Chapter 158

Noah & Hannah

Noah’s POV

Noah and Drake raced through the forest, their wolf forms allowing them to cover the ground quickly and silently. Noah’s silver coat gleamed in the moonlight, while Drake’s darker fur blended with the shadows. The scent of pine and damp earth filled their sensitive noses, mixed with a faint trace of Hannah’s familiar scent.

Just a little further, Noah thought to himself as he leaped over fallen trees and rocks. I’m coming, Hannah…

As they ran, Noah watched Drake’s lithe wolf form and found himself struggling with conflicting emotions. Part of him wanted to hate Drake for his closeness to Hannah, for the way she seemed to care about him so much lately.

But at the same time, he couldn’t deny that without Drake, they might not be so close to finding Hannah now before it was too late.

Soon, the trees began to thin as they reached the top of the mountain. They slowed their pace, exchanging silent glances of understanding. Hannah’s scent grew thicker, and Noah knew that she was incredibly close now—which also meant that her captors were close.

They needed to be careful.

Noah pressed his nose to the ground, following Hannah’s scent. He stopped in front of a rock that had a bit of blood splattered on it; there was a boot print in the mud right next to it, indicating that there was a struggle here. Hannah had to have been carried, since only large men’s shoe prints could be seen.

Suddenly, Noah froze, his ears perked. Drake froze beside him, listening intently.

Ahead, they heard the faint sound of voices and caught a whiff of unfamiliar scents. They were close.

Moving cautiously now and keeping low beneath the underbrush, they crept forward until they spotted an armed guard stationed in the woods. The man was alert, his gun at the ready, scanning the area with sharp, slightly glowing eyes.

Noah and Drake exchanged a glance, a silent plan forming between them. Then, in perfect synchronization, they burst out from the underbrush, taking the guard by surprise. Before he could shout or fire his weapon, they had him pinned to the ground, two gushing puncture holes in his neck from Drake’s fangs. The man jerked, gurgled, then went still.

With the immediate threat neutralized, they pressed on. As they neared a clearing, Noah’s heart nearly stopped.

There, kneeling on the ground in nothing but a bikini, was Hannah. Her hands were bound behind her back, and she was surrounded by armed men.

But what made Noah’s blood run cold was the figure standing at the forefront of the group.

Jake. Amber’s ex-fiance, who she had supposedly broken up with not even two weeks ago. What the hell was he doing here?

Noah felt a growl building in his chest, but Drake nudged him, a reminder to stay quiet. They needed the element of surprise.

Noah nodded. They needed to remain calm and quiet if they were going to ambush the men without Hannah getting hurt, although every fiber of his being screamed to rush in and save Hannah, guns—or rather, fangs—blazing.

They were about to make their move when suddenly, another wolf burst from the shadows, lunging at them with bared teeth and flashing claws. The unexpected attack caught them off guard, and they tumbled into the underbrush in a flurry.

The sound of their struggle echoed through the clearing, drawing the attention of Jake and his men.

…

Hannah’s POV

My head snapped up at the sudden commotion in the woods. Jake cursed, and without hesitating for so much as a moment, his hand roughly grabbed my arm. He yanked me to my feet, the sudden movement making my head spin and reminding me of the chloroform I had inhaled earlier.

“What the hell was that?” one of the guards asked, his gun trained on the treeline.

Jake’s grip on my arm tightened painfully until I let out a small whimper. “Go check it out,” he barked at his men. “And be ready for anything.”

As the guards moved toward the source of the noise, my heart raced. Could it be...? I hardly dared to hope, but I couldn’t help myself. Sniffing the air, I could make out an intoxicating scent.

“Noah!” I shrieked.

“Shut the fuck up!” Jake hissed, hitting me upside the head with the butt of his pistol. I whimpered and bared my fangs, but his arm hooked around my throat and I was left powerless.

Suddenly, two wolves burst out from the undergrowth, their fangs bared and eyes glowing. My heart leaped up into my throat as I recognized them immediately.

My eyes locked onto Noah’s silver coat, brilliant in the moonlight. He looked magnificent, powerful, and for a moment, I forgot about everything else. The Noah I saw now was a far cry from the uncertain teenager I had known years ago. This was an Alpha in his prime, and he had come for me.

But the spell was broken as Jake dragged me backwards, using me as a shield. “Kill them!” he shouted to his remaining men.

The clearing erupted into chaos. Noah and Drake tore into Jake’s men, some of whom shifted themselves, while I struggled against Jake’s iron grip. I tried to shift, desperate to help, but my wolf remained frustratingly out of reach. All I managed to do was to drop my fangs, which I promptly sank into Jake’s forearm.

He yelped in pain but didn’t let go. Instead, he backhanded me across the face, making my vision swim.

“You little bitch,” he snarled, dragging me closer to the edge of the waterfall. The roar of the water was deafening now, and I could feel the cold spray on my skin. “Try anything else, and I’ll throw you over right now.”

I watched, helpless, as Noah and Drake fought. They moved like a well-oiled machine, covering each other’s blind spots and taking down Jake’s men one by one. But all the while, Jake held me fast, my limbs practically teetering over the edge of the waterfall.

“Noah!” I tried to shout, but my voice was lost in the chaos.

Finally, the last of Jake’s men fell. Noah and Drake turned toward us then, their eyes burning with fury as they stalked closer. Noah shifted back to his human form, his face gleaming with sweat and blood in the moonlight.

“Hand my wife over,” Noah growled.

Jake’s grip on me tightened, and I could feel the edge of the cliff under my heels. “Stay back!” he shouted.

Drake, still in his wolf form, growled beside Noah, low and menacing.

“It’s over, Jake,” Noah said. “Let her go. You’ve got nowhere to run.”

Jake laughed almost manically. “Oh, it’s over alright,” he said. His arm snaked around my waist, pulling me flush against him. I could feel him trembling, whether from fear or adrenaline, I couldn’t tell. “But if I’m going down, I’m taking her with me.”

I saw the realization dawn in Noah and Drake’s eyes a split second before Jake moved. “No!” Noah shouted, lunging forward.

Noah’s eyes met mine, and in that moment, I saw our past together flash through my eyes: late nights watching the stars, swimming in the lake, the cool touch of his fingers against mine, our wedding, our unborn baby…

I was losing it all again. And there would be no third chance.

“Hannah!” he cried out, reaching for me.

But it was too late. Jake, still holding me tightly, leaned back and let gravity take over. As we tipped over the edge of the waterfall, I caught one last glimpse of Noah’s anguished face before the world turned upside down.

The roar of the water filled my ears as we fell, and for a moment, time seemed to stand still. I thought of Noah, of the baby growing inside of me, of all the things that were left unsaid, and I wished that I had spent these last two months loving him rather than fighting him.

Then, we were plummeting toward the churning water below, the mist enveloping us as we fell.