Chapter 226
Chapter 226
Ellie POV
The Moonstone packhouse had always felt grand to me – towering windows, stone walls that caught the light, the soft scent of pine from the forest pressing close around it. But today, standing at the threshold with two sleepy boys balanced on my hips, it didn’t feel intimidating.
It felt like coming home.
I hadn’t planned to move in. The apartment had been comfortable, my little
sanctuary, but after Alaric’s announcement and the whispers that followed, privacy had become a fragile thing.
People stared longer when I walked through the market now. They called me Alpha’s daughter in hushed tones, half awe, half curiosity.
I was still getting used to it.
Inside, the packhouse was alive with the sounds of morning Someone was baking – the scent of cinnamon and honey drifted from the kitchen and Cassian’s voice carried faintly down the hall as he barked out directions to a few warriors.
Alaric met me at the door, smiling when he saw the boys. “ou actually agreed. I expected you to back out p>
I laughed softly, shifting the boys in my arms. “You wore me down. Besides, it’ll be easier for everyone if we’re closer. You worry too much when we’re not here p>
“I call it paternal concern,” Alaric said, taking lan from me “Cassian calls it meddling p>
“He’s not wrong,” I teased.
He chuckled, leading me through the hall toward the east wing. “The room is ready. We aired it out yesterday. It used to be yours, you
know p>
That made me pause. “Really p>
He nodded. “When you and Cassian were small. You’d always sneak into his room at night because you hated sleeping alone. Your mother used to pretend to be angry about it, but she’d always end up laughing when she found you both tangled in one blanket p>
The memory hit me like sunlight through fog — brief, but vivid. Cassian’s laughter, soft sheets that smelled like cedar, the faint hum of our mother’s lullaby. It was there and gone again before I could hold onto it, but it left me smiling faintly.
“Guess some things don’t change,” I murmured, glancing down at the twins. “These two refuse to sleep apart, too p>
“They’re like you and your brother,” Alaric said warmly. “Stubborn p>
He pushed open the door to a spacious room overlooking the gardens. Morning light spilled across the floorboards. Someone – probably Cassian
probably Cassian – had already carried in the cribs. The twin mobiles hung neatly above
them, tiny glass moons and stars catching the light.
I set August down and watched as he gurgled in delight, reaching for the spinning charms. Ian placed lan in his own crib, and he immediately moved to the railing closest August.
Something deep in my chest loosened. I already felt safer having the boys here in the packhouse, surrounded by family and guards.
“This is I exhaled. “It’s perfect. Thank you p>
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Choster 226
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Alaric gave a small nod. “You don’t need to thank me. You’ home p>
Home. The word settled in my bones differently now.
For years, “home” had been wherever I was needed the orphanage, the hospital dormitories, the apartment I’d rented in the city. Even in Silver Fang, with Nolan, I’d never truly felt it. But here, in Moonstone, the air itself seemed to recognize me.
Still, peace came with its own kind of weight.
I looked around the room, a wave of nostalgia flooding through me. The laughter of Cassian and me as children seemed to echo in the walls for a moment. Warmth, safety, and love seemed to seep from the very walls.
It was everything I wanted for the boys, and for a moment, it overwhelmed me.
“The memories are coming more frequently, aren’t they?” Alaric asked.
“More every day. Sometimes in bits and pieces and sometimes in sudden bursts. It’s a lot to take in,” I said, running my fingertips lightly along the windowsill.
“What sort of memories?” he asked curiously.
“A lot about Cassian,” I answered thoughtfully. “I think because he’s been around so much. Some about you. I remember you cooking breakfast for us, pancakes. And I remember how we used to have tea parties out by the training grounds in the afternoons p>
A fond smile stole over his features. “It used to cause quite a stir among the warriors when we would break for lunch, and you would totter out with that picnic basket stuffed full of sandwiches for them p>
I smiled and shook my head. “I remember… I would always insist that we had to feed them all because they were working so hard, and they always thanked me for those squished sandwiches p>
“You had the makings of a great luna, even then p>
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