Noah.

The last words I heard before everything went dark, before I lost whatever control I had left, echoed loudly in my head.

You will be the one doing so.

They repeated over and over again like a curse. Like something carved into my mind that refused to fade no matter how hard I tried to shake it off.

Then came pain. My head throbbed violently as my eyes flung open, my breath coming out in a sharp gasp. For a moment, everything spun, my vision blurring as the ache surged through me, stronger than anything I had felt before.

I groaned softly, trying to steady myself, trying to make sense of where I was.

And then I saw it, the same place, that damn old building. Nothing had changed.

Except...This time, I wasn’t tied.

What...?

What else happened?

My breathing grew uneven as I forced myself to think, to remember, but everything felt scattered, broken into fragments that refused to come together.

Only the image of the masked man injecting something into my body.

My heart skipped hard.

Maria.

The name alone sent a wave of panic crashing through me.

Did I...?

Did I hurt her?

The thought came suddenly, violently, making my chest tighten as dread settled in.

"No..." I muttered under my breath, shaking my head instinctively, as if denying it would somehow make it untrue.

But then, her scent, It hit me all at once, with a strong force. My body went still and that was when I noticed it.

The metallic taste lingering in my mouth, blood.

My breath caught.

Slowly, my tongue brushed against the corner of my lips, and there it was but it wasn’t mine.

I knew that instantly.

My eyes widened, panic rising rapidly as realization dawned on me.

It was...Maria’s.

"No..." My voice came out barely audible, disbelief and horror crashing into each other inside me. "No... no, no..."

Did I...?

Did I eat her?

The thought alone made my stomach churn violently.

Oh God.

Without thinking, I pushed myself up with everything I had, adrenaline surging through me, ignoring the pain, ignoring everything except the need to get out.

To find her.

I stood up barely registering how and rushed out of the building, my steps unsteady but fast, driven by pure panic.

And then I saw them.

Adrien and Daniel, standing close to each other, but as Daniel turned, he was holding Maria in his arms possessively.

The sight made something inside me snap instantly. A sharp, uncontrollable surge of emotion rose within me, anger, confusion, something darker, but I forced it down. I couldn’t lose control again.

Not when I didn’t even know what I had happened, and if I was the cause of her being unconscious.

I stepped forward, my gaze fixed on them as my heart pounded heavily in my chest.

"What’s going on here?" I demanded, my voice rough but firm as I positioned myself in front of Daniel, who looked like he had been about to leave.

He turned to me quickly, relief flashing across his face almost immediately.

"Noah, thank goodness you’re here," he said, his tone urgent, almost convincing. "Adrien is trying to hurt Maria."

My brows pulled together.

"You have to stop him," he continued, adjusting his hold on her slightly. "Let me take Maria somewhere safe first."

He looked... sincere. I frowned slightly, uncertainty creeping in as I processed his words.

And then, Adrien scoffed.

The sound cut through the tension sharply.

"Noah," he said, his voice calm but edged with something else. "I’ll take you for a fool if you actually believe him."

My gaze shifted to him, now I was stuck and confused, torn between two sides.

From the way Daniel looked, from the urgency in his voice, the way he held Maria, it seemed like he was telling the truth.

But then again...I knew Adrien.

I knew the quadruplets.

They weren’t saints.

Far from it.

But they weren’t mindless killers either.

They didn’t just hurt people without reason and more importantly, they had saved me.

The memory came rushing back, clear and undeniable. The war. The chaos. The moment everything should have ended for me, for my family.

I would have died that day.

Alongside my brothers.

My parents.

But they didn’t let that happen.

They saved me.

And later, I found out the truth, that it was the Lycan prince who had staged everything.

That war...It wasn’t what I thought it was.

A slow breath left me as I stood there, caught between past and present.

I owed them.

That much was certain. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

I had even promised, to grant one of their wishes someday but this...this wasn’t something I could give, not when it involved Maria.

My jaw tightened.

I wasn’t letting her go.

Not for anything.

Not for anyone.

"I know how obsessed you are with Maria, Adrien," I said finally, my voice steady as I made my decision. "Definitely, you wouldn’t harm her."

My words hung between us as I turned my attention back to Daniel, my gaze sharpening slightly.

"Daniel..." I added, my tone calmer now but filled with quiet suspicion. "If I may ask..." I paused briefly. "Why are you in the forbidden area?"

Daniel’s face paled instantly.

It was subtle, so quick that anyone else might have missed it, but I saw it. The way the color drained from his expression for just a fraction of a second before he forced it back, smoothing it over with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.

"I heard what happened earlier here with Patricia, Noah," he said, his tone light, almost too controlled. "And I was concerned."

He shifted slightly, adjusting Maria in his arms as he spoke, as if that alone could make his story more believable.

"So I watched Maria’s every step," he continued, his smile holding steady. "I wouldn’t want her to be injured or hurt."

I didn’t respond immediately, Instead, I took a slow, deep breath, my gaze fixed on him as I let his words settle.

On the surface, it sounded reasonable and even convincing but something was off. Something didn’t sit right and then I saw it, the slight tremor in his hand.

The barely noticeable tension in his shoulders. The way his eyes flickered, not with concern, but with something closer to unease.

That was all I needed.

He was lying.

If he truly had been watching over her like he claimed, if his intentions were as pure as he wanted me to believe, then why was he shaking?

Why did he look like he was waiting for something to go wrong?

My jaw tightened slightly.

"Alright, Daniel," I said finally, my voice calm, controlled, as I took a step closer to him. "Hand over Maria to me."

His body stiffened.

"I’ll keep her safe," I added, my tone steady, leaving no room for argument. "The thing is... I can’t currently fight Adrien."

I let out a quiet breath, as if weighing my own words.

"He’s stronger than me," I admitted, my gaze not leaving his. "And I’m injured."

Another step closer.

"So fight him instead," I continued, my voice lowering slightly, more deliberate now. "Stall for time... and I’ll take Maria somewhere safe."

For a brief moment, silence stretched between us.

"No!" the word came out sharp and immediate.

Daniel’s grip on Maria tightened slightly, his reaction too fast, too defensive and just like that...everything became clear.

My suspicion hardened into certainty, he wasn’t protecting her, he was the danger.

My eyes darkened slightly as I stared at him, the last trace of doubt disappearing completely. He was the one who wanted to harm Maria and I wasn’t going to allow that.

"Too late, Daniel," I said, my voice dropping, colder now, edged with something far more dangerous. "You have no choice but to hand her over."

The air around me shifted.

I could feel it.

Deep within me, my wolf stirred, restless, agitated, pushing against the surface, fighting to take control.

And this time...I wasn’t sure I could hold it back.