*Noah*
Everything hurt as I let out a groan of agony upon waking up from a very long slumber. The beeping of dical equipnt sounded by my ear, causing to grumble with annoyance.
I wanted more rest, but the flurry of voices that hit my ears next was definitely preventing from getting it. When I opened my eyes, the first face I saw was none other than rida’s.
What?!
“rida?” I managed to say.
“Noah! Oh, thank the Goddess you’re alright!” she said with delight and relief in her tone.
She was sitting by my bed, and she leaned forward to place a hand on my arm.
“Urgh, what happened? You’re back?” I asked, trying to clear the fog that was in my mind. I felt a sense of sheer joy upon realizing my lost love had returned.
“But rida... how are you here?”
rida gave a soft smile.
“So much happened, darling, but I’m here for you. You almost died, but we can talk about that later. For now, do you need anything? You must be starving.”
She looked over at Calvin, who was checking my vitals and looking over.
“Noah can eat in an hour or so,” Calvin said. “Preparing so food for him is a good idea.”
“I almost died?” I asked, bewildered.
Calvin nodded.
“Yes,” he confird. “The toxins from the substances you took caused you to lapse into critical condition, but I was able to stabilize you. Thankfully, your system is finally clearing them up.”
“Substances I took?” I asked, shaking my head.
I could tell that a look of confusion crossed my face, and I looked at rida.
“You don’t rember who poisoned you?” she asked softly.
I shook my head, bewildered. I was poisoned? “The last thing I rember was being at a dinner... or sothing. Even that’s very foggy. What happened?”
“Hm.... I think your parents would be best to explain that,” rida said with a sympathetic smile.
“You can see them after your lunch,” Calvin said. “They want to talk with you as soon as possible. I will let them know you’ve woken up.”
I nodded, and with that, I took the chance to fill my stomach as hunger clawed at . A simple sandwich did the trick, and all the while, rida was there taking care of .
During that ti, she explained to her situation—how she’d survived the shipwreck but lost her mory. I was filled with a sense of relief and happiness that she made it back.
“How is the temperature in here? Do you need anything other than so food or water?” she asked in a concerned tone.
I smiled at her warmly and shook my head, struck by how caring she was, just like the woman I rembered before I thought the sea had taken her.
For so reason, my wolf balked at that idea, I didn’t know why, and I furrowed my brow. My emotions were so conflicting.
Matters only got more confusing when my parents stopped in. My father was clenching his jaw, his body language tense, and his glare unmatched by anyone else.
Estella just looked... tired and concerned when she looked at , resting her hand on my father’s shoulder as she tried to get a grasp on the situation.
“Son,” my father said. “You’ve been through a lot. We were worried sick for you. This has been a complete disaster the pack.”
“Seems like it,” I said in a sowhat short tone, annoyed with how little I rembered.
I had so many questions. Why was everything such a fog? What had happened to ?
I could tell he cared deeply and was trying, though, so decided to hear him out. “Can you tell what happened? I can’t rember... much of anything.”
“Well, the woman who nearly killed you currently carries your child,” he said flatly, causing my eyes to widen.
“Excuse ?”
Estella spoke up in a far gentler tone, though I could tell she was at her wits end.
“At the dinner, you stood up and announced that Zara’s child was yours,” he explained.
Shock rushed through as I tried to figure out how that could have happened. Could it be true? But who was this mysterious Zara, and why would her child be mine?
I had to take a mont to process the information, blinking several tis and trying to run what had happened through my head.
I looked at rida with worry.
“Don’t worry, Noah,” rida said calmly. “Zara is a problem, but we can take the child and raise it together, Noah. It is no problem. The child will have loving parents through us.”
That idea was tantalizing. rida, my love, was back, and we could raise a child together. I ignored my wolf, who was completely opposed to the idea.
I definitely wanted a loving mother for my child. But my gaze moved to my father. “The woman who nearly killed ?” I asked.
“Zara,” he snarled, “the matchmaker we took in and thought would help you. Her ddling nearly killed you. She and those lilies put you where you are right now.”
I reached up and rubbed my temples, trying to figure things out. “What day is it?”
“It’s been a week since the celebration dinner,” rida said.
“What?! I’ve been out for an entire week?”
“Caleb would know the most about that,” my father said. “I will have him co in here.”
He let out a sigh and went silent, likely calling him in with the mind link.
A minute later, Caleb entered the room, dipping his head respectfully. “Alpha Issac, Luna Estella, Alpha Heir Noah, how can I be of assistance?”
“Hello Caleb,” I said. “I was wondering what happened for the week that I can’t rember. Also, I need to know the whereabouts of Zara, the woman who nearly killed .”
Caleb frowned deeply. “A rogue attacked Zara, and you took her to your sumr ho to protect her.”
“I see, go on,” I said.
I tried to hide the shock in my tone. If I took Zara to that place, I must have decided she was soone very special to .
But I couldn’t figure out why most of my ti with her was completely lost.
If she was so special, then why couldn’t I rember a thing, especially everything that would make her so important to ?
Caleb continued, “At the ho, there seed to be a bond between you and Zara. But... it didn’t last. We were delighted at first, until everything went wrong.”
I nodded. “Father says she poisoned .”
“I’m not sure that’s what happened,” Caleb said with concern in his tone.
My father spoke up again. “She says it was an accident, but the pack suspects otherwise. We do not trust what she has to say about it. You were on the brink of death, Noah. It’s not sothing that can be overlooked.”
rida chid in now, sharing her perspective. “She may have used a fake potion on you to manipulate you. It may also be why your mories are so foggy.”
I furrowed my brow. That sounded twisted and wrong. But I didn’t know why.
I needed to get her perspective on this. “Bring Zara into the room.”
“What?!” my father growled, his eyes alight in fury. “She’s caused enough trouble. That is a terrible idea.”
“I want to get her perspective,” I demanded, keeping my stare locked on him. “There has to be more to this story.”
“We will stay here and make sure things do not go wrong again,” Estella said. “We can let him talk to her, love.” She leaned over and gave my father a gentle kiss on the cheek.
This cald him down and caused him to sigh. “Fine. We aren’t leaving.” He looked at Caleb. “Please, can you bring Zara into the room, Caleb?”
“Of course, Alpha Issac,” Caleb said, giving a serious nod.
With that, he left to go bring Zara into the room while I sat there, mulling things over in frustration.
Everything was so confusing. I had no idea what to think. But when Zara entered the room, and my eyes t her beautiful erald gaze, I felt my heart flutter.
A deep sense of attraction hit . What was this intense feeling? This woman made extrely curious, and I tilted my head, trying to figure out why.
The ‘why’ was a complete fog, and I for the life of couldn’t figure it out. It couldn’t be that important, I thought, so I pushed it aside.
Tears stread down Zara’s cheeks as she said, “Noah, I am so sorry for all that’s happened. I should have known taking such a high dose of the lilies was a horrible idea.”
So, she had given an overdose of sothing—the Luna Lily tea. But I didn’t understand why she had done that. I furrowed my brow, doubt seeping into my mind regarding her intentions.
Everything was a fog—the pack’s suspicions, including my father, landed on her. She confird she’d done sothing wrong. Was this apology even sincere?
She must have seen the doubt in my gaze because she shuddered and sniffled again, trying her best no doubt to keep strong. I felt a pang of sadness seeing her like this.
My wolf was furious, wanting to say sothing to comfort her, to put her worries at ease, but I didn’t listen to him.
There was too much going on right then for to just forgive soone I didn’t recognize.
I said in a firm tone, “I can’t rember this.”
I watched a peculiar sense of shock enter her expression, and she blinked several tis. She said in a hushed tone, “Y-you... don’t rember ?”
“No,” I said with a sigh. “However, you can remain here until the birth of your child.”
Tears began streaming down her cheeks, and she bowed her head, looking as though she were about to break down into sobs. She kept control of herself, though.
She just nodded, a defeated glint to her eye as she bowed her head. As I watched Caleb lead her out of the room, I felt extrely torn.
There was a deep sense of distrust settling within , especially as my father said, “An outsider causing this much chaos should be watched at all tis.”
I couldn’t argue with him there because he was right. I had nearly died by her own admission, after all. I blinked slowly, letting out a sigh.
rida placed a hand on my arm. “You are such a caring person, Noah, letting soone that dangerous stay here, after what she’s done. Just be careful. I’ll be by your side, alright?”
“Thank you, rida,” I said in a grateful tone.
She gave a very warm smile and leaned down to hug .
I returned it, smiling as she whispered into my ear, “You are very welco. I am here for you.”
She continued to remain by my side as my father, Estella, and Caleb left to go about their business, assuring that they would be checking in regularly.
Inevitably, my thoughts turned to Zara once more, and I couldn’t explain why I felt completely, inexplicably drawn to her while still remaining distrustful after everything.
The questions ca again. What was that huge piece of missing? Was the cause of it her?
The more I thought about it, the more I concluded that whatever had happened was an accident. I could feel my wolf surge in agreent with this idea.
A couple of the elders stopped into my room. “We understand you want the matchmaker to remain in the pack, but she needs to be severely punished for what she’s done,” one of them said.
I shook my head, saying what had been on my mind for a while now. “I believe whatever happened may have been an accident.”
One of the elders scoffed. “We do not know that for sure. We only know what she has done.”
I sighed softly and held a firm gaze. “For now, that’s what I am going to assu. She was genuinely apologetic for whatever happened.”
“That doesn’t an much.”
“I understand that,” I said. “But she is carrying my child. For the ti being, she is untouchable.”
That was that. The elders looked as if they wanted to protest, but they relented.
For now.
One thing was for damn sure—I needed to figure out what had happened and why my feelings for Zara were tearing to pieces inside.
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