/1/131479/coverbig.jpg?v=ad7cad8981d69399871b2a2926e5c717)
aves, pale, her hair soaked, barely able to breathe. The streets ha
there like a sta
, and every breath seemed to cost her. "Pl
dn't move
her in a cloak, but Ronan still hadn't touched her. The child
g he said was,
wanted, and she wasn't only
en Ronan's own strength began to fade. He knew the council would never accept a female heir. He had built his empire with blood and patien
girl was weak, crying, and
earched his eyes, as if she could pull the words ou
head. "No. Sh
mething crossed her face then. It wasn't surprise. She had known hi
"Please. Whatever yo
Her laughter in the halls, her hands in his hair, her stubborn, gentle faith that he was a
," he said. "I should have known
t no sound came. She stopped breathing an
ed at her for a few seconds. He murmur
ed the baby in his arms
tate, he was already thin
daughter had uses. She could be kept close and kept quiet. And if he neede
e records were sealed to the public, but not to an Alpha with the rig
a clinic that had been flagged for closure after a pack raid gutted the neighborhood
she said. "Their pack was destroyed. Their parents are
onan said. "Healt
r, there's a set. They w
wned.
y high genetic markers, sir. The best I've seen in this ward. But
ow
Three small cribs sat side by side beneath the dim light. Three infant
The second was already stirring, reaching toward the air with a tiny, determined fist. The third
f them
for one heir. The moon goddess, or whatever cru
spread acro
they had come from. They would be raised in his halls, taught by his tutors, and shape
m," he decided
-
ade at the Valecrest e
s. Alpha Ronan walked out onto the stone balcony in his ceremonial black,
ing across the crowd. "Today, I have been blessed.
ouncil members bowed their heads. Cameras flashed
had come from. No one aske
Ronan lowered his eyes and let his v
ing a broken tone. "The forest was cruel
. It was the first lie he told t
ourth child, the one he had not announced. Once the cheering had f
. "She'll be listed as an orphan I took in out
onfused. "Adopted? A
aid. "Obviously. She is weak, like her mother. She will be fed, cl
away, and the door cl

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