I Forgot I Loved You Alpha (Ellie and Nolan) novel Chapter 299

Chapter 299

The thought settled like a stone in my stomach.

Was that what it meant?

Not that they would be taken from me–but that I would be taken from them?

I closed my eyes, breathing through the sudden spike of fear.

I was learning how to protect. That was what my family needed me to do right now, protect them. It was all I wanted to do.

But what if protection wasn’t enough?

Third Person POV

Cassian arrived at Silver Fang under heavy guard, though none of it was for him.

The packhouse was alive with movement-warriors rotating shifts, messengers arriving and departing, advisors slipping in and out of strategy rooms with grim expressions. The calm of earlier days was gone, replaced by something taut and focused.

Cassian

Cassian spent most of the day in meetings right now. There was so much happening and so much work that had to be tended to, he didn’t have the time for anything else.

Maps were unrolled and marked. Patrol routes adjusted. Refugee contingencies discussed. Nolan listened more than he spoke, his presence steady and commanding even as he ceded authority where it made sense.

There was no posturing.

No rivalry.

Just preparation.

Silver Fang’s warriors were becoming used to this treatment of the Moonstone leadership. They understood that this was more than a political connection. Ellie was the daughter of the Moonstone alpha, the sister of Cassian. This was family.

Moonstone would protect Silver Fang, because that’s what it would take to protect their family. Everyone in both packs understood that, whether they liked it or not.

It wasn’t until dusk that Cassian finally excused himself, muscles aching and mind buzzing. He followed the familiar corridors toward the nursery, drawn less by

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intention than instinct.

Rae was there. He could smell her.

She sat on the floor with August and Ian, a small pile of toys scattered around her. She looked tired, dark circles faint beneath her eyes-but she smiled immediately when she saw him.

“You made it,” she said softly.

“Barely,” Cassian replied, closing the door behind him. “They keep me busy.”

August crawled toward him with single-minded determination, Ian close behind. Cassian crouched automatically, scooping them up with practiced ease.

“They’re getting heavier,” he observed.

“They’re growing,” Rae said, smiling fondly at the sight of Cassian holding his nephews as she got to her feet. “Fast.”

Cassian glanced at her then, really looked. She was trying to be calm. To be steady. But he could see the strain beneath it-the weight of responsibility, the fear she carried quietly so she wouldn’t add to anyone else’s burden.

He set the boys down gently and stood, closing the distance between them.

“Rae,” he said.

She looked up.

“I need you to promise me something.”

Her brows knit. “Cassian-”

“Promise,” he insisted.

She hesitated, then nodded. “Okay.”

“Whatever happens,” he said, voice low and intense, “you keep yourself safe. Not just the boys. You.”

Her breath caught; the raw concern in his voice struck like a slap in the face. “I will.”

“I mean it,” he continued. “No heroics. No sacrificing yourself because you think it’s expected. I need you alive.”

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Rae swallowed hard. “You sound like you’re saying goodbye.”

He shook his head, reaching into the inside pocket of his coat. “No. I’m saying I love you.”

The words hung between them, heavy and unguarded. Cassian had felt them for a long time now, but he’d never let the words slip so bluntly. But at this moment, he knew that there was no time to be subtle or cautious, not about this.

Rae froze.

Cassian pressed something cool into her palm. A dagger-slender, elegant, its blade etched with protective runes. The handle was smooth moonstone, pale and

luminou

“It

ven in the low light.

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