Chapter 112\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nolan POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
This was the last thing I wanted to be doing right now, but the race for alpha king would be starting soon, had no choice but to participate in the formalities that led tit.\u00a0<\/p>\n
and I\u00a0<\/p>\n
The chamber of the kingdom elders was as solemn as it was suffocating. Ancient banners hung heavy on the stone walls, their faded crests reminding us all of the long lineage of wolves who had come before us. My eyes lingered on my family\u2019s crest before I forced them away.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That was not a line of thought I could follow right now without getting upset. I had to keep my cool now. I had to stay in control. That was something that used to come easily for me\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
I adjusted the cuffs of my jacket, my gaze sweeping over the room. The elders sat in a semicircle of carved oak chairs at the front, their silver-threaded robes gleaming in the lamplight. Every alpha who hoped to be named king stood ready with his Luna at his side, waiting for his moment to be weighed, measured, and either blessed or dismissed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
No alpha would make it onto the ballot without the blessing of the elders. It was the first step in the process. If they deemed me unworthy, then my ambitions ended here.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ellie stood just a pace behind me, her hands folded neatly before her. The dark green gown she wore only emphasized her pale skin, her hair pulled back to show the quiet strength in her eyes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Even after everything-her disappearance, Felicity\u2019s betrayal-she carried herself with more grace than most women who had been groomed for this role since birth.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And it hadn\u2019t gone unnoticed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I caught Kieran the moment he stepped into the chamber. That easy elegance of his always drew eyes. I wasn\u2019t the only one who watched him breeze into the chamber, one of the few alpha\u2019s without a luna by his side.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But it wasn\u2019t me he was focused on.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His eyes locked on Ellie, and for the next several minutes, they didn\u2019t move.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It set my teeth on edge.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I tried to ignore it, keeping my attention on the other alphas as people milled about, exchanging niceties and chatting as we waited for the meeting to be called to order.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But every time I looked sideways, I caught Kieran staring at her. Sometimes thoughtful, sometimes unreadable, but always with an intensity I didn\u2019t like.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And Ellie noticed. She shifted uncomfortably under his gaze more than once, her hand brushing her arm as though\u00a0<\/p>\n
to shield herself.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I knew that I was feeling overprotective of her, so I tried not to let my unease show, though I could feel how stiff my shoulders were. I stood a little closer to her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She didn\u2019t seem frightened, exactly. It would be more difficult to temper my reaction if she did. But it was clear that she was aware of his attention and not comfortable with it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I wasn\u2019t sure why, and this wasn\u2019t the time to ask. Kieran had gotten into the habit of seeking her out every chance he got. I knew him well enough to recognize that his motives were less than pure.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Still, I wasn\u2019t sure what game he was playing just yet.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When another alpha pulled me into a conversation about the situation in the roguelands, I reluctantly stepped\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 12\u00a0<\/p>\n
+26 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
away from Ellie. This was a matter that demanded my attention, I couldn\u2019t brush it off.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But I kept an eye on Ellie, watching as she went to chat with one of the lunas. I wouldn\u2019t let her out of my sight, not with Kieran watching her like a predator studying prey\u00a0<\/p>\n
Because I knew him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And if he was watching Ellie like that, he wasn\u2019t doing it idly. He was planning something.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ellie POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
I tried to stand still, to keep my composure, but Kieran\u2019s gaze burned into me like a brand.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It had been months since I last saw him. The last time we spoke, he had offered to help me escape. He only asked. that I wait a little longer. Wait until the deal with Moonstone was finished.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The night of the attack, I had intended to ask him for help. never got the chance. Everything had changed since then, and I wasn\u2019t even sure how to face him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now, as soon as Nolan\u2019s attention shifted to a conversation with another alpha, Kieran moved.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He crossed the room with the quiet confidence of a predator, slipping between clusters of people until he was suddenly in front of me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cEllie,\u201d he said, his voice low, rough.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My pulse jumped. \u201cKieran.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
For a moment, he just looked at me, his eyes scanning my face as though searching for something. Then he shoo his head, almost bitterly. \u201cI thought you\u2019d managed to escape him for good.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The bluntness of it knocked the breath from me. \u201cI-what?\u00a0<\/p>\n
He leaned closer, lowering his voice so only I could hear. \u201cWhy would you come back? After everything he\u2019s done? After everything you endured in Silver Fang? I thought you finally broke free.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stiffened, glancing quickly toward Nolan, but he was still deep in conversation. \u201cYou don\u2019t understand,\u201d I whispered back. \u201cIt\u2019s not that simple.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSimple?\u201d Kieran\u2019s jaw clenched. \u201cYou were gone, Ellie. Gone. You had your chance to disappear, to live free of him, and you came back anyway? Why?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Heat flushed through me\u2014anger, shame, guilt all tangled together. \u201cBecause I have an obligation,\u201d I said firmly. \u201cSilver Fang is my home. Whether I chose it or not, it\u2019s mine. And I can\u2019t just walk away from that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
His expression twisted, disbelief written across every line of his face. \u201cObligation,\u201d he repeated, as though the word itself was poison. \u201cHe\u2019s chained you with duty. That\u2019s all this is. You\u2019re not his Luna-you\u2019re his prisoner.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t know what you\u2019re talking about,\u201d I replied. I could hear the defensiveness in my own voice.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou aren\u2019t from Silver Fang,\u201d he pointed out, moving a fraction closer. \u201cIt is not your home. It never was. You\u2019re repeating his words. Don\u2019t lie to me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The words cut deeper than I wanted them to. I drew myself up straighter, forcing my voice to stay calm even as my hands trembled. \u201cYou\u2019re wrong. Whatever you think you know, whatever you believe about me and Nolan-you\u2019re wrong.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kieran\u2019s eyes softened for just a moment, something like regret flickering there. Then he stepped back, shaking his head. \u201cMaybe. Or maybe you\u2019re scared. I don\u2019t blame you if you are. But I meant what I said to you back then, Ellie. I\u2019ll help you get out for good. All you have to do is ask\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 92\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
He left me standing there, my heart hammering in my chest, the weight of his words pressing down on me like\u00a0<\/p>\n
stones.\u00a0<\/p>\n
An image of my sons flashed through my mind. All I wanted was to be with them. To return to the quiet, simple life we\u2019d had in Moonstone for those brief, beautiful months.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I forced my breathing steady, pasting composure back onto my face just as Nolan turned back toward me. His eyes. narrowed slightly, glancing in the direction Kieran had gone, but he didn\u2019t ask. Not yet.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And I wasn\u2019t ready to tell him. Not when I wasn\u2019t sure what Kieran\u2019s words meant for me-or for the secrets I was still keeping.\u00a0<\/p>\n
BIG SALE: 3500 bonus free fou you\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u65e5\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A Cold Marriage That Turned Warm 112 Chapter 112\u00a0 +25 Bonus\u00a0 Nolan POV\u00a0 This was the last thing I wanted […]<\/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-23681","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\/23681","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=23681"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23681\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23681"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23681"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23681"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}