The heirloom

Mariana’s POV

Zayan didn’t take me toward our chambers as I expected. Instead, he led me through the palace corridors and up the familiar staircase toward the study.

I glanced at him curiously as we walked, my fingers still intertwined with his. “Where are we going?” I asked.

He only gave me that maddening little smile. “You’ll see.” When we reached the study, he opened the door and motioned for me to enter first.

I stepped inside and looked around, confused. “What are we doing here?” I asked. He closed the door behind us. For a moment, he simply stood there, watching me. Then something seemed to occur to him. “Do you remember the night you first came into this room?” he asked.

I frowned, searching my memory.

“The night you asked me something about Frostcrest?” He nodded. “What was the question?”

I thought about it for a few seconds before groaning. “Ugh, that was so long ago. I honestly don’t remember.”

A quiet laugh escaped him as he walked toward me. “Of course you don’t.”

He took my hand and drew me closer until we were standing beside the tall window overlooking the gardens. Moonlight spilled through the glass, illuminating the room in a soft silver glow. Zayan didn’t say anything for a long moment. He simply looked at me. His eyes moved slowly over my face, lingering as though he was trying to memorize every detail.

I shifted beneath his gaze, suddenly conscious of myself. “Why are you looking at me like that?” I asked softly.

He stepped closer. “Because the moon makes your skin look even more beautiful.”

My heart fluttered. “Zayan…”

“I’m serious,” he murmured. “The way the light falls against your skin…” He paused, his gaze returning to my eyes. “You’re beautiful, Mariana.” I tried to turn my face away, suddenly embarrassed by the intensity of his stare, but he gently caught my chin and turned me back toward him. His thumb brushed my cheek before he leaned down and kissed me. The kiss was slow and tender, nothing hurried about it. When he finally pulled away, my heart was beating far too quickly.

Then he reached into his pocket.

He pulled out a small velvet box.

I looked at it curiously as he opened it, revealing a delicate necklace that caught the moonlight. The pendant was beautiful, intricate, and unlike anything I had ever owned.

“Zayan…” I breathed. “It’s beautiful. Where did you get this?”

He lifted the necklace carefully from the box. “It belonged to my mother.”

My eyes immediately widened.

“It’s a family heirloom. It has been passed down through the women of my family for generations.” He stepped behind me and gently moved my hair aside. “It belongs to the Luna of Frostcrest.”

I froze. “But…” I touched the pendant lightly as he fastened the clasp around my neck. “Why are you giving this to me?”

He came around to face me again. His expression was softer than I’d ever seen it. “Because you’re the woman I chose. Because you’re my mate. You belong with me…and I’m yours,you know this,we can try to deny it all we want but we both know it’ll be pointless.”

I looked down at the necklace, suddenly overwhelmed. I carefully touched the pendant between my fingers. “It’s really beautiful,” I whispered. “I’ll take care of it. I promise.”

Zayan smiled.

“I know you will.”

I looked at him, then suddenly remembered something. “I didn’t get you anything.”

His eyebrow rose. “What?”

“A gift. I didn’t know you were going to give me this, and I don’t have anything for you.”

He chuckled. “Mariana, you don’t need to give me anything.”

“But—”

“You being here is already a gift.” His voice softened. “I’ll be honest with you. When you first came here, I thought you would run away”

I blinked,turning my face away from his gaze.”what made…you think that.”

“Because the others did.” My brows furrowed.

“The others?”

He seemed to realize what he’d said. “You don’t know?”

“Know what?”

He sighed, then smiled faintly. “Your father wasn’t the first man to send me a bride to settle a debt. There were others... Women were sent here for alliances, debts, promises… but none of them stayed. Some left before they ever reached Frostcrest. Others found ways to escape after arriving but I never found any need to stop any of them,until I met you.”

I stared at him.

“So there were other brides?”

His eyes immediately narrowed with amusement.

I tried to hide my reaction, but apparently I wasn’t very good at it. I folded my arms and looked away, suddenly finding the window extremely interesting. Other brides. I didn’t like that thought. Not even a little. I knew it was ridiculous. Zayan had chosen me. He had made that perfectly clear. But the image of other women being sent to him still stirred something unpleasant inside me.

A quiet chuckle came from beside me.

“This seems really amusing to you?” I asked.

He was smiling.

“Are you jealous?”

“I am not.”

“My little wolf is jealous.”

“I don’t care.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

He stepped closer, his amusement growing. “So you wouldn’t care if another woman came here tomorrow?”

I immediately looked at him. “Why would another woman come here?”

He laughed. “I didn’t say one was coming.”

“Good.”

His grin widened.

I narrowed my eyes.

He leaned closer. “I know you’re jealous.”

“I am not…I don’t care about those women.”

“Then why are you looking at me like you’re about to challenge someone to a duel?”

I tried to hold my expression, but the smile finally broke through.

“Because the thought of someone else here…you’re already mine and I don’t share.”

He went still.

I reached up and lightly grabbed the front of his shirt. “So I don’t care who came before me. You’re mine now. And if anyone tries to take what’s mine, they’ll have to deal with me.”

For a second, he simply stared at me.

Then he laughed.

A deep, genuine laugh that filled the quiet study.

“Oh,” he murmured. “So my little wolf has teeth.”

“She always did.”

“I see that.”He stepped closer until there was barely any space between us. “Perhaps I’ve underestimated you.”

“You definitely have.”

He tilted his head, studying me. “My little wolf is becoming a warlord herself.”

“Maybe you should be scared.”

His smile became almost wicked. “Should I?”

“Yes.”

“Then perhaps you should mark your territory properly.”

My heart skipped.

“You want me to?”

“I think I do.”

I smiled and reached up, wrapping my fingers gently around his face.

“Then don’t complain when I do.”I pulled him down and kissed him.

This time, there was nothing shy about it.

His arms wrapped around my waist, pulling me closer as I melted against him. The kiss deepened, filled with the playful challenge we’d been throwing at each other moments earlier. His hand moved gently along my back while I tangled my fingers in his hair, neither of us willing to be the first to pull away.

He eventually lifted me onto the edge of the study table, standing between my knees as he kissed me again. I laughed softly against his lips when he drew me closer.

“You’re trouble,” he murmured.

“You knew that already.”

His forehead rested against mine, his breathing slightly uneven as he looked into my eyes.

“I wouldn’t change a thing.”

And beneath the silver moonlight, surrounded by the books and memories of the women who had once ruled Frostcrest, I realized that the place I had once entered believing would become my prison had slowly, quietly, become the place where I felt most free.