Chapter 247

Hannah

The evening air was cool and refreshing against my heated skin as I walked Noah back out to his car. The setting sun was particularly vibrant tonight, the sky awash in almost blinding shades of pink and orange and red. It was a beautiful sight, but I found my eyes drawn to Noah instead, no matter how hard I tried not to.

He looked different somehow—softer, younger, as if the revelations he’d had recently had added more than a few years to his life. The lines around his mouth had softened, his eyes were more vibrant, and his hair was gently tousled, leaving behind his usual slicked-back appearance.

Relaxed—that was what he was. At ease. Somewhat.

A bit ironic, given how the real battle—the one involving putting Scott and Zoe behind bars and dealing with the aftermath of everything they had done over the years—had only just begun.

As we reached his car, I reached into my pocket and pulled out a small paper bag. “Here,” said, holding it out to him without quite meeting his eyes. “For the drive.”

Noah’s eyebrows shot up as he took the bag from me and peered inside. The scent of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies wafted out, making even my own mouth water. “Hannah, you didn’t have to make these just for me…”

I felt fresh heat rise to my cheeks and quickly shook my head, pursing my lips. “I didn’t bake them just for you. I made them yesterday.” It was a lie, and we both knew it. “But I can’t have the father of my child driving home on an empty stomach—it might make you drive dangerously. So just take them.”

A ghost of a smirk tugged at the corners of Noah’s lips, and I felt my blush deepen.

Obviously, I was just saying that to justify the baking, and we both knew the truth—I had wanted to do something nice for him. The cookies were fresh, probably still warm from the oven. I’d secretly pulled them out while he was chatting with Drake and Viona in the living room, when I had said that I was taking Melody back to her crib.

“Well… Thank you, Hannah,” Noah said softly, his eyes meeting mine. “Really.”

We stood there in silence for a few moments, neither of us making the first move to speak or move away. It felt awkward, yet neither of us seemed eager to say goodbye. A soft puff of white air, from the chill of the evening, escaped Noah’s lips and lingered between us for a moment before dissipating into the sky.

Finally, Noah was the first to speak. “What’s going through your head right now?”

I sighed, wrapping my arms around myself. “I just... I still can’t believe that after all this time, you were being manipulated by Zoe. I keep thinking about everything that happened, wondering how things might have been different if we had known.” I shook my head, feeling a fresh wave of anger bubble up inside of me. “I hate her for what she did. Her and Scott both. Scott especially. I can’t believe—”

“Trust me,” Noah growled. “I know.” Zoe was one thing, but Scott… How could he do something like that to his Alpha? To his brother?

Noah’s expression darkened then, his jaw clenching. “Well, they’re both in custody now. I’ll be questioning them personally first thing in the morning.” His voice was low, dangerous—a stark contrast from the levity he’d been exhibiting since his revelation. “Don’t worry; they’ll face justice. Neither of them will see the outside of a jail cell for a long, long time.”

I nodded, feeling a grim sense of satisfaction at his words. Any empathy or guilt I’d felt about either of those bastards was long gone by now, and I hoped I could be there for the moment that they both officially realized that they were truly, wholly screwed.

But then Noah’s face softened, and he ran a hand through his hair.

“But Hannah, I... I’m to blame, too,” he said quietly. “I was cruel to you over the years. Zoe manipulating me is no excuse for how I treated you.” He reached out, hesitating for a moment before gently taking my hand. I startled slightly at the warmth of his touch, but didn’t pull away.

“I intend to make up for it,” he whispered, his grip tightening on my hand ever so slightly. “For all of it.”

My heart fluttered at his touch, and I looked up to see those green eyes staring down at me, filled with the same intensity as when he had been holding our daughter. “Noah…”

“Let me take you on a date this weekend,” he said suddenly. “Just the two of us. I’ll take you out to a nice restaurant, somewhere fancy. We can talk, really talk, without any distractions.”

The idea both thrilled and terrified me. We hadn’t had that in so long—maybe never. That… chance to really talk. To date. To act like a real couple. And talking… I guess we needed that now more than ever.

“I... I think that would be nice,” I said finally, offering him a small smile.

Noah’s face lit up brighter than the sunset, and for a moment, I was transported back to our early days together as teenagers. The urge to kiss him was overwhelming, but I held myself back, settling instead for leaning up on my tiptoes and giving him a quick peck on the cheek.

Even that small contact of lips against buttery warm skin sent a jolt through me, and clearly did the same for him, if the pinkish tinge on his cheeks was at all related and not just the sunset reflecting off his face.

“Drive safely,” I murmured, stepping back.

Noah nodded, his eyes lingering on me for a moment longer before he got into his car. I watched as he drove away, the tail lights disappearing into the growing darkness.

Back inside, I went through the motions of my nightly routine—feeding Melody, putting her to bed, taking a shower.

But my thoughts kept circling back to one thing.

WhiteRabbit.

The hunch that Zoe had been behind the contraceptive pills had been nagging at me for weeks. Now, with everything that had come to light about her manipulations, it seemed more plausible than ever.

But I needed to know for certain. I couldn’t sleep until I had answers.

Finally, unable to resist any longer, I pulled out my phone and sent a message to WhiteRabbit, hitting send before I could think better of it: “I know it was Zoe.”

The response came almost immediately, three bubbles and then: “Zoe who? The lady I saw on the news?”

I frowned, my fingers hovering over the keyboard. This wasn’t the reaction I had expected. “Yes, the woman from the news,” I typed out somewhat angrily. “Noah’s ex. She was behind the pills, wasn’t she? She was your supplier?”

There was a long pause before WhiteRabbit replied: “I don’t know anything about a Zoe. Someone else was supplying the pills.”

My frown deepened. This didn’t make sense. If it wasn’t Zoe, then who? And why would they go to such lengths to keep me from having Noah’s child?

“Who, then?” I asked. “Who was supplying them?”

“I can’t discuss that over text,” came the reply. “If you want answers, we need to meet in person. We can discuss my price then, too…”

My heart rate picked up. Meeting WhiteRabbit in person was risky, but if it meant getting to the bottom of this mystery, it might be worth it. Still, I hesitated.

“What is your price? Tell me now.”

“Just a small favor. I assure you, it’s nothing you can’t handle, Alpha.”

I chewed my lip, weighing my options. The rational part of my brain was screaming at me to drop it, to leave well enough alone. But the Alpha in me, the part that needed to protect my daughter, my pack, wouldn’t let go.

For all I knew, there was still someone out there who wanted to bring harm to my child. And I needed to ensure that they, like Scott and Zoe, were behind bars as soon as possible.

“Alright. I’ll meet you. When and where?”