Chapter 95

Chapter 95
Ellie POV
The packhouse looked exactly as I remembered it-tall windows catching the pale morning light, broad wooden doors that always seemed to groan when they opened, the faint scent of pine and smoke clinging to the old rugs.
My heart clenched as Nolan ushered me inside, the familiar rush of home mixed with the sharp edge of unease. I hadn’t been here in almost a year, and every shadow seemed to stretch a little longer, every whisper of sound magnified against my nerves.
There was danger here. Maybe there always had been, but I could feel it at the edges now in a way that I never had before.
I barely had a chance to breathe before her voice cut through the air like glass.
“Well, well.” Felicity’s tone dripped with venom as she came down the stairs, arms folded, her perfect blonde hair gleaming like a polished crown. “Look who finally decided to crawl back.”
The words hit me like a slap, though I shouldn’t have been surprised. Of course, she’d be the first to attack. Her lips curled in a smug half-smile as her gaze raked over me, lingering on the plain cardigan, the scuffed shoes- reminders that I hadn’t returned like a Luna stepping into her role, but like a runaway dragged back into the light.
I was sure that all she saw right now was a grubby rogue here to push in on her territory. I could feel Nolan stiffen behind me,
hear the low sound of his breath shifting into something more tense.
It was a weird reaction. Normally, Felicity put him at ease, but it was immediately apparent that there was something off between them. This was an unexpected change, and I wasn’t sure what to make of it.
Lance had told me that Nolan was frantic, nearly obsessed with finding me. I was sure that Felicity was unhappy about that, but this felt like more.
“I thought you’d died,” Felicity went on breezily, though her eyes glinted. “Honestly, that would’ve been less embarrassing for all of us.”
Heat surged in my face, my hands tightening at my sides before I could stop them. A thousand biting retorts rose to my tongue, but before I could speak, Nolan’s voice cut through the air like a growl.
“That’s enough.”
The force of it made me blink. Felicity actually froze mid-step, her smirk faltering as Nolan strode forward, his presence filling the entry hall in a way that left no room for argument. His eyes, stormy and unyielding, locked on
hers.
“I won’t tolerate this anymore,” he said, his voice low but carrying. “Not one insult. Not one snide remark. Ellie is my wife, and she deserves respect.”
For a heartbeat, the silence was deafening. I stared at him, startled. Never in all the time I’d lived here had Nolan ever spoken to Felicity like that-not in my defense, not in anyone’s.
Felicity’s mouth opened, then snapped shut, her face flushing red in rage and embarassment.
“You can’t be serious,” she hissed finally. “After everything, after the stunt she just pulled-”
“Grow up.” Nolan’s voice was ice. “You don’t get to rewrite reality to suit yourself. Ellie is my wife. That isn’t going to change. You will accept it and keep your mouth shut, or you’ll no longer be welcome here.”
1/3
Chapter 95
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The words hung heavy in the air. Felicity’s eyes flicked to me, blazing with fury, but she didn’t dare respond. She spun on her heel, heels clicking like gunfire as she stormed back up the stairs, her muttering fading as she disappeared into the upper floor.
I couldn’t move. Couldn’t quite process what had just happened. My pulse was still thrumming with adrenaline. Nolan had defended me. Not just a token defense, not a quiet placation, but a full rebuke.
It shouldn’t have mattered-it shouldn’t have softened anything but it unsettled me all the same.
“You don’t have to look so shocked,” Nolan muttered after a moment, glancing at me.
I swallowed hard. “I… wasn’t expecting it.”
Something flickered in his expression, but he didn’t press. Instead, he gestured down the hall, and I followed him deeper into the packhouse, my steps uneven.
I hadn’t gone far before a familiar voice cried out.
“Ellie!”
I turned just in time to see Rae rushing down the corridor, her red hair flying, her eyes wide and brimming with tears. Before I could react, she threw her arms around me, squeezing tight enough to steal the breath from my lungs.
“Rae,” I gasped, clinging to her just as fiercely. Relief and emotion washed over me in a dizzying wave. She pulled back just far enough to look me over, her hands still gripping my arms.
“You’re really here,” she said, her voice shaking with a laugh and a sob tangled together. “I didn’t believe it when Lance told me. I thought he was joking, or that he’d misheard Nolan. Gods, Ellie-you’re actually here.”
I nodded, my throat too tight to answer properly.
“Come on,” she said quickly, glancing over my shoulder as if afraid Felicity might reappear at any moment. Let’s go somewhere we can talk.”
((
We slipped away from Nolan’s watchful eyes and ducked into one of the smaller sitting rooms off the main hall. Rae closed the door behind us, then turned, her expression shifting from joy to something more troubled.
“Where are the boys?” she asked gently.
“Cassian is taking care of them,” I said, my throat suddenly tight with emotion again.
“How long are you staying?”
“I don’t know, as long as I have to. Nolan promised it was temporary
“You don’t believe him, do you?” she asked.
“I don’t know. He seems to mean it but… something is off. How have things been here? Have you noticed anything strange with him?” I asked.
“It’s been awful here,” she confessed, her voice low. “Ever since Felicity came back, everything feels… off. I can’t explain it, but it’s like the air’s thicker. People whisper more. The staff are skittish.”
I frowned. “Skittish how?”
“They avoid eye contact. They flinch when you ask them simple questions. And when I come by to see Lance Rae trailed off, glancing toward the door as if expecting someone to be listening. “I feel like I’m being watched.
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Chapter 95
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Every time. Like someone’s keeping tabs.”
Her words sent a shiver crawling up my spine.
“You think it’s Felicity?” I asked.
Rae bit her lip, uncertainty shadowing her face. “Maybe. Or maybe it’s someone else taking advantage of Nolan’s distraction. I don’t know. But something isn’t right, Ellie. It hasn’t been right for a long time.”
The unease in her voice mirrored the tension coiling in my chest. I glanced toward the window, the rising sun casting long shadows over the ground.
The packhouse had always been a place of noise and life, but now… now the silence pressed in heavy, suffocating.
I thought of Cassian’s uneasy look as I’d left, of his promise to keep the boys safe. I thought of Nolan’s sudden defense, so out of character it almost frightened me. And
I thought of Felicity’s seething glare, the hatred simmering in her eyes.
Rae was right. Something here was deeply wrong. And I had a sinking feeling it was only the beginning.
All I could feel in this moment was relief that my boys were safely in Moonstone with Cassian, and not caught in the middle of this madness.
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