\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 231\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou aren\u2019t going to hurt August and Ian.\u201d It wasn\u2019t a question; it was an order.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Felicity made a dismissive hand motion. \u201cOf course not! Why in the hells would I harm Nolan\u2019s heirs?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kieran relaxed just a fraction. \u201cSo, you use the boys to get lie here. Then\u2026?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThen she has a choice. She marries you as she agreed to, of I get rid of her. Either way, she\u2019ll be out of the picture, and I\u2019ll have the boys. Nolan will come looking for them, and I\u2019ll be able to talk some sense into him. He\u2019ll have the mate he\u2019s always needed and the heirs he\u2019s always wanted, fated mate born. It\u2019ll be perfect.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd if anything goes wrong?\u201d Kieran asked skeptically.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt won\u2019t,\u201d she snapped. She smoothed the crumpled photograph, setting it neatly beside the map. \u201cSo, we\u2019ll all get what we need most. You\u2019ll get your pretty prop for the election, and I\u2019ll get my mate. Everyone lives happily ever after.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She reached for her phone, dialing a number from memory. When a gruff male voice answered, her tone was calm \u2013 almost gentle.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s time,\u201d she said softly. \u201cI want a message delivered to Moonstone. Make it loud.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then she ended the call and stared down at the map again, racing the border with one manicured finger.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s see how well the goddess protects her precious daughter this time.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nolan POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
The morning sky was a dull, steel gray \u2014 the kind of color that made my instincts prickle. Storm weather.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2013\u00a0<\/p>\n
I\u2019d been reviewing reports all week, scanning every new update Cassian sent from Moonstone. Most had been\u00a0<\/p>\n
uneventful \u2013 stray sightings, false alarms, bits of rogue chatter with no clear pattern.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Until today.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2013\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cassian\u2019s latest message had come marked urgent.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rogue movement near the shared border. Organized, tactical-paid.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t need to read the rest. My gut twisted. This was what I\u2019d heard whispers about in the roguelands. This was not a false alarm or a random event.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I pushed away from my desk and stood, scanning the war room table covered in maps and patrol logs. The timing was too perfect.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I\u2019d been waiting for something like this that uneasy feeling that the quiet was just a prelude to something\u00a0<\/p>\n
worse.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2013\u00a0<\/p>\n
If we hadn\u2019t been watching so closely, we would have miss it. As it was, we would just barely have time to intercept them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAlpha?\u201d one of his lieutenants asked from the doorway. \u201cShould we wait for confirmation from the scouts before\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d My tone was low but firm. \u201cWe move now. Call the patrol captains-double coverage along the south perimeter and the trade route that cuts into Moonstone\u2019s forest.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The lieutenant hesitated. \u201cYou think this could be connect to-\u00a0<\/p>\n
))\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI know it is.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 231\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t raise his voice, but there was an edge to it that silenced further questions.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As the warrior hurried off, I turned back to the map, my jaw tight. I\u2019d been trying to stay rational, to separate my duties as Alpha from my emotions but this wasn\u2019t a coincidence.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Felicity had gone quiet. Too quiet.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2013\u00a0<\/p>\n
And now, Cassian was reporting organized rogue movement on the border. In the exact area I\u2019d heard rumors about from the rogues.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re still playing your games,\u201d I muttered under my breath. \u201cBut not this time.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Without hesitation, I grabbed my coat and my phone, firing off a message to Cassian.\u00a0<\/p>\n
On my way. Don\u2019t engage until I get there.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cassian\u2019s reply came seconds later.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Already assembling a team. Meet at the patrol station.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I left the packhouse without another word, my boots crunching on the gravel path as I crossed the courtyard. The cold air stung my lungs, grounding me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I moved fast, my stride purposeful. Every step seemed to echo with the same thought \u2013 Ellie\u2019s there.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She was safe, I told myself. Cassian had informed me about her move into the packhouse. She and the boys were in the safest place they could be.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t let myself dwell on it, but the knowledge fueled me, pushing me harder.\u00a0<\/p>\n
By the time I reached the jeep, I was all business. My voice was calm as I gave orders to the two guards accompanying me, but my mind raced. I could feel that same dread from the rogue lands creeping up my spine again that feeling that something was shifting, that we were on the brink of something far worse than another\u00a0<\/p>\n
ambush.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2015\u00a0<\/p>\n
As the engine roared to life and the packhouse faded behind me, I gripped the steering wheel tightly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The road ahead curved toward Moonstone, and the storm clouds thickened.\u00a0<\/p>\n
P\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A Cold Marriage That Turned Warm 231 \u00a0 Chapter 231\u00a0 \u201cYou aren\u2019t going to hurt August and Ian.\u201d It wasn\u2019t […]<\/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-23800","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\/23800","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=23800"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23800\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23800"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23800"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23800"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}