Trying to rationalize his feelings. But hearing it... knowing they shared something so intimate... His chest tightened. It was a lie to say he didn't feel jealous, that it didn't bother him.
But he knew better than to act on those emotions. He knew Kyra started loving him in her own way, and he couldn't afford to ruin what they had by letting his envy consume him. Instead, he focused on the future—on the moment when she would bear his mark, when she would belong to him in a way no one else seperate them.
His fingers gently squeezed hers, and he leaned down to kiss her forehead. "Soon, my love," he whispered under his breath. "Soon, you'll be mine in every way."
With that quiet promise, he forced himself to relax, though sleep still eluded him as thoughts of Kyra and their future danced through his mind.
****
