Chapter 438: Chapter 457

Chapter 0456 Hannah I cursed under my breath as I read Noah’s text again, wishing that it wasn’t real.

His father was coming for dinner. This weekend. The words felt like stones sinking in my stomach.

Marcus.

It had been years since I had seen the man, and every memory of him was colored in black and white. He was a cold bastard, and I’d never liked him.

I squeezed my phone tighter, resisting the urge to toss it across the room.

A flood of unwelcome images came rushing back in that moment–the way Marcus had tried to keep Noah from seeing his mother one last time. Noah’s clammy hands as we’d snuck into the hospital just so he could see her. His look of relief when he had finally stepped out of that room.

What kind of a father doesn’t let his teenage son say goodbye to his own mother?

As far as I was aware, Marcus had never found out that I had helped Noah see his mother before she died. In fact, I didn’t think that he knew Noah had talked to her at all.

I hoped it stayed that way, too. Noah and his mother both deserved to have those moments to themselves. Even I had never asked what had been said in that room that night because I felt it was too personal. And Noah had never shared, either, not even to me.

If Marcus found out, then he would likely sap what little beauty there was out of that memory.

‘But this wasn’t about me. I understood why Noah was doing this. Family could be a bitter, complicated mess, and if Noah felt it was the right thing to do to accept his father’s request for dinner, then I wouldn’t complain. It was just dinner, after all.

Sighing, I texted back my agreement, even though the knot in my stomach didn’t ease.

The rest of the week sped by in a blur, with my nerves steadily building, although I tried not to let it show. When Saturday finally arrived, I found myself staring into my closet, rifling through my clothes in frustration.

“You’re going to give yourself a headache if you keep doing that,” Viona teased from the edge of my bed. She held up a sleek black dress. “Just wear this. You need something that feels like armor, anyway. Something that says ‘I’m an Alpha, and I won’t be intimidated.“”

I turned, exhaling slowly as I eyed the dress Viona had been urging me to wear all evening. It was actually perfect–structured, elegant sleeves, a harsh point to the tailored shoulders, long enough to trail my ankles when I moved.

“You’re right. This’ll do,” I murmured.

As I adjusted the dress over my body, a small thrill of confidence sparked inside of me. This wouldn’t be like when we were kids–

Marcus didn’t have power over us anymore. Not over Noah. Not over me. Tonight, he’d see that we were no longer the teenagers he once controlled.

Viona smiled approvingly as I stepped into a pair of high heels. “You’ll knock him flat,” she said, smirking.

Chapter 0456 +25 BONUS “Let’s hope so,” I muttered, half to myself.

The next task was Melody. I dug through her closet until I found a soft white dress with a little bow on the ruffled collar. I wanted her to look as sweet and angelic as ever for her first meeting with her grandfather, because there was no doubt in my mind that he’d try to find some way or another to demonize her.

I couldn’t help but wonder, as I dressed her, how Marcus would react to meeting the female heir to Silvercrest.

Would he dismiss her just like he dismissed everything else that didn’t fit neatly into his little world? Would he see her as a threat to the pack that he had once controlled, a symbol of a future in which Nightcrest no longer existed?

Or would he simply not give a shit about her at all?

I couldn’t decide which of those options was worse.

Noah opened the door almost immediately when I arrived a little while later, and for a moment, all of my tension slipped away..

He looked devastatingly handsome, as always, in a crisp white shirt and dark slacks. His hair was neatly combed to the side except for that one stray piece that always insisted on curling across his forehead.

My heart skipped a beat as our eyes met, even more so when Melody instinctively held her little hands out to him.

“Hannah,” he breathed, a touch of relief softening his features just at the sight of us. “You look beautiful.” I stepped inside, Melody balanced on my hip, and offered him a teasing smile. “You don’t look so bad yourself,” I said, leaning in for a soft kiss.

As soon as we touched, I felt the tension leave his body, his arm wrapping around both me and Melody and pulling us all together. “I’m sorry about all this,” he murmured into my hair. “I know it’s... not ideal. But I promise, if he steps out of line, I’ll send him away.”

I pulled back just enough to look into his eyes, my fingers brushing his jaw. “Noah, don’t forget that we’re both Alphas now.

Marcus doesn’t control anything. He hasn’t for a very, very long time.”

His eyes flickered with something I couldn’t quite read, and he kissed me again, firmer this time. “You’re right,” he said. “It’s just been so long. I’m getting nervous over nothing.”

As if on cue, the sound of tires crunching on gravel broke our moment. Noah stiffened, his gaze darting to the window. The guest of honor was here, right on time, as always.

Noah took a breath as if steeling himself before opening the door to reveal Marcus standing on the porch. The sight of him was enough to send an icy chill down my spine. He looked almost exactly the same as I remembered–impeccably dressed, with that same harsh, judgmental glint in his eyes.

Retirement hadn’t softened him, clearly.

“Noah,” Marcus greeted, his voice just as cold as I remembered. He held a bottle of wine out to Noah without so much as a ghost of a smile. “It has been a while.”

+25 BONUS Chapter 0456 “Father,” Noah replied, his tone carefully neutral. He took the bottle and stepped aside to let Marcus in.

Come in.”

Marcus stepped over the threshold, his eyes immediately landing on me and Melody. A flicker of something crossed his face–

surprise, perhaps–but it was quickly masked by the familiar coldness.

He handed his coat to a nearby servant without so much as looking at them.

“Hello, Marcus,” I said, forcing a smile. “It’s good to see you again.”

Marcus simply gave me an indifferent grunt in response.

But then his eyes slid to Melody, and for the first time maybe ever, I saw something other than indifference.

”

It wasn’t warmth, that was for certain. It was something else. Something even colder, somehow, than his usual steely gaze.

Something... calculating. Angry.

He narrowed his eyes slightly, his lips thinning as he scrutinized my child. Even Melody seemed to notice the tension and nuzzled against my chest, hiding her eyes from her grandfather as if that might make him go away.

“Is this truly my granddaughter?” he finally asked, straightening. “I’m not sure if I believe it.”

Chapter 0457