I Was Nothing Until the King Chose Me

Episode 3

I turned to run, but my foot caught against uneven ground, and instead of escaping, I stumbled backward straight into something solid. Before I could even react, an arm wrapped firmly around me, pulling me back against a chest that was warm, unyielding, and very much alive. My breath caught instantly, my body going still as his grip settled, not rough, not careless, but controlled in a way that made it clear I wasn’t slipping out of it.

The forest seemed to quiet around us.

The tension shifted.

Then his voice came, low and steady, right above my ear, close enough that I felt it more than I heard it. “I leave for a moment,” he said slowly, his tone calm but edged with something darker underneath, “and this is what I come back to?”

My heart slammed against my ribs.

His voice sounds so familiar.

I didn’t turn.

I couldn’t.

His arm tightened just slightly around my waist, not enough to hurt, but enough to pull me closer, to remind me exactly where I was, exactly who I was standing with. My back pressed more firmly against him, and I could feel the strength in him, the quiet control in the way he held me like letting go wasn’t even an option.

“Explain,” he continued, his gaze lifting past me toward the others, his voice still quiet, but now sharper, carrying a warning that didn’t need to be spoken twice. “Why are you surrounding her?”

No one answered immediately.

That alone told me everything.

I swallowed, my fingers tightening slightly around the strap of my bag as my pulse refused to slow down. My thoughts were scattered, caught between fear, confusion, and something else I didn’t want to name.

One of the men stepped forward cautiously. “That mark on her neck,” he said, his voice more careful now, like he was choosing each word with intention, “it’s not ordinary.”

I felt his attention shift instantly.

Not away from me.

Onto me.

His hand moved, slow but deliberate, brushing lightly against the side of my neck where the mark rested, and the moment his fingers made contact, a sharp, unfamiliar warmth spread through me, stronger than before, deeper, like something responding to him specifically.

My breath hitched.

“There’s nothing ordinary about her,” he said quietly, his voice lowering, but somehow carrying even more weight. His thumb lingered for a second against my skin, tracing just enough to make my pulse jump, before his hand settled more firmly at my waist again, pulling me closer without hesitation.

My heart was racing now.

Not just from fear.

“You were told to stay away from what carries my mark,” he continued, his tone steady, but the air around us felt heavier, tighter, like something was about to snap. “Or has that suddenly become unclear?”

The shift in the group was immediate.

They stepped back.

Not out of respect.

Out of caution.

I finally forced myself to breathe, my voice coming out softer than I intended. “You… could have said something earlier,” I muttered, my eyes flicking slightly to the side, not fully turning, but aware of him in a way I couldn’t ignore. “This was getting out of hand.”

A quiet sound left him, not quite a laugh, not quite anything light. “And miss watching you try to negotiate your way out of it?” he murmured, his voice dipping closer, almost brushing against my ear again. “You were doing surprisingly well.”

I frowned slightly, heat rising to my face despite everything. “I was not negotiating,” I said under my breath. “I was trying not to get captured.”

“Same thing,” he replied calmly, his grip tightening just slightly again, subtle, but intentional.

My chest tightened at that.

There was something about the way he held me, the way he spoke, like none of this surprised him, like I was exactly where I was supposed to be, that made everything feel… off.

Or maybe not off.

Familiar.

I swallowed, my voice quieter now. “You’ve been following me,” I said, more statement than question, my brows pulling together slightly. “Haven’t you?”

His hand stilled for a fraction of a second.

Then tightened.

“Watching,” he corrected smoothly, his tone lowering, more deliberate now. “There’s a difference.”

My breath caught slightly at that.

Of course there is.

“Why?” I asked, my voice softer now, confusion slipping through despite myself. “Why me?”

For a moment, he didn’t answer.

His hold on me didn’t loosen.

If anything, it felt more certain.

“Because you don’t belong anywhere else,” he said finally, his voice quiet, but absolute, like there was no room for argument in it. “And I don’t let what’s mine wander into danger without consequence.”

My heart skipped.

That word again.

Mine.

I should have pulled away but I didn’t. Instead, I found myself standing there, caught between the warmth of his hold and the weight of his words, my thoughts tangled, my pulse uneven.

The forest felt different now.

Like everything had shifted.

Like this wasn’t just coincidence anymore.

Like I had just stepped into something I couldn’t walk away from.

And for the first time since I left home…

I wasn’t sure I wanted to.