Chapter 180\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
Third person POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Silver Fang packhouse was quieter than usual that morning. The council chambers were empty, and the usual rush of staff in the halls had dulled to a steady hum. Outside, a gray mist hung low over the woods, swallowing the horizon.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lance knocked once before stepping into Nolan\u2019s office. It was more warning than he normally gave.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His brother was at his desk, half-hidden behind a stack of reports. The circles under his eyes told the story of another sleepless night. A mug of coffee sat untouched beside his elbow, long since gone cold.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMorning,\u201d Lance said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nolan looked up, startled for half a second before his expression softened. \u201cYou\u2019re up early.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCould say the same about you,\u201d Lance replied, crossing the room. \u201cThough judging by that coffee, you\u2019ve been up all night.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nolan gave a faint, wry smile. \u201cYou learn to live with less sleep in this job.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lance snorted. \u201cI prefer to live with less responsibility and more rest.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
That earned the smallest chuckle from Nolan, and for a moment, the air between them lightened.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lance leaned against the edge of the desk. \u201cI met her,\u201d he said after a pause.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nolan blinked. \u201cMet who?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMy fianc\u00e9e,\u201d Lance said. \u201cOr, I guess, the woman everyone expects to become my fianc\u00e9e. Isla of Crescent River.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
That got Nolan\u2019s attention. \u201cHow did that happen?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe crashed a party I was throwing last night. Said her curiosity about me finally got the better of her.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nolan set down his pen and sat back. \u201cAnd?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd she\u2019s\u2026 something else,\u201d Lance admitted with a small laugh. \u201cSmart, bold, impossible to intimidate. She\u2019s not what I expected.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI take it you didn\u2019t hate her, then,\u201d Nolan said, a teasing glint flickering through the fatigue in his eyes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cQuite the opposite,\u201d Lance said. \u201cBut I came here because-well, I figured you should know.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nolan tilted his head. \u201cKnow what?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat I\u2019m not doing this just because you, or anyone else, think it\u2019s good politics,\u201d Lance said. \u201cIf I go through with it, it\u2019ll be because I want to. Because I actually like her.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nolan studied him for a moment, then said quietly, \u201cYou don\u2019t have to go through with it at all.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lance blinked. \u201cWhat?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean it,\u201d Nolan said. \u201cI shouldn\u2019t have let the council pressure you into that alliance. It was\u2026 wrong of me.\u201d He rubbed a hand over his face, sighing. \u201cI was thinking like a leader, not a brother.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lance stared at him, surprised into silence. \u201cDid you just apologize?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 180\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nolan gave a dry laugh. \u201cDon\u2019t sound so shocked.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI am shocked,\u201d Lance said, half-smiling. \u201cYou don\u2019t exactly have a reputation for saying you\u2019re sorry.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe that\u2019s something I need to change,\u201d Nolan admitted.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The easy grin faded from Lance\u2019s face. \u201cYou really mean that?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nolan met his gaze. \u201cI do.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
For a long moment, neither spoke. The quiet between them wasn\u2019t heavy this time, it felt like breathing room.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lance broke it with a sigh. \u201cYou look awful, by the way.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you,\u201d Nolan said wryly. \u201cRogues don\u2019t seem to care about my beauty sleep.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve been tracking the mercenaries?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTrying to,\u201d Nolan said. \u201cThere\u2019s movement near the western border. Someone\u2019s paying them to stir chaos, I\u2019m sure of it. I can\u2019t see any reason they would mobilize like this on their own. But they\u2019re careful. Too careful. I think Felicity\u2019s involved, but I can\u2019t prove it yet.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou think this is connected to that attack a while back?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd to the attack on Ellie,\u201d Nolan said, running a hand through his hair. \u201cI\u2019m convinced that it\u2019s all part of some plan she\u2019s hatched. I just can\u2019t piece it together.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lance frowned. \u201cYou think she\u2019s still operating from outside the borders?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think she\u2019s in the roguelands. I\u2019m sure that our patrols would have found some sign of her if she were.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s concerning,\u201d Lance said softly. \u201cWhere the hell is she then? Everyone knows what happened, and that she\u2019s dangerous.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhich is why I feel like I\u2019m losing my mind,\u201d Nolan slapped his hand down on the stack of patrol reports. Someone is harboring her.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
((\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d Lance asked, his concern growing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI think she\u2019s waiting,\u201d Nolan said. \u201cWatching. She knows exactly how to get under my skin. I don\u2019t know exactly what she thinks she can accomplish with this, but maybe it\u2019s a simple as revenge.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, she was never the most cautious or considerate person. Especially when it came to you. She was always\u2026 possessive.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI know\u2026\u201d He leaned back, eyes drifting toward the window. \u201cIt worries me. I\u2019m doing everything I can to be on top of the situation. Still, I can\u2019t focus the way I used to. Every time I close my eyes, I see them.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A Cold Marriage That Turned Warm 180 Chapter 180\u00a0 +25 Bonus\u00a0 Third person POV\u00a0 The Silver Fang packhouse was quieter […]<\/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-23749","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\/23749","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=23749"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23749\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23749"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23749"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23749"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}