She rounded the corner too quickly and slammed straight into something solid. Not something—someone. Strong arms wrapped around her waist before she could fall, and she looked up into the burning gold eyes of the Alpha King. His dark bronze hair was mussed, his collar loose, and he stared at her like she was the answer to a question he hadn’t known he’d been asking.
“You,” he whispered. “Your Majesty,” she managed. His pupils dilated, swallowing the gold until only a thin ring remained. His arms tightened.
“I’ll die if I can’t marry you. ”
Daria gaped. She’d just met him. Thirty seconds ago.
Now he was declaring undying devotion in a palace corridor while she was supposed to be finding her sister a decent husband. “Your Majesty, you’re not well,” she said, pushing against his chest. “Don’t leave,” he begged, his voice wrecked. “I just found you.
”
The guards found them moments later. Two healers confirmed what Daria had already begun to suspect: someone had dosed the king with a powerful love potion. Bloodroot and moon petal. A false mating bond.
And everyone was looking at her. “Well, it wasn’t me,” she said, hating how defensive she sounded. “You were alone with him,” the captain of the guard, Galen, said flatly. “For thirty seconds.
We literally bumped into each other around the corner. ”
It didn’t matter. The healers explained that the king’s body now believed Daria was his mate. Separating them could kill him.
So she was to stay by his side until the antidote was brewed—three days, maybe more. “Oh, heck no,” Daria backed away. “I’ve got places to be. I’m not babysitting the king.
”
The healer’s voice turned grave. “Breaking the perceived bond could kill him. You wouldn’t want to be accused of regicide. ”
So Daria stayed.
She was trapped in the palace, accused of poisoning the king, with her mother and sister held as collateral until she proved her innocence. The only upside? No one could stop her from investigating the real culprit. Except Aaron—as he insisted she call him—was always there.
Touching her hand. Lacing their fingers together. Pressing soft kisses to her palm when he thought she wasn’t looking. He smiled at her like she was the sun, and the worst part was, she started to like it.
“What you feel doesn’t matter,” she said at breakfast, trying to keep her distance. “You’re poisoned. ”
“I don’t think you can speak for my heart,” he replied. “Fine.
So you love me? What’s my favorite food? How do I spend my time? What’s my name?
”
He reached across the table and placed her hand over his chest. “I feel you. Here, in my soul. I know you are mine.
”
Heat flooded her face. His heartbeat was strong and racing beneath her palm. The earnestness in his golden eyes made her breath catch, which was ridiculous. This wasn’t real.
But he suffered. She saw it. When she pulled her hand away, pain flickered across his features. When she touched him, relief washed over him like a wave.
The healers confirmed what she’d begun to dread: the false bond was intensifying. Holding hands wasn’t enough anymore. Without contact, he would sicken. Eventually, it could kill him.
The healer cleared her throat. “Closer proximity would be advisable. Ideally, skin-to-skin. ”
Daria’s face burned.
“I am not doing that. ”
“You don’t have to,” Aaron said quietly, his eyes dark. “I would never force you. I know you don’t feel the same.
”
He looked so lost at the thought. So sad. Her heart cracked. She pulled him down into a hug, burying her face in his neck.
“I do want to,” she mumbled. “That’s the problem. ”
“Why? ”
“Because it’ll be awful when it stops.
”
His arms tightened around her. “Then let’s not stop. Ever. ”
She let him kiss her.
Then she kissed him back with everything she had, and she lost herself in him completely. When she woke in his arms the next morning, she knew. She loved him. This beautiful, earnest, devoted man who looked at her like she was his entire world.
The realization settled over her like sunrise—inevitable and terrifying. The healer cleared her throat by the bedside. “We’ve completed the antidote. ”
Daria’s heart sank.
Aaron refused it at first. He buried his face in her hair and said he’d never been happier. Why would he put an end to it? But Daria knew the truth.
“This isn’t real,” she said, her voice breaking. “You think you love me, but you don’t actually know me. You deserve to fall in love with someone you choose. Not because magic forced you to.
”
“Then let me prove it,” he said fiercely. “I’ll take the cure. But afterward, you let me court you properly. No potion, no magic.
Just you and me. ”
She swore she would. She lied. The healer had failed to mention one thing: the antidote would erase all memories of the time under the potion’s influence.
Aaron drank. His eyes went unfocused. He slipped into a deep sleep, and when he woke, he wouldn’t remember her at all. Daria sat by his bedside for hours.
She brushed a strand of bronze hair from his forehead, leaned down, and pressed one last kiss to his skin. “Goodbye, Aaron,” she whispered. Then she left. A month passed.
Daria buried herself in her family’s affairs, pretending she wasn’t shattered. She gave her blessing when Lord Callister proposed to Alina—she’d realized that other people’s love didn’t have to end badly just because hers did. Galen and Melba married two weeks ago. Melba’s love potion confession had somehow led to a real romance between her and the stoic captain.
Not every love story ended badly. Just hers. The only peace she found was riding. She guided her mare through the forest path, letting the rhythm of hoofbeats drown out her thoughts.
A deer burst from the underbrush ahead, and she pulled up just as the sound of baying hounds echoed in the distance. “I’m afraid you’re much too late,” she called out without turning. “Your prize is long gone. ”
“Well, that’s a shame for me,” a voice said behind her.
Warm and familiar in a way that made her stomach drop. “Not for the deer, obviously. ”
Her hands tightened on the reins. Every muscle in her body went rigid.
She turned sharply to ride away, but the rider moved to block her path. She had no choice but to stop. To look. Aaron sat on a magnificent black stallion in full hunting leathers.
His bronze hair was windswept. His golden eyes were bright. Daria remembered those eyes looking down at her in bed, and she hated how much it hurt to see him. “Do I know you?
” he asked, uncertainty in his voice. The question broke something in her chest. “No,” she said, and urged her mare forward. “Wait, please come back!
”
She glanced over her shoulder. He was riding after her. She kicked her horse into a gallop. “Miss!
Please! ”
She couldn’t do this. Seeing him hurt too much. But then she remembered his voice, desperate and fierce before he drank the cure: Promise you won’t run.
She pulled the mare to a stop. When he caught up, he was breathless. “You’re a very good writer,” he said. “Thank you,” she said stiffly.
“You’re not turning around? ” She heard him snort with surprise, then laugh. “I usually shift when I want to move quickly. ”
“Well, perhaps you should have.
”
She turned, and the words died in her throat. He stood beside her horse, completely, gloriously naked. She squeaked and flung her cloak at him. He wrapped it around himself, still staring at her with wide eyes and flushed cheeks.
“My name is Aaron,” he said, confidence giving way to nervousness. “I know who you are, Your Majesty. ”
“You do? Then we have met before.
”
“You’re the king. Everyone knows who you are. ”
His face fell slightly. But then he went still, gaze locked on her, a faint flush coloring his cheeks.
“Have you ever heard of faded bonds? ” he asked breathlessly. Daria frowned. “Yes, I—”
He smiled, sudden and bright as sunrise.
“I think you are my mate. In fact, I know you are. The moment I saw you, it’s like my soul recognized yours. ”
Horror crashed over her.
“Oh no. ”
“Not the reaction I was hoping for. ”
“No, you’ve been given a potion again. ”
Understanding dawned across his face.
“You’re her,” he said quietly. “The woman I fell in love with because of Melba’s love potion. The one I forgot about. It was you, wasn’t it?
”
She looked away, throat tight. “Yes. ”
He laughed, bright and joyful. “Well, it seems you may have relapsed,” she said.
“I have not. I clearly remember everything I’ve ingested since this morning, and I can promise you there was no potion involved. ”
“Then perhaps the cure didn’t work properly. We should get you to the healers.
”
“I’m perfectly fine, my lady. You were just spouting nonsense about me being your mate. You don’t even know my name. ”
He paused, considered, then smiled—soft and hopeful.
“Then let me learn it. Let me know you. ” He held out his hand. “Will you let me court you?
”
Daria looked at his outstretched hand. The same hand that had held hers for days. She wanted to run, wanted to protect herself. But she had promised.
So slowly, hardly daring to breathe, she reached down from the saddle and placed her hand in his. Three years later, the wedding was everything Daria had once sworn she’d never want. Excessive. Romantic.
Borderline impractical. Alina adjusted the crown of white roses in her hair. “Stop fidgeting. You look perfect.
”
“Ridiculous is the word you’re looking for,” Daria muttered. The door swung open. Aaron stood there in full royal regalia, eyes full of unshed tears. “You’re so beautiful,” he whispered.
“That’s it. Weddings canceled. ”
He laughed. “Not a chance.
I’ve waited too long for this. ”
“Well, if I must. ”
“Oh, you must,” he said, and kissed her. “Because I love you.
”
Daria sighed, a smile tugging at her lips. “Yes, I know. ”
Aaron offered his arm, and together they walked toward their happily ever after.
