Chapter 504: Fragments.

ADREIN

The heavy, suffocating silence of the inner hallway was driving me out of my mind.

I was pacing back and forth across the polished stone floor outside the medical wing, my boots clicking rhythmically in the quiet space. Every few seconds, I stopped to glare at the heavy oak doors, my pulse racing as the faint, distant sounds of shouting and clanking steel echoed from the northern boundary.

Noah was standing near the arched window at the end of the corridor, his arms crossed tightly over his leather-clad chest. His jaw was set, his dark eyes staring out into the twilight courtyard where his house guards were milling about in confusion, waiting for clear orders that hadn’t been given yet.

"Stop pacing, Adrein," Noah muttered, his raspy voice tight with irritation. "You’re making the air in here thicker than it already is."

"I’m not going to just sit on my hands," I shot back, turning on my heel to walk another lap across the floorboards. "Aidan and the others are out there tearing through the woods, and we’re stuck in a hallway like sitting ducks."

"We’re protecting the inner core," Noah said, though he winced slightly, rubbing his temple where the last remnants of the wolfsbane headache were still bothering him. "If Vincent’s men breach the outer wall, this is where they’ll head."

Before I could reply, the heavy iron-bound doors at the far end of the medical wing burst open.

A young guard dressed in Noah’s house colors stumbled into the corridor, his face flushed red and his chest heaving as if he had just sprinted up five flights of stairs.

"Alpha Noah! Alpha Adrein!" the guard gasped out, catching his breath against the stone wall.

Noah instantly uncrossed his arms, taking a sharp step forward. "What happened? Did the perimeter breach?"

"No, sir!" the guard yelled, a massive, breathless grin breaking across his face. "It’s the lady! Maria! She’s fully awake, sir! Physician Thorne just called it—the poison is completely out, and she’s sitting up asking for you!"

The world stopped spinning for a split second.

"She’s awake?" I repeated, the words tumbling out of my mouth before my brain could even process them.

A wild, unstoppable surge of pure relief exploded in my chest. I let out an embarrassed, breathless laugh and literally jumped up into the air, my hands clenching into triumphant fists as I let out a loud, victorious shout that echoed off the high stone ceiling.

"She made it!" I laughed out loud, slapping my hand hard against the stone pillar beside me. "I knew it! I knew her wolf was stronger than that damn poison!"

Noah let out a long, ragged exhale, a genuine, blinding smile cracking through his usually stoic, exhausted expression. "Thank God," he breathed out, running a hand over his face.

In an instant, every single strategic thought, military formation, and defensive protocol completely vanished from our heads. We didn’t stop to give the waiting house guards their tactical assignments. We didn’t designate a vanguard squad for the courtyard or set up the archer rotations on the inner ramparts. The entire lockdown plan was wiped clean from our minds by pure, unadulterated relief.

Noah and I turned as one person and practically sprinted down the hallway, shoving the heavy wooden doors of the infirmary wide open.

The warm air inside hit us immediately, smelling faintly of clean linen and sweet herbal tea instead of bitter counter-tonics. Physician Thorne was stepping back from the cot, wiping his hands on a towel with a look of quiet satisfaction on his face.

And there she was.

Maria was sitting upright against a stack of soft pillows, a thick wool blanket draped over her lap. Her dark hair was falling over her shoulders in loose waves. Her skin was warm, glowing with a healthy, vibrant color, and her dark eyes were completely clear, bright, and alert.

The moment my eyes locked onto hers, my chest swelled so hard I couldn’t breathe.

"Maria!" I called out, completely abandoning any sense of Alpha composure.

I crossed the room in three massive strides, dropping to my knees right beside the cot and throwing my arms tightly around her shoulders. I pulled her small frame flush against my chest, burying my face in the crook of her neck, breathing in her sweet, familiar scent that was finally free of that terrible, bitter poison.

"Adrein..." she gasped out softly, her small hands coming up to pat gently against my back, slightly startled by the sheer force of my sudden embrace.

"You scared the absolute hell out of us, sweet girl," I rasped into her hair, my voice cracking as I held her so tight I was almost afraid she’d shatter. "Don’t you ever do that again. Do you hear me? Never again."

"I’m okay, Adrein," she murmured, a gentle, fond tone in her faint voice. "I’m okay..."

I slowly pulled back, keeping my broad hands resting gently on her arms as I looked into her clear eyes, my heart pounding with pure joy. "Your wolf is back. I can feel the bond thread humming in my chest again. It’s totally solid."

Maria gave me a small, beautiful smile, but after a short second, her eyes drifted past my shoulder, scanning the quiet infirmary room. Her brows pinched together slightly in confusion.

She looked past Physician Thorne, past the open doorway, until her gaze finally landed on Noah standing a few feet back, his dark eyes watching her with a quiet, intense tenderness.

"Noah?" Maria whispered, her voice carrying a fragile, uncertain edge as she shifted slightly under my grip.

Noah stepped forward slowly, stopping right beside the cot, his raspy voice dropping into a soft, careful tone. "I’m right here, Maria."

I loosened my grip on her arms, my smile faltering slightly as Maria reached her small, trembling hand right past me, completely bypassing my fingers to reach out toward Noah.

"Noah..." she repeated, her eyes locked onto his face, swimming with a mixture of faint confusion and quiet relief. "Where... where are we? Is Vincent gone?"

Vincent?

We had long left the Lycan territory, did she lose fragments of her memory?

Noah caught her hand in his broad palm, wrapping his fingers around hers with protective warmth, squeezing gently. "You’re at my pack house, Maria. You’re completely safe.... Everything is back to normal and Vincent isn’t going to hurt you ever again."

Maria let out a long, shaky sigh, her shoulders dropping as if a massive weight had just been lifted off her chest. She pulled Noah’s hand closer, resting her cheek lightly against his knuckles, her dark eyes never leaving his face.

I sat back on my heels beside the cot, my hands dropping uselessly into my lap. I looked between Maria holding Noah’s hand and Noah looking down at her like she was the only thing that mattered in the world.

A strange, quiet ache flared in my chest—not of anger, but of a quiet, jarring realization. After everything we had just gone through, after fighting at the cabin and carrying her across the territory, the very first person she looked for the second her mind cleared wasn’t me, and it wasn’t Aidan, Davian, or Damien.

It was Noah.

Before I could even process the sudden silence hanging in the room, a deafening, metallic crash echoed from the outer courtyard, shaking the heavy stone walls of the pack house and rattling the glass vials on the medical tables.