Chapter 253\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe purge isn\u2019t finished.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The words hit harder than I expected. My heart stuttered, ny blood felt icy. I knew what he meant, but my mind rejected it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat purge?\u201d I demanded.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe one that started with poison,\u201d he said. \u201cThe one meant to cleanse Silver Fang of its rot.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cold spread through my chest.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou failed,\u201d I said sternly. \u201cYou were caught. The children lived.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He shook his head violently. \u201cYou don\u2019t understand. I was only the first. The test. The storm doesn\u2019t break with a single strike.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My patience snapped. \u201cStop speaking in riddles!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
His laughter returned, shrill and unhinged. \u201cYou always think there\u2019s a single hand on the blade.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He stood abruptly, chains clanking, eyes wild.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s coming.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Every muscle in my body went rigid.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d I demanded.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe shadow,\u201d he whispered. \u201cThe outcast. The one who was promised something she couldn\u2019t keep.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My heart began to pound.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSpeak clearly,\u201d I ordered. \u201cAre you talking about Felicity?\u00a0<\/p>\n
But the clarity seemed to drain from him entirely. His gaze slid past me, unfocused, as if he were watching something move along the walls.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe children are in the storm,\u201d he murmured. \u201cAnd the storm draws blood.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I took a step forward without thinking. My chest rumbled with a deep growl.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The rogue recoiled, pressing himself back into the corner.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cToo late,\u201d he whimpered. \u201cToo late to stop it now.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re saying there\u2019s a traitor in Silver Fang. That I missed someone when I drove out Felicity\u2019s supporters.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He looked at me for a fraction of a second before his eyes glazed again. \u201cNot that close, but close enough.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cGuards,\u201d I snapped.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They were already moving, drawn by the change in his tone\u00a0<\/p>\n
I held the rogue\u2019s gaze as they entered.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIf anyone else is involved,\u201d I said coldly, \u201cthis is your last chance.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
His smile returned, slow and awful.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou should be asking who\u2019s already inside your walls. Not all walls are physical. Some are more than that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then his eyes rolled back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His body sagged, collapsing forward as the guards rushed to catch him. One checked his pulse and shook his head.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cUnconscious,\u201d he said. \u201cMaybe shock.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stood there for a long moment after they dragged him away, my wolf restless, teeth bared inside my skull.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Inside your walls.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I left the prison without another word.\u00a0<\/p>\n
By the time I reached the packhouse, the sun was sinking low, the courtyard washed in amber light. The familiar scents-stone, pine, my people-usually grounded me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Not tonight.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I went straight to the nursery.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ellie sat in the rocking chair, August asleep against her shoulder, Ian sprawled across her lap.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She looked up when I entered, relief softening her expression.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThere you are,\u201d she said quietly. \u201cYou missed dinner.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sorry,\u201d I murmured.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I crossed the room and crouched beside her, resting my hand lightly on August\u2019s back. The steady rise and fall of his breathing eased something tight in my chest.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything okay?\u201d she asked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I hesitated.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I had learned the hard way that keeping things from Ellie only made the fallout worse.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was an incident,\u201d I said carefully. \u201cWith the rogue prisoner.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her body went still. \u201cThe one who poisoned me?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She swallowed. \u201cWhat happened? More vague warnings?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe claims the threat isn\u2019t over, that I missed someone when I purged Felicity\u2019s loyalists,\u201d I said. \u201cThat someone is inside the walls, whatever that means.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ellie\u2019s fingers tightened reflexively in Ian\u2019s blanket.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you believe him?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I looked at my sons. At their peaceful faces. At the life I\u2019d nearly lost before it even began.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe he believes it,\u201d I said finally.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That night, after the boys were settled and Ellie had fallen sleep beside them, I stood watch longer than usual.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I reviewed patrol rotations. Increased guards. Quietly orderd additional checks on supply lines and communications.\u00a0<\/p>\n
No announcements. No panic.\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
A Cold Marriage That Turned Warm 253 Chapter 253\u00a0 \u201cThe purge isn\u2019t finished.\u201d\u00a0 The words hit harder than I expected. […]<\/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-23822","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\/23822","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=23822"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23822\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23822"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23822"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23822"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}