Chapter 125\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nolan POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
It didn\u2019t matter how many times I told myself I wouldn\u2019t react. Every time I caught Kieran with her, the same damn heat coiled in my chest, sharp and feral, clawing to be let loose.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I was standing by one of the patio doors, moonlight filtering in from the gardens and catching my attention as a shadow interrupted it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And there he was-Kieran, with Ellie, leaning in too close, his every movement polished and deliberate, like he thought he could charm his way into her good graces.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I told myself to look away. To focus on the alphas mingling inside, on the political games being played around me. But my eyes wouldn\u2019t leave her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My wolf prowled restlessly just under my skin, hackles raised. Every smile she offered him felt like a blade between my ribs.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was nothing, I told myself. A conversation. Kieran liked to collect allies. He liked to pretend he was everyone\u2019s friend, that his charm meant loyalty.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ellie was just being polite. That was all.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And yet, when his hand brushed her arm, a soft, deliberate touch meant to look casual, something in me snapped.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My fingers tightened around the glass in my hand. I could hear it creak under the pressure, and it took everything not to shatter it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My wolf lunged, urging me to act, to tear her away from him before he could press his advantage.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She\u2019s yours, the instinct growled. He has no right.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But logic cut back hard. She isn\u2019t mine. Not anymore. Not really.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That reminder didn\u2019t stop the jealousy surging through me like wildfire. I clenched my jaw, set the glass aside, and moved.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Crossing the courtyard felt like wading through molasses, every elder, every alpha in my path another obstacle I wanted to shove aside. When I finally reached them, my voice came out tighter than I wanted, but controlled.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cEllie.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her head snapped toward me, surprise flickering in her eyes. Kieran\u2019s smirk faltered just slightly, but he didn\u2019t step back. I hated that.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMay I have this dance?\u201d I asked, holding out my hand. It wasn\u2019t a request. It was a demand wrapped in civility.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ellie blinked, clearly thrown off. \u201cUh-\u201c\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course she may,\u201d Kieran cut in smoothly, but there was an edge to it now, his possessive little performance faltering.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ellie glanced between us, her brow furrowing like she could sense the unspoken challenge hanging in the air. For a heartbeat, I thought she might refuse, and the thought nearly drove me over the edge.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then, with a cautious nod, she set her hand in mine. \u201cAlright.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 125\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
The moment her skin touched mine, a jolt shot up my arm-familiar, electric, infuriating. My wolf quieted instantly, almost smug with satisfaction.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I guided her onto the dance floor, doing my best to keep my steps measured, my temper in check. The music was slow, something classical and refined, but I barely registered it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
All I could focus on was the warmth of her hand, the way her body fit against mine when I drew her close.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re tense,\u201d she murmured after a moment, her voice low enough that only I could hear.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I forced a half-smile. \u201cYou could say that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her eyes searched mine, confused, suspicious. \u201cWhy? You seemed fine earlier. Then suddenly-\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I cut her off, my voice sharper than intended. \u201cHe was touching you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her brows shot up. \u201cSo? It was just-\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt wasn\u2019t just anything,\u201d I snapped, then swallowed back the growl threatening to rise. I drew a breath, forced my tone softer. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t nothing to him. And it wasn\u2019t nothing to me either.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her lips parted, stunned into silence. I regretted the words instantly, but I didn\u2019t take them back. I couldn\u2019t.\u00a0<\/p>\n
We moved through the steps in silence for a few beats, the tension thick as smoke between us.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her eyes darted away, like she didn\u2019t know what to make of me. Like she wasn\u2019t sure if she should be angry or\u2026 something else.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finally, she said quietly, \u201cYou\u2019re confusing, Nolan.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I let out a humorless laugh. \u201cTell me something I don\u2019t know.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
But the truth was, I wasn\u2019t confused at all. I knew exactly what this was. I wanted her. Not just because of the mate pull, not just because my wolf demanded it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I wanted her-Ellie, with her stubborn will, her quiet strength, her defiance. The thought of her choosing someone else choosing Kieran\u2014made my blood boil.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Whatever had changed in her since her car accident and memory loss, it had changed things between us. She was so frustrating. So stubborn and determined. I couldn\u2019t help but be drawn to her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I tightened my hold on her waist, just slightly, enough that she noticed. Her breath hitched, her eyes flicking up to mine. For one dangerous second, the world around us faded. It was just her and me, bodies swaying together in time, our hearts pounding in sync.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The tension between us wasn\u2019t anger anymore. It was heat. Fragile, unspoken, undeniable.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And I knew, if I let myself lean in just an inch closer, if I let myself cross that line, there would be no turning back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
So I forced myself to stop. To hold the line, even as every instinct screamed to break it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Because no matter how much I wanted her, I had no right. Not after everything.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I had promised her freedom. I had given my word. I couldn\u2019t take it back, and I couldn\u2019t risk her misinterpreting my motivations.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I felt sick just at the thought that she might think I would manipulate her in that way. So I held back, no matter how much it made my chest ache to do so.\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 125\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
She looked up at me with those sharp, moonlit eyes of hers. The pale blue grey reflected the light that streamed in from the windows and made them appear to glow for a moment. The sight of her like that made my heart skip.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The song ended. I let her go with deliberate slowness, my hand lingering a beat too long before I stepped back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you,\u201d I managed, voice steady despite the storm in my chest.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ellie gave me a look I couldn\u2019t read-confused, wary, maybe even curious\u2014and then she turned, heading back toward the edge of the room.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I watched her walk away, not toward Kieran but to Lance. That made my wolf growl in jealous anger, too.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It seemed like every man around us was after her. I knew that was a paranoid thought, but I couldn\u2019t shake it. The way she drew people to her was magnetic.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The rumors going around about her being some divine messenger only made it worse. I had been hyper aware of the alphas around us, staring at her all night. It put me on edge and filled my head with a torrent of thoughts that I was struggling to control.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was a good thing the night was almost over. I wasn\u2019t sure how much more of this I could stomach.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lance greeted her warmly, and I saw her smile at him. I should join them, we should say our goodbyes and leave the party, but I couldn\u2019t. Not yet.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stayed where I was, fists clenched at my sides, fighting the urge to go after her again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Because if I did, I wasn\u2019t sure I\u2019d be able to stop myself this time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A Cold Marriage That Turned Warm 125 Chapter 125\u00a0 Nolan POV\u00a0 It didn\u2019t matter how many times I told myself […]<\/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-23694","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\/23694","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=23694"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23694\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23694"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23694"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23694"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}