The Rejected True Heiress (Liora and Callum) novel Chapter 465

I stared at our hands, and in that moment, I wanted more than anything to tell him that I would do it. I wanted to tilt my head and expose my neck, right here in this greenhouse, and let him mark me. I wanted to be with him in that way, and bring my wolf back.

But the truth was, bringing my wolf back right now through marking wouldn’t end this the way he thought it would. It might only make things worse.

Because if even the King himself could be swayed by black magic, then so could I. Wolf or not, I was still at risk, and so was Callum.

I couldn’t bear it if I allowed this to happen, knowing fully well that it could only result in more anguish. Which was precisely why I was laying low at the moment. Planning.

Slowly, gently, I pulled my hand away. “I can’t right now,” I said, looking up at him. “I want to, but I can’t.”

Callum’s face hardened. “You really won’t let me mark you.”

“Not yet.”

He sighed, turning his head to look away. I saw a muscle jump in his jaw, and it made my chest hurt even more, but I held my ground.

“Fine,” he said. “If that’s what you think is best, then I won’t force it on you.”

I swallowed. “You do know I love you, right? This has nothing to do with that.”

Callum glanced at me. His mouth opened like he wanted to argue, but then he shut it again and nodded. “Yeah. I believe you.”

But the thought of losing him, of watching Bianca or that witch hurt him the way they’d hurt Marcus, the way they were hurting my father—

I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t take that risk.

Even if it hurt him, even if he thought it meant I didn’t love him the way I said I did, this was the choice I had made. Not just as his lover, but as a princess, the only true heir to the kingdom. Every move mattered right now, and if there was one thing I had learned from Marcus and my father and all my years in the palace, it was that sometimes, restraint was the best option in dire moments.

It certainly hurt like hell, though.

I opened my eyes and sat there for a long time, watching the mist settle over the thirsty plants. My face was damp, but I had a feeling it wasn’t from the water.