Chapter 244\u00a0<\/p>\n
Third person POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lance had never thought he\u2019d feel at home in the packhouse.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For most of his life, it had felt like a place he passed through-a stone monument to expectations he never quite fit. He\u2019d slept there, eaten there, grown up there, but it had never felt like it belonged to him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That was changing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He found himself there more often now, not because Nolan asked him to be, but because there was work to do- and because, surprisingly, he wanted to do it. Coordinating with the guards, checking in with staff, fielding the endless questions that followed the twins\u2019 return. It was overwhelming, sometimes irritating, and entirely new.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And yet.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He was good at it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Isla noticed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She lingered near the training yard while Lance spoke with one of the senior warriors, arms folded loosely, her expression thoughtful rather than bored. When he finished, she approached with an easy smile.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou handled that well,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lance shrugged. \u201cLow bar.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She laughed softly. \u201cYou\u2019re underselling yourself.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
They walked together toward the packhouse, an unspoken ease settling between them. Isla had become a common presence lately-at meals, during strategy meetings she technically had no reason to attend, hovering just close enough to Lance that people had started noticing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lance noticed too.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He liked the way she listened when he talked. Liked the way she challenged him without making him feel small. Liked that she didn\u2019t expect him to suddenly transform into someone else just because his brother was alpha.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As they reached the steps, Isla\u2019s phone chimed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She stiffened.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lance caught it immediately. \u201cEverything okay?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She hesitated, eyes flicking away. \u201cJust\u2026 my parents.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He frowned. \u201cThey don\u2019t usually contact you this much, do they? It seems like your phone is constantly chirping at you,\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He meant it as a joke, but he could see by the look on her fae it hadn\u2019t landed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d she admitted. \u201cThey don\u2019t.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Another message came through. Isla\u2019s jaw tightened.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lance stopped walking. \u201cIsla.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She looked at him, something guarded settling over her features. \u201cIt\u2019s nothing I need to worry you\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s usually not true when someone says that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
about.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 244\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
A faint smile tugged at her mouth, but it didn\u2019t reach her eyes. \u201cYou worry enough as it is.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He studied her for a moment, then nodded. \u201cOkay. But if you change your mind, I\u2019m here.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She nodded, grateful, but tension still coiled beneath her calm.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As they parted, Isla glanced back once, her expression conflicted.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lance watched her go, unease settling in his gut.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nolan POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
By the time I stood before the cameras, I could feel the weight of the pack pressing in from all sides.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Not physically-though the hall was full-but emotionally. Expectant. Hungry. Hopeful.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I hated that part of this.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I hated that my life, my family, my sons, had become something people debated and dissected. But I also knew the truth: hiding had only fed the rumors.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was a tricky situation, politically. My advisors had a thousand questions when I\u2019d explained to them. They\u2019d also had a thousand ideas about how I should make the public aware of the twins.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the end, of course, I decided to do it my way.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I had hidden my children long enough. I wouldn\u2019t play games or mince words about this. I couldn\u2019t be more proud of them and I wanted the world to know, not just the pack.\u00a0<\/p>\n
So I stood tall, injury still lingering but no longer defining me, and faced the room.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you for coming,\u201d I began, my voice steady. \u201cI know there\u2019s been a great deal of speculation about my personal life. Today, I want to put an end to that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cameras flashed. Reporters leaned forward.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d I continued, \u201cEllie has returned from Moonstone. She\u2019s here to stay. And as many of you have reported already, she brought her children with her. My children. August and Ian Silver Fang.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
A murmur rippled through the crowd.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have children?\u201d one voice called out in surprise.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHow old are they?\u201d another shouted.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHow long have you known?\u201d another asked sharply.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The voices rose into an indistinguishable roar as more voices called out. Some were surprised, others accusatory.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This was about the reaction I had expected. I remained calm, giving them time to process that I had just confessed. That is, until one voice demanded: \u201cLet us see them!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My eyes snapped to the source of the voice. A middle-aged man, thinning gray hair, dark eyes, thick build. His expression shifted as soon as I looked at him, losing the confidence of his words.\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
A Cold Marriage That Turned Warm 244 Chapter 244\u00a0 Third person POV\u00a0 Lance had never thought he\u2019d feel at home […]<\/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-23813","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\/23813","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=23813"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23813\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23813"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23813"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23813"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}