Maria.
All the scattered pieces in my mind suddenly began to fall into place and the realization hit so quickly that it made my chest tighten.
Of course.
The only person who shared the sa room with was Galen.
No one else had access to my space like she did, no one else could have placed sothing there without raising suspicion or Sha add tried to keep it in her own space.
My thoughts raced back to a mont I had almost forgotten.
That day.
The mory flashed vividly in my mind now.
I had gone to get food for one of the quadruplets. My mind had been elsewhere at the ti, weighed down by everything I was going through, so I hadn’t paid much attention to what I saw.
But now...now it ca back clearly.
Galen.
And soone standing close to her, small object passing from one hand to another, sothing that looked exactly like the powder Davian was holding now.
At the ti, I had dismissed it, I had been too distracted by my own problems to think about it any further but now the connection was impossible to ignore.
My head snapped toward Noah. "Noah... it’s Galen!" I said imdiately.
The words ca out faster than I intended.
Noah blinked, clearly caught off guard by my sudden statent, he stared at with confusion written all over his face.
"Galen?" he repeated, puzzled.
"Galen stays in the sa room as ," I explained quickly, trying to organize my thoughts as I spoke. "And the other day I saw...."
"Saw what?" Davian interrupted impatiently, his sharp voice cut through my explanation.
But I ignored him completely.
Instead, I kept my eyes on Noah.
For so reason, explaining it to him felt easier.
"I saw soone handing this substance to her the other day," I continued, pointing slightly toward the powder Davian was still holding. "It’s been a really long ti, so I didn’t think much of it at the mont."
My voice slowed slightly as I rembered the details.
"I only saw it briefly. And I was distracted, so I dismissed it."
Noah’s expression hardened almost instantly as he processed what I had just said.
"Damn it," he muttered under his breath.
His jaw tightened as he turned his head toward Davian.
"Co on, Davian," Noah said sharply, his tone carrying urgency now. "Give the order. Galen should be brought here."
The hallway seed to grow tense again.
Davian studied carefully for a mont, as if trying to determine whether I was telling the truth.
Then his expression shifted.
Without another second of hesitation, he turned toward the warriors standing nearby.
"Search for Galen imdiately!" Davian ordered, his voice echoing firmly down the corridor.
The warriors straightened at once.
"Yes, Alpha!"
Boots quickly pounded against the floor as they rushed away to carry out the command.
The search had begun.
I held Noah’s hand tightly as we stood there in the hallway. My fingers curled around his almost unconsciously, clinging to the warmth of his grip while my mind drifted far away from the voices and tension surrounding us.
Everything that had just happened replayed over and over inside my head.
The accusation.
The powder.
Galen.
The thought that soone or Galen had planted that substance in my room still left a bitter taste in my mouth.
I barely noticed the quiet murmurs around us until Noah’s voice suddenly broke through my thoughts.
"If you would excuse ," he said firmly, addressing the others behind us, "Maria needs to rest."
His tone carried finality.
The kind that made it clear he wasn’t asking for permission.
He gently tightened his hold on my hand before guiding away from the hallway.
I followed him silently.
My mind was still foggy with everything that had just unfolded, and the warmth of his hand was the only thing grounding in that mont.
Neither of us spoke as we walked down the corridor, but the quiet between us wasn’t uncomfortable, it felt... protective.
When we finally reached his room, Noah pushed the door open and stepped inside, pulling in with him.
The mont the door closed behind us, he let out a frustrated breath.
"I can’t believe them," he muttered, his voice carrying clear irritation. "Were they actually thinking you would kill yourself?"
The disbelief in his tone was obvious.
I didn’t answer imdiately.
Instead, my eyes slowly moved around the room.
For a mont, I was slightly surprised.
Noah’s room was a ss.
Clothes were carelessly draped over a chair. Papers lay scattered across the table, and the bed sheets were slightly twisted like they had been left untouched for days.
It was the complete opposite of the Noah I knew, he was usually calm, organized and careful with everything he did.
Seeing his room like this made realize how well the guards had done a nice job searching.
I sighed quietly.
Without thinking much about it, I slipped my hand away from his and began picking things up. I folded a shirt lying on the chair and placed it neatly on the bed.
Then I gathered the scattered papers into a small pile on the table.
"Maria," Noah called softly.
I paused slightly but continued straightening the sheets.
"I promise you," he said, his voice steady now. "Regardless of whether this competition continues or not, once the culprit is found, I will take you away from here."
My hands stilled, slowly, I lifted my head to look at him. Noah was standing a few steps away, watching with a seriousness that made my chest tighten.
There was no hesitation in his eyes, no doubt, only determination.
I swallowed softly before nodding my head.
The simple gesture was all I could manage but inside, sothing in my chest lted at his words. I blinked quickly, trying to push away the tears that threatened to spill from my eyes.
Only Noah had ever treated like this.
Like I mattered.
Like my safety ant sothing.
And for a mont, standing there in his ssy room, I felt sothing I hadn’t felt in a long ti.
Safe.
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