This is part TWO of the same book under the same title.
Tora never asked to be a Lunos and he certainly didn't ask for three mates.
***
As the weakest member of his house, Tora has always been a lone wolf. He's never been the smartest, the bravest...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
~Casper~
"Are you sure they should be started this early? They're still babies,"
Tora asks as the three of us observe Vailen and Kiem's progress with their private instructor after two weeks of lessons. I had selected Prince Avery of Kailea out of the countless considerations as their instructor for multiple reasons from his lack of family to his connection to the Kailea throne. Granted, his eldest brother serves as the alpha of Kailea, but it also looks good for house relations.
The Kailean Prince willingly accepted the opportunity to become a master trainer and his credentials matched what I needed.
Excelling in hand-to-hand combat while being smaller than his opponents. He understood the level of dedication, discipline, and tactical violence I needed him to instill into these two for them to safely take the torch from me one day.
When Vailen becomes the next Crimson Reaper and Kiem becomes the warden, their fates decided months after they were born when
Galen and I both sat on opposite sides of Tora on the bench, who's still oblivious to our new discovery from last week's climb. It's never the right time and the words never seem to come out as Galen and I can only look at each other every now and then, stealing glances that feel forbidden.
Micah would be here too if she was feeling better, but she's currently on bed rest for the first few weeks of this pregnancy and we're all crossing our fingers for her.
"We all started at their age, they'll be alright," I mention and Kiem struggles with his kicks due to his broken arm slowing him down while Vailen thrives in the spotlight with Prince Avery. I knead my hands together as I watch them and lean forward while Galen has his arm around Tora.
My knee bounces up and down with anxiety of being this close and Tora still having no idea. I want to be close to Tora, I love Tora. But I want to be close to Galen too and the start of this new shift in balance is eating me alive.
"Are you okay Cas?" Tora asks and I curse in silence, knowing he sees straight through my flawed demeanor.
"Yeah, why?" I try to play defense and Tora raises his brow while Galen refuses to look, focusing his attention on our kids instead.
"You seem anxious about something, got a lot on your mind?" He asks and I nod, cupping my hands at my chin and Galen finally looks, but his gaze is cold and indifferent. His resting bitch face has never bothered me unless it came to important moments like now. I'll have to ask him how he does it sometime.
