I looked down at my hands, my fingers tracing the delicate embroidery of the plum silk. I stayed like that for a long heartbeat, gathering my courage, before I finally looked up at him to answer.
"I don't know," I started, my voice trembling slightly before I took a breath and steadied it. "I just... I feel something strong for you, Demetrius. Something I can't quite put into words, but it’s there. My wolf feels it too."
I looked down at the plum silk of my skirt, then back up into those dark, searching eyes.
"And I know I could never replace her," I said firmly, but softly. "I wouldn't want to. She was your Queen. But I needed to know it’s not something you are hiding from. I needed to know there was space for... whatever this is."
The honesty of the words hung in the air, raw and vul
