Chapter 216

Noah & Hannah

Noah’s POV

Noah’s eyes were fixed on the businessman sitting across from him at the conference table, but his mind was far away. So far away.

So far, in fact, that the man’s droning voice sounded like it was underwater. He was saying something about stocks and expenditures, but it sounded garbled, meaningless, silly.

Noah’s mind was on one thing. Or rather, one person.

The hurt in her eyes last night, the fear in her voice—it haunted him. Hannah had lashed out at him, tossing and turning like an angry lioness all night. When he’d tried to touch her, she had flinched away. At some point, even in sleep, she had even snarled at him when he tried to pull her close.

But he couldn’t blame her. The procedure she was facing was terrifying, and he should have been there with her. With his... mate.

His wolf stirred restlessly inside of him, pacing and growling as if Noah’s mind was a cage.

“You have fallen in love with her after all,” his wolf snarled. “You really have, you lovestruck bastard…”

“Alpha Noah?”

The sound of the businessman’s voice dragged Noah back to the present. He blinked, one long leg crossed widely over the other. “Hm?”

“The spreadsheets,” the businessman said, gesturing to the untouched folder sitting in front of Noah. “If you’ll flip to page seven…”

“Right…”

Noah flipped to the page, but the figures staring up at him were like hieroglyphs. Still, he nodded and hummed along with the businessman’s droning, pretending to be listening. Noah didn’t need to do much more than that, anyway; the bastard in the suit that was two sizes too big just liked to hear himself talk.

“Fine,” he thought to his wolf. “You’re right.”

His wolf growled with pleasure.

He couldn’t deny it any longer. Over the past few weeks, something had changed. The ice around his heart had melted, replaced by a warmth he hadn’t felt in years.

Yes, he had fallen in love with Hannah. Head over heels, completely and utterly in love.

He loved the way she smiled at him in the mornings, still sleepy and soft and lazy. He loved the sound of her laughter when it was genuine and unguarded. He loved the feel of her skin against his. And she smelled so damn good.

Every little detail about her had become precious to him. Once, he had only intended to woo her enough to make her want to stay so his heir could remain in Nightcrest, but…

He had been the one who had fallen for her.

And he was hurting her by not being there for her.

Goddess, what the fuck was he doing here in this stuffy conference room? Why wasn’t he with the woman he loved right now?

In that moment, Noah felt a tug on the inside of his chest, like a fishing wire tied to his heart, pulling him out of this room and toward Hannah. The sensation was so strong it was almost physical, making him shift uncomfortably in his seat.

“She needs you, you bastard,” his wolf growled.

Yes, she did. Noah knew what he needed to do.

Without a word, Noah stood abruptly, his chair scraping loudly against the floor. The sound echoed in the suddenly silent room, all eyes turning to him in surprise.

“I apologize,” Noah said, his voice firm. “But I have to leave. There’s somewhere I need to be.”

He turned and walked toward the door, ignoring the shocked gasps and murmurs from the other attendees.

“Alpha Noah!” the businessman called after him. “Where are you going?! Alpha Noah!”

But Noah didn’t stop, didn’t look back, didn’t falter. To hell with business meetings. Hannah needed him.

…

Hannah’s POV

The nurse explained the procedure, just as the doctor had two weeks ago. “We’ll use this long needle…”

My eyes landed on the instruments laid out on a nearby tray. The long, thin needle glinted under the harsh fluorescent lights, just as menacing as I had expected.

Fuck, I couldn’t breathe—

“And then we’ll send the fluid in for testing…”

As the nurse spoke, another nurse gently pushed my shoulders back onto the exam table. My vision filled with the blinding glow of lights. There was a brown water stain on the ceiling, and it looked like—like blood—

A hand touched my thigh. “A little wider, Luna Hannah…”

I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t breathe I couldn’t breathe I couldn’t breathe.

“I can’t do this,” I gasped, sitting up abruptly. “I-I can’t— I need—”

I felt my wolf roiling inside of me. “Mate,” she growled. “Mate, mate… Need… Mate…”

“Luna Hannah,” the nurse said softly, holding her hands out placatingly. “It will all be over soon, if you’ll just relax and—”

But her words were drowned out by the roaring in my ears. I felt my claws and fangs extend, my wolf pushing to the surface in panic. The room seemed to spin around me, everything too bright, too loud, too much.

“I need my mate!” I snarled, jumping off of the table like I was possessed. Without even realizing what I was doing, my arm swept across a nearby surface, sending instruments clattering to the floor with a deafening crash. “I can’t do this without him!”

The nurses whimpered and backed into the corner, cowering. From me, I realized, as I raged through the room, shoving equipment and snarling like a feral beast.

“Luna Hannah—”

“Get away!” I roared, spittle flying from my mouth. “Where is he?!”

I knew I was scaring them, but I couldn’t stop. The terror was overwhelming, consuming me entirely. My wolf howled inside me, desperate for our mate. I was possessed with terror, possessed with the need for him.

Somewhere, faintly, I heard someone shout for security, but I hardly heard it. I hardly cared as I heard footsteps pounding through the hallway, someone banging on the door. “Luna Hannah!” I hardly heard any of it.

I couldn’t do this. Not without him. Not without—

Suddenly, the door burst open with a bang. A familiar scent hit me a split second before strong arms wrapped around me, pulling me close.

“Hannah, I’m here,” Noah’s voice rumbled in my ear, deep and comforting. “I’m here... It’s okay. I’ve got you.”

I froze, inhaling deeply—not to get air into my lungs, but to get his scent, that familiar smell of his skin. The scent of pine and fire, just like the wildfires burning in his fir-green eyes. I needed it more than air right now.

Slowly, the fog of panic began to clear, and I blinked, logic returning. The exam room was a mess, instruments strewn across the tiled floor, my feet bare and my hair tangled. How long had I been raging? How long…

“Noah,” I whispered, hardly daring to believe it. My hands clutched at his shirt, afraid he might disappear if I let go. “You came…”

He pulled back slightly, his green eyes meeting mine. He cupped my face in his hands, forcing me to look at him, forcing me not to look at the scrambling nurses and the security guards lingering in the doorway.

“I couldn’t let you go through this alone,” he said softly.

“But the meeting—”

“Fuck the business meeting. This is the most important thing. You’re the most important thing, Hannah.”

I felt my claws and fangs recede, my wolf immediately settling down at the presence of our mate. In that moment, I knew with absolute certainty that I had fallen back in love with Noah. I didn’t want to be without him, not ever again.

“Noah, I lo—”

“I know,” he cut me off, guiding me back to the exam table. “I do, too.”

With Noah by my side, I calmly climbed back onto the table. A doctor in a white coat swept in, a nurse checked my pulse. Someone was speaking to me, then to Noah. I think I muttered an apology, but it was all a haze.

Noah held my hand throughout the procedure, never once letting go. I hardly even felt the pain, if there was any—I only felt him, smelled him, heard those words echoing in my mind.

“I know. I do, too.”

He loved me. I loved him.

The procedure was over before I even knew it. I had dressed, or someone had dressed me, without even realizing it. It was over.

“Let’s get you home,” Noah said gently, helping me up from the table. His arm wrapped around my waist, supporting me as we walked out of the examination room.

I looked up at him, a warmth spreading through my chest at the word. Home. Not just a place, but wherever Noah was.

“Home…”