Bonds at War: The Untouched is Mine novel Chapter 223

napici 220 Family Reunion

Chapter 223 Family Reunion

TESSA

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I turned around, as I did every evening, already knowing that Calla would be here soon. The rhythm of our lives had fallen into the same routine over the past years.

She always came home around this time, bounding in with the energy only a child. could have. It gave me peace, knowing that I could trust the others in the pack to watch over her when she wandered farther than I liked. They adored her, after all, and she had that way about her–drawing people in without even trying.

So, I wasn’t too worried.

I was humming to myself, tasting the stew I had been simmering, when something inside me froze. My senses sharpened instantly, prickling like needles along my skin. Calla’s light footsteps were familiar; I could hear them padding across the forest floor. However, there was another rhythm too.

And the smell-

My breath caught. The scent was faint, muddled, and tainted with traces of humans. That sharp vanilla note, the kind they poured into perfumes and lotions, clung to him like a mask. But underneath the mess of tainted odors was something achingly familiar.

No.

There was no reason for him to be here. It was impossible. We were hidden deep in the human world, tucked away in a place so obscure no one should have been able to find us. I had built this life carefully, and I had convinced myself it was safe. He couldn’t be here.

However, when I finally turned, my eyes locking onto his, all of the air left my lungs.

Rowan.

He looked as disbelieving as I felt, standing there in my small kitchen. I’ve been

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Chapter 223 Family Reunion

黃粉

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seeing him for the past week due to the incidents surrounding Arden’s pregnancy. However, it felt like I was seeing him for the first time right then.

For a second, neither of us moved, the world narrowing to just the two of us. The ladle slipped from my fingers.

The clatter rang out against the wooden floor, breaking the silence, and Calla darted forward. “Mommy, it’s dirty now,” she said, crouching down to pick it up with her little hands.

The sound of her voice snapped me out of it.

I bent down quickly, wiping the mess, avoiding Rowan’s stare even as I felt it like a burn against the side of my face. My fingers trembled faintly, but I forced them steady.

“Where did you meet this man?” I asked, not bothering to look at him.

“In the field!” Calla answered brightly, her face alight with excitement.

“Didn’t I tell you not to talk to strangers?” My tone grew even firmer. “And especially not to bring them home?”

She pouted, her little lips curving downward. “But, Mommy, he’s hurt.” She glanced up at Rowan, her hands tugging at his sleeve. “And we have the same eyes and hair.”

My body went still, and I closed my eyes, pressing my lips together tightly.

Before me, I heard the sharp hitch of Rowan’s breath.

I turned back to Calla, forcing my expression into something neutral. “Can you clean up before we eat?” I asked her gently.

Her face brightened immediately. “Okay, Mommy!” she chirped, already bounding toward our humble bathroom.

“After that,” I added, steadying myself with the edge of the counter, “set the table while I talk to this man over here, okay?”

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Chapter 223 Family Reunion

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“Okay, Mommy!” she agreed cheerfully. However, before she turned fully away, she paused, her eyes flicking between Rowan and me. “Can he have dinner with us?” she asked, tilting her head, hope sparkling in her gaze.

I opened my mouth to refuse. I needed him gone. But before I could, the word hadn’t even formed yet-

“Please?” they said together.

Calla’s voice was soft, and Rowan’s was low but equally as pleading. The two of them looked at me with the same wide, desperate eyes.

Goodness. They really were father and daughter. I forced myself to swallow down the thought that bombarded my mind.

“Calla,” I murmured, not wanting to give in.

Her eyes, though, began to glisten with the start of tears. “You said to be kind to those who are in pain,” she whispered. “He’s in pain, Mommy.”

The world stopped again.

“I am,” Rowan said softly.

I nearly cursed aloud, my nails digging into my palms.

“Okay,” I whispered finally, defeated. “Only for dinner. Then he’s going to go.”

Calla let out a squeal of delight, bouncing on her feet. “Yay!” she exclaimed, throwing her little arms around me before darting toward the dishes. “Love you, Mommy!”

The sound of her joy filled the small room, wrapping around me like a reminder of everything I had worked for, everything I had tried to protect.

As I turned back, Rowan was still standing there. His eyes hadn’t left me once, and I knew–tonight would not end simply with dinner.

With Calla busy in the bathroom, humming to herself, I reached for Rowan’s wrist

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Chapter 223 Family Reunion

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and tugged him toward the living room. He needed treatment–that was all. That was the only reason I let him stay.

However, the moment he stepped into the light, I faltered.

The light caught his shirtless body, making me pause in my own home like a fool.

I should have been focused on the injury. That was the reason I’d brought him here, wasn’t it? Instead, my eyes betrayed me, dragging over the width of his shoulders and the way his muscles moved as he adjusted under my stare.

Just then, he smiled. He leaned back against the worn sofa as though to give me an even better view, his chest expanding deliberately, the corners of his lips tugging upward.

I tore my gaze away, shaking my head. “You’re insufferable,” I muttered under my breath, though the heat creeping into my cheeks betrayed me.

I left before he could say something smug, heading into my room. Calla’s voice drifted through the thin wall, her little melody rising and falling with no real tune, but cheerful all the same.

my

Pulling open the dresser, I found one of the spare shirts and clenched it in fist before striding back to the living room. Without ceremony, I tossed it in his direction.

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