Chapter 145
Chapter 145
Third person POV
Cassian hadn’t liked the idea from the start.
When Ellie told him she wanted Kieran to meet the boys, he’d stared at her for a long time, searching her expression for any sign of hesitation or uncertainty.
There had been plenty of both-but beneath them was something stronger. Resolve. She’d made up her mind, and nothing he said would change it.
So he agreed. Reluctantly.
They met in one of the quieter parks within Silver Fang territory, the kind of place families liked to visit on warm afternoons. The late light filtered through the trees, painting the ground gold.
Ellie sat on the grass, the twins curled up against her, their laughter spilling through the clearing as Kieran crouched in front of them, crossing his eyes and puffing out his cheeks.
It was an almost idyllic scene, one that would have looked perfectly natural to an outsider. A mother with her children, the charming man trying to win their affection, sunlight glinting off the boys’ dark hair as they laughed.
Cassian stood off to the side, arms crossed, his expression unreadable. To anyone else, he might have looked like a bodyguard or a disinterested observer, but inside, tension coiled through every muscle.
He couldn’t explain it, but something about Kieran’s presence unsettled him. The man was too smooth, too practiced, his charm so polished it gleamed like a blade. And yet, as he watched Ellie laugh, really laugh, for the first time in what felt like forever, Cassian forced himself to stay quiet.
Maybe she needed this.
Maybe after everything she’d endured-the fear, the hiding, the years of uncertainty- she deserved a moment of peace.
Still, he couldn’t shake the feeling that this wasn’t peace at all, but a lull before the
storm.
And this wasn’t just about Ellie. Cassian had been caring for the boys for weeks. They were his nephews and he loved them dearly. The idea of someone with questionable motives like Kieran getting close to them made his inner wolf snarl.
It wasn’t a feeling he was used to.
Maybe that was the reason he couldn’t bring himself to step away, to give them some privacy. He couldn’t let his guard down with this man, essentially a stranger, so close to the boys.
When Kieran reached out to brush a leaf from Ellie’s hair and she didn’t pull away, something twisted hard in Cassian’s chest. He looked away, jaw tightening, eyes fixed on the tree line instead.
He didn’t want to interfere. He couldn’t. Not when she seemed happy. Not when she was finally breathing easy
again.
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But he would be watching. Always.
Nolan POV
Thadn’t planned on being there.
I’d been cutting through the park after meeting with one of the border patrol leads, half-distracted, half- exhausted, my thoughts circling endlessly around the chaos of the last few weeks, I wanted five minutes of quiet. That was all.
And then I saw her.
Ellie
She was sitting on the grass, her head thrown back in laughter, two small boys nestled against her sides, and Kieran kneeling in front of them, his grin wide and easy.
For a moment, I couldn’t move. My brain couldn’t process what I was seeing.
Children. Babies, really. They couldn’t be older than 6 months, Their stout little bodies leaned into Ellie to keep upright, their chubby little hands reaching for Kieran as he leaned toward them.
Ellie’s children.
I could see the resemblance. They had to be hers.
Twins.
How could this be happening? It didn’t make sense. For Ellie to have time to carry a pregnancy from someone
else p>
It wasn’t possible.
The realization hit me like a physical blow. Every thought scattered, every sound dimmed, until all I could hear was the pounding of my pulse in my ears.
I watched the boys-dark hair, familiar eyes, their little heads tilted up. It was like looking into a mirror of a memory I couldn’t place. My chest constricted, breath catching.
Kieran said something to make them giggle again, and the sound tore straight through me.
I didn’t remember walking closer. I didn’t remember the decision to move at all. My wolf was already clawing at the edges of my control, furious and territorial, a growl rising in my throat before I even realized it was mine.
The breeze shifted-and that’s when I smelled them.
Their scent hit me like fire. My blood roared, instinct taking over every rational thought.
They smelled like me.
Before I knew what I was doing, I was moving-fast, faster than I meant to. In an instant, I was there, grabbing Kieran by the arm and yanking him back, hard enough to knock the smile right off his face.
He stumbled, snarling, his composure shattering in an instant as I shoved him away from Ellie and the boys.
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“What the hell are you doing?” I growled, the words rough, raw, barely human. Kieran straightened slowly, brushing off his sleeve, hits expression smoothing back into that infuriating calm.” Relax, Alpha,” he said, tone dripping with false innocence. “We were just enjoying the afternoon p>
I ignored him completely, turning to Ellie. “What is this?” I demanded, my voice low and dangerous. “Who are they p>
Ellie’s eyes went wide. For the first time in a long while, I saw real fear there-not of me, but of what this moment meant. She had one arm around each of the boys and
I saw the way her grip tightened, just a little.
“Nolan,” she said quietly, “please-
But I already knew,
Every instinct in me screamed the truth I’d been too blind to see until now.
They were mine.
My sons.
They were alive.
“How could you?” I asked. I meant it as a demand, but my voice broke on the words and I saw the guilt flash across her face.
All this time, she’d been hiding my children form me. I’d been mourning them, and she let me, knowing full well that they were alive.
I had been cruel to Ellie in our years together, I knew that. But I couldn’t imagine anything worse to do to a person. The guilt I’d been carrying for nearly two years over the loss of my children, my failure to protect them p>
My heart was thundering so hard it hurt. I didn’t know if I wanted to scream or cry.
I dropped to my knees in front of Ellie, my hands moving slowly, reaching for the boys as if they might vanish if I went too fast.
At almost the same time, they grabbed onto my fingers. Their little hands soft, but strong as they gripped me.
Every instinct in me screamed with the need to protect them, to hold them. I didn’t dare try. Not yet. The way my eyes were burning in my throat felt tight, I knew that I would sob if I tried.
I looked from one of them to the other.
Their innocent little faces looked back at me, eyes wide and soft, cooing sounds issuing from them. They weren’t afraid of me, despite the aggressive way I’d just behaved.
They were mine, and somehow I knew that they knew it too. Maybe they could smell it like I could.
The world tilted, rage and grief and disbelief crashing together in my chest. I’d thought I’d lost everything once before-but standing there, looking at her with those boys between us, I realized I hadn’t even begun to understand what loss really meant.
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Chapter 145
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