Chapter 161\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cassian snorted. \u201cNot in your nature to be nice?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
They both chuckled-quiet, guarded, but genuine. The tension in the room eased slightly, replaced by the quiet moment of understanding.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nolan\u2019s expression sobered again as he looked down at the folder between them. \u201cHow are they?\u201d he asked finally, voice low. \u201cEllie and the boys.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cassian hesitated. He had known the question would come eventually, but he still wasn\u2019t ready for it. \u201cThey\u2019re\u2026 good. Settling in. She\u2019s working again. The twins are thriving.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nolan\u2019s shoulders relaxed a fraction. \u201cGood.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cassian waited for the follow-up question, the inevitable edge of possessiveness or bitterness. It never came. Instead, Nolan\u2019s gaze drifted toward the window, thoughtful.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI hear Kieran\u2019s been visiting,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cassian froze. \u201cWho told you\u00a0<\/p>\n
that?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo one,\u201d Nolan said. \u201cBut word travels. And Kieran\u2019s never been subtle when it comes to his interests.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cassian\u2019s voice dropped. \u201cHe\u2019s not a threat.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nolan\u2019s eyes flicked back to him, calm and unreadable. \u201cThat wasn\u2019t what I asked.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cassian held his gaze, waiting for the explosion that didn\u2019t come. Instead, Nolan\u2019s expression softened\u2014just slightly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not surprised,\u201d Nolan said quietly. \u201cHe\u2019s always been drawn to the things I value.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The words were simple, but something beneath them carried weight\u2014a memory, perhaps, or a rivalry that went deeper than Cassian understood.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re taking this well,\u201d Cassian said, testing him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nolan\u2019s mouth curved in a faint, humorless smile. \u201cWould it make a difference if I didn\u2019t?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cassian didn\u2019t answer.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not here to make trouble for her,\u201d Nolan continued. \u201cOr for you. I came because the world outside these walls is shifting, and I don\u2019t want it to catch Moonstone off guard. Whatever my mistakes with Ellie, I\u2019ll not compound them by leaving her vulnerable.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The sincerity in his voice startled Cassian. For the first time, he saw something in Nolan\u2019s eyes that hadn\u2019t been there before-humility.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI appreciate that,\u201d Cassian said after a moment. \u201cTruly.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nolan nodded once, as if that settled it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI know this is making trouble for you,\u201d Cassian added.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nolan frowned slightly as he looked at him. \u201cYou mean the rumors.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 161\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cEllie is missing from Silver Fang again; it\u2019s bound to get attention.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cassian watched Nolan\u2019s expression change. It was subtle, a stiffening of his expression as he tried not to let anything slip. At this point, Cassian knew him well enough to read it. Nolan was upset. Not angry, not annoyed, he\u00a0<\/p>\n
was hurt.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s not anything that Ellie needs to concern herself with,\u201d Nolan said softly. \u201cI know that I\u2026 that I was wrong to use the pack against her when I convinced her to come ho- to Silver Fang.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cassian noted the slip. Nolan was really trying to be careful, to be respectful of Ellie\u2019s choice, even though it pained him. He\u2019d never seen Nolan show this kind of consideration for anyone\u2019s feelings before.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cEllie doesn\u2019t owe me or Silver Fang anything. If she\u2019s happy here, then this is where she should be.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd if she\u2019s happy with Kieran?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was an intentional provocation, but Cassian couldn\u2019t help it. He needed to know if Nolan\u2019s apparent change of heart was real or if he was playing some kind of a game.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nolan\u2019s expression hardened and he sat back, putting more distance between them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s her choice. I hate it, but I\u2019ll respect it. Even if I can\u2019t stand the thought of that bastard near my children.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
It took Cassian off guard. He\u2019d been through a lot in the last year or so, they all had. Nolan had suffered; he knew that. Just like Ellie had. The two of them had to be the most volatile fated mates Cassian had ever encountered.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Normally, the mate pull was enough for a couple to work through whatever issues they might have, but not with them. They were both too stubborn to let themself function from an emotional level.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As a leader, Cassian could understand the pressure that Nolan was under to do what was best for the pack, regardless of his own happiness. But as a brother, he was still struggling to forgive Nolan for the way he\u2019d treated Ellie in the past.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Still, he couldn\u2019t deny that he was starting to consider Nolan a friend. He didn\u2019t like seeing the pain in his eyes when Ellie was brought up. He felt awful when he saw the tension Nolan\/carried just at the mention of the boys.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But it wasn\u2019t his place to intervene. All Cassian could do was try to support them both and hope that they\u2019d stop being so damn stubborn eventually.\u00a0<\/p>\n
COIN BUNDLE: get more free bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A Cold Marriage That Turned Warm 161 Chapter 161\u00a0 Cassian snorted. \u201cNot in your nature to be nice?\u201d\u00a0 \u201cNo.\u201d\u00a0 They […]<\/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-23730","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\/23730","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=23730"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23730\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23730"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23730"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23730"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}