Mirabelle was so lost in thought that she barely noticed the walk back to her room.

She walked silently beside Kaelith through the endless palace corridors.

At some point, the female vaguely noticed that he had slowed his usual pace to match hers more comfortably. One of his hands rested casually inside his pocket while the other remained close beside her so she could continue holding onto his arm.

Neither of them spoke.

Mirabelle barely noticed where they were going anymore.

Honestly, Kaelith probably could have led her anywhere at this point.

Apparently, though, he actually knew the way to her room.

The white stone walls blurred past her together with moonlit windows, flickering lanterns, distant voices, and soft music still echoing somewhere far behind them.

Her thoughts had become far louder than the outside world.

Because somehow...

somewhere between Silas’ possessive shadows, Lucien kneeling before her in that alcove, and Kaelith waiting patiently for her without demanding anything in return...

something inside her had started shifting.

Back in her old world, monogamy had always been the normal thing. The expected thing. The right thing.

She had grown up surrounded by movies, books, and stories that all revolved around finding one person.

One soulmate.

One relationship.

One future.

Even jealousy had always been treated as proof of love.

But here?

Here, nobody acted as though loving multiple people was strange.

Logically, she still felt like she should reject this entire situation.

She should feel guilty, wrong and overwhelmed. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

And yes...

part of her absolutely did.

But another part of her had accepted the existence of multiple mates frighteningly quickly.

The thought of Silas touching another female made something ugly twist painfully inside her chest.

The thought of Kaelith giving this soft, patient version of himself to someone else irritated her for reasons she didn’t fully understand.

And Lucien...

Mirabelle physically refused to think too deeply about Lucien right now.

Which probably already answered enough questions on its own.

The worst part was that her feelings toward one male didn’t seem to lessen what she felt toward the others.

If anything, they somehow existed separately beside each other.

Different, but equally real.

That should not have made sense.

Yet somehow...

it did.

Her modern human brain and whatever instincts belonged to this Beast body felt like they were constantly trying to drag her in opposite directions.

But the Beast instincts were winning more often than she wanted to admit.

Quietly beside her, Kaelith glanced downward for a brief moment.

Mirabelle looked exhausted.

Emotionally exhausted.

The kind of exhaustion that came from overthinking too much.

He briefly wondered what was happening inside her head right now.

Then decided not to ask.

Because unlike certain other males he could think of...

the hyena Beast understood that sometimes simply staying quietly beside someone was far more comforting than...

The lynx female only became aware of her surroundings again when she noticed Leontis waiting outside one of the doors.

The bear Beast wanted to make sure his daughter had returned safely.

Even though he wasn’t her biological father, he still considered Mirabelle his child.

Besides her, he only had one bear cub of his own — though the young male had joined the Queen’s military years ago and hadn’t lived at home since.

Something about Mirabelle had awakened both his protective instincts and his father instincts ever since she was a baby.

And so, he had largely been the one who raised her.

When he spotted his daughter standing beside the hyena male, a gentle smile appeared on his face.

He had no desire to interfere too heavily in her mate choices.

"Good night, you two."

With that, he turned away and headed toward his own room farther down the corridor.

’Did he think I was bringing Kaelith into my room?’

Horrified, Mirabelle stared after the bear male.

Beside her, Kaelith grinned shamelessly but wisely said nothing.

For a moment, Mirabelle simply stood there awkwardly.

Then the hyena male did something that caught her completely off guard:

Kaelith pulled her into a hug.

Not one of those demanding embraces.

This one felt... comforting.

One arm wrapped loosely around her waist while the other gently cradled the back of her head.

And somehow her body simply allowed it.

It melted into his arms without resistance.

Surprised, Mirabelle stood there with her ear pressed against his chest.

Ba-dum.

Ba-dum.

Ba-dum.

His heartbeat was strong and calm.

She closed her eyes and simply listened.

Then he whispered softly against her forehead:

"You don’t have to figure everything out tonight."

His voice carried none of the teasing warmth he usually used around her.

Only gentleness and patience.

Mirabelle’s fingers tightened slightly against his shirt.

Kaelith continued softly:

"This situation is very different from what you expected." A quiet breath left him. "Anyone would feel overwhelmed."

Something painful loosened slightly inside her chest.

He meant her mate selection.

How differently she had imagined all of this.

But somehow, his words also touched the deeper truth beneath it all:

that she had only ever imagined one partner.

"One moment everyone expects you to choose mates, think about politics, instincts, territories..." His thumb moved slowly across her back. "And at the same time you’re somehow supposed to figure out your own feelings too."

Mirabelle swallowed hard.

Because that was exactly it.

Exactly.

"And you don’t have to carry all of that alone," he murmured.

Her breath caught softly.

"If something confuses you, scares you, or makes you uncomfortable..." Kaelith lowered his head slightly until his forehead rested more fully against hers. "Then talk to us."

Us.

Not me.

Something about that hit her harder than if he had made this only about himself.

"You care too much to make careless decisions," he continued quietly.

"Honestly, after watching you these past few days?" A small amused huff escaped him. "I’m pretty sure you’ll make exactly the right decision for yourself and your territory."

Despite everything, a weak laugh escaped her.

Kaelith smiled softly against her hair.

"And whatever choice you make..." His arms tightened around her just slightly. "I think the males who truly care about you will understand."

A lump formed in Mirabelle’s throat.

Her eyes stung with tears.

That was exactly what she had needed to hear.

She hadn’t realized the usually provocative and reckless hyena male possessed such an empathetic and understanding side.

"I didn’t know you could be this sensitive," she whispered quietly against his chest.

Kaelith almost hadn’t heard her.

Another smile appeared on his lips.

But this one wasn’t teasing or challenging.

It was softer. Filled with a deep kind of happiness.

"That’s not something I can usually show anyone." His voice lowered slightly. "In Zasar... among my brothers... weakness gets you killed."

Immediately, Mirabelle pushed herself back enough to look him directly in the eyes.

"Empathy isn’t weakness."

Kaelith’s expression didn’t change.

But his voice turned hard.

"If you don’t think of yourself first, you die."

Once again, Mirabelle crashed violently into the reality of this world.

’This world is different.’

She had no intention of dying.

So she silently promised herself to start prioritizing her own needs more often.

But long-term?

She refused to simply accept things staying this way forever.

"Just wait," she declared stubbornly. "I’ll create a future where community is what makes people strong."

Her eyes flashed with determination.

Kaelith laughed softly.

"Yeah," he said warmly. "You probably will."

And honestly?

He actually believed it.

This stubborn lynx female could probably out-negotiate the Beast Goddess herself someday.

He pressed a kiss against her forehead.

"Sleep well."

Then he turned and walked away.

One hand pressed against her forehead, Mirabelle stared after him.

"I mean it!" she called stubbornly after him. "Just wait and see!"

Without turning around, Kaelith lifted one hand in a lazy wave.

"I’ll be there to witness it."