Maria.
The mont we stepped out of the room, I pulled my hand free from Noah’s.
The movent was quick, almost instinctive, like I couldn’t bear the contact for even a second longer. His fingers loosened around mine as I slipped away, the warmth of his grip fading instantly.
"I need air," I muttered.
My voice ca out lower than I expected, strained, barely steady. I didn’t wait for his response, didn’t even look back, as I moved ahead of him, my steps quicker than usual, almost restless.
My thoughts were too loud.
Too tangled.
Everything that had just happened replayed over and over again in my mind, refusing to slow down, refusing to make sense. And staying close to him, after Damien’s words, after that confrontation, only made it worse, suffocating further.
The hallway stretched endlessly before . The sound of my footsteps echoed faintly against the walls, each one blending into the chaos in my head. I kept walking, not stopping, not slowing, until I reached a quieter corner, tucked away from everything, far enough to breathe, or at least try to.
"Maria..."
I turned sharply before he could say anything else.
The suddenness of my movent surprised even , but I didn’t care. My chest was rising and falling too fast, each breath shallow, uneven, as I tried to steady myself.
"Just tell the truth," Noah said.
His voice was tighter than he probably intended, the strain in it barely concealed. It wasn’t anger, not entirely, but there was sothing beneath it. Sothing heavier.
My chest tightened.
Did he believe Damien... and not ?
The thought hit harder than it should have, stirring sothing uneasy inside .
What truth is he even looking for?
"Are they really my mates?" he asked.
The question hung heavily between us.
Unavoidable.
I froze.
Completely.
For a second, sothing flickered across his face, sothing I couldn’t quite grasp. It was there and gone so quickly I almost thought I imagined it. Doubt? Fear? Sothing deeper?
I swallowed, the motion slow, deliberate, as my mind scrambled for sothing, anything, that made sense.
"No... I an... I don’t know..." The words stumbled out of , uncertain, unsteady. "Because I don’t feel anything," I continued, my voice softer now, but no less troubled. "There’s nothing, Noah."
I shook my head slightly, as if trying to convince myself as much as him.
"No bond, no pull... nothing that tells Damien is telling the truth."
My brows furrowed as frustration crept in, tightening my expression. It wasn’t just confusion anymore, it was sothing sharper, more unsettling.
"I don’t even know what’s real anymore," I admitted, my voice dropping further, almost fragile now. "I don’t know if he’s lying... or my wolf is just..."
I trailed off.
Because I didn’t even know how to finish that sentence.
"I just..." I exhaled shakily, the breath leaving slower than I intended, like it carried all the weight I couldn’t put into words. "I just want to leave the pack."
The confession felt raw as it left my lips, but it was the only thing that didn’t feel uncertain.
The only thing I was sure of.
For a mont, Noah didn’t respond.
The silence stretched between us, quiet but heavy, as if he was weighing sothing carefully in his mind. His gaze stayed on , unreadable, giving nothing away.
Then slowly...I saw it.
Relief.
It slipped into his expression so subtly that anyone else might have missed it, but I didn’t. It was there, faint but undeniable, softening the tension that had been holding his features tight just seconds ago.
His shoulders eased slightly, the rigid line of them loosening as if so invisible pressure had just been lifted. Then he let out a quiet breath, almost inaudible, but it carried the unmistakable sound of release.
Like he had been holding it in.
Like he had been bracing himself for sothing... and was suddenly spared from it.
His gaze shifted away from briefly, breaking eye contact as though he needed that second to collect himself, to compose whatever reaction had almost surfaced.
"Good," he muttered under his breath.
The word was soft.
Almost to himself.
But I heard it.
My brows pulled together instantly, confusion replacing the lingering tension in my chest.
"What?" I asked, my voice edged with disbelief. "Why good?"
That wasn’t what I had expected.
Not even close.
He shook his head quickly, as if realizing he had said too much, turning back to with a small, controlled smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.
"Nothing," he said.
Too quickly.
Too easily.
Before I could question it further, before I could press him for an explanation that actually made sense, he turned slightly, his body angling away as if he intended to walk off and end the conversation right there.
And then...Thud.
The sound was abrupt, cutting cleanly through the mont as he bumped straight into soone.
I blinked.
Daniel.
"Oh...Maria," Daniel said almost imdiately.
He didn’t even spare Noah a glance, despite being the one who had just collided with him. Instead, his attention settled entirely on , his voice smooth, calm, so composed it almost felt unnatural, as if nothing in the world could ever shake him.
"You didn’t co back."
My heart skipped.
"I... I got caught up with sothing," I replied quickly.
The words ca out in a rush, and I forced my voice to stay steady, to not betray the sudden shift in my emotions.
Daniel’s gaze lingered on for a second longer than necessary.
Studying.
Observing.
As though he was trying to read sothing beneath the surface.
Then his hand reached out.
And wrapped gently around mine.
The contact sent a strange chill through , sharp and unexpected, spreading from where his fingers touched my skin.
"Co," he said softly.
His tone was gentle, almost coaxing, like it was the most natural thing in the world.
"I was waiting for you."
Before I could react...Noah’s voice sprang out.
"Excuse ."
The shift was imdiate, the edge in his tone slicing through whatever mont had just ford.
I turned.
His expression had changed again.
Completely.
The calm from earlier was gone, replaced with sothing colder, sothing far more guarded. His gaze locked onto Daniel, hard and unyielding, a quiet tension settling into his stance.
"She’s with ," Noah said, stepping forward.
The movent was subtle, but deliberate, placing himself closer, more firmly between us.
"And we’re in the middle of sothing important."
The tension between them snapped into place instantly.
It was like the air itself had stiffened, charged with a current that neither of them had fully acknowledged until that mont. Everything in the space between them seed to tighten, the distance, the silence, even the weight of unspoken words pressing down like a physical force.
Daniel didn’t look fazed.
Not even slightly.
If anything, there was a casual ease to him, a kind of deliberate calm that sohow only made the tension feel heavier.
In fact—he smiled.
Not a nervous smile. Not a forced one. But a slow, easy curve of his lips, confident and unbothered, as if he knew exactly what he was doing and expected nothing else.
"Relax," he said lightly.
His tone was deceptively calm, almost teasing in a way that made the sharp edge of the situation worse. "I’m just checking up on her."
His gaze flickered toward briefly, lingering just long enough to make my heart skip. "And it doesn’t look like she’s complaining."
I froze.
Because I hadn’t even realized.
I hadn’t pulled my hand away yet.
And now the casual way he said it made it feel exposed, like a quiet truth I hadn’t been ready to acknowledge aloud. My pulse spiked, and for a brief mont, I couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe, just felt the weight of both their gazes on .
Before I could say anything...Noah moved.
The motion was quick, fluid, and undeniably deliberate. His hand closed around my wrist. Firm. Unyielding. Not hurting, but impossible to ignore. And in one swift, decisive motion, he pulled away from Daniel, removing every fraction of space that had existed between us.
"That won’t be necessary," he said flatly.
No plea. No question. Just the quiet authority in his voice that brooked no argunt.
For a split second, sothing unreadable passed through Daniel’s eyes. A flash, too brief to na, surprise? Amusent? A flicker of intrigue? I couldn’t tell.
But then...he stepped back.
"Alright," he said calmly, with the sa smoothness he’d had monts ago. "If you say so."
The ease in his tone only made it more unsettling. Too calm. Too composed. Like he hadn’t lost control at all, like this was exactly the outco he had expected.
Noah didn’t respond.
Not a word. Not a glance.
He just turned and started walking, pulling along with him, every step purposeful, deliberate.
We walked in silence.
But my eyes didn’t leave him.
On the tight set of his jaw.
On the way his grip didn’t loosen, not even an inch.
On how he didn’t look back, not once, not even briefly, as though nothing behind us mattered, as though he had claid this space, this mont, entirely.
A strange feeling crept into my chest.
Uneasy.
Confusion.
What exactly was going on with him?
I swallowed hard, my brows pulling together slightly as I stared at the side of his face, trying to read sothing, anything, in the rigid line of his features.
Why didn’t he want anyone near ?
Daniel might be suspicious, yes. But at least... he didn’t move to claim . He didn’t pull into his orbit.
Noah did.
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