Chapter 207

Chapter 207
My heart twisted. “You took the blame.”
“I took the silence,” he corrected. “It didn’t matter what I said after that. Kieran made up his mind
The room fell quiet again. Outside, the fog pressed against the windowpane, the faint outline of the forear beyond blurred and indistinct.
I might have guessed it was something like this. Nolan was a great alpha, but he had no head for public relations He tended to avoid addressing scandals for fear of drawing more attention to them and making things worse
I watched him closely. There was no defensiveness in his voice, no bittemess-just the heavy weariness of someone who had carried too much guilt for too long,
“I didn’t know,” I said finally.
“I didn’t expect you to,” Nolan said. “He’s had years to tell the story his way.”
I hesitated. I didn’t want to disturb whatever was happening between us lately. This peace, this quiet trust that was growing with Nolan was important to me. But this conversation needed to happen “Why didn’t you tell me?”
He met my eyes then, and something in his expression softened – the guarded mask slipping just slightly.” Because it wouldn’t have changed how you saw me back then. You already thought I was dangerous. It would have seemed defensive if I’d tried to explain away my issues with Kieran.”
The words hit harder than I expected.
“I never-” I started, but he gave a faint, sad smile.
“You did,” he said gently. “And I don’t blame you. I gave you every reason to.”
My throat burned. “You’ve changed.”
“Trying to,” he said quietly. “But I can’t undo the past, Ellie. All I can do is try to be better now.”
For a long moment, I just looked at him. The boy he’d been, the man he was now – the lines between them blurred in my mind, and for the first time, I could see how much he’d been shaped by pain and pride and duty.
He hadn’t just been cruel for the sake of it or because it was his nature. He’d been raised that way – taught that control was strength, that emotion was weakness.
And now he was unlearning it piece by piece, right in front of me. Because of the boys. Because of me.
I exhaled shakily. “Kieran showed me the scar.”
Nolan nodded. “I’m not surprised. I have one too, from him. He shoved me back and
I slid on the rocks, caught myself, but a jagged edge caught my hand.”
“Can I see your hand?”
He blinked, a slight frown creasing his brow, but held it out
The moment my fingers touched his hand the familiar warmth of the bond snapped sharply into place. The jolt stole my breath for just a moment. I watched Nolan’s hand stiffen, then slowly relax in my grip and I knew that he could feel it too.
The connection between us was as strong as ever.
I turned it over gently, tracing the faint silvery line near his thumb – a long-healed mark I hadn’t noticed before.
Chapter 207
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“That’s from him,” he said quietly.
The sight of it so small, so human-made my chest ache. It seemed like a apt metaphor for so much in Nolan’s life. He’d tried to help someone, but ended up marked for life.
“I don’t know what to believe,” I admitted.
He gave a faint, humorless smile. “You don’t have to. I’m not asking you to pick sides.”
I shook my head. “It’s not about sides. It’s about truth.”
Nolan’s gaze softened. “Then you already know mine.”
Silence filled the space between us, thick and heavy and strange.
Finally, I stood. “The boys are waking soon. Do you want to stay?”
He hesitated, then nodded. “If you’ll let me.”
I smiled faintly. “I will. I wouldn’t offer if I didn’t want you to stay.”
He exhaled – not quite relief, not quite peace
and for a moment, the pressure between us eased.
As I left to check on the twins, I couldn’t shake the image from my mind: the young Nolan, desperate to protect, punished for trying. The older Nolan, still carrying that
same guilt, still reaching out with hands he wasn’t sure how to use.
Maybe all he needed was for someone to meet him half way!
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