Chapter 0350

Noah & Hannah

Noah’s POV

Noah’s eyes were fixed on the businessman across the conference table, but his mind drifted far away. So far, in fact, that the man’s droning voice sounded muffled, like it was underwater. He was discussing stocks and expenditures, but the words were garbled, meaningless, silly. Noah’s mind was on one person: Hannah.

The hurt in her eyes last night, the fear in her voice—it haunted him. She had lashed out, tossing and turning like an angry lioness all night. When he tried to touch her, she flinched. Even in sleep, she snarled at his attempts to draw her close.

But he couldn’t blame her. The procedure she faced was terrifying, and he should have been there with her, with his mate. His wolf stirred restlessly, pacing and growling as if Noah’s mind were a cage. “You’ve fallen in love with her after all,” his wolf snarled. “You really have, you lovestruck bastard…”

“Alpha Noah?”

The businessman’s voice jolted Noah back to the present. He blinked, one leg crossed over the other. “Hm?”

“The spreadsheets,” the businessman said, gesturing to the untouched folder. “If you’ll turn to page seven…”

“Right…”

Noah turned the page, but the figures looked like hieroglyphs. Still, he nodded and hummed along, pretending to listen. He didn’t need to do much more; the man in the oversized suit simply enjoyed the sound of his own voice.

“Fine,” he thought to his wolf, “you’re right.”

His wolf growled with pleasure. He couldn’t deny it any longer. Over the past few weeks, something had changed. The ice around his heart had melted, replaced by a warmth he hadn’t felt in years. Yes, he had fallen in love with Hannah. Head over heels, completely and utterly in love.

He loved the way she smiled in the mornings, sleepy and soft and lazy. He loved the sound of her genuine, unguarded laughter. He loved the feel of her skin against his. And she smelled so damn good. Every detail about her had become precious. Once, he’d only intended to woo her enough to ensure his heir remained in Nightcrest, but… he had been the one to fall.

And he was hurting her by not being there for her. Goddess, what the fuck was he doing in this stuffy conference room? Why wasn’t he with the woman he loved?

In that moment, Noah felt a tug in his chest, like a fishing line tied to his heart, pulling him from the room and toward Hannah. The sensation was almost physical, making him shift uncomfortably.

“She needs you, you bastard,” his wolf growled.

Yes, she did. Noah knew what he had to do.

Without a word, he stood abruptly, his chair scraping loudly against the floor. The sound echoed in the suddenly silent room, all eyes turning to him in surprise.

“I apologize,” Noah said, his voice firm. “But I have to leave. There’s somewhere I need to be.”

He turned and walked toward the door, ignoring the shocked gasps and murmurs.

“Alpha Noah!” the businessman called. “Where are you going?!”

But Noah didn’t stop, didn’t look back. To hell with business meetings. Hannah needed him.

Hannah’s POV

The nurse explained the procedure, just as the doctor had two weeks ago. “We’ll use this long needle…”

My eyes fell on the instruments on a nearby tray. The long, thin needle glinted under the harsh fluorescent lights, just as menacing as I’d expected. Fuck, I couldn’t breathe.

“And then we’ll send the fluid in for testing…”

As the nurse spoke, another gently pushed my shoulders back onto the exam table. My vision filled with the blinding glow of the lights. There was a brown water stain on the ceiling, and it looked like… like blood.

A hand touched my thigh. “A little wider, Luna Hannah…”