Chapter 172\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ellie POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
I heard shuffling as someone entered the temple. It took a moment for me to stand with the boys strapped to me. At first, I didn\u2019t see anyone when I looked around, then I spotted a figure kneeling near the door.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t know what I expected the priestess to look like. Maybe I expected someone who matched the dreams of the goddess I\u2019ve been having.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Instead, I found an old woman kneeling before the door, her silver hair spilling down her back in a long braid. Her robe was simple, white edged with blue thread, and when she turned, her eyes were pale and clear as polished quartz.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou are welcome here,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her voice was low, soft as the wind through leaves.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you,\u201d I answered. It wasn\u2019t the correct answer. I knew there was a phrase that was supposed to follow, but I couldn\u2019t remember it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The corners of her mouth lifted in the smallest of smiles. \u201cThe goddess whispers of those who seek her with honest hearts.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t know how to answer that. \u201cI\u2026 I need guidance.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She nodded, motioning for me to join her. We sat together on the smooth stone floor before the great statue of the goddess. The sunlight touched her face and made the silver in her hair gleam.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ian was strapped to my chest, and August settled sleepily against my shoulder. She looked at the boys with that soft smile that older people usually have when they see children. I wanted to ask her if she was a mother, for some reason. I didn\u2019t.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t know where else to turn\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
>>\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been expecting you,\u201d she said with a smile. \u201cYou look so much like your mother.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew my mother?\u201d I asked quietly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI did,\u201d she said. \u201cSelene was a dear friend. Fierce, bright, and burdened with more sight than any one soul should carry.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My throat tightened. \u201cShe was a seer.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was the seer,\u201d the priestess corrected gently. \u201cThe last of her kind, or so we thought. The Moonstone bloodline has always carried the mark of the divine. Some say the goddess herself touched your ancestor generations ago, gifting her with the ability to walk between worlds.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stared at the floor. \u201cAnd the price of that gift is to be born without a wolf. Alaric told me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She studied me for a long moment. \u201cYou say that as if it\u2019s a curse.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIsn\u2019t it?\u201d The words came sharper than I intended. \u201cEvery wolf comes of age waiting to feel that first pull-the bond, the transformation, the strength. I waited too. And when it never came, I thought something was broken.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The priestess reached over, her hand warm against mine. \u201cChild, you were never broken. You were chosen. The goddess cannot dwell in two bodies at once. To carry her touch, something else must yield. It has been true for generations of your family, the cost of carrying the goddess with you is your wolf.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 172\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
I swallowed hard. \u201cBut I don\u2019t understand why. Why me? Why now?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause the world tilts again,\u201d she said simply. \u201cThe balance between light and shadow weakens. The goddess does not send her messengers without reason.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her gaze held mine, sharp despite her years. \u201cYou have been seeing her, haven\u2019t you? In your dreams.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I hesitated. \u201cYes. But not just her. Sometimes\u2026 other things. Shadows. Wolves.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTell me of these other things,\u201d she said patiently.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I took a deep breath to steady my voice. \u201cI dreamed of a wolf last night. Huge and grey with blue eyes. It pursued me relentlessly, but calmly\u2026 it was unnerving. Just as it was about to attack me, I was saved by another wolf\u2026 one that I knew.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOne that you knew? But you did not know the wolf who attacked you,\u201d she said thoughtfully. \u201cDreams are not always literal. It could be that the one who chased you was not a person at all.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was it then?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cManifestation. A vessel for what you fear most. For guilt. For the weight of things left unresolved. Who was it who saved you from these things?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My breath caught. \u201cNolan.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The name hung between us, fragile and heavy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The priestess didn\u2019t ask who he was. I\u2019m sure she didn\u2019t have to. \u201cYou dream of him, too.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I nodded, the memory of the black wolf vivid behind my eyelids. \u201cHe saved me in the dream. He fought the other one.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAs he has done before,\u201d she murmured.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That startled me. \u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The priestess smiled faintly. \u201cThe goddess moves through bloodlines, through love, through vows that bind souls beyond death. Your bond with him is not gone, only buried. Even in the realm of dreams, his spirit knows where to find you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A Cold Marriage That Turned Warm 172 Chapter 172\u00a0 Ellie POV\u00a0 +25 Bonus\u00a0 I heard shuffling as someone entered the […]<\/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-23741","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\/23741","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=23741"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23741\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23741"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23741"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23741"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}