He had imagined returning to this world countless times. He had wondered whether he would ever see his mates again, whether the circumstances that had separated them could somehow be undone.

But he hadn’t prepared himself for this.

He hadn’t prepared himself for the sight of Eugene looking so broken.

He hadn’t prepared himself for how much he had missed him.

"It’s me, Eugene," Noah whispered.

His lips trembled into a smile.

"It’s really me. I thought I would never see you again. I genuinely thought I had lost this chance forever."

His eyes lingered on Eugene’s hazel ones.

"But here I am, staring at your beautiful eyes again."

Eugene’s expression crumpled with relief.

A faint blush spread across his cheeks, the familiar warmth returning to his face for the first time in what felt like an eternity.

Noah couldn’t help smiling.

There he was.

His Eugene.

Still capable of blushing over the smallest things.

"I was so obsessed with trying to find a way to wake you up that I haven’t really taken proper care of myself," Eugene admitted quietly. "I’m sorry."

Noah frowned.

"Sorry for what?"

"For looking like this."

He gestured vaguely toward his disheveled hair and tired appearance.

"I know I look terrible."

Noah stared at him for a second before shaking his head.

"That’s not important. You’re here with me, and that’s what matters."

Then his eyes returned to Eugene’s hair.

Actually, now that he looked at it properly, the longer strands suited him surprisingly well.

Noah tilted his head.

"And for the record, I love your hair like this. You should keep it."

Eugene blinked.

"What?"

"Your hair. I love it. It looks so damn gorgeous on you that I can barely look away."

The blush on Eugene’s cheeks deepened immediately.

He instinctively lifted both hands to touch his hair, a shy smile finally appearing on his face.

"Really? I never thought of it that way. I thought it looked gross."

"Gross?" Noah repeated, looking genuinely offended. "Eugene, have you lost your mind? That hair is sexy."

Rose stared at them.

Then she looked at Eugene.

Then back at Noah.

For the past five months, she had practically been living with a man who barely smiled, rarely responded to her attempts at conversation, and looked as though he was personally offended by the existence of happiness.

She had tried everything to get even a small reaction out of him.

Jokes.

Insults.

Threats.

At one point, she had even considered throwing something at his head just to see whether he would react.

Nothing worked.

Yet Noah had barely been back for a few minutes, and Eugene was already blushing like a lovesick teenager.

Rose’s expression darkened.

Unbelievable.

Absolutely unbelievable.

She folded her arms and glared at the back of Eugene’s head.

"So, this is how it is?" she muttered. "Five months of me trying to make you smile, and all Noah has to do is compliment your hair?"

Neither of them appeared to hear her.

Eugene was too busy staring at Noah as though he intended to memorize every detail of his face.

And Noah was too busy smiling at him.

Rose sighed dramatically.

"Unbelievable. I should have become a hermit."

Finally, Noah seemed to remember that there were other people in the room.

He glanced around, searching for two familiar faces that were noticeably absent.

His smile slowly faded.

"Wait a minute."

He looked at Eugene, then at Rose.

"Where are Lysander and Damian?"

The question changed everything.

Eugene’s smile vanished.

His hand remained pressed against the glass, but his expression stiffened. Beside him, Rose shifted uneasily, unable to keep still.

Noah noticed immediately.

His stomach tightened.

Oh, no.

Something was wrong.

He looked between them, searching their faces for an answer.

"What’s going on?"

Neither of them spoke.

Noah’s heartbeat quickened.

"Why are you looking at each other like that? Where are they? Tell them I’m awake!"

His voice rose with every word.

"Seriously, what’s wrong with both of you?"

Rose glanced at Eugene.

Eugene looked away.

That was enough to send a wave of dread through Noah’s chest.

"Please," he said, his voice suddenly quieter. "Someone tell me what’s happening."

Rose exhaled slowly.

"Well, it doesn’t look like Eugene wants to be the one to break the news, so I suppose that responsibility falls on me."

She paused, looking at Noah with an expression that was far more serious than anything she had shown since his awakening.

"I don’t mean to ruin your little reunion, but the world you knew before you disappeared isn’t the world we have now."

Noah went completely still.

The words settled over him like a blanket of ice.

The world had changed?

What did that mean?

Had something happened to his mates? Had the empire fallen? Had the witches launched another attack?

And why did Eugene look as though he had been carrying a burden too heavy for him to bear?

Noah’s fingers curled against the glass.

"Is this my fault?"

The question escaped before he could stop it.

He hadn’t been here.

He hadn’t been able to protect them.

What if his disappearance had somehow caused everything to fall apart?

He swallowed hard, trying to push down the fear rising in his throat.

"Please. I need someone to tell me something. Anything."

He looked directly at Eugene.

"What’s today’s date? How long have I been gone?"

For a moment, Eugene seemed unable to answer.

Then he drew a shaky breath.

"When you disappeared, it was the middle of February."

Noah stared at him.

Eugene’s hazel eyes were filled with a sorrow Noah couldn’t understand.

"Now," Eugene continued quietly, "it’s the beginning of August."

Silence.

For several seconds, Noah couldn’t process the words.

February.

August.

He repeated the months in his head, desperately trying to make them fit together.

That was nearly six months.

Almost half a year.

His lips parted, but no sound came out.

How was that possible?

He hadn’t felt as though he had been gone for that long. His experiences in the human world had felt real, and the passage of time had seemed ordinary enough, but he had never imagined that so much time could have passed here.

Almost six months without him.

Almost six months of Eugene, Rose, and the others struggling without knowing whether he would ever return.

Noah’s legs suddenly felt weak.

He reached for the glass to steady himself, his mind racing through a thousand possibilities.

What had happened during those months?

Where was Lysander?

What had become of Damian?

What happened to Lamia after she disappeared in that blinding light?

And what had happened to everyone else?

Noah looked at Eugene again.

His mate’s longer hair, exhausted face, and hollow expression suddenly made sense in a way that hurt more than he could describe.

Eugene hadn’t looked like this overnight.

He had been suffering for months.

Because Noah had been gone.

A painful knot formed in Noah’s throat.

He wanted to ask a hundred questions, but the words refused to come.

He had returned to the world he desperately wanted to see again, only to discover that the world had continued moving without him.

And whatever awaited him beyond the glass, it was clear that nothing would ever be as simple as he had hoped.

Noah pressed his forehead against the transparent wall and closed his eyes.

Six months.

He had been gone for six months.

And judging by the expressions on Eugene and Rose’s faces, the worst part of his nightmare was only beginning.