Chapter 0343 

Hannah 

A 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 the Luna Queen’s personal estate, all white columns and perfectly–manicured lawns, I felt my heart rate quicken. Noah put the car in park and turned to me. 

The silence in the car stretched on as I made no move to get out. 

“You good?” Noah finally asked. 

I nodded stiffly, unsure of what to say. My throat felt dry, and I swallowed hard. 

Today would be my second time attending the Luna Council. And my first after… After the ‘deepfake‘ scandal that had occurred a couple of weeks ago. 

The news headlines had been relentless after that day. 

“Luna Hannah accused of cheating on Alpha Noah in deepfake audio!” 

“Luna Hannah… cheating on Alpha Noah? Deepfake tries to twist reality.” 

“The new heir of Nightcrest does not belong to Alpha Noah, or so deepfake tries to claim.” 

Noah had been right when he said that we were fine. We were fine. Hardly anyone believed the audio clip, even though it wasn’t actually a deepfake. And as the weeks passed, the voices of those who doubted whether it was one slowly faded. 

Suddenly, the sensation of Noah’s hand on mine pulled me out of my roiling thoughts. I jumped at the sudden contact, my cheeks heating as I turned to him. Just last night, that hand had been in my mouth while other parts of him had been… elsewhere. Fulfilling our contract, of course. 

“Hey. You’ve been working your ass off for today,” he said. “You’ll be fine.” 

His words bolstered me immensely, sending a wave of confidence through me. I felt my shoulders relax slightly, and I managed a small smile. 

“Thank you,” I whispered. 

Noah nodded, pulling his hand away. My skin suddenly felt cold where his touch had been. 

When I finally got out of the car, my heart was pounding for a different reason than the meeting. 

It had been two weeks since I had… realized. Realized what had happened. To me. To us. 

I hadn’t told Noah, or anyone for that matter, what I had realized that morning as I laid curled up in his arms. I didn’t dare to admit it out loud for fear of what might do once the truth was out there. 

I had fallen in love with Noah again. Hard, deep, and fast. I was utterly head over heels again, just as I had been when we were teenagers. I think Noah may have even begun to feel the same, and if not, then he 

+25 BONUS 

Chapter 0343 

was a good actor. 

He had stopped slipping out of the bedroom before I had awoken for the day. Sometimes, I would wake up and we would instantly be on top of each other, unable to control our urges. 

And then we would stumble down to the breakfast table, faces flushed, shoveling food down our throats to regain our strength. 

Once, I walked into his office midday to bring him some paperwork and he had thrown everything off of his desk so he could have me right there. 

But we never spoke about those moments. When they passed, we would go about our days as if nothing had happened. 

I couldn’t decide if I was glad for that or not. 

I made my way inside the estate, my heels clicking on the marble floor as I approached the council chamber. The other Lunas were already seated around the large, ornate table when I entered. 

Luna Alanna, the Luna Queen, sat at the head, her silver hair gleaming in the sunlight streaming through the tall windows. 

“Luna Hannah,” Alanna said curtly. “You have returned.” 

“We heard about the deepfake,” one of the Lunas said abruptly, before I could so much as greet Alanna. 

I flinched. The pain must have shown on my face, because another Luna quickly added, “These things happen to Alphas and Lunas. It’s alright.” 

“You should be glad it was put to an end so quickly,” another said. “We have all had our share of scandals. Isn’t that true, Evelyn?” 

Another Luna, Evelyn, a statuesque brunette, nodded in agreement. “I once had to endure a three–month smear campaign because a fangirl of my husband leaked nudes,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Now that was a nightmare. The press was relentless, and the online comments… well, let’s just say it was a dark 

time.”