+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 191\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou did protect me,\u201d I said. I glanced at the scars on his forearms with a new sense of understanding. \u201cYou fought them off long enough for me to run. You gave me a chance to live. That\u2019s what saved me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He closed his eyes and his grip on Ian shifted, pulling the boy a little closer. \u201cYou shouldn\u2019t have had to survive like that. Alone. In the rogue zone.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I swallowed hard. \u201cI didn\u2019t even know who I was. The doctors said I was lucky to live, but when I woke up, I didn\u2019t remember anything but my name. They sent me to an orphanage near the border. By the time I was old enough to leave, I thought my past was just\u2026 gone.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI know,\u201d he said with a sigh. \u201cWhile we were in Silver Fang we managed to track down the orphanage you were raised in. They confirmed some details for us, enough for us to know we were on the right track.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember\u2026 I saw Mr. Eastman in the packhouse, but I didn\u2019t get a chance to speak to him much. Everything was so hectic back then, I never got a chance to ask about it. You and Alaric were really trying to figure it out back then\u2026 that\u2019s why you were asking about my past so much.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe didn\u2019t want to bring it up until we were sure. We didn\u2019t want to frighten you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI wouldn\u2019t have believed you,\u201d I admitted with a slight smile.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve always been stubborn,\u201d Cassian responded with a laugh.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Silence fell between us, comfortable and broken only by August and Ian babbling and cooing. I lifted August onto my lap and kissed the top of his head.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m glad you\u2019re home,\u201d Cassian said softly. \u201cI can\u2019t stand to think about what would have happened if we hadn\u2019t found you when we did. I can\u2019t help but think that it was fate to finally find you again just when you needed us.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201c}\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stared at him for a moment, processing his words. He was right. I\u2019d never even considered how differently things would have gone if I hadn\u2019t been able to flee to Moonstone. If Cassian hadn\u2019t arranged everything for me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I looked between the boys, noting their chubby cheeks and their happy faces. If I had been trapped in that hospital in Silver Fang with my would-be killer refusing to speak\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
If Felicity had a chance to try again while I was trapped there and vulnerable\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
A shudder ran through my body, and I held August tighter.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe goddess sent you,\u201d I whispered. \u201cAlaric showed me the moonstone. He said that you were directed to me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was fate,\u201d Cassian agreed. \u201cShe knew that you would need us\/I\u2019m only happy that I was able to protect you\u00a0<\/p>\n
this time.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou protected me back then, too. And you protected them,\u201d I nodded toward Ian. \u201cWhile I was gone, you kept them safe and happy. They\u2019re lucky boys to have such a dedicated and loving uncle.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m always happy to spend time with them. You won\u2019t be around Moonstone forever, so I\u2019m going to take advantage of it while I can,\u201d Cassian said, bouncing Ian, who giggled happily.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d I asked in surprise.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cEllie, you\u2019re always welcome here. Moonstone is your home, but you and I both know that this is temporary. You\u2019ll find a mate, and when you do, you\u2019ll go to be with them.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He seemed so certain of it. It made me angry. I immediately wanted to argue, to tell him that I wasn\u2019t going\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter ti\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
anywhere, but the look on his face was so sincere that I couldn\u2019t bring myself to.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I thought of Kieran. Of course, if I accepted the political marriage, I would be going to Pine Ridge. That was the entire point. Kieran would have the prestige of having the Goddess\u2019s messenger as his mate, and I would have the protection of an alpha for myself and the boys.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And if I returned to Silver Fang\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
The thought made my chest feel tight. I had no plans of going back to Nolan, but the idea popped into my head\u00a0<\/p>\n
anyway.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In either case, I would be leaving Moonstone behind. This peace, this reconnection with my family, was temporary. The thought made me want to cry.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I knew that the goddess was pulling me towards something, but deep down, all I wanted was to stay right here, with my family.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u65e5\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A Cold Marriage That Turned Warm 191 +25 Bonus\u00a0 Chapter 191\u00a0 \u201cYou did protect me,\u201d I said. I glanced at […]<\/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-23760","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\/23760","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=23760"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23760\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23760"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23760"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23760"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}