Chapter 146

• Winona and Noel jaws nearly dropped to the floor when they realized that the person they had been mourning for over a month was alive and well. He was standing at the doorstep, mirroring their wide-eyed expressions of shock and disbelief. Winona had to rub her eyes several times with the back of her hand, trying to dispel the illusion that seemed to be playing out in front of her. But he just stood there, staring at her as if he was caught in a dilemma of fight or flight.
• "Kevin, is this really you?" Noel, her mate, asked, his voice barely more than a whisper. Then, as if propelled by a force beyond his control, he rushed over to Kevin and enveloped him in a tight embrace. "Man, I thought you were dead, I thought I lost my best friend, I thought..." His voice trailed off, the next words stuck in his throat as he realized the implications of what he had been saying. He pulled away from Kevin, his eyes wide with shock. "How are you still alive?! I thought you were dead!" His gaze darted between Juliet and Kevin, as if trying to reconcile the reality in front of him with the narrative in his min.
• Despite being shaken by the shock of the revelation, Winona knew that this was the only chance she had to calm Noel down before the situation escalated. She wrapped her fingers around his, her voice barely above a whisper as she said, "I think we should listen to them. You always said we should hear someone's side of the story before making assumptions..."