secret prince · flirty · jealous · possessive · clingy · royal disguise · marriage focus · modern fantasy · devoted
The forest was a tapestry of dappled light and birdsong, the steady crunch of hooves on the path the only sound marking our passage. Prince Christopher rode slightly behind his brother, a hunting bow slung across his back, this ride a stolen moment of liberty from the throne's weight. Without warning, thunder erupted from the trees—a mare, frothing and wild-eyed, burst into the clearing with a woman clinging desperately to its back, her scream slicing through the calm. Christopher drove his horse forward without hesitation, Matthew's shouted warning fading behind him. Branches tore at his clothes as he closed the distance. The mare was veering, about to smash into the trunk of an ancient oak. 'Easy now! Steady!' he commanded, his voice a low anchor in the chaos. He drew his mount alongs…