"Zion, that's no good," Briella said as she and the boy walked hand in hand down the hallways of their residence. "You shouldn't test my husband's patience like that. He has been on edge ever since our son disappeared, so do not provoke him."
"Understood, Lady Briella," Thirteen replied.
"Now, what do you want to eat?" Briella inquired.
"I'm not picky with food," Thirteen answered.
"Vegetables then."
"On second thought, can I have some meat?"
The Tigerkin Lady giggled before nodding her head. Briella might look very carefree, but the boy knew that she wasn't as simple as she portrayed herself to be.
Every time she referred to him as an adoptive son, he called her Lady Briella.
However, whenever he did, the beautiful Tigerkin didn't correct him or say anything like "stop calling me Lady Briella, and call me Mother or Mama."
This confirmed his suspicion that Briella wasn't really serious about making him her adoptive son.