When I returned, Noah was half-asleep, his breathing slow and deep.“Here,” I said softly, setting the milk and cookie on the coffee table. “This might help.”Noah opened his eyes and blinked at me, surprise evident in his tired features. “Oh. Thank you.”I hesitated for a moment as he bit into the
HannahA couple of weeks later, I found myself sitting in the passenger seat of Noah’s car, my hands fidgeting nervously in my lap as we approached the Luna Council meeting.Noah had the day off, so he had offered to drive me, mentioning that he had some business to handle nearby.As we pulled up to
Tell me about it, I wanted to say. I was instantly reminded of the three months I had spent before my rebirth. That, too, had been a nightmare—the constant fear, the isolation, the feeling of hopelessness.A pang of loneliness hit me, then, as I realized I couldn’t share that experience with anyone.
Hannah“How did the meeting go?”Noah pulled out of the driveway leading to Luna Alanna’s vast estate, the car tires crunching on the pebbles. He turned onto the main road, which wound through rolling hills topped with thick forests of tall pine trees.Luna Alanna’s words rang in my head—“In the eve
“So,” Noah suddenly said as we ate, his voice low and serious, “I still can’t find anything concrete about WhiteRabbit.” His brow furrowed with concern, a shadow passing over his features. “I’m worried about your safety, Hannah. I think it would be best if you stayed close to me for now.”His words
HannahThe doctor put away his stethoscope with a sigh, his brow furrowed as he turned to face us. The sound of the metal instrument clinking against his desk seemed unnaturally loud in the quiet room, echoing off of the sterile white walls.“You may need to undergo amniocentesis,” he said, his voic
But even as my body shuddered with release and he slumped into a sweaty, panting heap on top of me, I could sense that Noah’s mind was elsewhere.Once we had both stopped throbbing, he rolled off me and walked into the bathroom, leaving the door cracked. I lay there for a moment on my belly, catchin
HannahI jumped up from my vanity, the brush clattering to the floor with a loud thud that echoed in the suddenly tense room.“What do you mean you can’t come?” I demanded, my words coming out harsher than I intended. “You promised!”Noah sat up in bed, the sheets pooling around his bare waist. Norm
Noah pushed himself harder, letting out a playful howl as he gained on her, the hunt pulsing through his veins like a drug. She glanced back, her ears twitching, and he saw her eyes flash with excitement before she put on an extra burst of speed. It became a game of cat and mouse, each of them pus
Noah For the millionth time that morning, Noah’s gaze drifted from the stack of papers on his desk to the stretch of forest that was visible through the office window. The afternoon light filtered through the trees, casting that familiar, deep green hue over the landscape. Just seeing the expans
Noah didn’t say anything, just looked at it with a faint smile, his hand sliding over Melody’s stroller handle. I could tell that he liked it. A lot. “That’s beautiful,” I said, glancing at the price tag. “If you want it, you should buy it.” I gestured to my own bags sitting in the back of the str
Hannah Amber’s big move weighed on me for days. I was happy for her, genuinely. But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t going to miss her like hell. And with her going-away party coming up, I wanted to do something special before she left. I thought about finding her a small going-away gift, just a
Amber shook her head, blinking quickly to dispel her tears. “It’s like this weight I can’t shake. No amount of therapy is helping. And I realized... I think I just need to get away. I need to start over, somewhere far from here. Somewhere I can figure out who I really am, without all the... the bagg
Hannah When Amber called and said she wanted a girls’ night, I nearly dropped my phone. The last time we had all had a proper girls’ night, just us, had been… Well, I actually couldn’t remember the last time. Maybe not since Melody had been born. Of course I said I would go even though it was a
Noah took a deep breath, nodding. “You’re right.” “And then there’s your father,” he mused after a beat of silence. “He thought he was protecting you, setting you up for a safe future by arranging our marriage, but… he never really stopped to think about what you were getting into. He never took t
Hannah It took some time to get Melody to bed that night, what with all the sugar and excitement of the overwhelming day. Noah and I had to take turns pacing back and forth across the nursery, bouncing her and cooing to her until she finally gave up and let her eyes flutter closed. By the time s
Sighing, I said softly, “I could say the same for myself. But people change.” Her gaze lifted to mine. “Yeah, I guess they do. Thank you, Hannah. Really. I wouldn’t have even thought about it if you hadn’t put in a good word for me.” I shrugged, brushing it off with a smile. “I just suggested th