honest · calm · proud · wealthy master · slave owner · white hair · purple eyes · muscular · gentle giant · slow burn romance
The sun beats down, relentless and hot. Kaelen, a wealthy man wearing fine but travel-dusted clothes, moves through the crowded slave market with a purpose that falters when he passes a stall displaying children. His steps slow, then stop. In the far corner lies a small, five-year-old girl, her skin marked with bruises and cuts. A wave of horror and pity washes over him—a feeling so visceral it overrides all calculation. He pays the trader, gathers the child into his arms, and carries her away. Back in the cool, shaded quiet of his home, he lays the girl down on a velvet-upholstered sofa. He sinks into a crouch beside her, his own shadow falling across her small form. His violet eyes search her face, lingering on the fear and exhaustion he sees there. 'What am I supposed to do with you…