Chapter 143
Chapter 143
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I took a step closer, lowering my voice. “You had me, Ellie. And I would’ve done
anything-anything-to keep you safe. But you wouldn’t let me p>
Her eyes glistened, but her expression stayed hard. “You had your chance, Nolan. You hurt me too much for me to forget p>
That landed exactly the way she meant it to.
The silence stretched between us, thick, heavy, and final.
When she finally turned toward the door, I heard my own voice break the quiet. “He’s using you, Ellie. Whatever charm he’s spinning, it’s not real. He wants something from you. Don’t marry him p>
She paused but didn’t look back. “Maybe. But right now, I don’t have the luxury of waiting to see who’s genuine p>
And then she was gone.
I stood there for a long time after, staring at the empty doorway and wondering when exactly I’d lost her-and why the hell I hadn’t fought harder before it was too late.
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Chapter 143
Nolan POV
There was never a good time to hear the kind of news Ellie had just dropped on me but there could hardly have
me-but been a worse one either.
I had a meeting scheduled with Cassian to review the intel gathered since the border attack and to plan our next steps. It wasn’t the kind of meeting I could postpone without raising suspicion or causing unnecessary panic.
So, despite feeling like someone had just torn out my insides and left me hollow, I did what I always did-I pushed it down and carried on.
The intelligence reports didn’t suggest any immediate threats, but Cassian agreed that increasing patrols for the time being was necessary. He didn’t seem surprised when I told him that Felicity was involved, either.
I did my best to keep my cool through the meeting, even as my wolf paced with the need to take action. It felt like everything was falling apart around me and I had no choice but to carry on as if it was business as usual.
I was going to go mad if something didn’t change soon. Alpha or not, there’s only so much a man can take.
But apparently, I wasn’t doing as good a job at hiding it as I thought.
Cassian was watching me across the table with that sharp, knowing expression of his. The kind that always made me feel like he was peeling back layers I didn’t want seen. Every time I glanced up from the reports, his eyes were still there-steady, assessing. It grated on me more than usual.
Finally, when the last of the paperwork was signed and the last of the reports discussed, he leaned back in his chair and said simply, “You’re distracted today p>
I exhaled slowly, setting my pen down. “You could say that p>
He tilted his head slightly. “This wouldn’t have anything to do with Ellie, would it p>
My jaw tightened before I could stop it. Cassian’s perceptiveness was infuriating sometimes.
“She told you?” I asked, my voice coming out harsher than I meant.
Cassian’s brows drew together. “Told me what p>
I stared at him for a moment, trying to gauge whether the confusion in his tone was real. It was.
“She’s marrying Kieran,” I said flatly. The words left an acrid taste in my mouth. It was the first time I’d said it. It felt wrong and made my blood boil in an instant.
The reaction from Cassian was immediate-a flash of shock that he quickly tried to mask. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. “She’s what p>
“You heard me p>
Something dark flickered across his expression before he sat back again, running a hand through his hair. ” That’s… unexpected p>
“That’s one way to put it p>
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The silence between us stretched tight. I studied him closely. “You seem bothered by it p>
“I warned her about him weeks ago, when he first started pursuing her. I thought
that she understood the danger he presented p>
“She told you about this weeks ago?” I asked angrily.
“She often confides in me,” Cassian responded simply.
For some reason, that statement nearly broke my control. I knew that Ellie didn’t trust me, not completely. She had no reason to. But to know that she trusted Cassian so completely made my wolf snarl with jealous rage.
I gripped the edge of the table until my knuckles went white as I fought to control my reaction.
“Why would she tell you that?” I demanded.
Cassian hesitated, and that was all it took. The hesitation was enough to confirm there was something more beneath the surface. Whatever was going on between him and Ellie, I needed to understand it.
It had been clear to me from the start that his interest in her was strange. He’d been protective of her from the start, even when they’d barely known each other. Then he helped hide her from me, now this?
At one point I thought they were lovers, or that Cassian at least had feeling for her. But that couldn’t be the case if she was marrying Kieran over him. This didn’t make any sense.
I needed answers.
I narrowed my eyes. “You’ve been protective of her from the beginning, Cass. More than I’d expect from anyone outside the family. So tell me what exactly is your relationship with her p>
For a long moment, he didn’t answer. He just looked at me, weighing something in his mind. Then finally, he spoke.
“It’s complicated,” he said quietly. His answer was dodgy in a way that I wasn’t used to from him. Cassian didn’t talk around things, he wa direct, even blunt.
“Explain it to me p>
Cassian rubbed the back of his neck, letting out a slow breath. “My father and I… we think Ellie might be my sister p>
The words didn’t register at first. I blinked, certain I’d misheard. Of course I knew the story of the lost daughter of Moonstone. Cassian had been travelling with his mother and sister when they were attacked. His mother had
been killed and his sister was never found.
But that couldn’t possibly be related to Ellie, could it?
“Your sister p>
He nodded, eyes serious. “My long-lost sister. The timeline fits. Her age, her features-she looks like my mother did when she was young. And some of the memories she has from her childhood… they line up with the time before she disappeared p>
I stared at him, utterly stunned. “You’re telling me you think she’s family p>
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“Yes,” he said simply. “And I’m not the only one. My father’s convinced of it too p>
I stared at him for a long moment, too stunned to speak. And the more I looked, the
more I could see a family resemblance. They had the same cars, the same expressive eyebrows. Even their complexions were similar.
How had I missed this?
My mind reeled. It was almost too much to take in after the day I’d already had. “Why haven’t you said anything? Why keep something like that quiet?” “Because we can’t prove it,” Cassian said. “We don’t have records, no solid evidence. Just similarities, fragments, and a few pieces that seem to fit. And with everything that’s already happened-the attacks, the rumors, the goddess-throwing something like this into the public would only make things worse for her p>
I rubbed a hand across my face. “Does she know p>
He nodded slowly. “She knows. But she hasn’t known for long. I told her a few weeks ago p>
I sank back in my chair, staring at nothing for a long moment. It was almost too
much-the day, the revelations, the weight of it all pressing in at once.
Cassian’s voice broke the silence. “I understand you’re upset about the engagement. But if you care about her at all, Nolan, you’ll tread carefully. She’s fragile right now. And she’s scared p>
“I know that,” I muttered. “But marrying Kieran isn’t the answer p>
He didn’t argue. He just looked at me with that steady, unreadable gaze again-the same one that made me feel like he knew more than he was saying.
When he finally stood to leave, he said quietly, “Whether or not she’s my sister, I won’t let anyone hurt her. That includes him p>
And then he was gone, leaving me sitting there in the quiet, surrounded by maps, reports, and too many truths I didn’t know what to do with.
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Chapter 14.1