(BL)Alpha Made-Chapter 563: You have to invite him in

Noah wasn’t as used to Andrew as he thought. This was proven by the fact that when Andrew showed up at his apartment in the middle of the day with baked goods that he actually let him in.

The fool.

May would have never done so, nor would have Rose. Jordan, maybe, but Richard? He would have avoided opening the door with every inch of his body. Andrew was actually certain that Kim and Jenny would have done the same, since they knew Andrew’s Mom so well. She had taught him this. She might not have baked the goods herself, but she knew the method.

Andrew was sure it was how she had managed to get so many people on her side when she was younger.

Then again, he hadn’t had to use these tactics in a while. His friends and family hadn’t been getting up to no good, it had been him that had been...up to no good. Noah had nothing to learn from.

The poor man had no idea, but he was sure that Noah would be telling everyone about this method from this point on. It would be their own foolishness and greed that would let him in. He knew that the cookies smelt good. They were toffee caramel cookies with sea salt and shaved chocolate.

They would lead anyone to sin.

"Andy. I wasn’t expecting you." Noah said, his eyes on the cookies in Andrew’s hands. Andrew smiled.

"We just got back and I have a few free days before I have to get back to studying since everyone else is wrapping up their exams. May I come in?" Andrew felt a bit like a vampire, but who could blame him? He was about to tear into this man in a way. Noah looked surprised that Andrew would even ask as he stepped back from the doorway, gesturing for Andrew to come in. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

"Of course. You’re always welcome, Andy." Noah even gave a little smile and Andrew grinned. He stepped into the apartment, taking off his shoes at the door and moving into the kitchen to drop off the plate. He scanned the room, noting it felt a lot more homey compared to the last time that he had been in here.

It felt brighter, not as heavy. Andrew noticed he’d added a few plants.

"Are those plants real?" Andrew asked. He hadn’t been to Noah’s apartment for a while. It was usually Noah who came over to their place because he could crash there if Maxwell decided that Noah was going to drink with him, which he often did. Maxwell really enjoyed Noah’s company, and liked teasing him a lot too. Like a little brother.

"They are. Elijah got them for me. He’s been teaching me how to take care of them too. Ford has also...been helping." Noah said, looking a little embarrassed. Andrew smiled. That was a good thing. Noah needed good male role models, and Andrew could think of no one better than Ford. After all, he had been Andrew’s, and continued to be Andrew’s.

"That’s wonderful. I’m glad that you’re spending time with everyone." Andrew told him and Noah seemed to relax. As if Andrew was going to scold him for hanging out with their family. He would never do that, and it was important for Noah to understand that. "Shall we have something warm while we eat some of these?" Andrew suggested and soon they found themselves sitting on the comfortable-looking couch, a smaller plate of cookies between them and two steaming mugs of hot chocolate.

It was all Noah had. He didn’t have caffeine in his house, and that was a personal choice. Andrew didn’t mind. The two men sat in comfortable silence for a long moment until Noah opened his mouth and asked Andrew about his honeymoon. Andrew didn’t hold back. He gushed about Maxwell, how pretty the location had been, and how they had explored the house and the property but were pretty preoccupied with each other for most of the honeymoon.

Noah grinned when he heard those words from Andrew. After all, everyone could guess what they had been up to on the honeymoon. It was pretty standard stuff.

They chatted like that for about 20 minutes, eating a cookie here and there, taking a sip of hot chocolate until Andrew finally got to the reason why he was here.

"A little birdie told me that you got up to something while I was on my honeymoon." Andrew said carefully with a smile and watched as Noah froze. His smile dropped, his eyes widened, and he paled. The mug that was raised half-way to his mouth froze, his body unable to complete the action.

His gaze darted to Andrew’s calm posture, his relaxed stance, and he gulped.

"Uh, well, w-what did you hear?" Noah asked, finally putting down his mug. His hand was shaking slightly and Andrew didn’t comment on it.

"I heard that you went in my place when Tracey made demands. Without consulting me and putting yourself in danger." Andrew told him, smile gone, his eyes hard, piercing. Noah gulped, his body tensing as Andrew gave him a hard look.

"Andy, I-y-you were on your honeymoon, and we were just discussing. We didn’t want to bother you a-and we already had to interrupt it because of the issue with Max’s work. I didn’t think it was a big deal because it was heavily supervised, everyone was there to support me and I wasn’t going to be in physical danger." Noah found his footing the more that he talked, the nervous stuttering fading as he spoke.

Andrew was sure that he believed the words that he was saying. He had convinced himself he had done the right thing, and Andrew wasn’t here to argue about the rightness of what he’d done. He was here to speak about the issue that he had with it.

"She’s my problem." Andrew started softly. "A problem that I entertained for a long, long time and then had blow up spectacularly in my face. Whether or not there were outside factors involved in that situation does not matter right now." Andrew raised a hand when Noah opened his mouth to protest, ready to defend Andrew even from himself. "Hush. I’m not blaming myself for her craziness. She’s the one who had hurt numerous people in a horrendous way, but Noah, you should have still told me you were going to do this. I could have offered help in ways to protect yourself from her. Her strength isn’t in physical attacks, but verbal ones." Andrew told him seriously. Noah looked down, his throat working as he gulped.

Andrew felt his eyes narrow.

"It seems that she did hurt you, didn’t she? She’s got a sharp tongue, and-"

"She wasn’t able to hurt me by attacking me." Noah said harshly, his tone tense. "She didn’t even know who I was. She was fucking racist on top of being a psychopath." He raised his free hand up, running a shaking hand over his short hair. He looked pissed, upset, and Andrew wasn’t surprised to learn it was because of what she said and who she was.

"I think I met her just as she was slipping further off the deep end." Andrew admitted and Noah shook his head, his jaw tight.

"She said to me that she met you at the ’perfect time’. Her words. She explained that she had gotten contacted by the Doctor about 6 months before you two started dating. She thought that everything was lining up perfectly for her, but that she was upset that she didn’t get her wish in the end." Noah looked ill, swallowing again like he was going to throw up. Andrew watched him quietly.

"What did she want to happen in the end?" Andrew asked carefully and Noah swallowed again.

"She wanted you to mark her and for her to have you on a leash, controlling you with her pheromones and make you into a breeding horse. She tried to touch me when she said that but the guards made sure that she wasn’t able to. She laughed, saying that she was upset that you didn’t finish what you started when you ran away." Andrew listened to Noah speak, the man clearly upset. He was shaking again, but Andrew didn’t think it was from fear or nerves anymore.

The release of his pheromones told Andrew as much. He was upset. Pissed off from what he heard.

"I’m not surprised she would say something like that. She’s a very selfish woman." Andrew said calmly. He’d worked through his feelings on Tracey with his therapist already, and had worked through what his relationship with her had done to him. Of course there were still moments of weakness. Still moments where the doubt would creep in against his and Maxwell’s will, but he now had some tools to deal with that.

Maxwell and Andrew had a little code word for whenever Andrew was feeling the walls close in. They would go and meet up in a closet or Maxwell’s office and Maxwell would either kiss him, touch him, or just hold him while Andrew realised that he was out of that horrible relationship. They’d had that rule for a while, but the codeword was introduced by the therapist so that Maxwell had a clear understanding of what Andrew needed in that moment.

"She’s not very pleasant to deal with." Andrew said sympathetically. "I’m also not surprised that she didn’t realise you weren’t me. She’s...well, she didn’t choose me because she liked me." Andrew said with a tight smile. "I’m sorry that you had to experience someone that awful, even if it was in my place. Honestly, Noah, I’m not upset that you did this. I’m upset you had to experience her in the slightest. I’m more worried about how you’re feeling because if it had been offered to me, I would have said no to her demands." Noah seemed surprised at Andrew’s words.

"You wouldn’t have done it for the victims?" Noah said and Andrew gave a smile.

"I am also one of the victims, Noah." Andrew reminded him gently. "And something I’ve been working through with my therapist is that it’s okay to be selfish sometimes. I’ve already relieved that nightmare too many times, and she doesn’t deserve any more of my time. I’m not upset that you did this behind my back. I’m upset that you had to deal with that monster in any capacity." Andrew reached out, placing his hand calmly on Noah’s knee, watching the other man, his brother, jerk. "She obviously left a big impression on you." Andrew said softly. "You’re upset."

Noah stared at Andrew, really stared at him before he let out a shaky breath. Andrew had a few seconds of warning before Noah reached out and wrapped him in a hug.

"I’m upset thinking that you had to deal with her at all." Noah admitted, his body shaking, his breath warm as he spoke into Andrew’s shoulder. "She’s fucking insane. I’m upset that she got to be a part of your life at all. She’s a fucking bitch." Noah admitted and Andrew gave a soft laugh. He hugged his brother tightly, holding onto him as Noah squeezed him just as tightly. "I was vibrating when I finished talking to her, but it was more of her rambling about what she didn’t get to do to you. I’m not regretful that I went. You should never hear that shit. I never want you to watch it. Promise me you won’t, especially if you never planned to speak to her." Noah pulled back to stare into Andrew’s eyes, holding onto Andrew’s shoulders tightly.

He was very serious. He meant every single word out of his mouth.

"You don’t have to worry about that. I’m past the point of wanting to hurt myself like that." Andrew told him and Noah exhaled, his eyes closing for a moment before he pulled Andrew back in for another hug.

"Good. I’m sorry Andy, but I would do it again. You said you were a victim, all of us are, and I...I wanted to see the face of the monster that helped make this worse." Noah admitted. Andrew couldn’t argue when he said it like that. So instead, he held his brother, comforting him in the way that he wanted while he considered how to make her life worse.