Maria.

Everything happening just seems to be giving me a headache and now, Adrein wouldn’t let me breathe.

We were all heading back to the pack to check what really happened. Aidan and Damien were running faster and as for Davian, he walked slowly by my side with Adrien.

They were both basically holding me like a prisoner. They didn’t even give Noah the space to stay beside me.

"Can you both let me be?" I said, suddenly stopping.

"Stop being dramatic and move forward." Davian answered instead.

I refuse to move and turned back instantly to wait for Noah.

"Noah!" I called, my voice cutting through the air.

He moved slightly, just enough to acknowledge her, but that single moment was all it took.

A shadow moved.

Fast.

Too fast.

Before I could even process what was happening, a figure lunged out from the side and struck Noah hard at the back of his head.

"NOAH!" I screamed.

His body went limp instantly.

The attacker didn’t hesitate, grabbing him and dragging him toward the woods that bordered the territory.

My breath hitched.

Everything inside me snapped.

"NOAH! STOP RIGHT THERE!" I yelled, my voice breaking as I bolted forward without thinking.

I didn’t care who it was.

I didn’t care what it meant.

All I knew was that Noah was being taken and I wasn’t about to stand there and watch.

But I didn’t get far.

Two strong hands grabbed me at once.

Davian.

And Adrien.

They appeared almost out of nowhere, restraining me before I could take another step.

"Let go of me!" I struggled violently, my voice raw with desperation. "Let me go! I have to save him!"

My chest rose and fell rapidly as I tried to break free, but their grips were firm and unmoving.

"Maria, stop!" Davian snapped, his voice sharp but controlled.

"Are you crazy?" Adrien added, his hold tightening slightly as I fought harder. "Running into the woods blindly won’t help him!"

"I don’t care!" I shot back, my eyes blazing with fury as I turned toward them. "Let me go!"

My voice cracked.

"He needs me!"

For a brief moment, something flickered across Adrien’s face but it vanished just as quickly.

"We need to assess the situation first," Davian said, his tone colder now. "We go back to the park, understand what’s happening, then we move."

I froze.

Then my expression twisted.

"You’re evil," I said, my voice low but filled with venom.

Both men stilled.

"You’re all evil," I continued, shaking my head. "You don’t want to save him."

My chest tightened painfully.

"You’d rather stand here and think than actually do something!"

"Nothing must happen to Noah!" I shouted, my voice echoing through the area.

For a second, no one spoke.

Then Davian exhaled sharply.

"Enough," he muttered.

Before I could react, he and Adrien began pulling me back away from the woods, away from the direction Noah had been taken.

"Let go of me!" I fought again, but it was useless.

They were already moving.

Dragging me toward the park.

Toward whatever chaos had erupted there.

We hadn’t gotten back to the pack when we stumbled upon Damien and Aidan. Their heads snapped toward us immediately.

"What exactly is going on here?" Aidan demanded, stepping forward, his gaze sweeping over me, then Davian and Adrien.

But there was only one thing in my mind, as my chest was still heaving. Adrein and Davian still refused to let go and after saying it all, Aidan still didn’t say anything.

What else was I expecting? That he would rush over to rescue Noah. They all see Noah as a thorn now.

I stepped forward suddenly, pulling against the hold they still had on her.

"If any of you care about yourselves..." I said, my voice trembling but firm, my eyes locking onto all four of them. "...then make sure nothing happens to Noah."

Silence fell, my words hung in the air.

"Bring him back to me," I added, my voice softer now, but no less intense.

Something shifted in the atmosphere, because this wasn’t just desperation.

My gaze hardened.

"You all claim to be Alphas," I continued, my voice rising again. "Then act like it." My fists clenched tightly at my sides. "Go after him!"

Still—no one moved and that was when it hit me. A realization so sharp, so sudden, it felt like it cut straight through my chest, stealing the air from my lungs.

My eyes widened slightly, the weight of it crashing down all at once.

"...This was planned, wasn’t it?" I whispered, my voice barely above a breath, but heavy with dawning horror.

All four of them stiffened.

That was enough.

My gaze darted between them, searching, accusing, piecing everything together with terrifying clarity.

"You all came here..." I said slowly, each word dragging out as disbelief seeped into my tone. "...at the same time."

My heart began to race again, faster now, louder, like it was trying to warn me, to keep up with the storm building in my mind.

"To the forbidden area..." I continued, my breathing turning uneven, shaky as I struggled to steady myself, to make sense of what I was seeing.

But it was already making sense.

Too much sense.

"One of you sent Patricia..." I muttered, the pieces clicking into place one after the other, relentless, undeniable. "To distract me... to pull attention away..."

My eyes snapped toward the woods, sharp, accusing.

"...so you could take Noah."

"What?" Damien’s voice cut in, edged with disbelief. "Are you insane, Maria? How could you come to such a conclusion?"

"Am I wrong?" I shot back immediately, my voice rising, trembling not with fear but with anger. "Why else would you be standing still while he might be in danger?"

I paused, the silence stretching just long enough to make it unbearable before I raised my voice, sharper this time.

"Answer me!"

Nothing.

Not a single one of them spoke.

The silence was louder than any confession.

My chest tightened, fury and fear colliding as I yanked myself free from Adrien and Davian’s grip, their hands slipping away as I stepped back.

"You better pray nothing happens to him," I thundered, my voice ringing with warning, with promise.

And without waiting, without looking back, I turned and headed straight into the pack.