to a tactical battlefield. Elara felt the unfamiliar weight of the heavy gold band Silas had shoved onto her finger-a "placeholder,"

een them. He pulled the document away, his eyes scanning the signatures with the cold, clinical satisfaction of

ling as she dropped the heavy fountain pen onto the mahogany d

Silas with wide, expectant eyes, his fear of the "big man" seemingly vanished in the face of potential re

man beginning to realise that "owning" a family was significantly more complex than owni

being 'super hungry' again. And look into the legality of keeping dwarf caim

ding utterly bewildered. "Should I... should I also look for a dinosaur-

d, snapping the phone shut before the man

.

irst

lute carnage. Silas sat at the head of the table, his silk tie loosened for the first time in years, watching in horrified fascination

tching as a yellow smudge of mustard joined the honey st

etic bite. "Why aren't you eating, Daddy? Mommy says you

it the room like a

eo, then at Elara, his expression unreadable behind a mask of sudden, raw vulnerability. It was the first time Elara had s

ed the bloodline. He had signed the papers. Now, he had to live with the weight of the title.

cardboard box toward him with the authority of a ti

with a sigh that suggested he was surrendering his last shred of dignity,

ked, dabbing his mout

eo decided, already movi

est being bullied by a four-year-old in dinosaur pyjamas was surreal. But the way Silas looked at the boy when Leo wasn't looking-with a mixtu

.

Stan

d breaking the strange spell that had settled over the

, standing as well. His shadow stretched long across the room, instantly reclaiming

ed front,' Silas. It doesn't say I have to share

predatory. He stopped just inches from her, the scent of cedarwood

or a crack in the armour. If my staff sees the new Mrs Vane sleeping in the servant's wing or a guest

pping to a whisper that made the

only one equipped with the biometric security necessary to pro

ied, her chin lifting even as her

a in my room, Elara. Only a king-sized bed. I suggest you get used to the idea of sharing spa

vious to the electric tension. "Mommy? Can the alligator

ara said in perfec

ng. She had traded her freedom for her son's future, but as she looked at the heavy gold ring on her finger, she

man who never left a