Chapter 58\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ivy Second Chance Mate\u00a0<\/p>\n
I looked at my phone, it was already past one in the morning. \u201cAnother stop? Tristan, it\u2019s late.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTrust me,\u201d he said, and something in his voice told me this was important. \u201cThere\u2019s something I want to show you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
We drove through empty streets, the city asleep around us except for the occasional taxi or late\u2013night delivery truck. The air was cool against my face, carrying the scents of night\u2013blooming flowers and the promise of dawn still hours away.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When Tristan finally pulled over, we were at the base of a hill I didn\u2019t recognize. The incline rose steeply ahead of us, covered in wild grass and dotted with oak trees that looked ancient in the moonlight.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are we doing here?\u201d I asked, but he was already off the bike and walking toward the path that wound up the hillside.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s something I think you\u2019ll love,\u201d he said, taking my hand and tugging me along behind him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
*We climbed in comfortable silence, our footsteps muffled by the thick grass. The city fell away below us with each step, becoming a glittering carpet of lights that stretched to the horizon. The higher we climbed, the more magical it became, like we were ascending toward the stars themselves.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After what felt like forever, my legs began to ache. The heels I\u2019d worn weren\u2019t exactly designed for hiking, and I was starting to struggle to keep up with Tristan\u2019s longer strides.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He noticed immediately, the way he always seemed to notice when I was struggling. Without a word, he knelt in front of me, his back presented like an offering.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cGet on,\u201d he said simply. \u201cIt\u2019s still a long way to go.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stared at him for a moment, memories of childhood piggyback rides flooding through me. \u201cAre you sure? I\u2019m not exactly a kid anymore.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you waiting for?\u201d he asked when I still hesitated.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I climbed onto his back, wrapping my arms around his neck for support. His hands came up to grip my thighs, holding me steady, and the heat of his palms through my jeans made my breath hitch in a way that had nothing to do with the cool night air.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I reminded myself firmly that this wasn\u2019t romantic. This wasiner m\u00a0<\/p>\n
20:36 Sat, Jan 30\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 58\u00a0<\/p>\n
people he loved the way he always had. This was a brother helping his sister, nothing more.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But the way his muscles moved beneath my chest as he carried me up the hill, the scent of his cologne mixed with his natural warmth, the steady rhythm of his breathing, it all conspired to make me very aware of how I\u2019d missed this side of him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re here,\u201d he said finally, kneeling again so I could side off his back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I dismounted quickly, trying to ignore the heat that had been building in my core during the ride. \u201cThank\u00a0<\/p>\n
you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you okay?\u201d he asked, studying my face with those perceptive eyes. \u201cYou\u2019ve been acting strange since we left Orion\u2019s earlier.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m fine,\u201d I said, but even I could hear that it sounded unconvincing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou promised to tell me when you\u2019re not fine,\u201d he reminded me gently.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I nodded, but my attention was already being captured by our surroundings. We stood on a wide plateau near the summit of the hill, with the entire city spread out below us like a living map.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Every street light was a tiny star, every building a geometric constellation. It was breathtaking in a way that made my chest tight with wonder.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you love it?\u201d Tristan asked, and I could hear nervous anticipation in his voice.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s beautiful,\u201d I breathed, unable to look away from the view.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is where I come when I need to think,\u201d he said, moving to stand beside me. \u201cWhen everything feels too heavy, too complicated. This place has a way of putting things in perspective, of making you remember that your problems are just a small part of something much bigger.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was true. Standing here, looking out over the lights of the city where thousands of people were living their own complicated lives, dealing with their own joys and sorrows and fears, it made my own struggles. feel manageable somehow. Not smaller or less important, but just\u2026 part of the human experience.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLet me show you another way to enjoy it,\u201d Tristan said, and before I could ask what he meant, he was\u00a0<\/p>\n
shifting.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His human form dissolved in a shimmer of moonlight and magic, replaced by the massive black wolf that had always taken my breath away.\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u20ac11%\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 58\u00a0<\/p>\n
Even as children, his wolf had been larger and more powerful than most adults, a clear sign of the alpha he\u00a0<\/p>\n
was destined to become.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Memories Drifted Into Soft Silence by Kyx Frost 58 Chapter 58\u00a0 Ivy Second Chance Mate\u00a0 I looked at my phone, […]<\/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":[77],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26215","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-second-gear-of-love-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26215","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=26215"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26215\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26215"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26215"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26215"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}