Chapter 235\u00a0<\/p>\n
But I wasn\u2019t fine.\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
My heart was racing, my pulse drumming too loud to ignore. Something in me \u2014 something tied to the bond I was desperately trying not to think about was pulling me toward the emergency bay like a magnet.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2013\u00a0<\/p>\n
Before I even realized what I was doing, my legs were moving.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I pushed through the double doors into the emergency ward- and everything hit me at once.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Blood. Antiseptic. The sharp smell of adrenaline in the air.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nurses shouted orders. Equipment clattered. The lights seemed too bright, reflecting harshly off crimson- streaked uniforms.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And in the middle of the chaos-\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nolan.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My breath caught.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He lay on a gurney, shirt cut open, skin ghostly pale. A bandage wrapped around his arm was soaked through, blood seeping between the medic\u2019s fingers as he tried to apply pressure. His breathing was shallow, uneven.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cassian stood beside him, his hands bloody, his face carved with fear.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The world around me went silent.\u00a0<\/p>\n
All I could hear was my own heartbeat\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2013\u00a0<\/p>\n
the bond roaring inside me so fiercely it hurt. Behind my eyes, something flashed \u2013 a vision of the black wolf from my dreams, fur matted with blood, standing between me and a shifting darkness.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It lasted only a second. Then it was gone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And all that remained was Nolan, broken and bleeding, reaching for consciousness.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cEllie-\u201d Cassian\u2019s voice cracked. \u201cHe took a blade meant for me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He looked lost, for the first time since we were kids. I could see it there, in his eyes. The guilt, the doubt. I could practically hear his thoughts.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It happened again. I failed to protect my family, again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I barely processed the words. My body moved on instinct. Iushed past the medics, my hands trembling.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou didn\u2019t do this,\u201d I said firmly, my voice sounding more like a command for him to understand than a reassurance. \u201cIt\u2019s not your fault.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cassian\u2019s words seemed to stick, but he nodded once,\u00a0<\/p>\n
That was enough for the moment. I turned to Nolan. My heart ached at the sight of the blood still seeping from his arm, his face still and pale as death.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cGet him to surgery!\u201d I heard myself shout. \u201cHis pressure dropping!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMa\u2019am, you can\u2019t-\u201d an orderly began.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cassian cut him off sharply. \u201cShe works here. She stays.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I pressed my hand to Nolan\u2019s shoulder, feeling the faint tremor of his breath. The moment of contact jolted with\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 225\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
the power of the bond, like it always did. That shock of contact like our souls were touching and not just our flesh.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It stole what little breath I had left. It felt strong, alive.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His lashes fluttered weakly, and then-miraculously-his gaze found mine. His stormy eyes hazy, but fixed on my face.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cEllie\u2026\u201d The sound was barely a whisper.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Gods. That voice.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m here,\u201d I whispered, my throat tight. \u201cYou\u2019re going to be okay. Just stay with me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He attempted a smile \u2013 small, broken, and so painfully fragile it made something inside me unravel.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCouldn\u2019t let your brother get hurt,\u201d he rasped weakly. \u201cYou\u2019d never forgive me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then the monitors spiked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHeart rate unstable!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need him prepped now!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMove!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hands pulled at me, guiding the gurney toward the operating room. I stumbled back, breath catching as the doors slammed shut, sealing Nolan inside.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It felt like being cut in half.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cassian steadied me before I fell. His grip was strong, but I could feel the tremor in his hands.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019ll make it,\u201d he said-too quickly, too desperately. \u201cHe\u2019s strong. He\u2019ll be okay.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I swallowed hard, pressing my palm against my chest as if that could calm the frantic, spiraling pull of the bond.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe took that hit for you?\u201d I asked quietly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cassian nodded, guilt etched into every line of his face. \u201cIt should\u2019ve been me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My eyes were locked on the operating room doors. I\u2019d seen enough emergencies to know things could go either way. But this was Nolan. This was-\u00a0<\/p>\n
Stop. Don\u2019t think it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But the goddess\u2019s whisper threaded through my thoughts anyway, soft and merciless.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He protects what he loves. But even a wolf can bleed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I shivered.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cassian shifted beside me, studying my face with an expression I didn\u2019t understand.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou felt something, didn\u2019t you?\u201d he asked softly. \u201cA message, a sign?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I opened my mouth \u2013 then closed it. My hand pressed harder against my chest, right above where the bond was beating like a second heart.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know what I felt,\u201d I lied.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But I did.\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 235\u00a0<\/p>\n
I knew exactly what it was.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And I wasn\u2019t ready to admit it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
P\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A Cold Marriage That Turned Warm 235 Chapter 235\u00a0 But I wasn\u2019t fine.\u00a0 +25 Bonus\u00a0 My heart was racing, my […]<\/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-23804","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\/23804","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=23804"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23804\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23804"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23804"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23804"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}