Tangled Hearts - The Alpha's Baby Mama-Chapter 280: The strange vistors with the secrets...

Noah POV

The cold air of the Moon Whisper Packlands bit through my coat as I stood at the edge of the forest, staring out into the night.

The distant howl of wolves pulled me out of my thoughts, and I straightened, my senses on high alert. It wasn’t an unfamiliar sound, but tonight it felt different. Like a warning.

I turned and made my way back to the pack house, the wind at my back. The moon hung high in the sky, a silent witness to everything that was happening. As I approached, I could see the lights of the house glowing warmly in the darkness, but that warmth felt deceptive. Inside, tension crackled like electricity. It was only a matter of time before it broke.

Stepping through the front door, I was greeted by the usual sounds of pack life—murmured conversations and the occasional clatter of dishes from the kitchen. But there was an underlying unease, a quiet that shouldn’t have been there. The pack house, usually alive with energy, felt subdued.

The weight of my title, Lycan King, was heavier than it had ever been, and I could sense the unease rippling through the pack as they looked to me for answers I didn’t yet have.

A report had come from Alphas in the Northern region, they were under attack and since then, we haven’t heard anything from them.

I made my way to the main hall, where Kurtis and Emilia were waiting. They sat together on one of the long couches, talking in hushed tones. As I approached, Emilia looked up, her eyes shadowed with exhaustion.

"Your Majesty," she said softly, her voice barely carrying. "Any news?"

I shook my head, trying to keep the frustration out of my expression. "Nothing yet. We haven’t heard anything from Lucius, and the patrols are reporting no unusual activity."

Kurtis leaned forward, elbows on his knees, the weariness showing on his face. "He’ll be fine," he muttered, more to himself than to us. "Lucius knows how to handle himself."

I nodded, but something in me wasn’t so sure. Lucius was strong, yes, but whatever he had left to deal with was bigger than just him. He had always carried more weight than any of us realized—more responsibilities, more secrets.

And then there was Kurtis.

I glanced down into the courtyard, where Kurtis paced restlessly near the training grounds. His figure, usually so composed and confident, was rigid, his movements jerky, as if something gnawed at him from the inside. I knew what it was. I wasn’t blind to the tension that had built ever since Lucius left. Kurtis was holding something back, some storm of emotions that he wasn’t ready to confront.

I knew about Lucius, Kurtis, and Emilia. How could I not? The bond between them was something powerful, something rare, and it was tearing Kurtis apart. Lucius’s leaving had shattered something between them, something they hadn’t even begun to repair. Kurtis had tried to bury it, to focus on his duties, but anyone with half a mind could see the cracks in his armour.

Emilia had taken it hard, of course. She had always been strong, always held things together when others couldn’t. But even she couldn’t hide the pain of Lucius leaving. Kurtis hadn’t been the same since then. He was here, yes, but not present. His mind wandered, and his focus split. I’d caught him staring off into the distance more than once, his eyes far away, lost in thoughts I couldn’t begin to understand.

And? I was caught in the middle of it all.

I was the Lycan King, but I was also their friend. And yet, when it came to the complicated dynamics of Lucius, Kurtis, and Emilia, I wasn’t sure how to step in. Could I even step in? It wasn’t my place, was it? This was something deeply personal between them, something tied to the bond they shared. But I couldn’t ignore how it was affecting everything around us, how Kurtis’ absence of mind was beginning to cause cracks in the structure we’d built for the pack.

The thought gnawed at me. Should I say something? Should I confront Kurtis about the tension, about the clear distraction? Would it even help, or would it just push him further away?

I sighed, leaning my head against the cool window frame, the weight of everything pressing down harder. This was more than just pack politics, more than leadership. This was personal, and that’s what made it so damn hard.

Kurtis was slipping, and I didn’t know how to pull him back. Worse yet, I didn’t know if I even had the right to try.

As I watched him from above, his pacing quickened, and I could almost hear the frustration in his breathing, the way his chest heaved with each step. The bond he shared with Lucius and Emilia—what would become of that now? Could it ever heal?

And what would that mean for us, for Moon Whisper?

A flicker of movement caught my attention. Kurtis had stopped suddenly, his hand going to his pocket. His phone. His brow furrowed as he pulled it out, glancing at the screen. I could see the tension in his shoulders, the way his back straightened as if some part of him already knew who was calling.

My gut twisted with unease as I watched Kurtis answer the phone. His face hardened immediately, his jaw tightening. He spoke quietly, but I couldn’t make out the words from where I stood. It didn’t take long before his expression darkened, something cold settling into his features.

And then, abruptly, he turned on his heel and started toward the pack house, his pace quick and purposeful.

I straightened, stepping back from the window as I heard the front doors open. Kurtis stormed into the hallway, his expression grim, his phone still clutched tightly in his hand.

"Kurtis," I called out, my voice steady, though my heart was hammering in my chest. "What is it?"

He looked up at me, his eyes flashing with urgency. For a moment, he hesitated, as if weighing his words. Then, finally, he spoke, his voice low and rough.

"It’s Lucius."

My breath caught. "What about Lucius?"

Kurtis’s grip on his phone tightened. "He just called me. Greyhound Pack is under attack."

For a moment, time seemed to stop. The air grew still, heavy with the weight of his words.

Under attack.

Greyhound. Xavier’s pack

The words rang in my head, and with them, the crushing reality of what was about to come crashed down on me like a wave.

"Kurtis—" I started, but he was already moving, his mind a thousand miles away. And in that moment, I knew that whatever was coming, it wouldn’t just be about Greyhound. It wouldn’t just be about Lucius.

"We need to stay calm," I interrupted, my voice firmer than I intended. "Running in blind won’t help anyone, especially not Lucius. Right now, the pack needs stability. If we start acting out of fear, it’s going to fall apart."

Kurtis stopped pacing, his hands clenched into fists at his sides. He was trying to stay composed, but I could see the fury burning just beneath the surface. The helplessness. He wasn’t used to standing still, to waiting while someone else faced the danger. And I got it—I did. But this was bigger than any of us. We couldn’t afford reckless moves.

Emilia’s voice broke the silence again, softer this time. "Noah’s right. We can’t make rash decisions. Not while Lucius is out there. He’s counting on us to hold things together while he... does whatever he needs to."

There was a brief, heavy silence before Kurtis finally nodded, though I could see the tension in every line of his body. "Fine," he muttered. "But we can’t wait forever. If we don’t hear from him soon, we need to be ready for whatever’s coming."

I nodded in agreement, though the knot in my stomach refused to loosen. Kurtis was right—we couldn’t wait forever. But charging headfirst into a fight without knowing the full picture would only get us all killed.

Just as I was about to speak again, the door to the hall creaked open, and Cassidy, one of the patrol leaders, stepped inside. Her face was pale, her expression grim.

"Noah," she said, her voice tense. "We’ve got a problem."

Instantly, the air in the room shifted, the unease spiking into something sharper. "What is it?" I asked, my heart thudding in my chest.

Cassidy swallowed hard before speaking. "There’s a group at the edge of the territory. Strangers. They’re not rogues, but... they don’t look friendly either. I’ve never seen them before."

The tension snapped taut between the three of us. Strangers on our borders, especially ones that looked like trouble, were never a good sign. And with everything going on, the last thing we needed was more unknowns.

"How many?" I asked, already moving toward the door.

"Four, maybe five," Cassidy replied, following close behind. "They’re just standing there, watching. Like they’re waiting for something."

Kurtis let out a low growl, his Alpha instincts kicking in. "Waiting for what?"

I didn’t have an answer, but the sense of foreboding that had been gnawing at me for days suddenly felt like it was about to come to a head.

"We’ll find out," I said grimly. "Let’s go."

We moved quickly, gathering a few of the higher-ranking pack members before heading toward the edge of the territory. The forest was thick and dark, the moonlight casting eerie shadows as we moved through the trees. My senses were on high alert, every sound and scent heightened by the tension coiling inside me.

As we neared the border, I caught sight of them—four figures standing just beyond the boundary, their postures relaxed but their eyes sharp, glinting in the moonlight. They didn’t move as we approached, simply watching us with an unnerving calm.

Kurtis stepped forward first, his Alpha presence palpable. "Who are you?" he demanded, his voice carrying through the trees. "What do you want?"

One of the figures, a tall man with dark hair and a cruel smile, stepped forward slightly. His eyes flickered with amusement as he looked over our group. "We’re here for a conversation," he said smoothly, his voice carrying a dangerous edge. "Nothing more."

"A conversation?" I echoed, narrowing my eyes. "About what?"

The man’s smile widened. "About your Luna Selene." freeweɓnøvel.com