I Forgot I Loved You Alpha (Ellie and Nolan) novel Chapter 112

Chapter 112

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Nolan POV

This was the last thing I wanted to be doing right now, but the race for alpha king would be starting soon, had no choice but to participate in the formalities that led tit.

and I

The chamber of the kingdom elders was as solemn as it was suffocating. Ancient banners hung heavy on the stone walls, their faded crests reminding us all of the long lineage of wolves who had come before us. My eyes lingered on my family’s crest before I forced them away.

That was not a line of thought I could follow right now without getting upset. I had to keep my cool now. I had to stay in control. That was something that used to come easily for me…

I adjusted the cuffs of my jacket, my gaze sweeping over the room. The elders sat in a semicircle of carved oak chairs at the front, their silver-threaded robes gleaming in the lamplight. Every alpha who hoped to be named king stood ready with his Luna at his side, waiting for his moment to be weighed, measured, and either blessed or dismissed.

No alpha would make it onto the ballot without the blessing of the elders. It was the first step in the process. If they deemed me unworthy, then my ambitions ended here.

Ellie stood just a pace behind me, her hands folded neatly before her. The dark green gown she wore only emphasized her pale skin, her hair pulled back to show the quiet strength in her eyes.

Even after everything-her disappearance, Felicity’s betrayal-she carried herself with more grace than most women who had been groomed for this role since birth.

And it hadn’t gone unnoticed.

I caught Kieran the moment he stepped into the chamber. That easy elegance of his always drew eyes. I wasn’t the only one who watched him breeze into the chamber, one of the few alpha’s without a luna by his side.

But it wasn’t me he was focused on.

His eyes locked on Ellie, and for the next several minutes, they didn’t move.

It set my teeth on edge.

I tried to ignore it, keeping my attention on the other alphas as people milled about, exchanging niceties and chatting as we waited for the meeting to be called to order.

But every time I looked sideways, I caught Kieran staring at her. Sometimes thoughtful, sometimes unreadable, but always with an intensity I didn’t like.

And Ellie noticed. She shifted uncomfortably under his gaze more than once, her hand brushing her arm as though

to shield herself.

I knew that I was feeling overprotective of her, so I tried not to let my unease show, though I could feel how stiff my shoulders were. I stood a little closer to her.

She didn’t seem frightened, exactly. It would be more difficult to temper my reaction if she did. But it was clear that she was aware of his attention and not comfortable with it.

I wasn’t sure why, and this wasn’t the time to ask. Kieran had gotten into the habit of seeking her out every chance he got. I knew him well enough to recognize that his motives were less than pure.

Still, I wasn’t sure what game he was playing just yet.

When another alpha pulled me into a conversation about the situation in the roguelands, I reluctantly stepped

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Chapter 12

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away from Ellie. This was a matter that demanded my attention, I couldn’t brush it off.

But I kept an eye on Ellie, watching as she went to chat with one of the lunas. I wouldn’t let her out of my sight, not with Kieran watching her like a predator studying prey

Because I knew him.

And if he was watching Ellie like that, he wasn’t doing it idly. He was planning something.

Ellie POV

I tried to stand still, to keep my composure, but Kieran’s gaze burned into me like a brand.

It had been months since I last saw him. The last time we spoke, he had offered to help me escape. He only asked. that I wait a little longer. Wait until the deal with Moonstone was finished.

The night of the attack, I had intended to ask him for help. never got the chance. Everything had changed since then, and I wasn’t even sure how to face him.

Now, as soon as Nolan’s attention shifted to a conversation with another alpha, Kieran moved.

He crossed the room with the quiet confidence of a predator, slipping between clusters of people until he was suddenly in front of me.

“Ellie,” he said, his voice low, rough.

My pulse jumped. “Kieran.”

For a moment, he just looked at me, his eyes scanning my face as though searching for something. Then he shoo his head, almost bitterly. “I thought you’d managed to escape him for good.”

The bluntness of it knocked the breath from me. “I-what?

He leaned closer, lowering his voice so only I could hear. “Why would you come back? After everything he’s done? After everything you endured in Silver Fang? I thought you finally broke free.”

I stiffened, glancing quickly toward Nolan, but he was still deep in conversation. “You don’t understand,” I whispered back. “It’s not that simple.”

“Simple?” Kieran’s jaw clenched. “You were gone, Ellie. Gone. You had your chance to disappear, to live free of him, and you came back anyway? Why?”

Heat flushed through me—anger, shame, guilt all tangled together. “Because I have an obligation,” I said firmly. “Silver Fang is my home. Whether I chose it or not, it’s mine. And I can’t just walk away from that.”

His expression twisted, disbelief written across every line of his face. “Obligation,” he repeated, as though the word itself was poison. “He’s chained you with duty. That’s all this is. You’re not his Luna-you’re his prisoner.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” I replied. I could hear the defensiveness in my own voice.

“You aren’t from Silver Fang,” he pointed out, moving a fraction closer. “It is not your home. It never was. You’re repeating his words. Don’t lie to me.”

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