Chapter 288

Hannah

I woke up early the next morning, fully intending to slip away to my appointment without Noah. I showered and dressed quickly, my hands shaking slightly as I grabbed my car keys. Creeping down the hallway, I listened for any sign of him, but the house was blissfully silent.

Good, I thought as I quietly made my way outside. He was still asleep, meaning I could leave without him. That would teach him to try to control my life. This appointment was for me and my baby, not for him.

And then, when it was all said and done, I would find a way to escape with my baby. To hell with staying married to him, stuck in this loveless marriage. I didn’t care if it caused a war between Nightcrest and Silvermoon; I was going home, where I belonged.

My heart pounded as I bolted down the path to my waiting car. Opening the car door as quietly as possible, I started the engine and began to pull out of the driveway. Every crunch of gravel under the tires left me tense, wondering if he could hear me from inside. Freedom was so close I could taste it.

But just as I was about to turn onto the main road, a large silver wolf leaped in front of my car, its lone growl echoing through the quiet morning air. Gasping, I slammed on the brakes, the car screeching to a halt mere inches from the tip of Noah’s snout. “Fuck!” I cursed, slamming my palms against the steering wheel so hard that it sent a wave of pain up my arms.

Noah shifted back to his human form, not bothering to hide the annoyance on his face as he strode to the driver’s side door. He yanked it open, his eyes blazing with anger. “Get out,” he growled. “Now.”

I glared at him but complied, knowing there was no point in arguing. “Pig,” I spat, forcefully unbuckling my seatbelt and climbing out of the car.

Noah merely stared as I stomped around to the passenger side. Only once I was buckled into my seat did he climb in and put the car in drive, as though I would try to make a break for it across the lawn. And honestly, for a moment, I almost did. But his legs were far longer than mine, and I knew he could easily outrun me.

The entire drive to the appointment was tense and silent. I folded my arms across my chest and stared out the window, refusing to look at him.

“You shouldn’t have tried to run like that,” Noah said, breaking the silence.

I scoffed. “What did you expect? That I’d just sit around and wait for you like a good little prisoner?”

Noah’s jaw clenched, his knuckles tightening around the steering wheel. “You’re not a prisoner, Hannah. You’re my wife, and you’re carrying our child.”

“And yet I’m trapped with you,” I muttered viciously. Noah opened his mouth, likely to bite out a retort, but then seemed to think better of it and snapped it shut again.

We lapsed back into a tense silence until we reached the doctor’s office, not even speaking to each other as we checked in and were shown to our examination room.

But as soon as the ultrasound technician moved the wand over my belly, I felt my anger fade, quickly replaced by the rapid pounding of my heart for other reasons.

“There’s your baby,” the technician said softly. “Looks to be about three months along, just as you thought.”

The moment the technician turned the screen toward us, I felt a surge of emotion I wasn’t prepared for. It was all I could do to clamp my hand over my mouth before a strangled cry of shock, awe, and glee ripped out of me. That tiny blob on the screen was my child—our child. Three months ago, before my rebirth, I had seen that fetus on the bathroom floor. Unmoving, a little red puddle of blood and tissue.

Chapter 289