I Forgot I Loved You Alpha (Ellie and Nolan) novel Chapter 304

Chapter 304

Ellie POV

The courtyard smelled like warm stone and grass.

Sunlight filtered through the high branches overhead, dappling the flagstones in soft gold. I sat cross-legged on a thick blanket, August balanced between my knees while lan crawled determinedly toward a wooden stacking toy Rae had placed just out of reach.

“Careful,” Rae murmured, laughing softly as lan tipped forward, caught himself, and then immediately tried again.

I smiled, though the expression felt a little fragile.

This was what normal was supposed to look like.

No alarms. No raised voices. No guards pacing openly along the walls. Just fresh air, laughter, and two boys discovering the world one clumsy movement at a time.

I clapped quietly when lan finally reached the toy, earning a triumphant squeal. August responded by attempting to stand, gripping my sleeve with fierce determination.

“Easy, brave boy,” I whispered, steadying him.

They were so big. At least it seemed that way right now. My tiny boys were getting stronger every day, becoming more independent.

That’s what they’re supposed to do, of course. Grow strong and learn. But part of my heart wanted them to stay little forever. If I thought about it too hard, I wanted to cry.

Rae watched us with a fond, watchful expression. She’d been hovering more than usual, though she tried to disguise it as casual attentiveness. Nolan had asked her to stay close-to all of us-and while she’d agreed without hesitation, I could tell she felt the weight of that responsibility.

I did too.

Having her here helped. Rae was a comfort that I didn’t know I needed. I should thank Nolan again for bringing her here, for trusting her to keep our boys safe.

For realizing that I needed my friends close, even when I didn’t fully see it myself.

I kept telling myself that if I acted calm, if I kept things ordinary, the boys would feel it. That whatever storm gathered beyond the borders of Silver Fang would stay there, held at bay by walls, wards, and will.

But the unease had been with me since morning.

It wasn’t sharp. Not panic. More like a low hum beneath my skin, a wrongness that didn’t have a shape yet. I tried to ignore it, focusing instead on August’s delighted laugh when Rae made a ridiculous face at him.

Then the air shifted.

Just slightly. Enough to send a cold chill through me and make the scent of the foliage feel sharp and abrasive in

my nose.

My breath caught.

I knew what was coming.

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+25 Bonus

The warmth in my chest-the goddess’s presence-flared without warning, not like a shield sliding into place but like a sudden, instinctive recoil. Fear answered faster than thought.

“No,” I whispered, barely audible even to myself.

The vision slammed into me.

Blood.

Thick and dark, streaked across white stone.

Fangs-long, wet, bared in a snarl.

Golden-brown fur, matted and stiff with gore.

Eyes.

Wild. Unhinged. Burning with something that wasn’t instinct or even sanity.

Felicity.

I gasped, the sound sharp enough that August startled, beginning to fuss. My hands trembled as I pulled him closer, my heart pounding so hard it hurt.

The courtyard fell away.

I saw her moving-fast, feral-through shadow and smoke. I couldn’t see where. Couldn’t see when. Only the certainty of violence, of intent.

And beneath it all, a pulse of hunger that made my stomach twist.

“Ellie?” Rae’s voice cut through the haze, urgent now. “Ellie, look at me.”

I blinked, reality snapping back into place. The courtyard reformed around me, bright and unchanged. Too unchanged.

For a moment, this peace felt like a dream.

Rae was kneeling in front of me, hands already steadying my shoulders. Her eyes flicked briefly to the boys, then back to my face.

“What did you see?” she asked softly.

My throat worked. “Felicity.”

Rae stilled.

“Blood,” I continued, forcing the words out. “Her teeth. Her wolf. She was… out of control.”

August whimpered, sensing my distress. I pressed my forehead to his, breathing him in, grounding myself in the warmth of his small body.

In the fact that he was safe and in my arms.

Rae’s jaw tightened, but her voice remained calm. “Did you see the boys?”

I shook my head quickly. “No. I don’t think-” My breath hitched. “I don’t think it was here. Or now. But it’s coming.”

2/3

Bonus

Rae exhaled slowly, then shifted closer, one arm wrapping protectively around both me and August, the other reaching for Ian, who had toddled over to see what the commotion was about.

I reached my free hand for Ian and pulled him closer, needing feel them both close. Just to know that they were safe and with me as my heart hammered against my ribs with growing panic.

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