Chapter 229\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNot yet,\u201d he said over his shoulder, and left before she could respond.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For a long moment after the door shut, Rae just stood there in the quiet, her heart fluttering, like it hadn\u2019t in years.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ellie POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
I had spent the afternoon unpacking what little I\u2019d brought from my apartment-mostly the twins\u2019 things. Their toys now lined a low shelf, the small rocking chair sat by the window, and the moonstone lamp I\u2019d bought mouths ago glowed softly in the corner.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now, with the boys down for a nap, I stood in the middle of the nursery, letting, the stillness wash over me\u00a0<\/p>\n
Moving in had felt strange at first, but as I walked through the halls, flashes of memory kept surfacing \u2013 quick, unsteady, but growing stronger.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I saw myself running barefoot through these same corridors as a child, Cassian chasing after me. I heard our mother\u2019s laughter echoing down the stairwell. I remembered the scent of honey cakes cooling in the kitchen and Alaric\u2019s deep voice reading to us by firelight.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Everywhere I turned, the ghosts of my past brushed against me like whispers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I turned slowly, my gaze falling to the window seat. In my mind\u2019s eye, I could see my younger self sitting there, legs swinging, watching the rain. The image was so vivid I almost reached out.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember,\u201d I murmured.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I hadn\u2019t realized how much I\u2019d missed having memories that belonged to me \u2013 not just fragments of stories told by others, but real, living flashes of who I\u2019d been.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A soft knock came at the door. Alaric poked his head in, smiling when he saw my expression\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSettling in?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I nodded. \u201cIt feels familiar. Like I\u2019ve been here all along, and just forgot.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s because part of you never left,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I smiled faintly. \u201cI keep getting flashes \u2013 me and Cassian playing in the gardens, or hiding behind your desk during meetings. It\u2019s strange, but\u2026 comforting.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He stepped inside, his eyes warm. \u201cThe goddess is generous when she knows you\u2019re ready to remember.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I hesitated. \u201cDo you think she\u2019s preparing me for something?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Alaric\u2019s smile faded, replaced by a thoughtful calm. \u201cPerhaps. But not everything she shows is a warning Sometimes, it\u2019s a reminder of who you are, and what you\u2019ve already survived.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I looked down at the sleeping twins. \u201cI hope so.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He rested a hand briefly on my shoulder. \u201cRest tonight. Tomorrow will bring its own answers.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
After he left, I lingered by the cribs, watching my sons sleep Their tiny hands twitched in dreams, fingers curling like they were grasping something invisible. Maybe the goddess whispered to them too.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I brushed a curl from lan\u2019s forehead, then August\u2019s, and smiled softly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
So much had changed, and yet some part of my heart still ached for Nolan for the family we might have been, for the home we\u2019d both broken trying to protect. But here, surrounded by memory and moonlight, I felt something I hadn\u2019t in a long time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
425 B\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hope.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I sat down heavily, feeling the weight of too much thinking settle heavily on my shoulders.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The moment I sat, I felt the breath leave my lungs. A chill washed over me as a flash of silver stole my sight.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then I saw him in front of me, Nolan. His massive wolf form snarled viciously as he lunged forward, his jaws snapping.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t scream. I didn\u2019t have enough air in my lungs. In the vision, there was another wolf with him. Just as large but with a copper brown coat. I knew instinctively that it was Cassian.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My heart raced wildly as Nolan lunged in front of Cassian. I couldn\u2019t see beyond the two of them, but the bright flash of red that filled my vision was enough.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A choked sob tore from me as my vision cleared and I found myself once again in the pale light of the bedroom. August and Ian slept soundly a few feet away, but my heart was thundering with fear.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That wasn\u2019t a memory. It wasn\u2019t a dream. That was a vision a warning.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I jumped to my feet and tore out of the room in a run. Cassian wasn\u2019t home, I knew that. If I had been able to see him right now, I might be able to maintain some semblance of control. But I couldn\u2019t.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I crashed through the door of Alaric\u2019s office in tears. Without a word, he scooped me into his arms and held me tight, his voice soothing as he shushed and reassured me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His words didn\u2019t sink through the panic. The goddess had never given me a vision that was so direct and dire.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nolan and Cassian were in danger.\u00a0<\/p>\n
D\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A Cold Marriage That Turned Warm 229 Chapter 229\u00a0 \u201cNot yet,\u201d he said over his shoulder, and left before she […]<\/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-23798","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\/23798","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=23798"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23798\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23798"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23798"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23798"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}