I woke with Theo's scent wrapped around me like a familiar blanket, his arm heavy across my waist. Sunlight filtered through the curtains, casting golden threads across the royal sheets that still felt foreign against my skin. Yesterday, we had announced our mating to the Kingdom, and today—today we would face the man who had tried to claim me by force.
My stomach clenched, not with fear but with something darker, more primal. Artemis stirred within me, her thoughts mixing with mine. ‘He will pay for what he tried to do to us.’
Theo's lips brushed the nape of my neck, warm and gentle. "Good morning, my Queen," he murmured, his voice still rough with sleep. The title sounded strange yet right coming from him, an intimate acknowledgment of what we had become to each other.
"Good morning,"
