\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 289\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s completely unhinged,\u201d Kieran went on, rubbing a hand over his face. \u201cWhatever she was before\u2013this is worse. She\u2019s not thinking strategically anymore. She\u2019s obsessed.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My wolf stirred, a low, furious presence beneath my skin.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is she?\u201d I asked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kieran shook his head. \u201cGone. She left Pine Ridge several days ago. Took what she could carry and disappeared.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My chest tightened. \u201cGone where?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He hesitated, then met my eyes. \u201cToward the rogue lands.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The room seemed to darken.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you certain?\u201d I asked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d he said. \u201cMy people tracked her scent as far as they could. After that\u2026 it vanishes. Like she knew how to cover her trail. Or had help.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
That was worse.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ellie\u2019s visions flashed through my mind\u2013shadows, hunger, obsession mistaken for devotion. The rogue\u2019s ravings. The warnings.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Children of the storm.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Blood follows the castaway.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou need to understand something,\u201d Kieran said quietly. \u201cIf she\u2019s heading into the rogue territories willingly, it means she\u2019s not afraid anymore. And Felicity being afraid was the only thing keeping her predictable. I sent her away because she was talking about the twins like they were leverage, like she could use them to control you. She has no limits anymore, Nolan. She\u2019s gone mad.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I exhaled slowly, forcing myself to remain still.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re telling me this now,\u201d I said, \u201cbecause of Alaric.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
His shoulders tensed. He didn\u2019t need to tell me that Alaric had paid him a visit. I could piece it together. Cassian had been concerned when Alaric took longer than necessary to reach Moonstone, so I knew he\u2019d made a stop of\u00a0<\/p>\n
some kind.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If he suspected that Kieran was in any way related to what had happened to Ellie, then it made sense that Alaric would deliver a warning of his own. A thorough one, judging by the state Kieran was in.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kieran\u2019s shoulders slumped. \u201cYes.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He looked genuinely shaken at the mention of Ellie\u2019s father, like the encounter had stripped something\u00a0<\/p>\n
essential from him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe told me to fix this,\u201d Kieran said. \u201cAnd he meant it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stepped closer, my presence filling the space between us.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis isn\u2019t something you fix,\u201d I said quietly. \u201cIt\u2019s something you survive.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He nodded once. \u201cI know.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
For a moment, neither of us spoke.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then he straightened, some fragment of resolve settling into place.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll give you everything,\u201d he said. \u201cNames. Safe houses. Financial routes. Anyone who so much as looked at her sideways while she was under my protection. I won\u2019t shield anyone- myself included.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I searched his face, looking for deception, for any inkling that he had an ulterior motive.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I found none.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d I asked. \u201cWhy come here, knowing what this could cost you?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kieran swallowed. \u201cBecause she crossed a line I didn\u2019t think existed anymore.\u201d His voice dropped. \u201cAnd because you stepped away from power to protect your family.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I said nothing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat mattered,\u201d he added. \u201cMore than you know. It doesn\u2019t change how I feel about you,\u201d he added hastily. You\u2019re a violent, arrogant bastard. But when it comes to Ellie and the twins, at least I know that you have your priorities straight.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I held his gaze for a long moment, then nodded once.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ll cooperate fully,\u201d I said. \u201cYou\u2019ll keep your people available. And you\u2019ll stay where I can find you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d he said immediately.\u00a0<\/p>\n
((\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIf she comes back into your orbit,\u201d I continued, \u201cyou inform me first. Not your advisors. Not the council. Me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAgreed.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I turned toward the door.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNolan,\u201d Kieran said suddenly. \u201cI know you don\u2019t owe me anything. But for what it\u2019s worth\u2013I am sorry. If I had known\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He let the sentence die. He didn\u2019t have to finish it. This was my fault, at least in part. I\u2019d shielded Felicity from the full consequences of her actions, and in doing so, I\u2019d allowed her to continue down this path.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kieran was a bastard for using her to further his goals, but he wasn\u2019t completely to blame for trusting her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I knew better than anyone exactly how convincing Felicity could be when she whispered her lies into your ear.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I paused, then looked back at him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBe useful,\u201d I said. \u201cThat\u2019s the only apology that matters now.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I left him standing there, alone with the consequences of his choices.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As I walked down the corridor, my wolf surged closer to the surface, restless and enraged.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Felicity was no longer hiding.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She was moving.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And whatever storm was coming, she had just stepped directly into its path.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A Cold Marriage That Turned Warm 289 \u00a0 Chapter 289\u00a0 \u201cShe\u2019s completely unhinged,\u201d Kieran went on, rubbing a hand over […]<\/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-23858","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\/23858","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=23858"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23858\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23858"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23858"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23858"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}