Chapter 210\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ellie POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
The celebration was exactly what I had expected from Moonstone \u2013 loud, bright, and impossibly alive.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Alaric had insisted on it after the announcement was made and the pack had thrown it together quickly. It was only a few days ago that Moonstone learned their alpha\u2019s lost daughter had returned, and now the entire pack was filling the streets and the pack house, celebrating.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The packhouse courtyard had been transformed into a sea of lanterns and laughter. Long wooden tables overflowed with food, children darted between them with sticky fingers and wild grins, and music poured from the small stage where a group of warriors had somehow turned their patrol instruments into a band.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was the kind of chaos that had always made me feel at home.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stood near one of the tables, watching as Cassian and Rae spun in easy circles near the center of the dance floor. Rae\u2019s laughter carried above the music, light and unrestrained, and I couldn\u2019t help smiling.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was strange \u2013 after everything, after years of fear and uncertainty, this place finally felt like safety.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Or it should have.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But my heart wouldn\u2019t quite let me rest.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I caught myself scanning the crowd more than once, looking for a familiar face.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When I finally saw him, my breath caught.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nolan stood near the edge of the courtyard, where the lanternlight bled into the dark line of the forest. He looked entirely out of place \u2013 all broad shoulders and sharp lines in his formal black jacket, his expression too composed for a party like this. Even from across the space, I could see the tension in his jaw, the way his hand twitched as though unsure what to do with itself.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lance stood beside him, trying \u2014 and failing \u2014 to get him to relax. His brother looked like he belonged, laughing easily with the people around him, but Nolan was stone still, his smile tight and fleeting.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My chest ached. This was nothing like the celebrations at Silver Fang, which were always formal affairs even when they weren\u2019t meant to be. Nolan was too stiff, too concerned with appearance to allow something this wild and unrestrained.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I\u2019d invited them both. Partly for appearances, partly for politics \u2013 but mostly because I wanted him there.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I\u2019d told myself that staying in Moonstone would make it easier to move on. That distance and duty would make forgetting him possible. But every time I saw him the small smiles he gave the boys, the quiet patience I\u2019d never thought him capable of the wall I\u2019d built around my heart cracked a little more.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Alaric had teased me earlier that morning when I told him Nolan was coming. \u201cIt\u2019s good politics,\u201d he\u2019d said knowingly. \u201cBut it\u2019s also good for your soul.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now, standing in the golden spill of firelight, I wasn\u2019t so sure about either.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Claire appeared beside me, cheeks flushed from dancing. \u201cHe came,\u201d she said softly, following my gaze.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe did,\u201d I murmured.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you going to talk to him, or just stare from here all night?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I gave a small, helpless laugh. \u201cI haven\u2019t decided yet.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Claire grinned, squeezing my shoulder. \u201cThen decide soon, before someone drags him into a dance he can\u2019t\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chigter 210\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
refuse.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I rolled my eyes but smiled. \u201cYou\u2019re terrible.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m honest,\u201d Claire said. \u201cGo on, messenger of the goddess. Go face your destiny.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She was being sarcastic, but the words landed heavily. I took a steadying breath and crossed the courtyard.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nolan noticed me before I reached him I saw the flicker of movement as he straightened, the subtle shift of his weight as if to brace himself.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cEllie,\u201d he said quietly when I stopped in front of him. His voice was careful, measured, but his eyes \u2013 gods, his\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2013\u00a0<\/p>\n
eyes betrayed him. They were soft and uncertain, as if he couldn\u2019t quite believe I was really seeking him out.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When had his stormy, cold eyes become so easy to read?\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou came,\u201d I said, trying to sound casual.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou invited me,\u201d he said simply.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I smiled faintly. \u201cI wasn\u2019t sure you\u2019d accept.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He hesitated, glancing at the dancers. \u201cI almost didn\u2019t.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cToo loud?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He gave a low huff of amusement. \u201cToo\u2026 free, maybe. I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever seen so many people barefoot in one place.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I laughed. \u201cThat\u2019s Moonstone. No one here stands on ceremony.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He glanced at me then, the corners of his mouth softening. You fit here.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The words were meant as a compliment, but they landed like a bruise.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought so too,\u201d I said quietly. \u201cBut it doesn\u2019t feel as simple as it used to.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
P\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A Cold Marriage That Turned Warm 210 Chapter 210\u00a0 Ellie POV\u00a0 The celebration was exactly what I had expected from […]<\/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-23779","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\/23779","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=23779"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23779\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23779"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23779"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23779"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}