LOGINMy father walked into the kitchen holding a book that looked older than the house.
~Valeria~ Alerion looked ready to kill him. “You are doing no such thing.”“The hell I’m not. I swore to protect her, remember? Or does that oath only matter when you’re the one talking?”Lysander snorted. “Honestly, I’d pay to watch the two of you get locked in separate rooms before this turns into a full mating season disaster.&rd
~Valeria~ “The man spent years making himself everybody’s problem. I’m not exactly crying over his turn.”I stared at all three of them in disgust. “So this is it? You hear your father is being tortured and all you have are smug little comments?”Alerion’s eyes met mine at last. “Do not make the mistake of calling him that like the
~Valeria~ Moments after the meeting ended, we were outside ready to head home when a figure suddenly flew over the outer wall and hit the ground hard.My heart dropped so fast it scared me.Who the hell was that? Was he dead? &ldqu
~Valeria~Connor folded his arms and glanced between me and Dad with open disappointment. “First, you defend them. Then you let them turn a preparation meeting into a public circus. Forgive us if we question whether either of you understands what this ceremony demands.”Zane took a step forward. “Show them respect, old man or I’ll teach you the right way to speak.”
~Valeria~ “I do not care what title or identity you think I lack,” Alerion said. “None of that changes the fact that I will protect Valeria. Your approval means nothing to me. If she wants me beside her, that is where I’ll stay.”Silence followed.
~Valeria~Dad gathered the royal old troops for a preparation meeting for my restoration ceremony, and one scornful look thrown at the guys told me they were not welcome here.“What exactly are Cassian’s sons doing here?” one of the troops demanded. “Guards, send them out.”Zane let out a hum
~Valeria~If my stepfather sets me up on one more blind date, I'm literally going to snap and it's going to be his problem, not mine.Like, I'm talking about a full meltdown in the middle of whatever fancy restaurant he picks. Maybe I'll start crying about my "daddy issues" loud enough for the whol
~Caius~I'd been in this library for two hours, supposedly researching Carson's background, but really just watching her study by the window. She turned that bronze badge over and over in her hands, eyebrows scrunched in concentration as she read through another dusty book.The Carson research had
~Alerion~There are moments when you realize your father sees people as chess pieces instead of human beings, and today was apparently going to be one of those days.The blind date agreement hit the desk with a sound that ruined the study's silence. Everything about it screamed transaction rather t
~Valeria~I should have known that finding the perfect missing piece to my father's puzzle would somehow turn into a disaster.The bronze badge sat in my palm like it had been waiting to be owned by me. A wolf's head wrapped around a crown, exactly the right shape to complete the broken piece I'd b







