Maria.
I had been smiling sheepishly all day after Noah tried explaining himself.
Every ti I rembered the awkward way he had scratched his head, trying to defend himself, my lips would betray again. It was embarrassing how easily the mory ward my chest.
I still didn’t fully understand how I felt.
Everything seed confusing, too fast, too intense but there was one thing I was completely certain of—I wanted to stay close to him, every second, every minute that goes by.
The thought alone made my heart flutter nervously.
Even now, while I tried to focus on my usual duties around the pack house, my mind kept drifting back to him—his voice, the way he had held my hand, the protective look in his eyes.
"Focus....Maria....Focus!" I shook my head slightly, trying to concentrate on the work in front of .
But then sothing else crept into my thoughts, a heavy wave of guilt settled in my chest.
Adrien.
While I had been lost in my own emotions, Adrien was still lying sowhere in this pack house... fighting for his life.
The mory of his injured body flashed through my mind, making my stomach twist painfully.
Before I could stop myself, a familiar voice echoed inside my head.
"Shouldn’t you go and check on our supposed mate?"
Vernia.
My wolf’s voice carried a mix of irritation and concern as she suddenly surfaced in my mind.
I sighed quietly.
"We haven’t confird they are our mates yet, Vernia," I replied ntally, my thoughts forming slowly. "What if they have been deceiving us?"
There have been too many strange things happening lately, too many secrets, too many unanswered questions.
Vernia was quiet for a mont, as if considering my words, then she spoke again, her tone slightly uncertain.
"Not so sure about them... but I do feel a little connection with their wolves."
My brows knitted together slightly.
"But..." she continued slowly, "...I can’t feel Adrien’s anymore."
My heart skipped a beat.
"What does that an?" I asked instantly, panic creeping into my voice.
The silence that followed felt suffocating, then Vernia answered quietly.
"It’s either he is in grave danger..."
My chest tightened painfully.
"...or he is about to die."
"Shit!" I muttered under my breath.
The word slipped out before I could stop it.
A sudden rush of panic flooded my entire body and without thinking twice, I abandoned everything I had been doing. The cloth in my hand fell to the floor as I spun around and hurried out of the room.
My footsteps echoed through the hallway as I rushed toward Adrien’s room, my heart pounded harder with every step and the corridors felt longer than usual, the silence around unsettling.
Finally, I reached the door.
But the mont I looked around, sothing felt... wrong.
No guards.
My brows furrowed in confusion.
Shouldn’t soone be watching over him?
Considering his condition and everything that had happened, there should have been warriors stationed here.
Yet the hallway was completely empty.
A strange chill crept down my spine.
Slowly, I reached for the door handle, my fingers hesitated for only a second before I pushed it open.
The door creaked softly.
The sight that greeted instantly froze in place.
Adrien was chained to the bed, thick iron restraints bound his wrists and ankles to the fra.
His usually neat hair was now completely disheveled, strands falling wildly across his face as if he had been struggling for a long ti.
His chest rose and fell heavily.
And his eyes...his purple eyes looked strained... almost feral.
"Adrien..." I called softly.
My voice was barely more than a whisper.
But the reaction was imdiate.
A deep, furious growl ripped from his throat. The sound sent a jolt of fear through my body.
He jerked violently against the chains, the tal rattling loudly as he tried to lunge forward.
For a brief second, it looked as though he was attacking sothing invisible.
Fighting the air itself.
Startled, I instinctively stepped back.
My heart raced as I stared at him.
What was happening?
Why was he acting like this?
Adrien struggled again, his muscles straining against the restraints, his eyes wild and unfocused. It was as if he wasn’t even aware I was standing there.
"What’s wrong with him?" I whispered under my breath, my voice trembling.
My chest tightened painfully as I watched him.
How could he have ended up like this?
For a mont I simply stood where I was, my heart pounding painfully in my chest as Adrien continued to struggle against the chains. The sound of the tal restraints clanking echoed through the room, each movent of his body looking more desperate than the last.
Fear tightened around my lungs.
But beneath the fear was sothing stronger, concern and guilt. Slowly, I drew in a shaky breath and forced myself to move.
Step by step, I walked closer to him.
Every movent felt cautious, almost fragile, as though one wrong step might make everything worse. Adrien’s growls had been wild only seconds ago, but as I moved nearer, sothing shifted.
His movents began to slow.
Then our eyes locked.
The change was imdiate.
The violent tension in his body seed to loosen, just slightly. The rage swirling in those purple eyes softened, as though sothing inside him had suddenly recognized .
My heart clenched at the sight.
"Adrien," I called again, my voice trembling this ti. "What’s going on with you?"
I took another careful step closer to the bed.
"Why are you like this?" I asked softly, my brows knitting together with worry.
But he didn’t answer, not even a single word left his lips.
He only stared at .
Those strained purple eyes followed my every movent, watching with an intensity that made my breath hitch.
It was as if he were trying to hold onto sothing.
Or soone.
Slowly, I lifted my hand.
For a brief mont I hesitated, unsure if touching him would make things worse. But the way he looked at , lost, unstable, yet sohow calr, gave just enough courage.
Gently, I reached forward and grabbed his chin, the reaction was instant.
Adrien leaned into my touch.
It happened so suddenly that my breath caught in my throat.
His head rested against my hand as if he had been waiting for that contact. His eyes fluttered slightly, and he inhaled deeply, sniffing the air around .
Once.
Then again.
Like my scent was the only thing grounding him.
Like it was the only thing keeping him sane.
The sight shattered sothing inside my chest as tears welled up in my eyes before I could stop them.
A sharp wave of guilt surged through , rising from sowhere deep inside my heart.
This... this should have been .
I should have been the one lying here.
I should have been the one chained to this bed, fighting for control.
But Adrien had taken the fall for .
The realization made my chest ache painfully. My fingers tightened slightly against his chin as I looked at him, my heart heavy with emotions I couldn’t even begin to explain.
A deep sense of responsibility settled inside and without even realizing it, I made a silent promise to myself.
I would take care of him.
No matter what.
Until he recovered.
Until he was himself again.
"His wolf..." Vernia suddenly spoke inside my mind.
Her voice carried a strange tone, as if she had just noticed sothing important.
But she didn’t finish her sentence.
Because at that exact mont...the door creaked open.
The sound was soft.
Almost... sneaky.
My head snapped toward the entrance imdiately.
The door slowly pushed open, revealing a figure stepping quietly into the room.
My brows furrowed in confusion as I stared at him.
What was he doing here?
And more importantly...Why was he entering Adrien’s room like this?
Sothing about the way he moved felt wrong.
Suspicious.
A cold uneasiness crept up my spine as the thought ford in my mind.
Could he...?
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