Chapter 120\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nolan POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
The cocktail hour was in full swing, the clink of crystal and the low hum of conversation filling the palace\u2019s great hall. Lanterns of cut glass reflected light onto the polished floors, throwing fractured colors across the crowd of alphas and lunas weaving in and out of little circles of conversation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I wasn\u2019t paying attention to any of it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My eyes followed Ellie as she moved through the party. I hadn\u2019t wanted to let her leave my side, but I couldn\u2019t justify following her like a lost puppy all night either.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She was standing with Alaric near the far side of the hall, her posture graceful, her expression politely engaged as he spoke.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cassian hovered nearby, ever watchful, though keeping his distance. The moonlight silk of Ellie\u2019s dress caught the light with every small movement, and the sight of her surrounded by men who looked at her too long set my wolf pacing restlessly in my chest.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I told myself it was caution. Nothing more. After everything that had happened, after the attack, after Felicity- after the secrets-I couldn\u2019t afford not to watch her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But the truth was, I couldn\u2019t look away even if I tried.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re going to burn a hole through her if you keep staring like that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I turned sharply. Lance stood at my elbow, sipping his drink, a faintly mocking smile tugging at his mouth.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m keeping\u00a0<\/p>\n
an eye on her,\u201d I said flatly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou mean glaring at anyone who dares step within five feet of her?\u201d His tone was maddeningly casual, but his eyes were sharp. \u201cThat\u2019s not caution, brother. That\u2019s possessiveness.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I exhaled slowly, fighting the urge to snap at him. \u201cGiven what\u2019s happened, I have every right to be cautious.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a difference between cautious and controlling.\u201d Lance tipped his head toward Ellie, who laughed softly at something Alaric said. The sound drifted across the room, tightening something deep in my chest. \u201cYou don\u2019t trust anyone around her. Not Cassian. Not me. You\u2019re acting like she belongs to you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe is my mate,\u201d I said through clenched teeth.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYour mate?\u201d Lance\u2019s voice dropped, his jaw tightening. \u201cDon\u2019t pretend like that suddenly means something to you now. You rejected her. You treated her like a burden until she had no choice but to run. You don\u2019t get to pull out the goddess card when it suits you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The sting of his words landed harder than I cared to admit. My wolf growled, restless and angry, but I forced my voice steady. \u201cI don\u2019t owe you an explanation for my actions. I\u2019m watching her because I need to. That\u2019s it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d Lance said quietly, leaning closer so no one else could overhear. \u201cYou\u2019re watching her because you\u2019re in love with her, whether you want to admit it or not. And after everything you put her through, you don\u2019t have the right.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My throat went tight. Love. That word again, the one I\u2019d spent so long denying, so long burying under duty and anger and the bitterness I carried for the goddess.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It didn\u2019t matter what I felt. What mattered was control. And I couldn\u2019t let Lance see how close he was to the truth.\u00a0<\/p>\n
So I smirked instead, a sharp, callous edge to it that even I hated the taste of. \u201cLove?\u201d I shook my head. \u201cYou\u2019re giving me too much credit. My only interest in Ellie is physical.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 120\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
The words landed between us like a slap. Lance\u2019s eyes widened, then hardened, fury blazing there.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re unbelievable,\u201d he hissed. \u201cAfter everything she\u2019s been through, after everything you\u2019ve done-you think you can reduce her to that? To a body? No wonder she left you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I opened my mouth, but the sound of movement behind me made the blood drain from my face.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kieran.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He stood only a few paces away, speaking with another alpha but angled close enough that he could have heard.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A Cold Marriage That Turned Warm 120 Chapter 120\u00a0 Nolan POV\u00a0 The cocktail hour was in full swing, the clink […]<\/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-23689","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\/23689","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=23689"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23689\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23689"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23689"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23689"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}