Violet

The room was quiet for a moment as everyone absorbed what Rowan had laid out.

My pulse was still racing.

I stared at him, unable to look away. He had said it so plainly, so matter-of-factly, as if declaring before a room full of political strategists that he would stand between me and the other Supreme Alphas was no different from discussing trade routes.

Or was I just the one reading meaning into what he had said?

Still, I was stunned.

It was the closest thing to a declaration I had ever heard from him in front of others, and the weight of it pressed against my ribs until I could barely breathe.

Kael’s eyes moved to Rowan, and they lingered there with a sharpness that went beyond irritation.

"That much is obvious." Kael’s voice was flat. "She is our mate. Of course we would stand behind her."

It sounded like they were about to fight.

I was already standing from my seat when both Rowan and Kael suddenly turned their heads to me.

"Please, sit."

I dropped back down, speechless.

Their words had both echoed at the same time, and this led them to frown.

Kael hissed, "You can’t just say things like that. The bond isn’t meant to be used as a political weapon, especially with such ease."

"It has its uses. The sacred bond is respected." Rowan’s frown deepened. "Had you used it when you should have, this would not have—"

"Enough!" Voya abruptly stood up. She stepped towards them and paused, shaking her head. "Don’t do that. Please, stop."

She eyed Rowan, frowning. "A dual bond makes no sense. One between two Supreme Alphas for that matter. The two of you claiming the same mate is unheard of. There will be questions about legitimacy and—"

"The situation is different," Kael cut in. "She is a Lycan. It is not an unusual occurrence for them. And if they are that pressed about legitimacy, they can..."

He paused, realisation dawning on him.

Rowan stood up, facing Voya. "Send for your priestesses and a liquid totem. That would verify this."

My eyes widened.

This was getting serious. Especially in a direction none of us were expecting.

The elders mouths fell open.

"Do it," Kael’s voice hardened.

Voya’s lips thinned. She turned and nodded at one of the elders who promptly went out.

She faced Kael and Rowan, folding her arms across her chest. "There. I’ve sent word to the priestesses. Unvor will bring them."

"Let me understand this clearly," she continued, turning her full attention to Rowan. "You are proposing that we announce to every Supreme Alpha in attendance that Violet is mated to both of you. And should anyone move against her, they would face retaliation from Fresna and Silverwood." She looked directly at Rowan. "Would you actually take your wolves to war over this?"

Rowan met her gaze without flinching.

"That isn’t the point, Voya. Don’t simplify it." His tone remained respectful but carried a firmness that made Voya’s brow twitch. "War is not the only consequence of aggression between territories. There are trade agreements, treaties, longstanding alliances that took centuries to build. Every Supreme Alpha in that room has economic and political ties to both our territories. Some depend on those ties for the stability of their own territories."

He paused, letting that settle.

"No one has gone to war in generations, and no one wants to be the one to break that precedent. Especially not over a Lycan. It is not necessary. The cost would be absurd and every ruler knows it. But the implication alone, the mere possibility that aggression toward Violet could unravel those relationships, changes how they calculate their moves."

Rowan leaned forward slightly.

"We don’t need to threaten war. We just need them to understand exactly how much backing Violet has. Two Supreme Alphas. Two territories. And every alliance tied to them. That alone should make her untouchable."

The room was silent.

Voya stared at Rowan for a long moment, her expression shifting from skepticism to a grudging acknowledgment.

"You’ve thought this through," she said.

"I’ve been considering it for a long time now."

Kael’s forehead was furrowed in thought, but his posture was rigid.

I sat very still, my hands clasped tightly in my lap.

Rowan’s words that night when we had left Ascalone ripped into my thoughts and I wanted to force them out, but they just kept pressing in.

I did not want to think about my earlier days in Fresna, but maybe if Kael had just revealed I was his mate then...

’No. I don’t want to... think about it...’

’Shouldn’t I?’

This still made things more complicated than I’d like.

"But if everyone knows... Would it not affect your standing if I rejected one of you?"

The words fell out of my mouth before I could stop them.

The silence that followed was suffocating.

Every pair of eyes in the room turned to me, but I could only feel two of them.

Rowan and Kael’s expression froze and I saw the wounds underneath. Rowan’s green eyes flickered with a pain that made my stomach drop.

Kael looked just as unsettled. His hands, still crossed at his chest, tightened until his knuckles paled.

The bond pulsed with both of them at once. A sharp, tangled burst of hurt and pride and fear that crashed together in my chest so violently I nearly pressed my hand against it.

"I—"

"It doesn’t matter," Rowan whispered.

Kael’s lips spread in a faint sad smile.

Their gazes found mine from across the room. Their eyes held that fierce, unwavering resolve I knew so well. Whatever this cost them personally, they would bear it if it kept me safe.

It made my chest ache.

My eyes stung.

Voya broke the silence, pulling the room back from the edge.

"Please, it won’t affect anything on a grand scale. They will be fine." Voya spared a gentle smile my way.

She looked sorry for me.

"Very well." She sighed, planting her hands on her hips. "We will use this. It would even do well to actually state this plainly before she takes her stand." A dry glint entered her eye. "Anyone who has an issue with it can take it up with the goddess herself."

A faint, grim amusement rippled through the room.

’Thank you. Both of you.’