Noah.
The last words I heard before everything went dark, before I lost whatever control I had left, echoed loudly in my head.
You will be the one doing so.
They repeated over and over again like a curse. Like sothing carved into my mind that refused to fade no matter how hard I tried to shake it off.
Then ca pain. My head throbbed violently as my eyes flung open, my breath coming out in a sharp gasp. For a mont, everything spun, my vision blurring as the ache surged through , stronger than anything I had felt before.
I groaned softly, trying to steady myself, trying to make sense of where I was.
And then I saw it, the sa place, that damn old building. Nothing had changed.
Except...This ti, I wasn’t tied.
What...?
What else happened?
My breathing grew uneven as I forced myself to think, to rember, but everything felt scattered, broken into fragnts that refused to co together.
Only the image of the masked man injecting sothing into my body.
My heart skipped hard.
Maria.
The na alone sent a wave of panic crashing through .
Did I...?
Did I hurt her?
The thought ca suddenly, violently, making my chest tighten as dread settled in.
"No..." I muttered under my breath, shaking my head instinctively, as if denying it would sohow make it untrue.
But then, her scent, It hit all at once, with a strong force. My body went still and that was when I noticed it.
The tallic taste lingering in my mouth, blood.
My breath caught.
Slowly, my tongue brushed against the corner of my lips, and there it was but it wasn’t mine.
I knew that instantly.
My eyes widened, panic rising rapidly as realization dawned on .
It was...Maria’s.
"No..." My voice ca out barely audible, disbelief and horror crashing into each other inside . "No... no, no..."
Did I...?
Did I eat her?
The thought alone made my stomach churn violently.
Oh God.
Without thinking, I pushed myself up with everything I had, adrenaline surging through , ignoring the pain, ignoring everything except the need to get out.
To find her.
I stood up barely registering how and rushed out of the building, my steps unsteady but fast, driven by pure panic.
And then I saw them.
Adrien and Daniel, standing close to each other, but as Daniel turned, he was holding Maria in his arms possessively.
The sight made sothing inside snap instantly. A sharp, uncontrollable surge of emotion rose within , anger, confusion, sothing darker, but I forced it down. I couldn’t lose control again.
Not when I didn’t even know what I had happened, and if I was the cause of her being unconscious.
I stepped forward, my gaze fixed on them as my heart pounded heavily in my chest.
"What’s going on here?" I demanded, my voice rough but firm as I positioned myself in front of Daniel, who looked like he had been about to leave.
He turned to quickly, relief flashing across his face almost imdiately.
"Noah, thank goodness you’re here," he said, his tone urgent, almost convincing. "Adrien is trying to hurt Maria."
My brows pulled together.
"You have to stop him," he continued, adjusting his hold on her slightly. "Let take Maria sowhere safe first."
He looked... sincere. I frowned slightly, uncertainty creeping in as I processed his words.
And then, Adrien scoffed.
The sound cut through the tension sharply.
"Noah," he said, his voice calm but edged with sothing else. "I’ll take you for a fool if you actually believe him."
My gaze shifted to him, now I was stuck and confused, torn between two sides.
From the way Daniel looked, from the urgency in his voice, the way he held Maria, it seed like he was telling the truth.
But then again...I knew Adrien.
I knew the quadruplets.
They weren’t saints.
Far from it.
But they weren’t mindless killers either.
They didn’t just hurt people without reason and more importantly, they had saved .
The mory ca rushing back, clear and undeniable. The war. The chaos. The mont everything should have ended for , for my family.
I would have died that day.
Alongside my brothers.
My parents.
But they didn’t let that happen.
They saved .
And later, I found out the truth, that it was the Lycan prince who had staged everything.
That war...It wasn’t what I thought it was.
A slow breath left as I stood there, caught between past and present.
I owed them.
That much was certain.
I had even promised, to grant one of their wishes soday but this...this wasn’t sothing I could give, not when it involved Maria.
My jaw tightened.
I wasn’t letting her go.
Not for anything.
Not for anyone.
"I know how obsessed you are with Maria, Adrien," I said finally, my voice steady as I made my decision. "Definitely, you wouldn’t harm her."
My words hung between us as I turned my attention back to Daniel, my gaze sharpening slightly.
"Daniel..." I added, my tone calr now but filled with quiet suspicion. "If I may ask..." I paused briefly. "Why are you in the forbidden area?"
Daniel’s face paled instantly.
It was subtle, so quick that anyone else might have missed it, but I saw it. The way the color drained from his expression for just a fraction of a second before he forced it back, smoothing it over with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.
"I heard what happened earlier here with Patricia, Noah," he said, his tone light, almost too controlled. "And I was concerned."
He shifted slightly, adjusting Maria in his arms as he spoke, as if that alone could make his story more believable.
"So I watched Maria’s every step," he continued, his smile holding steady. "I wouldn’t want her to be injured or hurt."
I didn’t respond imdiately, Instead, I took a slow, deep breath, my gaze fixed on him as I let his words settle.
On the surface, it sounded reasonable and even convincing but sothing was off. Sothing didn’t sit right and then I saw it, the slight tremor in his hand.
The barely noticeable tension in his shoulders. The way his eyes flickered, not with concern, but with sothing closer to unease.
That was all I needed.
He was lying.
If he truly had been watching over her like he claid, if his intentions were as pure as he wanted to believe, then why was he shaking?
Why did he look like he was waiting for sothing to go wrong?
My jaw tightened slightly.
"Alright, Daniel," I said finally, my voice calm, controlled, as I took a step closer to him. "Hand over Maria to ."
His body stiffened.
"I’ll keep her safe," I added, my tone steady, leaving no room for argunt. "The thing is... I can’t currently fight Adrien."
I let out a quiet breath, as if weighing my own words.
"He’s stronger than ," I admitted, my gaze not leaving his. "And I’m injured."
Another step closer.
"So fight him instead," I continued, my voice lowering slightly, more deliberate now. "Stall for ti... and I’ll take Maria sowhere safe."
For a brief mont, silence stretched between us.
"No!" the word ca out sharp and imdiate.
Daniel’s grip on Maria tightened slightly, his reaction too fast, too defensive and just like that...everything beca clear.
My suspicion hardened into certainty, he wasn’t protecting her, he was the danger.
My eyes darkened slightly as I stared at him, the last trace of doubt disappearing completely. He was the one who wanted to harm Maria and I wasn’t going to allow that.
"Too late, Daniel," I said, my voice dropping, colder now, edged with sothing far more dangerous. "You have no choice but to hand her over."
The air around shifted.
I could feel it.
Deep within , my wolf stirred, restless, agitated, pushing against the surface, fighting to take control.
And this ti...I wasn’t sure I could hold it back.
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