Alpha's Secret Bride

Three days became five.

Five became eight.

Then two full weeks passed.

Every moonfall, without fail, the familiar convoy rolled through the gates of Moon Estate around the same hour. Rain never stopped it. Neither did meetings at the royal palace or the endless reports waiting for Brandon at Nightclaw Estate. Somehow, he always made the time to come.

At first, the guards would announce his arrival. Eventually, they stopped. There was no need. Everyone already knew why the Alpha King was there.

He wasn’t coming to persuade Queen Luna Emma to take him back. He wasn’t coming to defend the choices he had made. He came for his pups, and every moonfall, he showed up.

___

It was Saturday, and Bryan was waiting on the front steps long before the convoy reached the villa. He sat on the second step, his elbows resting on his knees, watching the gates so closely that the guard beside him finally chuckled.

The moment the first black SUV appeared beyond the gates, Bryan jumped to his feet.

"He’s here!"

He raced across the courtyard before anyone could stop him.

The lead guard shook his head with a smile. "Our young king has better timing than a clock."

Brandon had barely stepped out of the vehicle when Bryan threw his arms around his waist.

"You came!"

Brandon smiled and rested a hand on his prince’s head. "I promised I would."

Bryan pulled back just enough to look up at him, his grin stretching across his face.

"I knew you wouldn’t forget."

A tiny voice suddenly floated across the courtyard.

"Father!"

Charlotte hurried toward them as quickly as her little legs allowed, her blonde curls bouncing with every step. She nearly stumbled over the hem of her little dress, but Brandon reached her before she could fall.

"There you are."

Charlotte giggled as he lifted her into his arms.

"I waited."

He settled her against his chest. "I know."

She wrapped both arms around his neck and pressed her cheek against his shoulder.

"I miss Father."

Brandon kissed her curls. "I miss you too, Lottie."

From the balcony above, Emma watched the reunion in silence. Her gaze stayed on Brandon as he carried Charlotte while Bryan remained close beside him, talking excitedly about something that had happened during the week.

A small smile touched Emma’s lips.

She didn’t seem to notice it until one of the maids standing nearby cleared her throat softly.

Emma’s smile disappeared at once, and she turned her face toward the garden.

...

The visits gradually settled into a routine.

After breakfast, Brandon helped Bryan with his lessons at the table by the windows. They worked through mathematics first, then history, before moving on to basic combat strategy. Bryan listened closely, resting his chin on one hand whenever his father explained something difficult. Whenever he got an answer right, Brandon gave him a small smile and tapped the table with one finger.

"Well done."

Bryan straightened in his chair, trying unsuccessfully to hide his grin before turning back to his work.

Charlotte, meanwhile, refused to be left out. She climbed onto her father’s lap with a picture book held upside down and pushed it toward him.

"Read."

He looked at the book, then at her. "The book is upside down."

Charlotte blinked at him before turning it around in her hands.

"Now?"

He smiled. "Much better."

He spent nearly half an hour giving every animal in the story a different voice. When he made the lion roar, Charlotte burst into laughter and leaned back so suddenly that she nearly slipped from his knee. Brandon caught her around the waist and pulled her upright.

"Careful, Your Highness."

Charlotte laughed even harder and pointed at the next picture.

"Again!"

The maids standing nearby exchanged amused glances as Brandon turned the page and started another ridiculous animal voice.

...

One highmoon, he found Bryan sitting on the garden steps with a broken wooden airplane in his hands. One of its wings had come loose, and Bryan turned it over several times before letting out a disappointed sigh.

"It won’t fly anymore."

He walked over and held out his hand. "May I see it?"

Bryan handed him the airplane.

He turned it over in his hands, pressed the loose wing gently back into place, and examined the small crack along the wooden frame. He glanced toward one of the servants.

"Bring me a small screwdriver, some wood glue, and a strip of thin wire."

The servant hurried inside and returned a few moments later with the tools. He sat beside Bryan on the steps and carefully secured the broken wing, tightening the small screw before adding a little glue to the cracked section. He held the airplane still for a moment, then tested the wing with his fingers.

"There."

He handed it back to Bryan.

Bryan turned it over several times, checking the repaired wing. "It looks brand new!"

He smiled. "Try it."

Bryan jumped to his feet and ran into the garden. He pulled his arm back and threw the airplane as hard as he could.

The little wooden plane lifted into the air and glided across the grass, traveling farther than it had before.

"It flies!"

Bryan ran after it, laughing as he chased it across the garden.

He watched him with a smile before looking toward one of the servants.

"Order him the latest model from Silver Wing Aviation Toys. Have it delivered before moonrise."

The servant bowed. "Yes, Alpha."

He looked back at Bryan, who was already running toward them with the wooden airplane clutched in his hand.

"This one will do for now," Brandon said, handing it back to him, "but you’ll have a better one tomorrow."

Bryan hugged the airplane against his chest. "Really?"

"Really."

Bryan’s face lit up as he turned and ran back into the garden.

From the veranda, Emma watched him disappear across the grass. Her fingers tightened slightly around the cup in her hands as Bryan’s laughter carried back toward the villa.

She lowered the cup without taking another sip and kept her eyes on him.

__

Later that highmoon, Charlotte climbed onto Brandon’s lap carrying a small brush decorated with tiny silver stars. She held it out to him and pointed toward his hair.

"Hair."

Brandon raised an eyebrow. "My hair?"

Charlotte nodded enthusiastically and reached toward his head.

"Cute."

One of the maids covered her mouth to hide a laugh.

He glanced toward Emma.

She lifted an amused eyebrow as if to say, You’re on your own.

He looked back at Charlotte, who was already reaching for a section of his hair.

With an exaggerated sigh, he settled back in his chair. "I suppose I have no choice."

Charlotte grinned triumphantly.

For the next several minutes, she carefully worked the little brush through his hair, stopping every so often to separate a small section between her fingers. Brandon sat patiently while she twisted a few uneven strands together and secured them with tiny hair ties one of the maids had handed her.

When Charlotte finally decided she was finished, he rose from the chair.

Bryan took one look at him and burst into laughter.

Several tiny braids and twists stuck out in every direction, making Brandon’s usually neat hair look completely ridiculous.

"You look ridiculous, Father!"

Brandon turned toward the nearest window and caught his reflection in the glass. He studied himself for a moment before nodding.

"I believe you’re right."

Charlotte clapped happily. "Father’s cute!"

Laughter spread through the courtyard. Even the maids couldn’t hold it back, and Emma covered her mouth for a moment before a smile escaped anyway.

Brandon looked up just in time to catch it.

For a brief moment, their eyes met.

Emma’s smile disappeared almost instantly. She lowered her hand and turned toward the villa.

Without saying anything, she walked back inside.

Brandon watched her until she disappeared through the doorway before lowering his gaze.

He didn’t call after her.

As the moon began to dip toward the horizon, he knelt in front of Bryan and Charlotte.

"I have to leave."

Bryan didn’t complain anymore. Instead, he held out his little finger.

"Pinky promise?"

He smiled warmly and hooked his little finger around Bryan’s.

"Pinky promise."

Charlotte immediately copied them, holding out her tiny finger and carefully linking it with theirs.

"Pinky promise."

He laughed softly and kissed both pups on their foreheads.

"I’ll see you tomorrow."

Bryan nodded with complete confidence. "I know."

He looked at him.

"You always come back."

The words made Brandon’s smile fade for a moment. He looked down at Bryan, then gently squeezed his little shoulder before kissing his forehead again.

"I’ll see you tomorrow."

Bryan nodded confidently and ran back toward the villa with Charlotte.

Brandon watched them for a moment before turning toward the waiting convoy.

Behind the window, Emma stood with one hand resting against the glass. She followed him with her eyes as he crossed the courtyard and climbed into the SUV.

She didn’t move when the convoy pulled away.

She didn’t move when the gates opened.

Only when the last vehicle disappeared from sight did her fingers tighten against the window frame.

"He always comes back..."

She whispered the words to herself, but her eyes remained fixed on the empty driveway.

For two weeks, he had kept every promise.

Two weeks of coming back.

Two weeks of leaving without asking anything from her.

Emma slowly lowered her hand from the glass.

She wanted to believe that this could last.

She wanted to believe that he would keep coming back.

But as she stood alone behind the window, one question refused to leave her mind.

What if one day, he doesn’t?

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