Chapter 40\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nolan POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lance\u2019s sudden appearance at the house caught me completely off guard. I was wrapping up for the night, finally ready to get some dinner, when he appeared in the doorway\u00a0<\/p>\n
The look on his face wasn\u2019t exactly upset or even troubled, it was just\u2026 tense, in a way I couldn\u2019t quite name. It had been a long time since I saw Lance like this. He almost seemed like he was feeling guilty about something.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDid we have an appointment?\u201d I asked as he stepped into the living room.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d Lance said, taking the empty seat across from me. \u201cI just wanted to talk to you. I was in this part of town anyway.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLuckily, I happened to be in,\u201d I muttered.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean, I figured you would be, because Ellie was out,\u201d Lance answered.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d I asked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing. I was out with some friends at the grill house and I saw Ellie there with Rae,\u201d Lance said dismissively.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course she was,\u201d I muttered. \u201cSo why are you here?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cJust thought I\u2019d check in since I was around,\u201d Lance replied, but there was a stiffness in his shoulders I wasn\u2019t used to seeing. The hostility he normally carried toward me seemed muted somehow.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Before I could question him any further, the front door opened. We both paused, listening as Ellie came inside and kicked off her shoes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m home,\u201d she called out.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m in the living room,\u201d I responded, glancing at Lance, who was giving me a curious look.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A moment later, Ellie peeked around the doorway. \u201cJust letting you know so you don\u2019t send anyone out looking for me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no reason to worry about that,\u201d I replied evenly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her gaze shifted to Lance. \u201cSo you gave up on looking for a drunk girl to bring home?\u201d she asked teasingly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lance scoffed, but there was no heat to it. \u201cSomething like that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhatever that means,\u201d Ellie said before turning and walking away.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I listened to Ellie\u2019s footsteps fade before turning my gaze back to Lance. \u201cWhat the hell was that? What\u2019s going on with you?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t respond to Ellie with anger or even a sharp comeback. He just accepted that from her. It didn\u2019t make any sense. I almost wanted to ask if he was sick or something. I was weird enough that he\u2019d shown up here to see me for no apparent reason.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLook, nothing is going on with me. I just-\u201d Lance hesitated, as if he wasn\u2019t sure what he wanted to say. Then he looked at me with a determined expression. \u201cI just want to prove that I\u2019m not the embarrassment of the family.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I was suspicious, obviously. Lance hated me. He\u2019d never gone out of his way to do anything for the pack before.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In fact, it was like pulling teeth to get him to show up to anything that really mattered. The fact that he was here, late at night, offering his help\u2026 it didn\u2019t make any sense.\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chverer 40\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
But neither did his reaction to Ellie just now. Unless\u2026 maybe she\u2019d said something about him being an embarrassment, and it had gotten under his skin. Lance was so competitive, it wouldn\u2019t surprise me if he was doing this just to prove her wrong.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Either way, I wasn\u2019t about to look a gift horse in the mouth. If he was actually offering his assistance for once, I was going to take it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot going on at the moment, and I could use the help,\u201d I said finally.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, I figured. Seems like you practically live in your office,\u201d Lance said with a scoff.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His words annoyed me, but I forced the feeling down. I didn\u2019t want to get into an argument tonight. I was too tired.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLook, I don\u2019t know what your actual motivation is here, but if you\u2019re serious, there is something you could help with,\u201d I said reluctantly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is it?\u201d Lance asked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Moonstone pack is still here, and it\u2019s looking like they\u2019re going to be around for at least a couple more months. But something weird is going on with them, and I could use a trustworthy set of eyes to help me out. You\u2019re around the same age as Cassian, maybe he\u2019d be open to talking, hanging out. If he says anything concerning, you let me know,\u201d I explained.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou want me to spy on the Moonstone Alpha\u2019s son?\u201d Lance asked skeptically.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNot spy, exactly. Just see if you can get him to open up about what they really want here. There\u2019s something deeper going on than just the deal between our packs, but I can\u2019t put my finger on exactly what it is. I just know something else is happening.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cFar be it for me to question your intuition,\u201d Lance said with a sigh. \u201cYeah, fine. I\u2019ll hang out with Cassian and see if he does anything weird.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cGood. It may take some time for him to open up, but if anyone can manage it I\u2019m sure it\u2019s you,\u201d I said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lance was annoying to me, but other people seemed to find him charming. He was always surrounded by a group of friends who, by all accounts, were loyal to him. Maybe he could work some of that charm on Cassian.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Third Person POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the guest rooms of the pack house Cassian and alpha Alaric are still awake. Alaric is pacing, too agitated to settle. Cassian watches him with obvious concern.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe blatant disrespect,\u201d Alaric mutters. \u201cIt\u2019s astounding.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd so far reaching,\u201d Cassian sighs. \u201cTo think that it was allowed to get this bad. I know that Ellie is technically a rogue, but she\u2019s the wife of the alpha.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Alaric shook his head and stopped, looking at his son. \u201cEither Nolan has no control of his pack or he has condoned this treatment.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d believe either,\u201d Cassian said. \u201cThe servants have been more than willing to tell us all of the drama going on here.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you believe what they\u2019ve told us?\u201d Alaric asked with concern.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cassian hesitated to answer. He didn\u2019t want to believe that was all true. Regardless of whether they were right about Ellie being his missing sister, no one deserved the kind of treatment the servants had described.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The stories they\u2019d heard about Ellie\u2019s attempts to win Nolan\u2019s affection being thrown in her face made Cassian almost as angry as the whispers and insults that were spread about her by other members of the pack.\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 40\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
And then there was the rumor that Nolan had a mistress.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cassian clenched his hands. \u201cThe woman they say alpha Nolan is involved with, Felicity. She\u2019s the one who called Ellie the one who insulted her,\u201d he said, unable to repeat the word.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, I noticed that too,\u201d Alaric said bitterly. \u201cIf we\u2019re right about Ellie being your sister, we need to get her out of here. Nolan doesn\u2019t deserve to have her by his side.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAgreed,\u201d Cassian said earnestly. \u201cWe just need to convince her to come with us.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd find the proof of her identity,\u201d Alaric reminded him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cassian nodded, but the truth was that even if Ellie wasn\u2019t his sister he wanted to help her. He didn\u2019t think that\u00a0<\/p>\n
anyone deserved to be mistreated this way by someone that was meant to love them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He just had to convince Ellie to accept their help.\u00a0<\/p>\n
P\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A Cold Marriage That Turned Warm 40 Chapter 40\u00a0 Nolan POV\u00a0 Lance\u2019s sudden appearance at the house caught me completely […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[62],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23609","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-unremembered-mate-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23609","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23609"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23609\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23609"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23609"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23609"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}