Chapter 197 CHAPTER 197

Chapter 197 CHAPTER 197
Sunlight streamed through the windows of the royal bedroom, bright and golden and entirely too cheerful for the hour.

Ariel blinked awake, momentarily disoriented by the unfamiliar weight of an arm draped across her waist. Then she remembered. The midnight. The marking. The bond, blazing full and complete between them.

She turned her head to find Zack still asleep beside her, his face relaxed in a way she rarely saw, all the tension of alpha responsibility smoothed away. His bare chest rose and fell with even breaths, and she allowed herself a moment to simply look at him, this man who was now hers in every way the bond allowed.

The mark on his neck caught the morning light, silver and unmistakable. She touched her own matching mark, still tender, and felt the answering pulse of connection. His heartbeat, steady and strong, echoed in her own chest.

She was smiling when the door burst open.

"Happy birthday!"

Jenna's voice cut through the morning like a bell, bright and enthusiastic and utterly oblivious. She froze in the doorway, her arms still raised in celebration, her expression shifting from joy to shock to horrified realization in the span of a single second.

Ariel and Zack were in bed together. The sheets covered them, barely, and it was immediately, blindingly obvious that they were both naked underneath.

Jenna's eyes snapped shut.

"Oh my God." Her hands flew up to cover her face. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I'll give you a minute. I'll give you ten minutes. I'll give you-" She was already backing out, stumbling over her own feet. "Sorry!"

The door slammed shut.

Silence.

Ariel looked at Zack. He looked at her. For a moment, they simply stared at each other, the absurdity of the situation settling over them like a blanket.

Then they both burst into laughter.

"Oh my God," Ariel gasped, burying her face in her hands. "Did that just happen?"

"Your best friend has terrible timing," Zack managed, his shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter.

"She was trying to surprise me."

"She seems to be the one who got the surprise."

They were still grinning at each other when a knock sounded at the door.

"Um," Jenna's voice came through, significantly more subdued. "Can I come in now? Are you... decent?"

Ariel scrambled out of bed, grabbing Zack's discarded shirt from the floor and pulling it on. It fell to mid-thigh, covering enough. Zack picked a pair of his jeans on the floor and slowly put them on, looking entirely too amused for someone who had just been caught naked by his mate's best friend.

"Come in," Ariel called.

Jenna entered cautiously, her eyes carefully fixed on Ariel's face, determinedly not looking at Zack or the bed or anything that might remind her of what she had just witnessed.

"So," she started, then stopped. Her expression shifted, curiosity warring with self-preservation. "What exactly did I just walk in on?"

She held up a hand immediately.

"Actually... never mind. I don't think I want to know."

But then her gaze drifted, despite her best intentions, and she saw it. The fresh bite mark on Ariel's neck, silver and healing. Her eyes widened, snapping to Zack's matching mark, and her mouth fell open.

"Oh," she breathed. "Oh my God. You.. they… the bond…"

She let out a squeal that could probably be heard three floors down, rushing forward to grab Ariel's hands.

"I don't even know what to congratulate you for first!" she exclaimed. "That you're a woman now, that it's your eighteenth birthday, or that your mate bond is finally complete!"

Ariel and Zack exchanged a look, both grinning.

"How about all three?" Zack said still grinning.

Jenna threw her arms around Ariel, hugging her so tightly that Ariel had to laugh.

"I'm so happy for you," Jenna said, her voice muffled against Ariel's shoulder. "Seriously. So genuinely happy."

When she finally pulled back, her eyes were suspiciously bright, but she was already shifting gears, her natural energy reasserting itself.

"Okay," she said, clapping her hands together. "What are we doing this morning? Before the coronation, I mean. We have hours. We should have cake, celebrate with everyone, do birthday things, squeeze in as much as possible of our usual birthday traditions before the ceremony this afternoon."

Ariel simply smiled at her.

Jenna paused, confused by the expression. "Why are you smiling like that?"

"I was actually planning to spend my birthday morning alone," Ariel said, her voice light and teasing. "With my mate."

Understanding dawned on Jenna's face. She looked from Ariel to Zack, who was leaning against the bedpost with his arms crossed, looking entirely too pleased with himself.

"Oh," Jenna said. "Right. Of course you were."

She laughed, shaking her head. "Fine. The birthday girl can spend her birthday morning with her mate. I'll allow it. This year."

She backed toward the door, her hands raised in surrender. "I'll leave you two lovebirds alone to do exactly what I think you're planning to do. Don't do anything I wouldn't do. Actually-" She reconsidered. "Do whatever you want. It's your birthday. And your coronation day. And your mating day. Apparently everything is happening today."

She slipped out, closing the door behind her with exaggerated care.

Ariel and Zack were still laughing when the lock clicked.

They turned to look at the door, then at each other.

"Did that just happen?" Ariel started.

Zack was already moving, crossing the room in three strides, turning the deadbolt with deliberate precision.

"What are you doing?" Ariel asked, amused.

He turned back to her, his expression serious but his eyes dancing.

"Making sure nobody barges in again and interrupts what I intend to do with you over the next few hours."

He walked back to her, pulled her into his arms, and kissed her, deep and slow and full of promise.

Ariel laughed against his mouth, her arms winding around his neck, the bond between them humming with contentment and anticipation.

“I could live with that.” She murmured.

The morning was just beginning.