The moment his fingers closed around Sera's arm, the room crossed a line it didn't know existed until that very moment.
The grip was rough and possessive, the kind born of hunger rather than courage. His thumb pressed into her skin as if the words weren't enough on their own.
"Mine," he said, voice thick with certainty. "I claim you."
For a heartbeat, nothing happened.
There was no shouting, no sudden movement. There wasn't even a warning barked across the room.
Sera looked at him calmly, her gaze lifting to his face with quiet interest, as though she were deciding whether he was worth correcting.
Her creature stirred, not angry, not alarmed. Merely attentive. Ah, it observed. He believes ownership is something one announces.
