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“There’s one more thing,” Naya said, her voice cutting through the celebration. The crowd quieted, sensing the shift in her energy. “Before I take my place as Queen of Tsashokra, before I leave this home to claim another, I invite you to witness our bonding.”

Excitement rippled through the gathered masses. Her bonding ceremony had been talked about since the day she was born, and although she wasn’t going to be queen here, she still wanted to share it with him.

Akoro turned to face her fully, his dark eyes roaming her face.

The crowd went silent, every person straining to witness the royal bonding.

Naya stepped closer to Akoro, close enough that his heat enveloped her like the sun.

His scent wrapped around her senses, that intoxicating blend of earth and musk and danger that had haunted her since they first met.

The familiar ache bloomed low in her belly, her body responding to his proximity with desperate hunger.

Without hesitation, Naya rose on her toes and pressed her mouth to the strong column of his throat. His pulse thundered beneath her lips, rapid and unsteady. She kissed him there, tasting the salty nature of his skin.

Then she bit down.

Her teeth pierced his skin, and the first drop of his blood on her tongue sent shockwaves through her entire being.

The metallic taste should have been revolting, but instead it sang through her veins like the finest wine.

She pulled a mouthful, feeling his essence flow into her, binding them together in ways that transcended the physical.

With each swallow, the bond between them strengthened, becoming a living thing that pulsed with shared heartbeats and mingled souls.

She could feel his amazement through the connection, disbelief that she was truly choosing this—that she was choosing him.

The emotion burned bright and fierce in her chest, a star being born in the darkness.

When she finally released him, licking the last traces of blood from her lips, the bond settled fully into place. It hummed between them like a plucked string, vibrating with new awareness. Through it, she could feel his love—raw and desperate and completely overwhelming in its intensity.

“My Alpha,” she whispered, the words carrying all the acknowledgment he’d craved for so long.

But the claiming wasn’t complete. Not yet.

Naya tilted her head, exposing the graceful column of her throat to him. The gesture sent murmurs through the watching crowd, but she heard nothing beyond the thundering of her own heartbeat. Akoro’s breath ghosted across her skin, warm and unsteady.

“My Omega,” he whispered, the words a reverent prayer against her neck.

His lips found the spot where her pulse fluttered like a trapped bird, and Naya’s eyes fluttered closed.

The first brush of his mouth sent electricity racing through her veins, awakening every nerve ending until she trembled in his arms. He kissed her there, gentle at first, then with growing hunger.

When his teeth scraped against her skin, Naya gasped, her hands fisting in the rich fabric of his desert robes. The sensation sparked something primal deep in her core, an answering call that demanded completion.

Akoro’s fangs pierced her throat with exquisite precision. The sharp pain bloomed into something deeper, more profound—a claiming that resonated through her very bones. Blood flowed between them, metallic and warm, and with it came a rush of sensation that stole her breath.

The bond intensified, burning through her chest and settling deep in her soul. Suddenly she could feel him—not just his body pressed against hers, but his emotions, his thoughts, the fierce possessive love that had driven him to madness for her. The intensity of it nearly brought her to her knees.

Naya pulled back, her lips stained with her own blood, and she looked up into Akoro’s face.

His eyes had gone completely black, pupils blown wide with the rush of the partial bond.

She could taste his hunger through the connection now forming between them, could feel his desperate need for her to complete what they’d started.

Something fierce and primitive flashed in his eyes. His hands found her waist, pulling her against him until no space remained between their bodies. The crowd might as well have vanished—there was only this moment, this choice, this irrevocable step into their shared future.

The crowd erupted in cheers, but they sounded distant and muffled through the haze of the bond. Nothing existed except Akoro’s hands on her face, his thumbs brushing away tears she hadn’t realized she was crying.

“My queen,” he said, and through their connection she felt the reverence behind the title. Not a queen because she would rule his people, but queen because she ruled his heart absolutely.

Papa’s voice boomed across the square. “It is done! The bond is complete. Princess Naya goes to her new kingdom not as prisoner or pawn, but as equal and mate to her chosen Alpha!”

The cheers grew deafening, thousands of voices raised in celebration of what they’d witnessed. Through the noise, Mama stepped forward, her eyes bright with unshed tears.

“The old stories speak of bonds forged in love rather than duty,” she said, her words somehow audible despite the crowd’s roar. “May yours be blessed with joy and strength for all your days.”

Naya turned to face her people one last time, Akoro’s arm secure around her waist, the bond between them thrumming with contentment.

The faces looking back at her were no longer confused or afraid—they were proud.

Proud of their princess who had chosen love over duty, who had found a way to serve both her birth home and her chosen one.

“Thank you,” she said, grateful to them all.

As the celebration continued around them, Akoro leaned close to her ear. “Ready to go home?”

Home. Not his kingdom, but theirs. Not his city, but the place they would build together, rule together, love together.

“Ready,” she replied, and meant it with every fiber of her being.

Together, they walked toward their future, leaving one home to claim another, building a new world from the ashes of conquest and the foundation of an unbreakable bond.