Maria.

Noah didn’t stop walking until the noise of the arena faded behind us.

The further we moved away, the quieter everything became. The shouts, the accusations, the chaos—it all slowly dissolved into the distance until only the sound of Noah’s steady footsteps remained.

His arms were firm around me as he carried me down the long corridor of the pack house.

I still hadn’t fully recovered from the shock of what had happened.

My mind replayed everything over and over again.

The arrow.

Adrien pushing me, then the way he collapsed onto the ground.

A small tremor ran through my body again.

Noah must have felt it because his hold tightened slightly, as if he was afraid I might slip away.

"It’s okay," he murmured quietly, his voice calm, soothing. "You’re safe now. No one will hurt you."

Safe.

The word echoed faintly in my mind, but it didn’t quite settle the storm inside me.

Why had someone tried to kill me?

And why...Why had Adrien taken the hit for me?

I had always believed the quadruplets despised me.

Their cold stares.

Their harsh words.

The way they constantly reminded me that I didn’t belong here.

So why would he suddenly throw himself in front of an arrow meant for me?

The question refused to leave my mind.

Noah finally pushed open a door and stepped into a quiet room. I recognized it immediately—it was his room.

The scent of pine and leather lingered faintly in the air, familiar and oddly comforting.

He walked over to the bed and gently lowered me onto it, making sure I was sitting comfortably before stepping back slightly.

For a moment, neither of us spoke.

I stared down at my hands resting in my lap. They were still trembling faintly.

Noah crouched down in front of me so that his eyes were level with mine.

"Hey," he said softly.

I slowly lifted my gaze to meet his.

His expression was filled with concern, his brows slightly drawn together as he studied my face carefully.

"You don’t have to think about everything right now," he continued. "You’ve been through a lot in just a few minutes."

I swallowed slowly.

"But Adrien..." I whispered, the image of him lying pale on the ground flashed through my mind again. "He could die because of me."

Noah shook his head gently. "Don’t say that!"

"But the arrow..."

"He’s strong," Noah interrupted quietly. "Stronger than he looks. He is an Alpha male, he can’t die easily."

His tone carried confidence, but I could still see the uncertainty in his eyes.

Silence settled between us again.

My thoughts drifted unwillingly back to the arena.

To the look on Davian’s face.

To Aidan’s angry voice telling me to pray his brother survived.

A tight knot formed in my chest.

"They have always despised me," I murmured under my breath.

The words slipped out quietly, almost too soft to hear, as if speaking them any louder would somehow make the truth behind them even heavier.

For a moment, I didn’t even realize I had said them aloud.

But Noah heard.

I saw the faint shift in his expression immediately.

He frowned slightly, confusion flickering across his face as he leaned forward just a little.

"They what...."

"They despise me," I said quickly, cutting him off before he could finish the question.

The words came out faster this time, almost defensive.

My fingers curled together tightly in my lap as I spoke, the tension building unconsciously in my hands. I pressed them together until the joints ached, as if the pressure might somehow steady the storm of emotions twisting inside my chest.

"And now Adrien might die because of me," I continued, my voice dropping lower.

The thought alone felt unbearable.

"If that happens..." I hesitated briefly, the rest of the sentence catching painfully in my throat. My eyes dropped to the floor as I forced myself to finish. "I really don’t know what they will do to me."

The words hung in the air between us, quiet but heavy. The guilt pressed down on my chest like an invisible weight.

It had been sitting there ever since the chaos on the field, growing heavier with every passing moment.

The memory made my stomach twist again.

Before I could sink deeper into those thoughts, Noah reached forward. His movement was calm and deliberate.

Gently, he placed his hands over mine, the warmth of his touch startled me slightly.

My fingers had been clenched so tightly that the contact made them loosen instinctively, the tension easing just a little beneath the steady pressure of his hands.

The warmth spread slowly through my skin, It wasn’t overwhelming, just... grounding.

"Maria," he said firmly.

Something about the way he spoke my name made me lift my head.

I looked up at him again.

His gaze was steady, focused entirely on me.

"This wasn’t your fault." He said, as his voice carried a quiet certainty, not doubt, just calm, unwavering conviction. "You didn’t shoot that arrow," he continued evenly. "Whoever did is the one responsible."

The words were simple, logical, clear and I knew that and deep down, I understood it.

And yet...the guilt didn’t disappear.

I wanted to believe him.

I really did.

More than anything.

But the image of Adrien collapsing after taking that arrow for me refused to leave my mind.

Slowly, my gaze drifted away from Noah and toward the window beside his bed.

Outside, the sky had begun to darken slightly.

The bright sunlight from earlier had softened into the gentle glow of late afternoon, the colors shifting slowly as the day began its quiet descent toward evening.

The light spilling through the window painted faint shadows across the floor.

Everything outside looked calm.

Peaceful.

Completely untouched by the chaos that had erupted earlier.

Somewhere in the pack house, warriors were probably searching for the assassin right now.

I could almost imagine them moving through the corridors and across the grounds, questioning people, checking every corner, determined to find whoever had fired that arrow.

And somewhere else...Adrien was fighting for his life.

The thought tightened painfully around my chest again, squeezing the air from my lungs for a moment.

Because no matter how confused I felt...no matter how much Noah tried to tell me it wasn’t my fault...I couldn’t ignore one simple truth.

Adrien had stepped in front of me.

Adrien had taken that arrow.

Adrien had saved my life.