NARINE’S POV
I didn’t realize how tightly I’d been holding myself together until I leaned my head against him.
And god, it felt... right. His shoulder was broad and warm beneath my cheek, and his scent wrapped around me like a second skin. I didn’t understand it fully, this instinct, and pull. But I followed it anyway.
It wasn’t even about the kiss, not entirely. It was about how easily she’d touched him.
I hadn’t earned the right to feel this way.
We weren’t bound yet, hadn’t exchanged vows or promises or even begun to understand what it meant to be his mate.
Still, the ache behind my ribs tightened when I remembered the way her lips had found his. The way his hands had hovered at his sides, while my chest burned like I’d been branded from the inside out.
“She’s really pretty,” I w
