Alpha's Secret Bride

"Father!"

Bryan Oliver Frostbane’s excited voice echoed through Nightclaw Estate as he ran down the hallway with a drawing pad tucked under one arm and a handful of crayons clutched in the other. His little feet pounded against the polished floor while two maids hurried after him, trying their best to keep up.

"Your Highness, please slow down," one of them called between breaths. "If you fall again, Mrs. Thompson will blame us."

Bryan looked over his shoulder with a grin that looked far too much like Brandon’s.

"I’m not running."

The two maids exchanged helpless looks.

"If this isn’t running, then what is it?" the older maid asked.

"I’m flying."

Before either of them could stop him, Bryan pushed open the study door and hurried inside.

"Father, I need your help."

Brandon looked up from the report spread across his desk and smiled the moment he saw Bryan. "That sounds serious." He folded the document and set it aside before patting his lap. "Come here and tell me what happened."

Bryan climbed onto his father’s lap and carefully placed the drawing pad between them.

"My High Alpha King, we’re sorry. We were just trying to..." Evelyn began.

Brandon gave her a small nod before she could finish.

"It’s okay. Come back later."

"Yes, My High Alpha King," Evelyn replied.

She and Lucinda quietly turned and walked away.

"Your Highness, what is it that can’t wait?" he asked, running a hand through his hair.

"I want to draw a dragon."

"A dragon?" Brandon asked with a chuckle. "I thought you wanted to become a knight yesterday."

"I still do, but every knight needs a dragon."

Brandon laughed. "I’m not sure that’s how the stories go."

"It is mine."

Emma stood outside the study with Naomi, who was holding a tray of fresh juice. As the voices drifted through the partly open door, Emma paused and listened. A small smile tugged at her lips.

She took the tray from Naomi, then pushed the door open and walked inside.

"I should have known I’d find both of you hiding in here."

Bryan looked up immediately.

"Mother, father said he’ll draw my dragon."

Emma set the tray on Brandon’s desk, leaned down to kiss him softly on the lips, then pressed a gentle kiss to Bryan’s forehead before sitting beside them.

"Then I suppose your father has no choice now."

"I never had one," Brandon replied with a smile as he picked up a pencil. "Once this little prince makes up his mind, everyone else simply follows."

Bryan nodded proudly.

"That’s because I have good ideas."

"You certainly think so," Emma said, laughing.

Brandon began sketching while Bryan watched every movement of the pencil with wide, curious eyes. It took only a few minutes before a large dragon covered most of the page.

Bryan let out a soft gasp as he looked at the drawing.

"It’s beautiful."

Brandon smiled and held out the pencil to him.

"Now it’s your turn."

Bryan looked down at the pencil, then back at the drawing. He shook his head.

"But I can’t draw like you."

"You don’t have to," Brandon said. "Just draw what you see in your head."

Bryan thought about it for a moment before reaching for a green crayon. He leaned over the paper and stared at the dragon for a few seconds.

"This dragon looks lonely."

Emma glanced at the drawing, then at Bryan.

"Lonely?"

Bryan nodded.

"It needs its family."

Brandon rested the drawing pad on the table so he had more space. "Then let’s give it one."

He carefully drew another dragon beside the first one before adding a much smaller dragon between them.

He pointed to the biggest dragon.

"That’s Father."

His finger moved to the second dragon.

"That’s Mother."

Then he tapped the smallest dragon with the tip of his green crayon.

"And that’s me."

Emma looked over his drawing. The second dragon caught her attention immediately. Its wings stretched much wider than the first.

She smiled at Bryan. "Why does Mother have bigger wings than Father?"

Bryan kept coloring, not even bothering to look up.

"Because you talk more."

Brandon threw his head back and laughed.

Emma looked from Brandon to her prince and folded her arms.

"So the two of you decided to tease me today?"

Bryan climbed onto her lap, slipped his little arms around her neck, and kissed her cheek.

"We still love you."

Emma smiled and brushed a hand through his hair.

"I should hope so."

Brandon watched Emma and Bryan with a smile until the device on his desk began to vibrate.

He picked it up, and the smile left his face as he read the screen.

Emma caught the change.

"Everything all right?"

He slipped the device into his pocket.

"It’s one of the palace officers. I’ll only be a minute."

"You can answer it here."

Brandon paused, then gave her the same gentle smile.

"It won’t take long."

He stepped onto the balcony and quietly closed the glass door behind him.

Emma turned back to Bryan, who had started drawing trees and flowers around the dragon family.

"Should we give them a castle too?" she asked.

Bryan’s face lit up.

"And a river. Dragons need water."

Emma picked up a blue crayon and drew a winding river while Bryan added little rocks along the banks.

A few moments later, she glanced toward the balcony.

Brandon had already finished the first call, but before he could come back inside, the device rang again. He answered at once. Most of the time he only listened. Then he started walking slowly from one end of the balcony to the other, speaking in a low voice.

"Mother?"

Bryan tugged lightly on her sleeve.

"You forgot to paint the baby dragon’s tail."

Emma looked down at the drawing and laughed softly.

"I guess I did."

She finished the little dragon’s painting and added a few more lines to its wings. When she looked toward the balcony again, Brandon was still there with his back to the chamber, the device pressed to his ear as he continued the conversation.

The calls didn’t stop after that day.

Every moonrise, Brandon left for the palace before Emma woke up, and every moonfall, no matter how demanding his schedule became, he returned home in time for dinner. No matter what was happening beyond the palace walls, he never let it take away the time he had promised her and their pup.

Bryan soon learned the sound of his father’s footsteps. The moment the front door opened, he would dash across the hall before anyone could stop him.

"Father!"

Brandon barely had time to set down his briefcase before Bryan wrapped his little arms around his legs. Laughing, Brandon scooped him into his arms and kissed the top of his head.

"Easy there," he said. "Did you have a good day?"

"I did!" Bryan said, his eyes shining. "I drew another dragon today. This one breathes blue fire."

"Blue fire?" Brandon asked with a grin.

Bryan nodded so hard that his hair bounced. "And it can fly higher than the clouds."

"Then I can’t wait to see it," Brandon said. "But first, let’s have dinner."

The dining table remained their favorite place to end the day. Bryan always had another story to tell, whether it was about a drawing he had finished, a question he had asked Mrs. Thompson, or something funny one of the maids had said. Emma listened with a smile while Brandon joined in, teasing Bryan now and then until the little prince burst into laughter.

Only the soft vibration of Brandon’s device interrupted those moments. He would glance at the screen, quietly excuse himself, and step outside to answer the call. Sometimes he returned within minutes. Other times, Bryan had already finished dessert before Brandon walked back into the feeding chamber.

"I’m sorry," Brandon would say as he took his seat again. "Now, where were we?"

Bryan would immediately continue his story as if nothing had happened, and Brandon listened just as carefully as before.

Emma watched it all without saying a word. She noticed how often the calls came, how his device never seemed to leave his pocket, and how he always wore the same reassuring smile whenever he came back inside. He never allowed whatever was happening at the palace to follow him into their home.

Several days passed that way.

One moonfall, after Bryan had fallen asleep and the estate had grown quiet, Emma found Brandon standing on the balcony. His hands rested on the railing as he looked out over the lights stretching across the estate.

She walked over without a word and slipped her hand into his.

"You’ve been getting a lot of calls lately."

Brandon turned and smiled at her.

"Just palace matters."

Emma studied his face for a moment before speaking again.

"You’ve been saying that every day."

"I know."

She searched his eyes.

"Is everything really all right?"

Brandon laced his fingers through hers and gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

"It will be."

She let out a small sigh and rested her head against his shoulder.

"You always tell me that."

He kissed her forehead.

"Because I believe it."

They stood there together, neither of them speaking for a while. The moonfall breeze drifted across the balcony, carrying the scent of the gardens below.

After a long silence, Emma spoke again.

"I trust you."

Brandon rested his forehead against hers.

"And I’ll always come home to you."

Emma smiled and gave his hand a gentle squeeze.

"I’ll be waiting."

They stood together for a while, watching the lights spread across the estate beneath the moonfall. In the distance, the palace windows still glowed long after darkness had settled over the kingdom.

Emma didn’t ask another question.

If Brandon wasn’t ready to tell her, she wouldn’t force him.

She only hoped that whatever was keeping him at the palace each day would soon be over.

She had no idea that the answers were much closer to home than either of them imagined.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!