Sophia
Morning spilled gently into the royal chambers, a pale gold glow seeping through the sheer curtains like warmth made visible.
I woke slowly, wrapped in the softest sheets and an even warm pair of arms.
Erick’s arms.
His scent, embers, and pine, and a whisper of smoke coiled around me like a second blanket.
For the first time in what felt like years, my body felt light, and glowing, almost new.
Because last night… last night he had done something I had always heard of but never imagined I would experience.
He marked me.
And I still felt him like a warm ember resting at the curve of my neck.
It wasn’t painful anymore; instead, it pulsed gently, like a tiny heartbeat under my skin, syncing with his. A tether, a bond, a promise.
I used to believe the mating mark was just
