[Warning: Mixed Pov] 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

- Violet -

"Yes," I said quietly. "With him... yes. I’m happy."

The admission felt strange on my tongue.

Nessa nodded slowly, something shifting in her expression.

"And... the other one?" she asked carefully. "Supreme Alpha Kael. Are you happy when you think of him?"

My chest tightened.

I thought of Kael. His intensity, his protectiveness, the way he had trained with me and shaped and pushed me to be stronger. The bond between us had been immediate and overwhelming, a force I hadn’t asked for and couldn’t control.

But I really had been happy with him some moments.

"I am who I am because of him," I whispered but stopped myself. "When I think of him, I miss him and wish to see him again..."

Nessa’s expression softened into something knowing, and almost sad.

"Well... this is difficult," she finally said in a low tone.

I didn’t say anything in return and the silence stretched between us, filled only by the distant sound of birds outside the window.

"Something happened between you two, didn’t it?" Nessa said quietly. It wasn’t a question.

I nodded slowly.

"Yesterday. We went to the temple, and then to the observatory on the hill to watch the sunset." I swallowed hard. "He kissed my hand. And he looked at me like... like he wanted to say something very important, but he held it back..."

Nessa watched me, waiting.

"I fear he’s in love with me," I said, the words barely audible. "And I..."

I couldn’t finish.

Nessa exhaled slowly.

"And I might be wrong, but you’re not sure you can give him what he wants?" she asked.

I looked at her.

"I don’t even know what I want," I admitted. "I care about him. I care about him so much. But there’s still Kael, and everything I’m supposed to figure out. And I can’t just—"

"You say you just care about them, but I think," she said slowly, "you already know the answer. You are just afraid to admit it."

I slightly frowned. "What?"

"You’ve already chosen, Violet." Nessa’s voice was gentle but firm. "You just haven’t accepted it yet."

I stared at her, my throat tight.

What was she even saying? I hadn’t—

"Please, listen to me." Her eyes held mine steadily. "You don’t have to have all the answers now. You may not need to choose this instant either, but you do have to be honest with yourself about what you’re feeling."

Nessa leaned forward, reached out and took my hand, squeezing it firmly.

"Whatever you decide," she continued, "it has to come from you. Not from guilt, not from obligation, not from what you think you should do. From you."

"I don’t know how difficult it is to be caught between two mate bonds." She squeezed my hand again. "But follow your heart, Violet. Even if it’s terrifying. Even if it hurts."

The words struck something deep in my chest.

"I don’t want to hurt either of them."

"You will," Nessa said simply. "There’s no version of this where no one gets hurt. But dragging it out only makes the wounds deeper."

She released my hand and sat back.

"And for what it’s worth," she added, her voice lighter now, "Rowan is annoyingly in love with you. Anyone with eyes can see it. The man looks at you like you hung the moon in the sky."

I let out a shaky breath and lightly smiled.

It felt so nice and sad to hear it.

[ - ]

- Kael -

Crimson dripped from my hands as the wolves lay dead at my feet, blood pooling around their broken bodies. I had already shifted from my wolf form, but the rage still thrummed through my veins like wildfire.

"Well," Voya said from behind me. "You weren’t joking."

I turned my head slightly.

Yor’s Supreme Alpha stood a few paces back, her arms crossed over her chest, and her dark eyes surveying the carnage with a mixture of disgust and grim resignation. Her dark hair was pulled back in a single braid, and her traveling clothes were immaculate despite the violence that had just unfolded.

She hadn’t lifted a finger to help.

Then again, this wasn’t her fight.

She had made that abundantly clear when I had kept her from returning to her own territory to ask for her help.

"I told you," I said, my voice rough. "Palisa had likely sent wolves after her."

"Palisa is an idiot." Voya sighed, gesturing at the bodies. "She could have done better by sending rogues or mercenary wolves rather than ones that could be tracked down. But sending wolves this far away? She’s either desperate or insane."

I said grimly. "She’s always been both."

I shook the blood from my fingers and it splattered against the leaves, dark and wet.

These wolves had been from Shadowpine.

I had recognized them the moment I caught their scent. They had only been two of them, but I knew without a doubt they were more. Merely two weeks ago, I had to get rid of a few more rogue wolves holding flyers containing Violet’s picture.

The sight of it had infuriated me so much.

"You know," she said carefully, "you could have avoided all of this if you had simply kept a closer eye on your mate."

I turned to face her fully, and from my expression she quickly held up her hands.

"I am not blaming you," she said. "I’m simply stating a fact. The Lycan ran. You let her run. And now you’re chasing after her while half the packs in the region and beyond do the same."

"I didn’t let her run," I growled. "She—"

I stopped myself.

She had run because I had failed her. Because I had kept secrets, made decisions without her, and tried to control a situation that was never mine to control.

And now she was with him.

I pulled out the tracking monitor and inspected it. It now felt like both a blessing and a curse.

The dot that represented Violet was steady, unmoving. She was still in Silverwood.

Still with Rowan.

My chest ached with a pain I couldn’t name.