Page 139 of King Luna

“Dude, what the actual fuck?! That's fucking crazy as hell! Seriously, don’t listen to him, Aliya. It’s so fucking far-fetched that I'm not even going to answer that,” Steven says. “But doesn't that mean you’re the one who knows too much about Jack? Who said he'd never attend a hunters' event?”

Noah pauses, and my heart skips. But he doesn't budge when I grip his forearm.

“Unfortunately, I was close to Jack. I was forced as a child to hear all about his beliefs on hunting, and to know why he’d never show his face in Westview unless he’s looking for a fight,” Noah mutters. “But you know exactly who you’re talking to about this, don’t you? That’s why you brought Jack up to my wife. And why you didn't think to ask me who my dad was when I accused you of killing him.”

My head spins, blood draining from my face. Steven takes a breath to speak. A beat of silence forces me to hold my breath, waiting for Steven’s next move.

But with Noah’s words about our fathers and Jack, something rings clearer than it ever has. A possibility so simple, yet so terrifying, I never considered it plausible.

My voice shakes as I whisper. “Mason, answer the question.”

Noah’s eyes bulge further than I’ve ever seen them, his grip growing limp on my thigh as he gapes at me.Mason?

“I tried to warn you. He's back in Westview,” Steven says.

Noah’s breath races as fast as my raging heartbeat.Holy fucking shit. You think he’s...?

Oh, my God, Noah, he didn’t even register that I called him a different name. Did he not hear me, or did he find the name ‘Mason’ so normal, responding to it for most of his life, that he thought nothing of it?

We stare at each other, frozen—unable to fathom the possibility Steven just unlocked.

“You can take it or leave it,” Steven continues. “Your loss.”

Despite fighting through rapid, frantic blinks as we both spiral into panic, Noah does his best to play the part of my pissed-off husband with a scoff. “Oh, fuck off. When we findyouin Westview, you'll hope you listened to my wife and never showed your face there again.”

My nails dig into Noah's arm in fear of Steven's response.

But with a soft chuckle, Steven hangs up.

I can’t catch my breath, sputtering through harsh gasps of disbelief. Noah guides me to the bed and sits me down.

Grasping him all over, I can hardly gain my bearings. “W-what just happened?”

“He confirmed it,” Noah hisses, shaking his head. “Mason is Steven.”

I choke out a breath, gripping my forehead. “I can’t think, Noah. Are we sure that’s true? He didn’t directly confirm it.”

“I... I don’t know. We’ll have to capture Mason, and get him to—” Noah’s breath hitches. Closing his eyes, his jaw tightens around his words. “Fuck, that makes so much sense why he’s hiding his fucking smug-ass face from us. Because it wasn’t just us he’s hiding from—it wasyou.”

Numbness crawls over my limbs, my jaw stuck hanging open as my mind glitches over this possibility. The possibility Steven not only lied about who he was, but continued to stalk me, warping everyone around me into believing he was just another jerky Alpha-dom wolf with no power. Not only that, but he destroyed my life, down to possibly killing my father.

Nothing can be said to truly process this. Noah and I huff out our anxiety together, at a loss for words as we stare into each other’s wide, sunken eyes.

“How the hell did we manage to put this together? What made you guess Steven knows who you are?” I whisper.

Steadying my shoulders, Noah stares deep into my eyes. “Because I believe you. I believe you about what you've been through with every piece of my heart.”

I freeze. My lip trembles, a burst of emotion rushing up my spine.

Noah grasps my hands. “I believe you; he’s a stalker. It’s easy to suspect he knows who I am. And I believe you; he’s a rapist. When he said otherwise, I knew to search for what else he was lying about.”

I drop my forehead into his chest, letting out a relieved sob.

Noah strokes my hair, but then his musk heightens. “Goddess, I let him near you, I—”

Grasping Noah tighter, I steady my voice. “No, listen to me.”

Noah halts, but his chest heaves between us, his eyes racing around the room.

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