Chapter 191 My Angel | 084

Chapter 191 My Angel | 084
NOELLE

Applying gloss on my lips by the vanity, I watch my husband move like the weight of the whole world is pressing down on his shoulders. It's Monday morning, and I'm fully dressed for school.

He stands in front of the full-length mirror in the closet, sluggishly sliding his black dress shirt over his broad shoulders. The runes on his chest have faded to faint lines, but the exhaustion on his face hasn't. He looks drained and hollowed out. It makes my heart ache.

I walk over to him. Without a word, I reach up and start buttoning his shirt for him, my fingers careful and steady. He stops moving, letting me do it. When I reach the top button, he rubs one eye with the back of his hand like a sleepy little boy.

I can't help but smile at how adorable that simple action is.

We still haven't talked about what happened on the couch yesterday. The way Haden's essence took over. The cruel things he said. The way he grabbed me.

I lean up on my toes and kiss him gently, pouring every ounce of love I have into it. When I pull back, I rest my forehead against his.

"Are you tired, baby?" I whisper.

He nods, his eyes half-closed. "Yeah... I'm tired."

I take his hand and bring it to my lips, kissing his knuckles one by one. "You shouldn't push yourself at work today. And don't worry too much about what the Werewolf Corps have planned. Please."

Azren lets out a shaky breath and pulls me into his arms. He holds me tight, his face buried in my hair.

"I'm sorry," he whispers, his voice hoarse. "About yesterday. On the couch. I didn't mean any of it. I... I do want your help. I want you to use your light on me. I just didn't know how to ask without making you feel like you have to fix me. Like I'm a burden."

My eyes sting with tears.

"You're my husband," I whisper fiercely, hugging him back just as tightly. "You are never a burden. Never. Please always tell me what you need, and I'll do it. As long as it's in my power, I'll do it for you."

He gets emotional then. He cups my face with shaking hands, his thumbs brushing my cheeks like I'm something precious. He leans down and kisses my forehead, lingering there for a long moment.

"You're my queen," he says, his voice thick with emotion. "My beautiful, strong queen. I just want to take care of you. I don't want you carrying all of this."

I wrap my arms around his waist and hold him as tightly as I can. I can feel how heavy he is, not just physically, but in his soul.

"Azren," I whisper, pulling back just enough to look at him. "How do you really feel? Tell me the truth."

He stays quiet for a long time, just holding me. Then his arms tighten around me, and he buries his face in my neck.

"I hurt," he confesses, his voice cracking. "All the time. I'm so fucking tired, Angel. Tired of the voices. Tired of the pain. Tired of fighting every single day just to stay here with you. Some mornings I wake up and I don't want to get out of bed. I just want it to stop. I want the screaming in my head to stop. I want to feel normal for once. I want to be the man you deserve instead of this... broken thing that keeps dragging you into the darkness."

His voice breaks completely.

"I'm scared," he whispers. "I'm scared that one day I'll wake up and I won't be me anymore. That Haden's poison will win. That I'll hurt you. That I'll lose you. I'm so tired of being strong. I just want to rest... but I can't rest because I'm terrified of what happens if I do."

Tears slip down my cheeks as I hold him tighter, one hand stroking his back, the other cradling the back of his head.

"I've got you," I whisper, my voice trembling. "I've got you, my love. You don't have to be strong every second. You can fall apart with me. I'll hold every broken piece until you're ready to stand again."

"I love you," he whispers, and I smile through my tears.

"I adore you, honey. Come home safe to me okay?"

He pulls back, a small smile on his face. "I will."

...

I'm sitting with Blue on a quiet bench near the back of the campus garden, away from the main crowd. The sun is shining, but it doesn't seem to reach me. My mind is still stuck on yesterday and on Azren's exhausted face.

Blue notices.

"You're not okay," she says, turning to face me. "Talk to me."

I swallow hard, my fingers twisting in my lap.

"I'm scared, Blue," I whisper. "Azren... he's not himself. There's this shard of Haden's essence inside him now. Yesterday it took over for a moment. He said things... dark things. It wasn't him. But it came from him. And he looked so tired this morning. Like he's barely holding on."

Blue listens without interrupting, her expression serious.

I take a shaky breath and ask the question that's been eating at me since last night.

"Has Azren... ever been suicidal?"

Blue stiffens instantly. Her whole body goes rigid beside me, her jaw tightening.

The silence lingers.

"Blue?" I press gently. "How bad was it?"

She looks away for a long moment, staring at the trees like she's debating how much to say. When she finally speaks, her voice is low and heavy.

"It was bad, Noelle. Really bad."

She exhales slowly.

"Before you... there were nights he'd disappear. We'd find him on the roof of the tallest building in the city, just standing at the edge. Not moving or speaking. Just staring down like he was calculating how long it would take to hit the ground. Jake had to physically drag him back more than once."

My chest tightens.

"He's tried multiple times," she says, almost reluctantly. "The only reason he's still here is because he met you. You quiet the voices. You give him a reason to fight."

I press a hand to my mouth, trying not to cry. Blue reaches over and squeezes my shoulder.

"He loves you more than he's ever loved anything, Noelle. But that darkness... it's been part of him for a long time."

Before I can respond, Blair appears at the edge of the garden, her eyes red and swollen.

"Noelle... can we talk?"

Blue gives my shoulder one last squeeze and stands up.

"I'll be close by if you need me," she says, then she walks away.

I turn to look at Blair, my heart still aching from what Blue just told me. Her eyes are red and swollen. She looks like she hasn't slept.

"Blair, what's wrong?" I ask, blinking back my tears.

She bursts into tears immediately.

"I'm so sorry," she chokes out, covering her face with her hands. "I should have stopped him. I knew something was wrong with Cooper. I knew it wasn't really him, but I was so scared and selfish and stupid. He promised me he would bring my brother back. He said if I helped him get close to you, he'd resurrect him. I believed him. I let him use me to get to you. I'm so sorry, Noelle. I'm so, so sorry..."

Oh…

That's why she looked so uneasy at the party. That’s why she tried to pull me aside before Azalea dragged me away. Why she kept disappearing…

I reach out and pull her into a tight hug. She clings to me, sobbing harder into my shoulder.

"It's okay," I whisper, rubbing her back. "Blair, it's okay. You were scared. He manipulated you. I'm not angry at you."

She shakes her head against me. "I should have told you. I should have warned you properly. He... he wasn't Cooper. Not really. And now he's gone, and I still don't have my brother, and I betrayed you—"

Her grief is raw and heavy. I hold her tighter, my own eyes stinging.

"I'm so sorry about Cooper," I say. "About what you thought you had. You didn't deserve to be used like that."

We stay like that for a while. When she finally pulls back, wiping her face with shaky hands, she looks exhausted but a little lighter.

"Thank you," she whispers. "For not hating me."

"I could never hate you," I say softly.

Before she can reply, a familiar face appears across the courtyard.

Finn.

He's not in his usual tactical gear. He's wearing ordinary clothes—dark jeans and a grey hoodie—but his posture is still unmistakably professional. He spots me immediately and starts walking over.

Blair notices him too and stands up quickly.

"I'll... give you two some space," she says, squeezing my hand once before hurrying away.

Finn stops in front of me, his expression grave.

"Noelle," he says. "Everything I'm about to say is confidential. You cannot repeat this to anyone. Not even your husband."

My heart starts pounding.

He leans in slightly, his voice low and urgent.

"But here's the important part..."

He pauses, his eyes locking onto mine with deadly seriousness.

"Azren is going to die tonight."

I stare at him, my blood roaring in my ears.

"...What?"

Finn's jaw tightens.

"The ritual the Corps planned? It's not what they told him. They're not trying to seal the veil with minimal complications. They're going to use him as the sacrifice. They believe his death is the only way to close the fractures permanently. They're not giving him a choice. Tonight, at the coordinates they’ll send him, they will kill him."

My knees weaken. I grab the back of the bench to steady myself.

"No," I whisper, my voice cracking. "No, that can't— He can't—"

Finn's eyes are full of grim regret.

"I'm sorry. I'm not supposed to be telling you this. But after what I saw at the last meeting... I couldn't stay silent. If you want to save him, you need to act fast."