Chapter 130

Hannah

The chair across from me remained suspiciously empty, and all I could do was nervously fidget with my napkin. The waiter had come by three times already, each visit more pointed than the last. I checked my phone again—still no word from Zoe.

I kept telling myself that she would come, even though I had been sitting here for more than thirty minutes past our meeting time. Scott had assured me he had set up this meeting. He wouldn’t lie, right?

Soon, an hour passed. Then two. The sympathetic looks from the staff were becoming unbearable. I had gone from sipping my coffee to practically gulping it down, my nerves frayed and my patience wearing thin.

Finally, frustration overtook my patience. I stood up abruptly, tossing some cash on the table for my now-cold coffee.

“To hell with this,” I grumbled, storming out of the restaurant.

The drive to Zoe’s house was a blur. Why hadn’t she shown up? Did she hate me that much? Was she really that angry? I only wanted to make amends, to apologize and treat her to dinner. She had promised to come, or so Scott had said.

And yet…

By the time I pulled up to her driveway, my knuckles had gone white on the steering wheel. Taking a deep breath, I forced myself to calm down before approaching her door. This was about making things right, I kept telling myself, not letting my temper get the better of me.

I knocked, perhaps a bit too forcefully. After a few moments, the door swung open. Zoe stood there in flannel pajamas, her hair messy and her eyes bleary. She blinked at me in confusion, clearly not expecting me to be there.

I, too, blinked in confusion—because to see the usually-perfect Zoe so mussed and unkempt was perhaps the rarest occurrence in all of history.

“Hannah?” she asked, her voice hoarse as though she had just been napping. “What are you doing here?”

I stared at her for a moment, my prepared speech dying on my lips. “Zoe, don’t… Don’t you know we were supposed to meet?” I muttered.

Zoe’s brow furrowed. “What are you talking about? I haven’t heard anything about a meeting.”

My stomach dropped. “But... Scott said he called you. Set up a time for us to talk at the cafe.”

“Hannah, I never got a call from Scott,” Zoe said, shaking her head. “This is the first I’m hearing about any of this.”

I felt like I had been punched in the gut, my mind whirling. Either Scott had outright lied to me, Zoe had forgotten about our meeting, or Zoe was the one who was lying. Either way, I was confused and, frankly, annoyed.

“I, um…” I stammered, suddenly feeling sheepish beneath her gaze. Better now than never, I supposed. “Look, I wanted to meet so I could apologize for the whole Drake situation. So… I’m sorry. Really. I didn’t know you were looking for a job so seriously, and—”

“It’s fine, Hannah.” Zoe waved her hand, her expression softening slightly. “I appreciate the effort. And I accept your apology for the Drake thing. But I’ll need some time to process everything.”

I nodded, feeling strangely numb. “Of course. I understand. I’ll... I’ll go now.”

As I turned to leave, Zoe called out, “Hannah?” I looked back at her, raising an eyebrow. “Thanks for coming by,” she said softly. “It means a lot to me that you tried.”

I gave her a weak smile and headed back to my car.

My mind raced as I drove home. Zoe had accepted my apology, supposedly, but none of this made sense—if Scott had lied to me, then… Why? Surely there was some kind of explanation for this. He wouldn’t do something like that.

When I arrived home, I found Scott waiting for me in the living room, just as I had instructed. He looked a bit sheepish as he rose from the chair by the window, dipping his head respectfully.

“Luna Hannah,” he said. “How did the meeting with Zoe go?”

I narrowed my eyes at him and dropped my purse on the nearby loveseat, folding my arms across my chest. “It didn’t happen. Care to explain why you lied to me about setting it up?”

Scott’s eyes widened in surprise. “What? I didn’t lie. I called her yesterday and set everything up.”

“Really? Because Zoe says she never got a call from you. I sat at the restaurant for two hours and she didn’t show, and when I went to her house, she looked like she had just woken from a nap.”

Scott shook his head, causing a red lock of hair to fall into his eyes. “Luna Hannah, you know I wouldn’t lie to you about this. Are you sure Zoe didn’t just forget, or maybe change her mind and make up a story?”

I stared at him for a moment, blinking slowly. I wanted to believe him. I really did. But something just didn’t feel right, and I was too exhausted to even begin to understand it.

“I don’t know what to believe anymore,” I said, slumping into a nearby chair with a huff and crossing my legs. “This whole situation is such a mess.”

“I’m always on your side, Luna Hannah,” Scott said gently. He crossed the room to me and dropped onto the ottoman in front of my chair. “I wouldn’t lie to you.”

I nodded and let out a soft sigh. Scott was right; he had never given me any reason to believe that he wasn’t on my side. Zoe, on the other hand…

“Why would Zoe lie about this?” I asked under my breath, more to myself than to Scott.

He shrugged. “Who knows? Maybe she’s still angry about the Drake thing. Or maybe she’s trying to cause trouble between you and Noah.”

I frowned and passed my hand over my face, turning my head. “Maybe.”

Scott lingered for a moment longer, his mouth opening and closing and then opening again as though he was trying to find the right words. Finally, I waved my hand and rose from my chair. “It doesn’t matter; I apologized, and she said she accepts the apology. We can move on from it now.”

With that, I dismissed Scott and returned to my bedroom, where I kicked off my shoes and flopped onto the bed. Goddess, this was so exhausting—the constant flip-flopping, the wondering, the scheming.

As I laid there, feeling lost and confused, I couldn’t help but long for my old pack—for my home. For the simplicity and certainty of my role there. Once I returned as female Alpha, all of this drama would be behind me.

The thought of returning to my pack brought a sudden wave of homesickness crashing over me. It had been so long since I had truly felt like I belonged, like everything was just… okay. Here, in Nightcrest, everything felt uncertain. And I hated that.

With a sigh, I pulled out my phone. Almost unconsciously, I found myself navigating to that damned forum post. The one threatening to expose my impending divorce from Noah. I knew I shouldn’t look, that it would only upset me, but I couldn’t help myself.

My heart nearly stopped as I saw the number of likes.

5,000.

Halfway to the poster’s goal. Halfway to the last remnants of my life falling apart.