*Zara*
As we got closer to arriving at Drogomor pack lands, I bit my lip, feeling doubt settle into my belly regarding the situation.
I wanted to stay with Noah and I felt safe with him, especially now that this new issue had co up, but the mory of how I was treated there before I was captured stained my mind.
They hadn’t been horrible to , but the pack and its rumors were very painful, as were the looks I got from the Alpha and Luna. Noah’s father had been growing impatient with everything going on.
His worries were justified, though I wished he would hear out. There I was, arriving in the pack and bringing so much trouble.
Granted, most of that was brought on by the lilies and Serena. My heart clenched at the thought of Serena, and I hesitated. Then, I looked at Noah.
He t my gaze. “What’s on your mind, beautiful?”
I paused for a mont, then said softly, “How was rida before you left?”
He scowled deeply, glancing away in thought for a mont before looking toward . “She insisted that you ran away as opposed to being kidnapped.”
I winced, knowing she had probably tried to spread rumors throughout the pack to make things worse while we were gone. After so more silence stretched between us, I sighed.
“Well, that’s not really rida. That’s Serena.”
I dove into what I saw and how she treated , studying Noah’s expression closely. He looked horrified, no doubt believing given she’d lied to him prior to his leaving.
“That would explain a lot,” he said. “And she caused even more trouble before I lost my mory?”
I nodded. “Yes. She announced the pregnancy I was trying to keep secret at the Moon Ball. You had kept it secret too. I thought it had been an accident until the look on her face said it was intentional.”
He shook his head, clearly angered by this news. “My parents didn’t handle it well, I assu?”
“Not at all. You’d announced the child was yours.”
“Hm. Well, she will hopefully not be a problem when we get back. Maybe the potion will reveal even more.”
“I hope so.”
That reminded even more of how Alpha Issac really didn’t trust , and I found myself growing more and more nervous. Noah’s emotions reflected mine.
We no doubt were both lost in our worries about the pack’s reception. I leaned on him for support, feeling how tense he was as well.
He’d inford that they thought he’d been on vacation, but at this point, they knew the truth. Fighting rogues and rescuing was definitely not the vacation they’d had in mind.
When we arrived on pack grounds, we were greeted with glares and murmurs, which caused to wince. Drogomor pack mbers weren’t the best at hiding their gossip.
“Is that the matchmaker with Alpha Heir Noah?”
“Yep, looks to be her. What’s she doing back?!”
“Oh, is she going to cause more trouble again with her powers?”
“Poor Noah. Alpha Issac is going to have an absolute fit.”
They weren’t wrong about Alpha Issac. When we arrived in the main hall of Drogomor, his expression was twisted into a frown and his arms were crossed.
He was clearly beyond annoyed with the situation.
“Noah. Zara. Welco back to Drogomor,” he said in an icy tone.
Estella was sitting beside him, a light frown playing on her lips as she looked at us as well.
His eyes landed on after he studied his son. His gaze was sharp and bore into , suspicion absolutely radiating from him.
“Thank you,” I replied to him, trying to give a friendly smile and likely showing him how nervous I was.
Noah stared his father down intently.
“I see you were brought back by my son, who had claid to be on a vacation,” he muttered.
Noah nodded, giving a shrug. “I wasn’t going to drop it, and now Zara is here. She’d been kidnapped by rogues. It was a brutal battle.”
“I see,” Alpha Issac drawled. He remained silent for a mont before asking, “What is the status of your pregnancy? Is the baby alright?”
“All is well,” I assured him confidently.
The healers had reassured that I was still in good standing health-wise, after all, so I tried not to let it worry .
Still, the stress of everything had been weighing on so much, I couldn’t help but feel worry seep into my mind every so often about how my baby was doing.
What if the healers were missing sothing, I wondered, sothing slowly building up? I needed to not let my doomsday thoughts bring doubt into my tone, especially since Issac had a deepening frown on his face.
“That is good to hear,” he said, his tone very cold. “Though, I am still very unclear as to how you ended up kidnapped from Drogomor.”
I opened my mouth to respond, but he held out his hand, clearly not wanting to hear my explanation. Inwardly I fud, but I knew that challenging him then would be extrely unwise.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Noah tense at his father’s action. Neither of us would be given a chance to explain it. That much was clear.
Issac continued. “Given everything that has happened, you are to be guarded and confined to your private quarters for the duration of your pregnancy.”
I felt myself bristle at the notion, once again forced to be treated as a prisoner. It would undoubtedly be a better situation than it was with Silver Fang or the rogues, but it was still completely the opposite of ideal.
I wished I had more of a voice there, but I bit my tongue, reminding myself of the decision I had already made not to challenge him right now.
Issac added, “It is for your own safety and the good of the baby, of course. We wouldn’t want another kidnapping situation to endanger you.”
Noah stood up, shaking his head and narrowing his eyes. “Absolutely not,” he growled, causing the Alpha to raise his eyebrow.
Estella also frowned deeply at this developnt.
“Excuse ?”
“Zara and I were married in Dark Realm as a step to provide Zara with that extra security and protection during her vulnerable state,” he said firmly.
Issac widened his eyes, both surprise and disdain clear in his expression. His frown deepened significantly, and Estella let out a sigh, reaching up to pinch the bridge of her nose at the news.
The hall was ignited with murmurs of the pack mbers, speculating about what could have happened and the situation that led up to this.
“Is that a wise decision for Noah?”
“Not sure it’s for the good of the pack.”
“After everything, he’s still with her?”
“Are we sure this is a good idea?”
I winced, feeling a strong sense of deja vu wash over as the murmurs continued to ripple through the hall. But Noah stood his ground, and I clenched my jaw.
I could tell my expression was twisting into one that reflected hurt. Once again, I was bound to his callous decision without a discussion first.
The waves of stress were starting up again, and I couldn’t stop them. Exhaustion washed over , and I wanted nothing more than to collapse onto a bed and shut the world out for a while.
But I needed to be present, so I tried to keep myself completely attentive and under control despite my stress. I knew I was wearing my feelings on my sleeve, though.
This was out of nowhere, without planning whatsoever, and my heart clenched at history repeating itself once again. He didn’t rember when he had done it before.
Hopefully, he would rember it this ti, and our attempt with this mysterious potion wouldn’t go horribly wrong like everything else, I thought.
Alpha Issac glared Noah down. “Is this true, son... you made yet another decision out of nowhere with her?”
“I did,” Noah said, holding his chin high and remaining completely unwavering in the face of his father, who was clearly losing his patience.
I resisted the urge to bite my lip, and I held back the tears that I felt forming. I’d felt so safe and supported by him just an hour before.
But now there was... this.
I wondered why everything had to constantly go so wrong, with feeling as though I had absolutely no agency. The stress was causing a headache to form.
I took a deep breath, trying to think this over and reason with myself to calm down. If Noah hadn’t said that, I would have lost a lot of freedom.
That was why he was likely speaking up against his father now.
In this way, I reasoned, I’d be granted more agency, even if so of it was taken away. Noah was tactical, which was why he had claid our child was his without knowing it for the first ti.
It had been a sense of irony that it’d turned out to be the truth. This ti, though, he was completely lying, and he knew it, too.
Would our relationship continue to spiral into him making these huge decisions without talking to first? He hadn’t had a chance to do that, I understood, but my situation could have been temporary.
We could have decided together later.
Now... that was down the drain, it was out in the open and decided by him, and the pack would undoubtedly be in an uproar over it.
Noah and Issac had a stare-off before the Alpha finally sighed and waved his hand. “Escort her to her room,” he said finally, and Beta Caleb approached to do so.
The Beta eyed with curiosity more than anything, unlike the suspicious glares of other Drogomor pack mbers. He’d been there with Noah during the rescue, so I wasn’t surprised.
At least not every Drogomor pack mber was against .
We arrived at my room, and I collapsed onto the bed, covering my face with my hands. Drogomor guards stood outside of the door, as expected.
After trying to keep ahold of myself, I felt stress wash over and began to softly cry into my hands, letting my emotions flow forth as everything cascaded again.
My frustration was swirling within , and it took everything not to scream into a pillow. I needed to calm myself down, so took several deep breaths and got into bed.
At least this place was comfortable, like my ti in Midnight Sun.
Should I have just decided to emphasize going ho? Would Noah have even let , given everything that had happened?
I doubted it.
I stared up at the ceiling, tears still trailing down my cheeks as I tried to calm my breathing. I wondered what more could possibly happen. It seed my fate was continuously out of my control.
For now, I was trapped there again, which would have been fine if Noah hadn’t lied to protect . I didn’t mind being with him. I minded being with him under false pretenses.
My emotions were a turbulent storm I struggled to weather.
When would things ever go right between us?
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