*Noah*
The anger that washed over was unbearable as I paced around my study. Nothing was adding up, and the mind fog I was experiencing irritated even more.
rida wasn’t who I rembered she was, and my mind latched on to the fact that I knew she was lying.
She could jump around the issue all she wanted and claim she was under stress, but I saw that glint to her eye, and the way she fidgeted. She kept avoiding the issue, saying she needed care and asking why I was so focused on Zara’s circumstances.
For one thing, Zara was having my child. For another, I felt this unexplainable deep connection to her that made these mory issues all the more frustrating.
I started going over my interactions with rida in my head. Her smile was off sowhat, and I had dismissed that as her having changed following her horrible experience.
The way she spoke was also sowhat different from what I rembered. She was very sweet, but the rida I knew could tease back and play around.
She never really focused on the whole wedding aspect of things. She just enjoyed our relationship. We planned for the future, yes, but we took things at a reasonable pace.
My mind turned to a recent conversation that had never settled right with .
“I hope we work things out soon,” she had said. “I am so excited to plan a wedding.”
“I understand. For now, I’m content with spending ti together, rida. A lot has happened,” I’d said.
“But we can raise your child together, rember? Won’t that be better as a family?”
“Of course. I am still working through my feelings and everything that’s happened.”
“I still feel deeply in love with you, Noah,” she said in a heartbroken voice, though it had been edged with... sothing else.
It almost felt as though she was putting on an act, that she didn’t an it.
I couldn’t explain it at the ti. My heart had clenched, and I had reassured her that I might feel the sa way soon.
But my feelings for her just weren’t deepening, or even remotely close to what they had been so long ago. Could we make a life together, especially after she lied to ?
Then, there was Zara. The pack claid she’d poisoned , as did rida, but Zara deeply apologized and insisted it was an accident.
She hadn’t been lying.
My wolf felt the sa, pushing for to accept her words rather than what everyone else claid. Caleb said we’d had a bond that faded, but had it ever faded?
I still felt sothing I just couldn’t explain. My heart lurched at the fact that she had been captured and dragged off to sowhere unknown.
She was carrying my child, and more than that, I wouldn’t be so careless as to make love with soone if I didn’t feel a connection with them in a way that I would want a child with them.
She’d also been taken to my pack’s old sumr ho, one near and dear to my heart because of my mories with my mother.
I scowled at the idea of rida ever going there... at least, the rida that I was beginning to get to know again now, the very rida that insisted Zara, pregnant with my heir, would simply vanish without warning for no reason at all despite coming across as completely genuine.
I had a feeling deep down that rida was at least complicit in what had happened to Zara. She didn’t bother to fight back for whatever reason... or worse, she was more deeply involved.
I didn’t want to throw claims around, but I couldn’t figure out why she would imdiately lie to .
My pacing intensified as I ran through all of that in my head. I couldn’t just let things sit where they were. I needed to investigate what was going on.
I knew that wasting ti like this wouldn’t get the answers I needed, so after gathering my bearings, I left my study and headed down the hall to rida’s room.
I knocked on her door and a soft, warm voice answered, “Co in!”
My stomach clenched upon hearing her voice for so reason; all my senses definitely told sothing was wrong.
I entered the room and fixed my eyes on rida, who was flipping through a catalog while lounging in her bed. She looked up at with a light smile, though that faded when she spotted my expression.
“What’s wrong, Noah?” she asked with concern.
“We need to talk about what happened.”
“I thought we already did.” She furrowed her brow as I shook my head.
“No. There are too many inconsistencies every ti you tell the story. First, you were knocked out before Zara scread. Then, oh no, you misrembered. You heard her scream but thought she was faking it.”
“Yes, the stress has been doing a lot of bad things to . That experience was so terrifying.”
I narrowed my eyes at her response, feeling a layer of fakeness radiate from her words. All my instincts told that she was putting on an act.
“Noah,” she said softly, giving a doe-like stare. “I didn’t do anything wrong. You have to believe . I’ve been through so much.”
“I know you have, and I’m trying to be understanding. But I just want you to be honest with .”
“I am, Noah, really,” she insisted. “The stress must be getting to you, too. It must be so hard to not rember stuff, but the pack and I will help you fill in the gaps.”
“That isn’t what has hung up, rida. It’s the fact that you lied.”
“I didn’t lie,” she said softly, shaking her head. “None of it was intentional.” She furrowed her brow, her eyes filling with tears.
Were they crocodile tears? I had a sinking feeling that they were, and my gaze hardened. “I feel like there’s more to this story that you aren’t telling .”
“I was just trying to flee Zara’s attackers. Please, I was very dazed and confused. It was so much at once.”
She reached up to wipe away so tears, then stared at . “It bothers that you’re still so focused on this. What about your duties as Alpha Heir?”
“I’ve been taking care of them just fine. None of my efforts or work has slipped, even though this incident has been greatly concerning .”
“Focusing on it so much is a really bad thing,” she said. “Please, Noah. Stop chasing ghosts from the past. We really need to cent our future.”
“What do you an, ghosts from the past? She’s still out there and she needs help.”
“Sotis, there’s just nothing you can do. We don’t know how to find her, and your pack needs you now. I need you now.”
I let out a sigh, putting my hand over my forehead from frustration. rida got up and approached , clearly coming in for a hug, but I shook my head.
“Just... let think about this so more.”
“Okay. I understand, Noah. Just try not to be too hung up on things that should be left behind while our eyes fix on the future.”
I left her room and had started to head back to my study when my parents called for to et in their office. I let out a soft groan, then changed course, I entered and took a seat.
“Noah,” my father said, “there have been concerns about where your mind is stuck lately, son.”
I shook my head. “Things from the past are very relevant. Just look at rida’s return.”
“You do not seem as close to her anymore, strangely,” he said. “Are you fixated on Zara still? Any bond you had with her rightfully fizzled out.”
“It’s not about the bond. She was captured on our grounds.”
“Which is no longer our concern,” my father said flatly. “She probably called for help, and that was their way of helping her.”
“That is ridiculous. I know what I saw.”
“You need to let that woman go, Noah,” my father said, “for the good of the Drogomor pack.”
Annoyance settled within as once again, he wasn’t listening. I glanced toward Estella, who was no help—she just nodded in agreent with my father.
I should have known.
An ominous feeling settled within my gut that Zara definitely didn’t leave by choice. None of my strong feelings for her had faded.
I couldn’t just let this go.
“Fine,” I growled. “I will focus on the pack. Speaking of which, I have a lot on my agenda. Good talk.”
It hadn’t been a good talk at all, but I was eager to get away from them. Thankfully, they were just as busy.
I made my way through the mansion and back to my room, looking over my shoulder to make sure rida wasn’t following to bother again.
When I sat down at my desk, I began researching, determined to get to the bottom of things. The feelings I had for Zara were too prominent to ignore, and my unborn child was involved.
With what I had seen, I knew she had to be sowhere out there, most likely in grave danger. I scowled as I typed into the search engines, looking up what I rembered about the car first.
A few hours later, I was a bit closer to figuring out where the hell they’d gone. Thankfully, with the help of so Drogomor guards on my side, I received reports of sothing extrely important—an unmarked ship that was leaving for the Dark Realm the night Zara was taken. After a bit more research, I discovered the na was ‘Silver Fang.’
I wondered if the rogues had taken her onto that ship. I hoped I had a good lead. It was a longshot, but I sent out an email to soone who could help with this case.
A few minutes later, I received a call.
“Hello, Noah,” said Ria, Zara’s mother, in a choked tone. “Listen, I am not sure why–”
“I am legitimately concerned for Zara,” I said in a gentle but serious tone. “I know Drogomor has put her through hell, but I want to help find her.”
“Alright... will your pack be holding her there again?”
“I don’t know what’s going to happen, but she will be treated with care should I find her. I know there is far more to this story than I’m being told.”
There was a pause on the other line, then her shaky voice replied, “Okay. I believe you. You were such a help to her and went out of your way to be of help when you were here.”
I couldn’t rember that, which caused my stomach to clench. Once again, there was so much I didn’t know, like those fine details I couldn’t rember.
“Thank you,” I said. “I’ve gotten reports about an unmarked ship nad Silver Fang. It left the night Zara was captured to the Dark Realm. Do you know anything about that?”
“Yes,” she gasped, her tone telling she was speaking through tears of despair. “That’s the ship Zara was taken in.”
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