Chapter Eleven: Unspoken Truths

The air in Rivenfall felt thick, charged with something Seraphine couldn't name. Every step she took felt heavier than the last, like the world around her was shifting, breaking into pieces, and she was caught in the center of it all.

She had chosen Azrael, or so she had believed. The dark prince was everything she had been told she wanted: powerful, commanding, with a presence that could fill a room. The bond between them had grown stronger with each passing day, their magic intertwining, weaving something undeniable. But now, as she stood alone in the silence of her chamber, Seraphine realized the truth she hadn't allowed herself to see: the pull toward Kairos had never truly faded.

She had made her choice. Or, rather, she had believed she had.

Azrael had been everything she needed at the time - his power had soothed her wounds, filled the emptiness left behind by loss. But Kairos? Kairos was something else entirely. Her heart thudded painfully in her chest as she thought of him. The wolf shifter who had always understood her, who had always been by her side, even when she hadn't known what she needed.

Azrael was the match to her fire. But Kairos - he was the anchor, the steady force that kept her grounded.

And now, she found herself torn between two bonds. Two mates, each pulling her in a different direction.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the soft sound of the door opening. She didn't need to turn to know who it was.

Azrael stepped into the room, his shadow stretching across the floor. His eyes - those pale, unreadable eyes - fixed on her with an intensity that made her heart skip a beat.

"You're distant tonight," he said, his voice low, but edged with something almost possessive. "Are you still thinking about him?"

Seraphine didn't need to ask who he meant. Kairos had never truly left her thoughts. Not since the moment they had shared in the forest, when he had looked at her with such raw emotion, like he was seeing her for the first time.

"I'm not sure what I'm thinking," Seraphine admitted, her voice quiet. "I thought I had made my choice, Azrael. But now? I'm not so sure anymore."

Azrael stepped closer, his eyes narrowing, but there was no anger in his gaze, only a strange calmness. "You don't need to choose between us," he said, his voice almost hypnotic. "You have me. You have everything I can offer. Kairos is a shadow of the past, Seraphine. Let him go."

But it wasn't that simple. Kairos wasn't just a shadow. He was part of her - her second mate. A bond that had always existed, waiting for the right time to reveal itself. The truth hit her like a wave crashing against the shore, and for the first time, she understood the weight of it.

Azrael was her first mate - the one who matched her power. But Kairos? Kairos was the one who matched her heart, the one who made her feel whole in a way that Azrael never could. She had never realized that the magic they shared - together - was not just physical. It was more than that.

The room felt smaller now, the weight of the realization pressing down on her. She had two mates. Not one. Two.

And the timing? the timing had never been right for them to be together, not until now.