Triplets For The Dark Elf

TRIPLETS FOR THE DARK ELF CELESTE KING PROTHEKA PUBLISHING Copyright © 2023 by Celeste King All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. Sigh up for my newsletter at https://www.subscribepage.com/celesteking Join my Facebook group here! DEDICATION This book is dedicated to Kaylee, Emily, Taylor, Jordon, Melanie, Jamie, Jennifer, Hannah, Donna and the whole “Project Protheka” family. Thanks for believing in the world. CONTENTS Books in The World of Protheka The World of Protheka 1. Miothro 2. Annalise 3. Miothro 4. Miothro 5. Annalise 6. Miothro 7. Annalise 8. Miothro 9. Annalise 10. Miothro 11. Annalise 12. Miothro 13. Annalise 14. Miothro 15. Annalise 16. Miothro 17. Annalise 18. Miothro 19. Annalise 20. Miothro 21. Annalise 22. Miothro 23. Annalise 24. Miothro 25. Annalise 26. Miothro 27. Annalise 28. Miothro 29. Annalise Epilogue Preview of Mated to the Dark Elf 30. Amelie 31. Kral Ishiraya 32. Amelie 33. Kral Ishiraya BOOKS IN THE WORLD OF PROTHEKA Orc Warriors of Protheka Series Mates of the Burning Sun Clan Series Dark Elves of Protheka Series Thoruk’s Prize: A Monster Romance Naga’s of Protheka Series Minotaur’s of Protheka Series Demon’s of Protheka Series Vampires of Protheka Gargoyles of Protheka THE WORLD OF PROTHEKA 1 MIOTHRO I’ve never been nervous in my father’s presence before. But I’ve never had a secret like this before. Well, that’s not true. I guess I’m just harboring two of them now. And I fear which one, if not both, he’s about to get out of me. “I wasn’t expecting your visit,” I say to my father. Except I was. My father is nothing if not diligent, and after I branched out of my shop knowledge to buy a farm a year ago for reasons I’ve still managed to keep under wraps, no matter how many times he’s brought up his concerns about my younger brother’s sudden traveling, he’s been keeping a closer eye on me. He must think that I am being careless, and Imris’s recent return to his farm has not calmed his nerves. But it has distracted him from noticing the increase in my labor costs, courtesy of the strawberry blonde manning the shop downstairs. I can’t say Imris’s homecoming has done anything to ease my concerns, either. The land I purchased is too close to him for comfort, and I wonder how long it will take him to find what I have hidden out there. “Is there a problem with my appearance?” he asks with a lifted brow. I have to fight from clenching my jaw. “Of course not.” Truly, I do not have a problem with him coming to see me. I just want his attention away from here, or me for that matter. I’m not sure how much longer this is going to last. Between the anger I’ve withered from Imris and my father’s scrutiny, something is about to give, and I’m not sure which secret I would rather them learn. One, Imris does not know that the human he was chasing gave birth to twins, both his, nor that she is, in fact, living in this city on a farm I now own and not in Orthani as I told him. I guess that’s really three lies I’ve been telling my brother. And two, I did not hire a shop girl to replace Charmaine after Imris impregnated her. I saved Annalise from a terrible elf at a nightclub and couldn’t let her go after. And I can’t stomach letting anyone else know how closely I’ve been holding her for reasons I can’t face. Gods know that I’ve learned how poorly humans and dark elves mix. I can’t let Annalise pay the price for my affections. I can’t let her meet the same fate as Inilie… My father breaks through my thoughts. “I’ve been looking into the shop’s expenses.” Well, fuck. I’ve struggled to stay on top of my work with all my…extracurriculars. Is there a discrepancy I should have noticed? “The market has been treating you well.” He nods in approval as he sips the amber liquid I poured for him. I should have gotten myself a glass because his praise does nothing to calm my nerves. But I don’t move to do so now. I fear it will give me away, as will clenching the fingers that want to twitch or shifting in my seat the way I’m aching to. I know these signs. They’ll easily give me away, and my father will press me harder until he finds out what it is that I am hiding. I can’t have that. So, I master my body and keep my posture relaxed. “It has been. A good move, if I say so myself.” “Yes,” he muses, finishing the glass and going to the bar himself this time. I take this time to move, wondering when it got so hot in here. “I can’t say the same for that farm you purchased.” Gods, is someone turning up the temperature? “Why is that?” I wonder if he can hear how strangled my voice sounded just then. Instead of coming back to the chair across from me, he takes a few steps to the left, his eyes roaming my shelves. This might be a bad time to realize that it is too easily accessible a place to hide the evidence of my secrets. “Your exports are covering your labor cost, but I don’t see much revenue from it.” He glances toward me. “Do you think it’s perhaps time to sell?” The air leaves my lungs, and I fight to control myself. “That’s hasty, don’t you think?” He raises his eyebrows, expecting more of an explanation. Many people believe that my father and I are close, and while that may be true, that does not mean he is easy on me.