Betrayed by My Ex, Marked by His Alpha Emperor Brother novel Chapter 71

Chapter 71: Chapter 71

Kaelen’s POV

The door closed behind Finnian, and the silence that followed was different from the kind I was used to. Not the silence of empty throne rooms or war councils waiting for orders. This was warm. Lived-in. Full of the faint creak of old floorboards and the distant clatter of neighbors below and the small, contented sounds of a child at play.

I watched Elara kneel beside the low wooden table where Valerius had spread his collection of tin soldiers in a crooked line. A carved wooden dragon stood guard at one end, larger than the soldiers. Valerius was explaining the battle formation with the intense seriousness only a child could muster.

"And this one’s the general," he said, propping up a dented knight. "He’s the bravest. He goes first."

"Does the dragon outrank the general?" Elara asked, adjusting the wooden beast so it faced the right direction.

Valerius gave her a look of withering patience. "Mommy. Dragons don’t have ranks. They just roar."

She bit her lip to hide a smile. "My mistake."

I leaned back against the wall near the window. The room was clean. Spotless, actually. But it was small—painfully small. The settee where I sat could barely fit more than one person. The kitchen behind me was little more than a narrow counter and a small hearth. One bedroom door stood ajar to the left, revealing a bed so narrow Elara must have slept curled on her side every night for a long time.

My chest tightened.

She had raised my son here. In this cramped space with thin walls and a drafty window and a kitchen where two people couldn’t stand side by side. She’d done it alone, without complaint, without help beyond Brenna’s steady presence. And she’d done it well. Valerius was bright, articulate, brave. He was extraordinary.

But they deserved more than this.

She deserves everything, Alex growled softly. My wolf paced beneath my skin, restless with the need to provide. To protect. To claim this family fully and permanently.

I agreed with him.

"Valerius," I said.

He looked up immediately. Those dark gold eyes—my eyes—locked onto mine with instant attention.

"What would you think about living with me?"

His brow furrowed. "Like... visiting?"

"No." I kept my voice steady. Casual. As though the answer to this question didn’t matter more than any treaty I’d ever negotiated. "Like living together. Permanently. You, your mother, and me. In one home."

The furrow deepened. Then smoothed. Then his entire face ignited.

"You mean YOUR home? The big one?"

"The big one."

"Would I get my own room?"

"The biggest room I can find."

His mouth fell open. He scrambled off the floor and stood vibrating with barely contained energy. "What about—do you have a game room? With swords? Real ones?"

"I can arrange that."

"And a library? Mommy says libraries are important."

"The largest library in the capital."

"What about outside? Is there a yard? Could I have a fort? A REAL fort, not just blankets?"

"I’ll have one built for you. Stone walls. A drawbridge."

Valerius spun to Elara. "Mommy! Daddy has the prettiest carriages AND he smells really nice AND he’s going to build me a FORT!"

A complicated emotion crossed Elara’s face. Joy and pain woven so tightly together I couldn’t tell where one ended and the other began.

"That sounds wonderful, sweetheart," she said softly. Then she touched his cheek. "Why don’t you go play in the bedroom for a few minutes? Mommy needs to talk to Daddy about some grown-up things."

"Boring things?"

"Very boring."

He sighed with the weariness of the deeply put-upon. Scooped up his wooden dragon and a few tin soldiers and marched toward the bedroom. The door clicked shut behind him.

The room was quiet.

Elara stayed kneeling by the low table. Her hands rested flat on the surface. She didn’t look at me.

"Ela."

"I’m fine."

She wasn’t. I could see the tension in her shoulders. The way her jaw tightened. The faint tremor running through her fingers.

I rose from the settee and crossed the small room in two strides. Lowered myself to the floor beside her. Close, but not crowding.

"Talk to me," I said.

A long breath. Then a tear slid down her cheek. Just one. It caught the afternoon light and gleamed like liquid silver against her skin.

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