Lorelei POV

After helping prepare lunch and eating with the children, we took a short break before moving on to the next activity.

Crafts and painting.

According to Emily, these activities gave the children a healthy way to express their emotions. Many of them had experienced deep trauma, and art allowed them to process feelings they couldn’t always put into words.

Some of the artwork, especially the pieces created by the older teenagers, would even be sold at a trade fair later in the year.

Every coin earned from those sales would go straight back into the orphanage, helping pay for school supplies, medical care, and everything else the children needed.

For that reason, the empire donated countless art supplies every year.

Paints, brushes, canvases, clay, beads, colored pencils, and just about anything else a child could use to create something beautiful.

I quickly got to work, helping Emily and a few of the other women carry the heavy boxes of supplies over to the large canopy where the children would be painting.

"Ah... so handsome," Emily murmured suddenly, her voice dreamy.

My brows drew together in confusion.

Following her gaze across the field, I quickly realized she was talking about Kaelen.

He was helping the other men finish setting up one of the massive canopies that would shield the children from the afternoon sun.

I watched as he effortlessly lifted one side of a heavy wooden frame by himself, the muscles in his arms straining beneath his dark shirt. His sleeves were still rolled up to his elbows, exposing his strong forearms. A streak of dirt ran across one cheek, and his usually neat hair had become slightly messy from all the physical work.

Yet somehow...

He looked completely at ease.

"He’s not bad to look at," I admitted quietly before I could stop myself, and Emily nearly jumped out of her skin.

She whipped around to stare at me, her eyes so wide they looked ready to pop out.

"Not bad?" she repeated in disbelief. "He’s the Alpha King! That man is practically a god!"

"I suppose," I muttered under my breath.

Before I could make the mistake of looking at him again, I forced my attention back to the heavy box of paints in my arms and continued working.

****

After everything was set up, the children took their places beneath the canopies, separated into different groups based on their ages.

I was busy handing out art supplies when I noticed a little girl sitting all by herself in a far corner. Her hair was tied into messy pigtails, and her tiny shoulders trembled as she cried quietly to herself.

I slowly walked over and knelt beside her on the grass.

"Hey," I said softly, making sure my voice was as gentle as possible. "What’s wrong?"

She sniffled loudly and wiped her watery eyes with the back of her hand.

"I don’t know what to paint."

Really?

That was why she was crying?

"That’s okay," I said, doing my best to sound encouraging. This was my first time ever interacting with children like this, and I didn’t want to accidentally say the wrong thing. "There’s no wrong answer when it comes to art. What do you like?"

"I like flowers," she answered.

Then she immediately shook her head, her lower lip beginning to tremble again.

"But I can’t paint flowers. I don’t know how."

"Okay," I said, pausing to think. "What about animals? Do you like animals?"

She nodded eagerly before her face fell once more.

"But I can’t paint animals either. They’re too hard."

"What about the sky?" I suggested. "Or maybe the trees?"

"I can’t." She sniffled again as another tear rolled down her cheek. "I can’t paint any of it."

I paused, desperately trying to think of something simple enough for a little girl her age.

Before I could come up with another idea, her eyes suddenly widened.

"You."

I blinked and pointed at myself.

"Me?"

She nodded enthusiastically, the sadness on her face disappearing as hope lit up her eyes.

"You’re pretty. Can I paint you instead?"

I stared at her, completely caught off guard by the request.

"You want to paint me?" I asked carefully.

"Yes! Please?" she pleaded. "I promise I’ll do my best."

I really didn’t mind helping her.

But if she couldn’t even paint a flower or the sky, how on earth was she supposed to paint an entire person?

Still...

Looking into her hopeful little face, I simply couldn’t bring myself to crush her excitement.

"Okay," I said anyway, offering her a warm smile. "I’d love that."

Her entire face lit up instantly.

"Really?!"

"Really."

The moment I agreed, she hurriedly wiped the remaining tears from her face with the sleeve of her shirt. Then she rushed to set up a fresh canvas on her little easel, grabbing her brushes and paint palette with renewed excitement.

"You have to sit very still, okay?" she instructed, her voice suddenly taking on such a serious tone that it was clear she meant business. "And don’t move."

"Oh." I blinked in surprise at the sudden authority from such a tiny person, but I did exactly as I was told.

I even stayed perfectly still when she walked over and carefully placed a little paper hat on top of my head.

A laugh threatened to escape me, but I held it back as I settled into my role as her model.

Satisfied, she stepped back, dipped her brush into the paint, and carefully prepared to make her first stroke.

Then, without warning, her eyes shifted over my shoulder, and a huge smile spread across her face.

"Uncle Kaelen!"

My entire body stiffened. Slowly, I turned my head, my heart jumping into my throat as I saw Kaelen standing directly behind me with a small stack of blank canvases resting against one arm.

How long had he been there? I thought.

But just as our eyes met for the briefest moment, the familiar electric jolt shot straight through me before he calmly looked away, turning his attention to the little girl instead.

"I was just bringing over the extra canvases," Kaelen said, his voice soft and remarkably gentle.

Hearing him speak like that made something tighten painfully inside my chest, knowing I had only ever been met with his coldness and cruel words.

"Uncle Kaelen, can you sit with her too?" the little girl asked, setting her brush down as she looked up at him with hopeful eyes. "I want to paint both of you together!"

"I’m fine," Kaelen replied quietly.

His voice was calm, but I could see from the tension in his expression that he was uncomfortable. And I knew exactly why.

He didn’t want to be anywhere near me.

"Please?" she begged, clasping her tiny hands together as she unleashed the full force of her puppy-dog eyes. "Please, please, please?"

Even though I wasn’t looking directly at him anymore, I could practically feel the heavy hesitation radiating off him. He was trapped. Refusing a sweet, expectant child at a charity event was practically impossible, even for the ruthless Alpha King.

"Okay,"