NOAH.

Maria has never hurt me before.

Not once.

The thought settled firmly in my mind, steady and unshaken despite the storm Anabel’s words had stirred. I tried to recall even a single moment—just one—where Maria had shown me anything but care.

There wasn’t any.

Instead, what came to mind were entirely different memories.

Maria kneeling beside me when I had injured my hand during training, her brows furrowed in quiet concentration as she wrapped the bandage carefully, scolding me under her breath for being reckless.

Maria hovering near me whenever I so much as coughed, asking if I needed water, medicine, rest.

Maria watching me with that soft, almost worried look in her eyes whenever she thought I wasn’t paying attention.

I had seen it.

The concern.

It was never forced. Never exaggerated. It lived in her eyes naturally, appearing every single time I was hurt or even slightly uncomfortable.

And she still does.

That wasn’t something you could fake so consistently.

And working with Daniel?

That made even less sense.

I remembered the day I handed her the Alpha Vault.

The way her eyes had lit up.

The way her lips had parted in surprise before breaking into that bright, unguarded smile. There had been no calculation in it. No hidden agenda.

Just genuine happiness.

Her fingers had trembled slightly when she took it from me, as though she couldn’t believe I trusted her and could do something so important for her.

That smile had been real.

I knew it was real.

And that was real.

No, this didn’t align.

It was definitely not Maria.

Maybe Anabel misunderstood something.

Maybe she saw something out of context.

Maybe she arrived too late and assumed the worst.

But poison? 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

No.

"Calm down, Anabel. Maria won’t do such a thing," I said calmly, keeping my voice steady despite the tension tightening the room.

The shift in her was immediate.

She pulled away from the hug so abruptly that her hands pressed against my chest, slightly pushing me backward. I stumbled half a step from the unexpected force.

"I said it!" she shouted, her voice rising to the top of her lungs. "You would never believe me!"

She stood up instantly, her face flushed, her hands trembling at her sides.

"You are defending that Rogue when you nearly lost your life because of her!" she accused, emphasizing her words with sharp gestures of her fingers. She stomped her foot on the floor, the frustration pouring out of her in visible waves.

The word Rogue lingered in the air like a weapon.

"Calm down, Anabel!" I repeated, standing up despite the faint weakness still lingering in my limbs. I reached for her instinctively, wanting to pull her back into my arms before her anger spiraled further.

I have genuinely cared for Anabel.

That wasn’t something I questioned.

I had always treated her gently. Protected her when needed. Spoiled her in small, harmless ways.

Like the little sister I had once dreamed of having.

Someone to tease.

Someone to shield from the harshness of the world.

Someone who could rely on me.

Seeing her like this, crying, furious, shaken, it hurt more than the dizziness ever could.

"Don’t tell me to calm down, Noah!" she fired back furiously. "We are talking about your life here!"

Her voice cracked at the end of her sentence.

The anger wasn’t just anger.

It was fear.

Raw and unfiltered.

She stepped closer again, her chest rising and falling quickly with every breath.

"What if something bad had happened to you?" she demanded, her eyes glossy with unshed tears. "How do you expect me to live?"

That question struck deeper than her accusation.

I didn’t hesitate this time.

I wrapped my arms around her firmly, pulling her into my chest despite her resistance. She struggled for half a second before her body softened slightly in my hold.

"Anabel," I said quietly but firmly. "I am fine, okay? Nothing happened to me. So calm down."

I felt her fists press weakly against my shirt before slowly unclenching.

"I’m here," I continued, my voice lowering into something gentler. "You’re talking to me right now. I’m standing in front of you."

Her breathing remained uneven.

The fear still clung to her.

I could understand it.

Waking up unconscious must have terrified her.

Seeing me on the ground like that must have shaken her more than she wanted to admit.

But accusing Maria without certainty?

That I couldn’t accept.

I tightened my hold slightly, trying to steady her trembling shoulders.

"I appreciate that you were worried," I added softly. "I really do."

Because I did.

Her fear came from care.

Her anger came from attachment.

But that didn’t make the accusation true.

"I just..." she murmured faintly against my chest, her voice breaking again. "I thought I lost you."

"You didn’t," I said firmly.

And I meant it.

She calmed down after a while.

Not immediately—but gradually.

Her breathing slowed first. Then her shoulders stopped trembling beneath my hands. The tension that had coiled tightly through her body began to loosen, little by little, until she no longer felt like she was about to shatter.

I gently guided her back toward the bed.

"Sit," I murmured softly, pressing her shoulders down until she lowered herself onto the edge of the mattress. I remained standing for a second, watching her carefully, making sure she was steady before I finally sat beside her.

There was a quiet pause between us.

Then she spoke.

"Noah, I need you to issue a command for Maria to be punished."

Her words were calmer now, but they carried a weight that felt heavier than her earlier outburst.

"You don’t have to worry," she continued quickly. "My brothers would support you. They saw everything."

She gestured lightly with her hands as she spoke, as though reinforcing the certainty of her claim.

Punish Maria?

The thought alone made something in my chest tighten sharply.

That was something I could never bring myself to do.

No matter what.

I had made a vow to myself a long time ago—one that I had never spoken aloud but had carried quietly within me.

To protect Maria.

From others.

From accusations.

From harm.

Even from herself, if necessary.

The idea of being the one to command her punishment felt wrong on a level I couldn’t even explain. It wasn’t just reluctance. It was resistance.

And what if Anabel was wrong?

What if she misunderstood what she saw?

What if I had eaten something bad?

What if I had simply collapsed from exhaustion?

There were so many possibilities.

Jumping straight to punishment felt reckless.

"Don’t hesitate, Noah," Anabel pressed, misinterpreting my silence as doubt in myself rather than doubt in her accusation. "Everyone saw how Alpha Daniel defended her without hesitation."

Defended her.

The word struck me unexpectedly, It echoed louder than the rest of her sentence.

"They are definitely working together," she added firmly.

But I barely registered that last part.

Defended her.

I wasn’t angry at the thought of Daniel defending Maria. If anything, that part made sense. Daniel had always been protective in his own way.

What unsettled me wasn’t the defense, It was what it implied, that they were close enough for him to defend her without hesitation.

That he stood in front of her.

That he chose her side so quickly.

A sharp, unfamiliar feeling twisted in my chest.

I didn’t like it.

Not one bit.

I couldn’t help but imagine, as the image formed unwillingly in my mind, Daniel stepping forward, shielding Maria, speaking on her behalf, standing too close to her.

I didn’t want that.

I didn’t want him anywhere near her in that way, I didn’t want another competitor.

Maria was mine.

The thought surfaced instinctively, possessively, before I could filter it.The idea of someone else doing that, someone else earning her gratitude, her trust, her closeness, felt wrong.

But that didn’t mean she deserved punishment. My jaw tightened slightly as I forced myself back to the present moment.

Anabel was watching me closely, waiting for my response, but yet my thoughts tangled together in ways that made it difficult to think clearly.

"Anabel," I began carefully, keeping my voice even. "You’re asking me to punish someone based on what you think you saw."

"It’s not just me!" she insisted. "My brothers saw it too."

"But did anyone see her poison me?" I asked quietly.

She hesitated.

That hesitation didn’t go unnoticed.

"They saw Daniel defending her," she repeated instead.

The words irritated me. I wanted to tell her to stop mentioning that, but I could only clench my fingers tightly beneath the sheets.

Damn!

What’s going on with me?