Chapter 252\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nolan POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
By the time my shoulder stopped reminding me it had been cut open, the kingdom had already decided who I was supposed to be\u00a0<\/p>\n
My days filled quickly again-meetings stacked atop meetings, advisors cycling in and out of my office, public appearances carefully spaced so I could be seen without seeming overexposed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The campaign had shifted into something relentless. Momentum had a way of demanding constant attention, and the moment you stopped feeding it, it turned on you.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I understood that.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Still, every hour away from the nursery felt wrong.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I told myself it was necessary. That this was the price of securing a future where August and Ian wouldn\u2019t grow up under the same shadow I had. A crown meant stability. Authority. Protection that didn\u2019t depend on goodwill or fragile alliances.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It meant no one could touch my family without consequences.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That was the justification I repeated to myself as I stood in front of another crowd, smiled at another camera, shook another hand that lingered a little too long.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The people loved a story.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A wounded alpha. A returned Luna. Hidden heirs brought into the light.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They didn\u2019t see the nights I stood outside the nursery door longer than I should have. Or the way my wolf paced restlessly whenever I left the packhouse grounds without them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lance noticed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re distracted,\u201d he said one evening as we reviewed schedules in my office.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m busy,\u201d I replied without looking up.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He leaned against the desk, unimpressed. \u201cYou\u2019re thinking about the boys.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I paused.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat obvious?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d he said. \u201cYou\u2019ve started checking the time every fifteen minutes like you\u2019re worried someone\u2019s going to steal them.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I snorted quietly. \u201cGiven recent history, that\u2019s not paranoia\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lance sobered. \u201cFair.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I pushed the tablet aside and rubbed at my jaw. \u201cThis won\u2019t last forever. Once the election\u2019s settled-\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ll still be busy,\u201d he cut in gently. \u201cYou\u2019ll just be busy with different things.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair. I didn\u2019t argue He wasn\u2019t wrong.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A knock interrupted us before the thought could sink deeper.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The guard outside my office didn\u2019t bother with formality. His expression was tight, shoulders squared.\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe prisoner is requesting to see you,\u201d he said. \u201cAgain.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stiffened.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The rogue had been quiet for weeks. Too quiet. After the initial interrogation-after the truth of what he\u2019d done had been dragged out of him-he\u2019d withdrawn into something like resignation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He\u2019d spoken rarely, eaten little, stared at the walls as if waiting for something no one else could see.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And this was the second time he\u2019d asked to see me since the boys returned. It felt wrong, made my wolf pace behind my ribs.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does he want?\u201d I asked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe says he has a warning.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lance straightened. \u201cThat\u2019s new.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I exhaled slowly. My wolf stirred uneasily, a low ripple of awareness moving beneath my skin. More cryptic messages for Ellie to decipher, most likely. Still, ignoring any warning now could be a fatal mistake.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cFine,\u201d I said. \u201cI\u2019ll go.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The prison wing sat beneath the eastern tower, carved deep into the stone. It was cold there year-round, the air heavy with iron and old magic meant to suppress volatile wolves. I never wanted to be, if I could help it. It unsettled me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The guard unlocked the cell and stepped back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The rogue sat hunched in the corner, chains loose but present, his hair long and matted, his eyes too bright in the dim light.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He looked up the moment I entered.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And smiled.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The sight sent a chill straight down my spine.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re late,\u201d he rasped.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t respond. I remained near the door, arms crossed, posture deliberately relaxed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou asked to see me,\u201d I said. \u201cSpeak.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He laughed softly, a sound like dry leaves scraping stone. \u201cou\u2019re busy now. Important. Everyone loves you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My jaw tightened. \u201cIf you\u2019re here to mock me-\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou think this ends with applause?\u201d he interrupted, eyes harp. \u201cWith banners and cheers and a shiny crown?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My wolf bristled. The sound of his snarl echoed in my mind I felt my posture stiffen in response.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSay what you have to say,\u201d I growled.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The unease I felt was only growing. It was the feeling of danger, of impending doom. It made the hair on my arms stand on end. I knew that the feeling wasn\u2019t coming from the rogue. He was harmless to me. But something else was at play.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Something old and unavoidable.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The rogue leaned forward as far as the chains allowed. His pice dropped, losing its mockery, becoming frantic.\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
Choprar 265\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
A Cold Marriage That Turned Warm 252 Chapter 252\u00a0 Nolan POV\u00a0 By the time my shoulder stopped reminding me it […]<\/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-23821","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\/23821","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=23821"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23821\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23821"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23821"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23821"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}