*Zara*
Everything was shattering before my eyes, and it was hard to stay strong upon realizing that Noah had forgotten our connection.
I knew I had to keep the faith, though.
I needed to help Noah rember. We had gone through so much together, and I wasn’t sure what was going on, but I knew he could rember sohow.
I paced in my room again, trying to figure out how to figure this whole situation out. As I did so, I heard so more voices coming from outside my room.
The guards were talking with one another, and after a bit of focusing, I was able to catch wind of what they were saying.
“I wonder what the elders will decide for the ‘severe punishnt’ on the matchmaker.”
“Well, Alpha Heir Noah won’t let anything happen to his child for now, so speculation will only get us so far.”
“Right. I wonder if it will be justified. So say what she did was an accident, but I’m not so sure.”
“The evidence is pretty suspect, though Alpha Heir Noah did seem to take a liking to her.”
“Right. Now, apparently has no recollection of how above and beyond he went for her.”
“They might have had a falling out that caused her to lash out at him.”
“If they find that to be the case, I really hope the punishnt will truly be severe.”
I swallowed, realizing that the elders Noah had once convinced to tolerate were now wholly convinced that I was a problem. My wolf balked at the idea of everyone thinking it was my fault.
Damn it.
I needed to clear my na but didn’t know the best way to go about it. I let out a sigh and took a seat, trying to get in the right headspace to grasp what was going on.
I decided that the first thing I should do was let my parents know about the problem. I looked at my phone and eventually convinced myself to call my mother.
Imdiately, she answered. “Zara! I was just about to call you!”
“Hi, Mom,” I said, the urgency in her tone surprising .
“Honey, we heard what’s going on. We’re working on a way to get you out and away from there as soon as possible. We’re so worried!”
Apparently, they knew quite a bit about the situation. The rumor mill must have spread further than I thought, which caused to feel extrely worried.
What she said next made matters worse.
“Please sit tight. You aren’t alone. Take care of yourself, and your child!”
“You know about my pregnancy?!” I asked in a hushed tone, though I knew I shouldn’t be all that surprised. Guilt pierced as I realized I should have told my parents before, though I hadn’t found the strength to do so.
“Yes, but before you worry about not letting us know, please don’t, Zara! We’re here for you, honey, okay?”
“Thanks, Mom. I appreciate that,” I said in a grateful tone. I sighed. “But I really want to work this out on my own.”
“That is not a good idea, honey.”
“It’s my fault, but it’s also a misunderstanding,” I said. “I didn’t an for things to happen like this.”
“I know, but sotis it’s best to swallow your pride and take care of yourself.”
“It isn’t a pride thing,” I assured my mom, though I wasn’t sure whether I was trying to convince her or myself. I never wanted to hurt Noah like this.
The Drogomor pack had a right to be angry, but I wanted to have a chance to explain myself and prove that I wasn’t the terrible person the rumors were making out to be.
“Well... we’ll keep talking about it, okay? Please get so rest. Promise that.”
“I will, I promise.”
“Thank you. I love you, Zara.”
“Love you too, Mom.”
With that, I hung up the phone and put a hand over my head. No sooner did a minute pass than my phone vibrated again, causing to let out a sigh.
This ti, it was a text from Niva. ‘I heard what happened. I’m getting clearance to co speak with you at Drogomor.’
I blinked in surprise, texting her back for so details. She inford that she was very worried about , having heard of the general disaster too.
Was there anyone unaware of my problems?
I didn’t want to drag her into this, but eventually I caved to the idea of her visit, knowing she wouldn’t take no for an answer.
She arrived within a few hours and was let into my room. At that point, I needed to rest in bed again, as the stress and sickness were once again becoming too much.
“Zara!” Niva said. “Oh, Zara, I am so sorry everything’s gone wrong! I feel terrible. This is such a nightmare for you, and for your first matchmaking assignnt, too.”
“It isn’t your fault, Niva. You tried your best to help,” I tried to assure her.
“Yes, but I should have warned against using the Luna Lily too much.”
“It was also my responsibility, and I fucked up,” I admitted, putting a hand over my head. “But I hope the Drogomor pack will co to understand none of this was intentional.”
“Even if they don’t, there are ways to help you through this, Zara,” she said softly, causing to raise a brow and frow.
“What do you an?”
“Well, the Alpha I ntioned from the Dark Realm has also heard of your plight.”
“Oh, great. Who hasn’t?”
Niva gave a nervous chuckle, then continued. “He wants to help you get away from Drogomor, and your parents have agreed.”
“I spoke with my mom just hours ago. I wonder if that’s the idea my mom and dad had to get out of this situation.”
“I believe it may be, yes,” she said. “This is a chance you should take. We can do this and save you from this situation. Please, Zara. The Alpha is a very reasonable person.”
“So are Alpha Issac and Luna Estella,” I replied firmly. “The Drogomor pack has been nothing but kind to , and everything has erupted because of the misunderstandings. I can’t bla them for being wary of .”
“But there’s clearly more to the story, Zara. You wouldn’t do any of this intentionally!”
“Of course not,” I emphasized. “It is a huge mistake and negligence on my part.” I then added in a broken tone, “Noah is my mate. I love him and I want him to be okay. There must be so way.”
“Is that really a good idea, Zara?”
“Well, I have until the baby cos to work this out,” I said.
Niva gave a frustrated sigh. “Zara, you need to wake up. The Alpha and Luna here will be reasonable only to a point. Please, do this to save your child, at least.”
I winced, staring down at my hands and trying to gather my bearings. I was being stubborn with this for a reason. I felt my wolf push to stand my ground on this as well.
“Look, Niva,” I said in a firm tone. “I know everyone is very concerned for . I would be too.” I sighed. “But... I want to hold onto hope that Noah would never hurt .”
“But he can’t even rember you! The rumors cascading around the pack make that much extrely clear.”
“I know. But we are true mates. I believe in love and destiny like I always have. This will work out. It has too.”
Niva shook her head, giving a tired expression. “I hope you’re right,” she said finally. “But regardless, you aren’t alone. We’re here for you, alright? Don’t forget it.”
“I don’t think any of you would let forget it,” I said in a light-hearted way, trying to lower the frustration in the room.
I smiled as Niva gave a light chuckle. She fawned over whether I was okay or not for another hour or so before bidding farewell, trying to emphasize that the job was open for .
I stood my ground, saying that I just couldn’t leave yet. It would be abandoning all my hope for making this right, and I wanted to be there for my mate.
I lapsed into a slumber for a few hours before a knock ca at the door. After blinking my eyes open and trying to focus, I muttered softly, “Co in.”
To my surprise, rida entered the room. Imdiately, I tensed, recalling what she’d said before the last ti I was attacked by rogues.
“Hello, rida,” I said, trying to remain cordial.
“Hello there, Zara,” she said in a very sweet tone. “I appreciate your concern for Noah. I know this all must be so heavy and stressful on you.”
“It is,” I said carefully, studying her closely. Was she playing so sort of ga, trying to pretend that what she said to never happened?
She clicked her tongue, then asked, “How’s the baby? You’re not stressing too much, are you? You’ll risk hurting the baby.”
“I’m keeping strong... well, doing my best to keep strong,” I told her. Finally, I asked, “Is... there a reason you’re visiting now?”
rida narrowed her eyes, and the sweet smile on her face faded into a scowl. I knew she couldn’t keep that up for too long. My instincts told she was faking it.
“I hope you’re doing your best, because that baby will be raised by Noah and ,” she growled.
I clenched my jaw at the thought, then shook my head. “No, rida. You have to learn to let go. I know you were with Noah before, but–”
“Oh, shut up, you jealous bitch!” she snapped.
“It isn’t jealousy,” I said calmly. “Noah told –”
“I don’t care what Noah said. You should have just stayed ho and left Noah alone.”
“rida, this all happened before–”
“No, shut up. You’re always getting in the way... always!”
I blinked in confusion, staring at rida. Always? She had just returned. How could she hold our connection against us? I watched as her scowl twisted into a smirk and widened on her face.
“You look confused. Maybe this will help clear things up, hm?” she asked in a nasty tone.
Suddenly, she reached for the charm around her neck and pulled it off over her head. She shimred, as if she was a screen going out of focus.
When I blinked, she was soone entirely different. I let out a gasp of surprise as reality dawned on .
rida had never co back. It had been Serena the entire ti.
Suddenly, I heard a loud crash. The window shattered, and I looked toward it as masked figures jumped through it. It took just a second to realize they were wearing the sa markings as the Dark Realm rogues.
“This ti you should stay gone!” Serena shouted.
“No... no! Leave alone! Help! Soone, please help! rida is actually—”
My screams were cut off as panic washed over . The rogues were too fast, and they had shoved a cloth over my mouth.
I tried to thrash and struggle, to no avail.
I could do nothing as everything faded to black.
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