Chapter 171\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t test me, Kieran. Not about this,\u201d I said. \u201cNot about my children.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
For a heartbeat, we simply stared at each other. Then Kieran clinked his glass lightly against my untouched one.\u201d Enjoy the summit, old friend.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He walked away without waiting for a response, disappearing into the crowd with that easy confidence again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I let out a slow breath and finally looked away.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cStill breathing?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The voice came from my left. Cassian.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I turned to find him leaning casually against a pillar, arms crossed, eyes sharp but amused.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBarely,\u201d I admitted.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw that little standoff. Impressive restraint. A few years ago, you\u2019d have broken his jaw.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cA few years ago, I thought breaking things solved problems.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cassian gave a small smile. \u201cAnd now?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201c>\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNow I know better.\u201d I glanced around the room. \u201cThough I\u2019m not sure it makes much difference.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cassian shrugged. \u201cIt does to her.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My gaze flicked toward him. \u201cEllie?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe doesn\u2019t know you\u2019re here,\u201d Cassian said. \u201cBut she hears things. Word spreads fast when Alphas gather. Especially when some of them can\u2019t keep their mouths shut. That\u2019s why her name keeps coming up.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My jaw tightened again. \u201cThe rumors?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cassian nodded. \u201cAbout her visions. About the goddess speaking through her. They\u2019re everywhere.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My fingers tightened around the glass. \u201cAnd what are they saying?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe same thing they\u2019ve been saying. That she\u2019s a messenger. That the goddess has chosen her for some kind of greater purpose.\u201d Cassian paused. \u201cSome are calling her blessed. Others\u2026 think she\u2019s dangerous.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course they do,\u201d I muttered. \u201cPeople fear what they can\u2019t control.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cassian\u2019s voice softened. \u201cShe\u2019s fine, Nolan. Protected. She\u2019s surrounded by people who love her.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I looked away, my throat tight. \u201cI know. That\u2019s why I stay away.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cassian didn\u2019t argue. He just studied me for a long moment, then said quietly, \u201cYou did the right thing telling Lance the truth. He\u2019s been different lately.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I gave a humorless smile. \u201cYou mean less angry?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMore\u2026 understanding.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s new.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople change.\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 171\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
I huffed a quiet laugh. \u201cYou\u2019re starting to sound like Alaric.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cassian\u2019s grin widened. \u201cI\u2019ll take that as a compliment.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The two of us fell silent again, watching the room from a distance as the crowd continued to buzz-schemes and alliances, laughter that sounded like the clinking of knives.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finally, Cassian straightened. \u201cYou don\u2019t belong here tonight, brother.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou came anyway.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I needed to be reminded of what matters.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cassian tilted his head. \u201cAnd what\u2019s that?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I looked toward the open balcony doors, where the moon hung low and cold above the mountains. \u201cThat peace doesn\u2019t come from power. It comes from what you\u2019re willing to protect.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cassian smiled faintly. \u201cYou really have changed.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t sound so surprised.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not.\u201d Cassian clapped his shoulder once. \u201cI\u2019m proud.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t answer right away, but something in my chest loosened at the words.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When Cassian finally walked away to rejoin the others, I stayed where I was, my gaze drawn to the silver light spilling across the floor.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The whispers about Ellie, the rumors of divine favor-they should have angered me. Instead, they filled me with something else entirely.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hope.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It felt alien. I had never believed in the goddess. Or maybe I had, but I had rejected her the way I reflexively rejected everything my partners had tried to force on me. Everything but the responsibility of leading the pack.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Whatever the reason, religion was something that had only ever filled me with dread and a bitter, miserable sense of loneliness.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But since that ridiculous test of faith that elder Rowan had forced on me, I\u2019d been doubting myself. The rumors about Ellie were only growing stronger. If there was any truth to the idea that she was having visions, then it would be one more thing I had always gotten wrong.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If the goddess was going to choose a messenger, it made sense to me that it would be Ellie. Stronger than anyone gave her credit for, fierce and stubborn when she had to be. She was extraordinary.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But it was a selfish thought, too. Most of my thoughts were.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Because if the goddess really was speaking through her, maybe she was also guiding us both-through distance, through silence, through all the things we still didn\u2019t understand.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After all, we were fated mates. Didn\u2019t that mean that the goddess wanted us to be together?\u00a0<\/p>\n
I thought of Ellie, of that spark I felt every time we touched. It had always scared me. But now\u2026 I craved it. For the first time in years; I didn\u2019t feel lost.\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 171\u00a0<\/p>\n
I felt steady.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I looked up at the moon, raised my glass, and whispered softly into the night:\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cKeep her safe.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The crowd went on talking, laughing, and plotting around me. But I didn\u2019t hear it anymore.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I was listening for something else entirely.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Something older.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Something divine.\u00a0<\/p>\n
COIN BUNDLE: get more free bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A Cold Marriage That Turned Warm 171 Chapter 171\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t test me, Kieran. Not about this,\u201d I said. \u201cNot about […]<\/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-23740","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\/23740","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=23740"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23740\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23740"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23740"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23740"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}