A Rogue For The Quadruplet Alpha's.

Maria.

I was still furious over the way Adrein had behaved earlier.

The conversation kept replaying in my mind, refusing to leave me alone and the frustration only continued to build.

Yet, despite how angry I was, there was nothing I could do about it.

For now...I simply had to tolerate him.

That was all.

Whether I liked it or not, our paths had crossed again, and until everything was over, avoiding him completely wasn’t an option.

Even so...there was one thing I was absolutely certain of—I could forgive them...perhaps, one day, I truly would but forgiveness didn’t mean forgetting and it certainly didn’t mean going back.

No matter what happened.

No matter how much they apologized.

No matter how much they claimed to have changed.

I would never return to them.

That Chapter of my life had already ended.

"Really?" Vernia’s voice suddenly echoed inside my head, pulling me away from my thoughts.

I frowned immediately.

The question had come completely out of nowhere.

Lately, my wolf had been acting far too strange. She seemed unusually concerned whenever the quadruplets were involved, especially when it came to her mates.

It was beginning to irritate me.

"Shut your mouth and get back inside," I muttered inwardly, unable to hide my annoyance.

The last thing I wanted right now was another lecture from my own wolf. I wasn’t interested in listening to her endless opinions, and especially not about them.

But Vernia ignored me completely.

"Remember..." She said, as her voice softened slightly. "He took that arrow for you—for us!"

I stiffened.

"He nearly died for your sake." She continued.

The reminder struck deeper than I cared to admit and my expression hardened almost instantly.

"Whose side are you on, Vernia?" I demanded in frustration.

For the first time in a long while, she let out a low growl inside me.

"I don’t know about his brothers," she admitted honestly. "But trust me..." She added, and there was complete certainty in her voice. "Adrein has truly changed."

I couldn’t stop myself from scoffing.

A bitter laugh almost escaped my lips.

"Changed?"

The word tasted almost laughable.

I repeated it with obvious disgust.

"They..." I corrected myself almost immediately. "No." I paused. "They’re all pretending." I folded my arms tightly across my chest. "They’re only acting like this because they couldn’t claim me."

That was the only explanation that made sense. If everything had gone according to their plans...If they had succeeded in getting exactly what they wanted...none of them would be standing here trying to make amends now.

At least, that was what I believed.

The thought alone made my heart feel heavy.

What frustrated me even more was Vernia herself. I couldn’t believe she was actually beginning to sympathize with them.

After everything they had done to us—after every humiliation, every insult and every ounce of pain they had forced us to endure...she was choosing to defend one of them.

I simply couldn’t understand it.

The realization left me feeling strangely conflicted and that was exactly what frightened me.

Because if I kept listening to Vernia...If I allowed her voice to remain in my mind...there was always the possibility that I might eventually start believing her.

I couldn’t allow that, especially not when my resolve was finally steady.

Without another thought, I forcefully shut Vernia out of my mind.

The connection between us immediately fell silent.

If she wasn’t going to say anything that made sense...then there was no reason for me to keep listening to her at all.

Still annoyed by Vernia’s sudden defense of Adrein, I pushed the thoughts aside and stepped out of the room.

The silence inside had become unbearable.

I needed fresh air.

Or perhaps I simply needed something else to occupy my mind.

Anything that would stop Vernia’s words from echoing inside my head.

Without any particular destination in mind, I stepped into the long corridor and began walking.

My footsteps echoed softly against the polished floor, filling the otherwise quiet passage.

I kept my pace slow and unhurried, as there was no reason to rush, I wasn’t heading anywhere specific.

I simply wanted to keep moving.

Perhaps walking would help clear the chaos inside my head but unfortunately, it didn’t.

My thoughts remained hopelessly tangled.

Everything Vernia had said earlier continued replaying over and over in my mind.

No matter how hard I tried to push those thoughts away, they stubbornly returned, and because of that, I barely paid attention to my surroundings.

My eyes wandered absentmindedly along the corridor without truly seeing anything.

Then...As I rounded another corner, my gaze suddenly settled on a familiar figure standing some distance away.

Noah.

I recognized him almost immediately—his posture, his broad shoulders and the casual way he stood.

There was no mistaking him.

For the briefest moment, I almost called out to him but the words never left my lips, because he wasn’t alone.

Someone else stood before him—a woman.

The realization instinctively slowed my steps. I unconsciously became quieter, almost hesitant.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t make out her identity. She had her back completely turned toward me and from where I stood, I could only see the outline of her figure.

For some reason I couldn’t explain, my feet stopped moving altogether. I remained standing exactly where I was completely still.

My eyes stayed fixed on the two figures ahead, and neither of them seemed to notice my presence.

Seconds passed in silence.

Then, before I could make sense of the strange feeling settling inside me, the woman finally turned.

Without looking back, she quietly walked away.

I watched her retreating figure until she disappeared farther down the corridor.

Only then did I finally force myself to move again. I took one step, and then another, until the distance between Noah and me slowly grew shorter.

As I drew closer, something caught my attention.

Noah hadn’t moved, not even once, instead, he remained standing exactly where he had been.

His eyes continued following the woman’s retreating figure long after she had walked away.

He kept staring until she completely disappeared from sight.

The expression on his face was difficult to understand, and I couldn’t tell what he was thinking.

Whether he was worried, curious or simply lost in thought yet, for some reason...seeing him watch another woman leave made something inside my chest tighten ever so slightly.

A strange ache settled deep within me, It was faint and subtle but impossible to ignore.

Who exactly was that woman?

The question surfaced before I could stop myself from thinking about it.

Without realizing it, I lifted my hand to my face and adjusted the mask covering it, making sure it still concealed my features properly.

Only after reassuring myself did I continue walking.

Soon, I had closed the distance between us.

Stopping just a few steps away, I lowered my voice before finally breaking the silence.

"And who is she?"

The sound of my voice immediately pulled Noah from whatever thoughts had occupied him.

He turned around so abruptly that his entire body jerked in surprise, as his eyes widened.

"Oh my!" he said, as he dramatically pressed a hand against his chest. "You nearly scared me to death." He let out an exaggerated sigh before shaking his head. "We seriously need to get rid of this mask as soon as possible."

A light chuckle escaped Noah’s lips as he rubbed the back of his neck, clearly trying to laugh the moment away.

His usual playful smile returned almost instantly, as though he expected me to laugh along with him.

Under normal circumstances, I probably would have ignored his theatrics. Perhaps I would have rolled my eyes and let him continue with his endless jokes.

But today...today was different, as I wasn’t in the mood, not even in the slightest as nothing about the situation amused me.

My expression remained completely unchanged.

The mask concealed most of my face, yet my silence alone was enough to make it obvious that I wasn’t entertained.

"You still haven’t answered my question," I repeated calmly, my voice remaining steady and composed.

There wasn’t a hint of impatience in my tone, yet my eyes never left his face for even a second.

They remained fixed on him, filled with unmistakable curiosity as I waited patiently.

Noah blinked once before casually lifting one hand and giving it a dismissive wave.

"Oh, that." He said, his tone incredibly relaxed, and almost careless.

As though the question I had asked carried no significance whatsoever.

As though there was absolutely nothing worth making a fuss over.

Then, without the slightest hesitation, he smiled faintly.

"She’s an important woman in my life."

The words left his mouth naturally, spoken with such ease that they seemed completely ordinary to him.

I froze.

Everything around me seemed to go strangely quiet.

For a brief second, I wasn’t sure I had heard him correctly.

My jaw slowly fell open in complete disbelief as I stared at him without saying a word.

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