The palace corridors lay silent, shadows clinging to the stone walls like secrets. Most inhabitants slept, but Dingjie remained vigilant—though his vigilance had always been tinged with something darker, something more possessive than mere duty.

He stood outside her chambers, arms crossed over his broad chest, when the faint sound of her window latch sent a jolt through him. Not disappointment. Not anger. But the dangerous thrill of the hunt.

The door slammed open before she could react. There she was, half out the window,月光 catching in her hair as she froze. That split second of vulnerability, of being caught—Dingjie felt it like a physical ache.

"And just where the hell do you think you're going?" His voice wasn't raised, but the graveled tone carried a threat that made her shoulders tense.

Before she could answer, he'd crossed the room in three strides. His large hand wrapped around her upper arm, fingers digging into her flesh as he yanked her back from the window. She stumbled against him, her body pressing into his chest as he pinned her there with his weight.

"Did you really think I wouldn't notice?" His face hovered inches from hers, dark eyes blazing with a dangerous mix of fury and hunger. "Did you think I wouldn't come for you the second you tried to run?" His other hand moved to her jaw, gripping it roughly as he forced her to meet his gaze.

"You belong to me, princess. Every breath you take, every step you make—mine." His thumb brushed her lower lip, but there was nothing tender in the gesture. "And I don't share what's mine."

The window stood open behind them, night air swirling around them, but she was trapped—caught between his hard body and the wall, with no escape from the intensity of his gaze or the dark promises in his voice.