Chapter 35 Chapter 35

Chapter 35 Chapter 35
Chapter 35: Ghosts of Promises

Enzo’s

I sat at my desk, my pen slamming repeatedly against the wood, my mind a complete, agonizing mess. Noah’s dreams, that name—Nickolas—kept circling in my head like vultures, pulling up painful memories I had buried years ago.

Ren stood across from me, his scarred face blank as usual, but his eyes were sharp and watchful, studying me as if I were a bomb about to detonate. “Are you okay, Alpha?” he asked, his voice low and cautious. “You’re hitting that desk like it owes you money you desperately need.”

I dropped the pen sharply, standing up. My hands were clenching into tight fists as I met his gaze. “Am I overthinking this whole thing, Ren?” I asked, my voice rough with agitation. “Noah’s dreams, the ones about being called Nickolas. Do you honestly think I’m reading too much into a simple nightmare?”

Ren crossed his arms, his brow furrowing slightly in concentration. “What exactly has you so worked up like this?” he said. “You’ve been extremely agitated since he told you about the dreams. What is truly on your mind that’s bothering you?”

I paced the room, my boots heavy on the floor, my heart pounding hard against my ribs. “What if it’s him?” I said, stopping abruptly to look directly at him. “What if Nickolas didn’t actually die? What if he somehow survived, and Noah… what if Noah is deeply connected to him somehow?”

Ren’s eyes widened sharply, his jaw tightening immediately. “Hold on a minute, Enzo,” he said, stepping closer to me. “Nickolas is dead. Your father made absolutely sure of that years ago. Him and his entire lineage. You know what the Vengas were—leeches who could steal a wolf’s power simply by touching them. If Noah was a Vengas, you’d be completely drained by now, with no strength or power left. Do you feel anything like that happening to you?”

I shook my head, my hands gripping the edge of the large desk for stability. “No,” I said. “I feel perfectly fine. Stronger, even, when I’m close to him. But what if I’m wrong about the Vengas? What if my father missed just one person? What if Noah is… I don’t know, carrying something from Nickolas, some connection?”

Ren sighed heavily, leaning back against the wall with exasperation. “You’re reaching for answers, Enzo,” he said. “Your father didn’t miss anyone. He completely wiped them out. You were there that night, you saw the bodies. Nickolas is gone forever. Noah is just a human with some very bad dreams.”

I sat back down slowly, my head spinning with dark possibilities, my chest tight. “Maybe you’re right, I hope so,” I said, my voice low and weary. “Maybe I’m just seeing things that aren’t actually there. But the closeness is terrifying, Ren. The name, the attacking wolves, the woman running—it’s the exact scenario of what happened that night.”

Ren raised an eyebrow, his voice softening slightly now. “Nickolas?” he said quietly. “The kid you were close to back then? That was years ago, Enzo. You were, what, only fifteen years old? He was just a little kid.”

“Yeah,” I said, my voice barely audible, my mind drifting back to the past. “He was nine years old. He was my first friend ever, the only person who wasn’t afraid of me or my name. He didn’t flinch at all because I was the Alpha’s son, he didn’t even mind my wolf. We’d sneak out of the mansion, run freely through the deep woods, and talk under the light of the full moon. I… I even kissed him once, Ren. I promised him that when I was old enough to officially find my mate, I’d choose him. Then my father found out he was a Vengas. He said Nickolas was dangerous, a direct threat to the pack’s safety. The next morning, Nickolas was gone, and his whole family was dead. I have hated myself ever since for not trying harder to save him.”

Ren’s face softened completely, his voice quiet with sympathy. “You were just a kid yourself, Enzo,” he said. “You couldn’t have stopped your father from his plans. Nobody in the pack could have stopped him; he was absolutely ruthless in his decisions.”

“I should’ve at least tried to save him,” I said, my voice cracking with years of suppressed pain. “And now Noah is dreaming about him, about the wolves, about running for his life. It’s exactly like history is repeating itself, Ren. What if this is a painful sign I’m being given?”

Ren stepped closer, his hand resting reassuringly on my shoulder. “You’re not truly losing your mind, Enzo,” he said gently. “But you’re allowing this memory to completely eat you up inside. Noah is not Nickolas. He is human, not Vengas. Those dreams could easily be caused by stress—Eric’s attack, Dean’s threats, his own father selling him out. Don’t try to make it more significant than it logically is.”

I nodded slowly, but deep-seated doubt gnawed aggressively at me. Moses was restless and agitated in my head, his growl low, like he felt the potential connection too. “What if it’s not just a dream causing this?” I said, my voice low and concerned. “What if there’s something important we’re both missing? Something crucial about Noah’s past?”

Ren sighed, walking over to the bar cart in the corner of the room. “You desperately need to calm down now,” he said, pouring a glass of dark wine and handing it to me. “Drink this. Try to clear your head of this fixation.”

I took the glass, the wine tasting bitter and metallic on my tongue, and stood up, walking to the large window. The sky was quickly darkening outside, the air feeling heavy and ominous, like a storm was rapidly approaching. “I can’t shake this terrible feeling, Ren,” I said, my voice quiet with dread. “Noah’s dreams, Eric hunting him down, Dean’s constant scheming—it all feels deeply connected somehow. I need to find out immediately why he’s dreaming about Nickolas.”

Ren leaned against the desk, his voice firm and decisive. “Then what’s your concrete plan, Alpha?” he said. “Are you going to start digging into Noah’s past life? Are you going to risk asking him more specific details about the dreams? Or are you going to focus on Eric and Dean? They are the only real and present threats right now.”

“I don’t know the exact plan yet,” I said, my hand tightening instinctively on the wine glass. “But I am absolutely not losing him, Ren. Not like I lost Nickolas years ago. If there’s even the slightest chance those dreams mean something more, I’m finding out the truth.”

“Are you completely sure this isn’t just fear talking?” Ren asked softly, his voice low and probing. “Are you scared that you’re just seeing ghosts because you couldn’t save that kid you loved?”

I glared at him fiercely, my jaw tightening in immediate anger. “Don’t,” I said, my voice sharp. “Don’t even go there, Ren. This isn’t about my old guilt anymore. It’s about Noah. He’s my mate, and I am not letting anyone, living or dead, take him away from me.”

Ren nodded slowly, stepping back respectfully. “Alright, I understand,” he said. “But you have to be smart and logical about this whole situation. If you go chasing after old dreams, you might easily miss the real, current danger. Eric is still out there, and Dean is definitely not sitting still for long.”

“I know that completely,” I said, my voice hard and determined. “I’ll deal with both of them soon enough. But first, I need answers about the dreams. Something is fundamentally not right, Ren. I feel it strongly, and so does Moses.”

Ren sighed, running a weary hand through his hair. “Then start by talking directly to Noah,” he said. “Talk to him calmly, get more specific details about the dreams. But you must not let it cloud your Alpha judgment, Enzo. You are the Alpha of this pack. The pack needs you to be sharp and focused right now.”

I nodded, staring out the darkening window, the sense of terrible unease growing steadily in my chest. “I will find out the truth,” I said, my voice quiet but firm. “I am finding out why he’s having those dreams, no matter what great personal risk it takes.”