Chapter 284

Noah

The morning sun was bright, and the birds chirped cheerfully, but a dark cloud loomed over Noah’s head as he stormed out of the house. The front door slammed shut, echoing in the peaceful air.

“You shouldn’t have locked her up like that,” his wolf growled. “It’s not right. Especially not when she’s carrying our pup.”

“Shut up,” Noah snapped. He knew it wasn’t right, but his fury had overwhelmed any sense of reason. How could Hannah try to steal his heir, keep it from him after years of trying?

As Noah climbed into his car and sped down the driveway, his fingers were white around the steering wheel. “If she had only talked to me from the beginning, I might have been willing to work out a custody agreement,” he growled. “But she kept it from me! No wonder she’s been so adamant about the divorce. Clearly, she only ever wanted me to get a baby with good genes for her own heir.”

Noah growled softly as the notion hit him: Hannah had used him as nothing more than a stud. “Was this her plan from the start?” he hissed, the car picking up speed as he swerved down the winding roads. “To use me, get an heir, then run back to Silvermoon and use our child as leverage to become a female Alpha?”

His wolf didn’t deign to respond. Noah shook his head, feeling betrayed and used. As soon as she had found out she was pregnant, her goal was accomplished, and she wanted out. No wonder the divorce had been sprung on him so suddenly. No wonder she had been acting like a perfect angel lately. And to think that Noah had wanted to work on their relationship…

Noah found himself at Viona’s new townhouse before he even realized where he was going. He sighed, putting the car in park at the curb. If anyone else knew about the pregnancy, it would be Viona. She was Hannah’s closest friend in the entire world, after all.

He took a deep breath, schooling his features before knocking on the front door. A moment later, Viona opened it, and her eyes widened in surprise.

“Alpha Noah?” she said, glancing over her shoulder as though expecting Hannah to be there—only to find that Noah had come alone. “What are you doing here?”

Noah forced a smile. “Viona, I need to talk to you about something important. May I come in?”

Viona hesitated for a moment before stepping aside and opening the door a little wider. “Uh, sure, I guess. Come in.”

Once inside, Noah cut straight to the chase. “Hannah’s pregnant,” he said bluntly, whirling on Viona. “She just told me herself.”

Viona’s face remained carefully neutral, but Noah could smell the slight hint of anxiety in her scent. She knew. Of course, she knew.

“I… I see,” Viona said slowly. “That’s… unexpected.”

Noah’s eyes narrowed. “How long have you known, Viona?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Viona said, but her voice wavered slightly.

Noah felt his patience snap. He let a bit of his Alpha power seep into his voice—a little magical nudge to force a member of his pack to tell the truth. He didn’t often like using this type of intimidation, but right now, he felt like he had no other choice. Viona had always disliked him, so it wasn’t as if she would tell him willingly.

“Don’t lie to me, Viona. How long have you known?”

Viona’s shoulders slumped in defeat. “A couple of months,” she admitted quietly. “Hannah told me about a month after she found out.”

Noah clenched his fists, trying to control his anger. “And you didn’t think to tell me?”

Viona looked up at him, her eyes pleading. “I urged Hannah to tell you the truth, Alpha. I swear she was terrified. She kept saying that you would steal her baby.”

Noah felt a pang of hurt at those words. “Steal her baby? It’s my child too.”