Chapter 64

Hannah

I hummed along to the music drifting from the small speaker on the bathroom counter as I stepped into the steaming shower, eagerly anticipating the way the scalding water would soothe my tired muscles. The picnic had been a rousing success, both in terms of entertainment value and my own personal plans, and I felt lighter than I had in ages.

Tipping my head back, I allowed the hot spray to soak my hair, the water trailing over my face in warm, soothing streams. Even though the picnic had been off to a rocky start, it was a success in the end.

We were closer than ever to being chosen as the hosts for the Lunar Festival. In fact, just as the picnic had been coming to a close, the Alpha Council—Drake included—had come directly to me and Noah to congratulate us on a wonderful event.

Soon, all of this would be behind us. Once we hosted the Lunar Festival, my approval ratings would be higher than ever—plus, I still had more plans of my own in between now and then.

And then, in two months, Noah and I would get divorced. I would return to my home pack and take my rightful place as female Alpha, and I would continue with a healthy pregnancy.

But it was as I was closing my eyes to wash my face that the faint whisper of a chill breeze against my damp skin made me shiver, the hairs along my arms and at the back of my neck prickling upward.

Frowning slightly, I turned to glance at the glass shower door, certain I had secured it fully closed before stepping into the shower.

Sure enough, a gap of a few inches had somehow appeared, allowing the cooler air from the bathroom to snake inside and disrupt the steamy cocoon. As I watched, the glass almost seemed to rattle ever so slightly in the frame, almost as though it had been disturbed by an unseen force.

Odd.

Shaking my head, I chalked it up to a draft from the open window and reached out to tug the door fully closed once more. The last thing I needed was for the floor to get soaked while I was busy enjoying my shower.

By the time I finally stepped out and toweled off a little while later, I felt boneless and relaxed, my muscles pleasantly loose. Wrapping the plush white towel around my body, I padded out into the bedroom and over to the vanity to begin my nightly skincare routine.

As I was smoothing a rich, fragrant moisturizer over my face, a faint flicker of movement in the mirror’s reflection caught my eye. Freezing, I peered intently at the mirror, straining to detect the subtle shift again.

There—a dark, indistinct shape blurred across the far side of the room in the shadows before disappearing from view entirely.

My breath caught in my throat as I whipped around, my head swiveling to catch whomever had just wandered through my room.

“Hello?” I called out, cautiously rising from my chair. My eyes scanned the dark room, silently cursing the place for being too big for my little vanity lamp to light up the entire space.

There was no one, of course—just more paranoia, that was all.

But…

The soft creak of a footstep on the hardwood sent a jolt of ice through my veins, every hair on my body standing on end in an instant as my fight-or-flight instinct kicked in.

There was someone else in here with me.

I whirled around with a startled shriek, my towel slipping precariously as my gaze raked over the room, desperately seeking out any sign of an intruder.

“Noah?” I called out before I could think better of it, my voice trembling despite my attempts to keep it steady.

No, wait. Noah was probably at his office, spending the night there like usual—

My internal monologue was cut abruptly short as the unmistakable creak of footsteps sounded from somewhere behind me again, much closer this time. Gasping, I whipped back around, my hands groping blindly along the surface of the vanity until they closed around the hefty spine of a leather-bound book.

“Who’s there?” I demanded in a shrill voice, my chest heaving as I held the book up, ready to slam it down on any intruder. “Show yourself!”

There was a moment of silence so profound it was practically suffocating. Then, from the doorway: “Hannah—”

The book went sailing through the air before my mind could fully process the familiar tone of Noah’s voice. It whipped right past his head, thudding hard against the wall.

Noah stepped out of the doorway then, his hands raised in a placating gesture. His gaze traveled between the book lying haphazardly on the floor and back to me, his mouth slightly open.

We simply stared at one another for several long, excruciating moments. Then, finally, I found my voice again—although it emerged as more of a breathless whisper.

“I was down the hall. Heard you call out my name. Is everything okay?”

“I... I thought you were an intruder,” I stammered out, my towel slipping a little further down my chest as my arms fell limply to my sides. “I didn’t... I didn’t know you were home.”

Noah’s brow furrowed slightly. “If you thought I wasn’t home, then why did you call out my name?”

I opened and closed my mouth, grasping for an excuse that didn’t immediately spring to mind. Finally, my shoulders slumped. “I don’t know. I was frightened. It was... instinct, I suppose.”

My cheeks flushed hotly under his gaze, certain he would interpret that particular admission as some deeper, more meaningful thing. And, from the way Noah’s expression softened ever so slightly around the edges, his face laced with smug satisfaction... he had.

Taking a step toward me, then another, Noah closed the distance between us until we were nearly chest to chest. Up close, I could smell the warm, familiar scent of his cologne, just as I had earlier that day in the bathroom. It made my mouth go dry.

“Is that so?” he murmured, his gaze wandering my body in a way that reminded me that I was wearing nothing but a towel. Instinctively, I clutched at the towel, attempting to keep it from falling.

Noah’s lips quirked upward at the movement. Lifting one hand, he extended his index finger to toy idly with the loose edge of the towel where it hung dangerously low over the swell of my breasts.

“You know... it is the night of our monthly intimacy, isn’t it?” he said, the words dripping with heavy insinuation as the towel slipped a few tantalizing inches lower.

My breath hitched sharply at both the realization and the burning trail left in the wake of Noah’s fingertip grazing along the top curve of my breast. Suddenly, the scent of his skin, his proximity, the familiar hardness of his body—it all began to make my head spin.

Goddess, I wanted him.

But I knew I needed to step back, to put some space between Noah and myself before I did something I would regret—before I made things even more complicated than they already were.

Just as Noah’s finger curled, clearly prepared to simply yank the towel off entirely and have his way with me right here, right now, I managed to get a grip on myself. I took a step back, looking away with a clenched jaw.

“There’s no need for that anymore,” I managed, my voice sounding more confident than I really felt in that moment. “Those nights are over.”

Noah arched one eyebrow at me, his eyes gleaming with a mixture of something I couldn’t quite read as he looked at me. “Is that so?” he asked. “And why is that?”

As he spoke, he moved closer still until his body was practically flush against mine, a rush of searing heat washing over me in waves. Noah’s hand came up to cradle my jaw then, tilting my face up until our mouths were aligned.

“Unless you’re finally pregnant?” he murmured, his breath fanning across my face.

I felt the blood drain from my face at the words, my stomach churning. No, he couldn’t know. How could he—?

But then Noah laughed again, louder this time, and took a step back.

“I’m just messing with you,” he said, tugging on his shirt sleeves as he turned away. “Go to bed. There are no intruders in the house—not while I’m here.”

With that, he strode out of the room. My towel slipped out of my trembling fingers and fell to the floor.