25
The Proposal
They came for me at midnight.
I should have expected it—the four of them had been whispering in corners all day, exchanging glances heavy with unspoken meaning, deflecting my questions with gentle smiles and cryptic murmurs. Selene had disappeared into her workshop for hours, emerging with her hair dusted in silver powder and her emerald eyes bright with satisfaction. Azrael had spent the afternoon in his chambers, the door sealed with golden light that pulsed like a heartbeat. Lucien had prowled the perimeter with unusual intensity, as though guarding against a threat only he could perceive. And Darius had watched me with those silver eyes—soft, unguarded, filled with something that looked terrifyingly like forever.
So when Selene appeared in my doorway as the clock struck twelve, her dark hair loose around her shoulders and a robe of deep green velvet flowing behind her, I wasn't surprised. When she took my hand and led me through the darkenedmanor without a word, I didn't resist. And when we emerged into the grand ballroom—the same space that had glittered with supernatural society just nights ago, now transformed into something else entirely—I understood.
They had built a temple.
Candles floated in midair, their flames burning silver and gold and amber and emerald, casting dancing shadows across the marble floor. The windows were draped in black silk, blocking out the mundane world beyond. And at the center of the room, arranged in a perfect circle around a low altar of dark stone, stood my family.
Darius. Lucien. Azrael. Selene.
They were dressed simply—dark trousers, bare feet, loose shirts that revealed the marks I'd left on their skin over months of loving them. No weapons. No armor. Nothing between us but trust and the weight of what was about to happen.
"What is this?" I breathed, my voice barely above a whisper.
Selene released my hand and moved to join the others, completing the circle. Four sets of eyes fixed on me—silver, amber, gold, and emerald—and I felt the threads of connection between us pulse with sudden, brilliant light.
"This," Darius said, his voice carrying that quiet authority that made the very air seem to listen, "is an oath. Older than the Covenant of Shadows. Older than the Accords. Older than any of the petty alliances and treaties that govern the supernatural world." He stepped forward, extending his hand. "It's a binding. A claiming. A promise that cannot be broken."
My heart pounded. "What kind of promise?"
"The promise that you are ours." Lucien's amber eyes burned with fierce intensity. "And we are yours. Not just in bed. Not just in the heat of the moment. But forever. In blood and bone and soul."
"Forever," Azrael echoed, his golden gaze soft and reverent. "For as long as we exist. For as long as you want us."
Selene's emerald eyes shimmered with unshed tears. "We've each claimed you in our own ways. Lucien's bite. Azrael's mark. Darius's blood-bond. My magic woven through your own." She touched her chest, over her heart. "But this is different. This is all of us. Together. One family. One oath."
I couldn't breathe. Couldn't think. Could only feel—the threads of light connecting me to each of them, pulsing with love and fear and desperate, aching hope.
"You're asking me to bind myself to you," I said slowly. "All of you. Forever."
"Yes." Darius's silver eyes held mine, steady and unafraid. "But only if you choose it. Only if you want us as much as we want you."
Tears spilled down my cheeks. "I do. God, I do. I've wanted this since—since I don't even know when. Since the moment I looked at all of you and saw not monsters, buthome."
Lucien made a sound—rough, broken, utterly vulnerable—and crossed the circle to pull me into his arms. His face buried in my hair, his body shaking with the force of his emotion. "I love you," he rasped. "I love you so much it terrifies me. I never thought I'd have this. Never thought I deserved it."
"You deserve everything." I cupped his face, forcing him to meet my eyes. "All of you do."
Azrael appeared at my side, his cool fingers intertwining with mine. "Then let us give you everything. Let us swear ourselves to you, and you to us."
I looked at each of them—Lucien's fierce devotion, Azrael's reverent love, Selene's warm affection, Darius's steady presence—and felt the answer settle into my bones with absolute certainty.
"Yes. I'm yours. All of yours. Forever."
Selene's smile was radiant. "Then let's begin."
The ceremony was simple, but profound.
They led me to the altar and had me kneel on a cushion of dark velvet. The stone was cool beneath my hands, smooth and ancient, and I felt the hum of magic radiating from it—old magic, the kind that existed before words, before covenants, before the world divided itself into human and supernatural.
Darius spoke first, his voice low and resonant. "I, Darius Blackthorn, vow to protect you. To provide for you. To honor your choices and defend your freedom. You are not my possession—you are my partner. My equal. My heart." He pressed a kiss to my forehead, and I felt the silver thread of his vow settle into my skin. "I am yours, Lizzie Saltz. For as long as you'll have me."
Lucien stepped forward next, his amber eyes blazing. "I, Lucien Voss, vow to guard you. To fight for you. To stand between you and any threat, no matter the cost." His rough hand cupped my cheek, and his lips brushed mine—soft, tender, a complete contrast to his usual ferocity. "You're my mate. My pack. My reason for being. I am yours, Lizzie. Forever."
