Chapter 208

Hannah

My heart was pounding so hard I could feel it in my throat.

It couldn’t be…

The post that had seemed so innocuous, so easily dismissible, had come back to haunt me in the worst possible way. My hands shook as I scrolled through the comments, each one more vicious than the last.

“I… I don’t understand,” I muttered. “What is this…?”

“The original post never even reached the likes it specified,” Viona began. “It only got about 8,000 likes. The forum moderators even took the post down and banned the poster, citing that it was just troll bait.”

“Then how…?”

Viona reached out, placing a comforting hand on my arm as my mind whirled with the implications.

I couldn’t believe I had forgotten, that I had let this… this mess slip through my fingers. With everything going on, I had wound up completely ignoring the post.

“I forgot about it,” I said, more to myself than to Viona. “I figured it was just a… a troll.”

“That’s what we all thought,” Viona said. “But then, very late last night, the poster came back with a new account. And they posted… this.”

As she spoke, she gestured to her phone, which was shaking in my trembling hands.

I read the title again, feeling sick to my stomach: “I’m back. My original didn’t get 10,000 likes, but… Fuck it. Luna Hannah is a cheating whore, and that baby probably belongs to another man… And here’s the proof.”

The words seemed to dance in front of my eyes, each one a knife twisting in my gut. I felt a cold sweat break out on my forehead. Ever since my father had announced my pregnancy at his birthday, rumors had spread like wildfire. Noah and I hadn’t made our own official announcement just yet, but people knew.

Goddess, I was a fool for not thinking that this would be used against me.

There was an audio file attached to the post. I had already listened to it once, then a second time, when Viona had shown me the post. But I had to hear it again.

“Hannah, don’t—”

“I… I have to listen again,” I murmured, my thumb hovering over the play button. “I have to see if it’s real.”

Viona didn’t stop me as I pressed play for a third time.

First, there was the sound of rustling bedsheets, soft moaning. A whispered word that couldn’t be made out.

Then, there was his voice—Noah’s voice, low and intense: “Tell me who you’re thinking about. Tell me.”

A pause that seemed to stretch on for an eternity. Something vibrated in the background, a low hum.

And then there was my voice: “I’m thinking about…”

“Say it.”

“Drake.”

There was another rustle, then the sound of a door slamming, so loud it made me flinch, and then the audio cut out.

I felt the blood drain from my face, leaving me lightheaded, even though I had heard the audio twice in this sitting already. “Oh, Goddess,” I whispered, my hands starting to shake so badly I almost dropped the phone onto the carpeted floor. “Oh, Goddess, no.”

“Hannah,” Viona said, reaching out to touch my arm again. Her touch felt like fire against my cold, clammy skin. “What are you going to do?”

I jumped up from the sofa, suddenly filled with a frantic energy. The room felt too small, too confining. I needed to move, to do something.

“I need… I need to find Noah. I need to... I need his help,” I said.

Without another word, I bolted from Viona’s apartment, ignoring her calls behind me. The stairs seemed endless as I rushed down them, my feet barely touching each step.

I almost fell at one point, or at least I think I did, but everything was such a blur that I hardly noticed the way my stomach lurched and my hand gripped the railing as I missed a bottom step.

Without even hesitating for a split second, I burst out onto the street, the cool air hitting my face like a slap.

I drove to Noah’s office building like a woman possessed. I must have broken multiple traffic violations, speeding through yellow lights and screeching around corners.

Finally, I arrived at the imposing glass building that housed Noah’s office. I burst through the revolving doors and opted for the stairs again, not daring to wait for the elevator. Soon, I was sprinting through the waiting room outside Noah’s office where a young receptionist with a curly blonde updo looked up from behind the glass-topped desk.

“Luna Hannah! Alpha Noah is in a meeting,” the receptionist called out, but I didn’t care. To hell with meetings. This was important.

I slammed through the glass doors leading to the conference room, where Noah was indeed in the middle of a meeting with several of his business associates. Their heads all turned to me, eyes widening in surprise as I came to a screeching halt in front of the long conference table, panting and heaving like a madwoman.

Noah looked up, surprise and annoyance flashing across his face. “Hannah, I’m busy—”

“We need to talk. Now.” I grabbed him by the tie, forcefully yanking him out of his chair with a strength I didn’t know I had. I could hear the other men chuckling and muttering as I dragged Noah out of the room, but I didn’t care.

Their voices faded as I pulled Noah into the hallway.

Once we were alone, Noah pulled away from me, straightening his tie. His face was flushed with anger, his green eyes flashing. Maybe yesterday, I would have crumpled at the sight of him, writhing and half-begging him to have me right there, he looked so Goddess-damned handsome in his gray suit and deep blue tie. But not today.

“What the hell is your problem?” he hissed, glancing back at the conference room door.

In response, I thrust my phone at him, the damning post displayed on the screen. “This,” I said, my voice shaking. “This is my problem.”

Noah’s face paled as he read the post, and his eyes widened into saucers as he listened to the audio. When it finished, he looked up at me with an expression that looked like he had just seen a ghost.

“Hannah,” he said, his voice low and controlled, “what the hell is this?”

I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself even though the hallway felt like it was spinning around me. I explained everything.

When I was finished, Noah’s jaw clenched, a muscle ticking in his cheek. “And you didn’t think to tell me about this sooner?” he hissed.

I shook my head, feeling tears prick at the corners of my eyes. “I’m sorry. I should have, but it just... it got lost in everything else. I had other, bigger things to deal with.” The excuse sounded weak even to my own ears.

Noah ran a hand through his hair, his frustration evident. But then his expression changed, becoming more focused. “How did they get this audio?” he asked, his voice sharp. “That was a private moment in your bedroom.”

The realization hit me like a truck, making my stomach lurch. “Oh, Goddess,” I whispered, my voice barely audible. “There must be... there must be cameras or microphones or something in my room.”

Noah’s face hardened, his eyes glinting dangerously. He pulled out his phone, quickly dialing a number. “Scott,” he said when his Beta answered. “I need you to go to Hannah’s room and scan for hidden cameras or microphones. Tear the fucking place apart if you have to. Now.”

Those words weren’t directed at me, but even I flinched at the sound of dark, grim authority in his voice.

He hung up, then turned back to me. I tensed, wondering if I was about to get a scolding of a lifetime for not telling him sooner. I certainly deserved it. I should have told him before it got this bad.

But to my surprise, his expression softened slightly as he took in my terrified face. “It’s going to be okay, Hannah,” he said, his voice gentler now. “We’ll handle this. I promise.”

I nodded, not trusting myself to speak. My throat felt tight, like I was being choked by invisible hands.

Noah, seeing this, stepped forward and pulled me into a tight hug. I stiffened, my arms slack at my sides, stunned by the sudden affection.

Even more so when I felt his lips press against my forehead in a soft kiss, his breath warm against my skin.

But then, before I could utter a word or react in any way, he pulled away. The loss of his warmth left me feeling suddenly cold and vulnerable, and I had to press my hand into the cold gray wall nearby to steady myself.

“I need to make some calls,” he said, already backpedaling away from me. “Go home. I’ll handle this.”

With that, Noah rushed off down the hallway, leaving me standing alone and reeling from his touch.