(CORRINE)
"What if I guarantee his safety?" he finally says. "What if I guarantee that Locke, or his mate, or even the noble families working for the North, will never be able to touch you or your child? What if I give him imperial protection?"
My heart thunders in my chest. Imperial protection? Why would he go that far? "How can you even do that? Even if you say he's under your protection, it doesn't mean those who want us gone will stop. There are assassins and—"
"I can adopt him."
His simple words have me clutching the edge of the kitchen counter. "What?"
He shrugs as if he hasn't dropped a huge bombshell on me. "It's something I've been considering for a while now. I don't have a mate, and I need to secure an heir. If I don't have a child, I will have to nominate somebody as my successor. It has been years since Griffin disappeared. If he doesn't return, then I need an heir, Corrine. Why not a child who is already of royal blood?"
Griffin Wild.
