Chapter 245\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t you dare presume to make demands about my children,\u201d I bit out coldly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The room fell silent.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The growl of my wolf rang in my ears, sharp and warning. I held it back, but barely. I could feel the snarl on my face.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cApologies, alpha,\u201d the man said, lowering his gaze.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I took a deep breath, restraining my anger with some effort\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI am telling you now that the boys are here because I will not be hiding them any longer. You will notice the increased security around the packhouse. You will see us out in public as a family. I wanted to clarify the situation before speculation could run wild. My boys are not yet old enough to fill any role to the pack and there will be no demands made of them to do so,\u201d I said sternly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For a moment, I could feel the bitterness of my own childhood expectations bubbling up. I forced it down. I would never allow my children to feel like that.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to be clear,\u201d I said, gaze sharp. \u201cThere is zero doubt the boys are mine and the rightful heirs to Silver Fan. The decision to hide them from the public was not one that was made lightly. It was necessary to protect them from the violence that was directed at them. In light of the attack that nearly killed them, it was the only logical thing to do.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
A reporter shouted, \u201cYou\u2019re referring to the poisoning attempt?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I nodded. \u201cYes.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The room stilled.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMy sons were targeted before they were even born,\u201d I said evenly. \u201cI would do anything to ensure that never happens again.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Someone asked, \u201cDo you regret keeping them from the public?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t hesitate. \u201cNo.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
That answer landed harder than I expected.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI regret that circumstances made it necessary,\u201d I clarified. \u201cBut I will never regret choosing my family\u2019s safety.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Another voice cut in. \u201cWhat about the rumors surrounding your injury? That you were hurt protecting Cassian of Moonstone?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I paused.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I hadn\u2019t expected a question like this. I\u2019d been so focused on the boys that I\u2019d forgotten the other rumors and news stories that were currently circulating. I could deny it could deflect.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Instead, I told the truth.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d I said simply. \u201cI was.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The reaction was immediate-gasps, murmurs, frantic typing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d someone asked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause he\u2019s family,\u201d I replied, more forcefully than necessary. \u201cAnd because that\u2019s what leaders do.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 245\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIs it true that Lance is engaged to Isla of Cresent River?\u201d another reporter asked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I raised an eyebrow as I turned toward her. \u201cMy brother\u2019s personal life is his business,\u201d I replied pointedly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The rest of the conference passed in a blur. Questions about the campaign, about Ellie\u2019s lineage, about the future of Silver Fang. I answered what he could, deflected what I had to.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When it was over, I left the hall exhausted but oddly lighter\u00a0<\/p>\n
Later that evening, I found Ellie in the nursery.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She\u2019d offered to be there for the press conference, but I wasn\u2019t about to subject her to that circus or the questions they would inevitably shout at her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She sat on the floor, August crawling toward her with determined enthusiasm while Ian gnawed happily on a wooden ring.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I leaned against the doorway, watching. My heart felt unbearably full. This little room held my entire world. It was a profoundly humbling and frightening thought.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re saying good things,\u201d Ellie said without looking up. \u201cAbout you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I snorted softly. \u201cThat\u2019s new.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She smiled. \u201cYou were honest.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I crossed the room, lowering myself beside her. \u201cI don\u2019t know how else to be anymore.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ellie studied me for a long moment, then nodded. \u201cGood.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I put my hand on Ian\u2019s back, and he rolled over to look up at me, a wide smile spreading across his face. I couldn\u2019t resist running my index finger across his chubby, soft cheek. He giggled at the way it tickled, and I felt the tightness in my chest release.\u00a0<\/p>\n
We sat together in companionable silence, the boys between us, the future uncertain but no longer unthinkable. The warmth of the moment seemed to settle over us both and, almost without thinking, I reached for Ellie\u2019s hand.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She laced her fingers with mine.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Outside the nursery, the pack buzzed with renewed energy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I knew that peace was a far-off dream. There were still so many questions unanswered and threats unaddressed. But right now, everything I needed was within arm\u2019s reach, and that was all that mattered.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A Cold Marriage That Turned Warm 245 Chapter 245\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t you dare presume to make demands about my children,\u201d I […]<\/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-23814","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\/23814","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=23814"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23814\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23814"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23814"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23814"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}