\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 287\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause,\u201d Alaric said softly, \u201cthis happened on your watch.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kieran opened his mouth to protest.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Alaric did not give him the chance.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou created a climate,\u201d Alaric continued evenly. \u201cYou fed lies to people who were already desperate to believe them. You encouraged paranoia. You let hatred masquerade as loyalty. And now someone felt bold enough to test how far they could go.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat wasn\u2019t my intention-\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIntentions are luxuries,\u201d Alaric cut in. \u201cOutcomes are what matter.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kieran\u2019s hands clenched at his sides. \u201cI can\u2019t control every fanatic who supports me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d Alaric agreed. \u201cBut you can control what you allow to grow in your name. And you can control who you allow close to you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kieran froze. His skin prickled and goosebumps rose. There should be no way for Alaric to know about his ties to Felicity, but what else could his words mean?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Before he could think of a reply, Alaric spoke again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou took in that traitor thinking that she would give you an edge against Nolan, that because of her insider knowledge you could use her as another pawn in your game You befriended a devil.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kieran shook his head. \u201cThis is insane. Nolan\u2019s enemies are legion. How do you know this wasn\u2019t one of his?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Alaric\u2019s gaze sharpened, something lethal flickering beneath the calm.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause,\u201d he said quietly, \u201cthe message was not meant for Nolan.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kieran stiffened. \u201cWhat message?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Alaric leaned in slightly, his voice dropping to a near whisper.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMy daughter was warned.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kieran\u2019s breath caught. Messenger of the goddess, it flashed through his mind like an alarm. He felt his breath stutter out. \u201cWarned of what?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Alaric straightened.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou do not need to know,\u201d he said. \u201cYou need to understand what comes next.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kieran bristled. \u201cYou can\u2019t just storm into my quarters and issue threats. I\u2019m still an alpha and a candidate-\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Alaric moved faster than thought.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His fist drove into the wall beside Kieran\u2019s head with devastating force. Stone cracked. Plaster exploded outward. The reinforced interior wall buckled, caving inward with a violent crack that echoed through the suite.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The shockwave rattled glass and sent a lamp crashing to the floor.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kieran shouted, stumbling back as debris scattered across the carpet. The blow was more than physical, the air crackled with the snap of magic.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Alaric did not flinch.\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/4\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 247\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
His knuckles bled slightly. He did not look at them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He looked only at Kieran.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The silence afterward was suffocating.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou will fix this,\u201d Alaric said, his voice still quiet-but now edged with something unmistakably dangerous. You will find out who thought they could reach my family. You will dismantle whatever rot you allowed to fester around you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kieran\u2019s chest heaved. His face had gone pale.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd if I can\u2019t?\u201d he asked hoarsely.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Alaric\u2019s eyes burned.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThen I will,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd you will wish you had never se eyes on my daughter.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The words were not shouted.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They did not need to be.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kieran felt them settle into his bones, heavy and inescapable.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t order this,\u201d Kieran said again, weaker now. \u201cI swear it. I wouldn\u2019t hurt Ellie, not intentionally. I know that you don\u2019t believe this, but I truly care for her.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThen prove it,\u201d Alaric replied.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He stepped back, the pressure lifting just enough for Kiera to breathe again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is your only warning,\u201d Alaric said. \u201cI do not care about your crown. I do not care about your legacy. I care about one thing, and one thing only.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He turned toward the door.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI understand,\u201d Kieran said softly, his voice shaking.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIf anything like this happens again,\u201d Alaric said without looking back, \u201cthere will be no conversation. No threats. No chances to fix it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The door opened.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kieran stood frozen, staring at the ruin in his wall, his heart still hammering in his chest.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Alaric paused once more, just long enough to deliver the final blow.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cChoose carefully,\u201d he said. \u201cBecause you have already bee weighed and found wanting.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then he was gone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The suite felt cavernous in his absence.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kieran sank slowly onto the edge of the table, his hands shaking despite his efforts to still them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He stared at the shattered wall, at the blood smeared faintly against pale stone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For the first time since the campaign began, the enormity of what he was entangled in settled fully over him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This was no longer a political contest.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was a reckoning.\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/4<\/p>\n
A Cold Marriage That Turned Warm 287 \u00a0 Chapter 287\u00a0 \u201cBecause,\u201d Alaric said softly, \u201cthis happened on your watch.\u201d\u00a0 Kieran […]<\/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-23856","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\/23856","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=23856"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23856\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23856"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23856"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23856"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}