Chapter 241
Chapter 241
When the call finally came-they’re at the gate-I was already on my feet.
The front hall filled quickly. Staff lined the walls, trying and failing to appear unobtrusive. I barely noticed them.
Ellie entered first.
She looked tired, her hair pulled back simply, her eyes cautious but determined. For a split second, she hesitated- like she wasn’t sure what reception awaited her.
Then I stepped forward.
The tension drained from her posture all at once. Relief softened her face, and for a moment, the rest of the world disappeared. Seeing her react with that kind of trust made my heart swell.
There was a time not that long ago when my presence would have made her more alert, not comforted her. I was glad to see that things really were changing between us.
She crossed the distance between us quickly, stopping just short of colliding into me. I didn’t pull her into an embrace-not yet. I didn’t want to crowd her, didn’t want to assume.
Ellie smiled at me, small and real.
“They’re here,” she said.
As if summoned by her words, Cassian stepped forward with the twins in their double stroller.
August and lan were bundled up warm, wide-eyed and quiet, their gazes tracking the unfamiliar space. When I saw them-really saw them-my breath left me in a rush.
They were bigger. It was the first thought that came into my mind. We’d only been apart for a few days, but I swore they’d grown noticeable in that time.
Still small, still soft, but undeniably changed. Their hair seemed darker, their eyes sharper and more aware. And there was no mistaking it.
They were mine. They looked so much like me, like my family.
I lowered myself carefully, ignoring the protest from my healing side, until I was eye level with them.
“Hey,” I said softly, voice rough. “You remember me?”
“Of course they do,” Ellie said, amused. “It’s been two days Nolan.”
August stared at me with those big, stormy eyes. lan squirmed, then reached out clumsily, fingers catching on my
shirt.
That was all it took.
My composure shattered.
I took them from their stroller without thinking, settling them against my chest with a reverence that left the room silent. My injured arm protested, but I adjusted, cradling them securely, instinctively.
Ellie watched us closely, her eyes looking a little glassy.
They fit here. Against me. Like they belonged.
August made a soft sound, something between a hum and a sigh, and leaned into my chest. Ian followed suit, settling more heavily as if the long journey had finally caught up to him.
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Chapter 241
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I swallowed hard, the reality of it hitting me all at once. My children, my wife, here in my family home again. Back in Silver Fang, in the packhouse where they always should have been.
“They’re home,” I murmured.
“Yes,” Ellie said. “They are.”
The packhouse seemed to exhale.
Word spread faster than I could have stopped it even if I’d tried. By nightfall, everyone knew.
Ellie had returned.
With children.
My children.
Servants whispered. Warriors stared too long. Gifts began appearing-blankets, carved toys, tiny boots, offerings left quietly outside the nursery door as if the pack itself were paying homage.
I didn’t discourage it.
That evening, when the boys were finally settled in their new room-safe, warm, watched over by more guards than Ellie was entirely comfortable with-I stood in the doorway and watched them sleep.
“They look peaceful,” Ellie said softly.
“They are,” I replied. “I won’t let that change.”
She studied me for a moment, long enough that I thought she was going to speak, then she nodded.
Later, when the packhouse had quieted and the night settled deep into the stones, I found myself standing outside the nursery again.
Inside, August and lan slept soundly.
I rested my palm against the doorframe.
I had made so many mistakes in the past few years. People Had been hurt because of me, including Ellie and the boys. I didn’t deserve this second chance, I knew that.
Yet my family was home again. I could see them, touch them. I still wasn’t sure if I believed in the goddess, but I had no other explanation for how a miracle like this could happen to someone like me.
Whatever came next, I knew one thing with absolute certainty.
Silver Fang had heirs again.
And I would burn the world before I let anyone take them from me.
Ð
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