The evening air was sharp, the snow crunching softly under Saphira's boots as she approached the secluded clearing where Kael had requested she meet him. A faint golden glow from lanterns marked the area, and in the center rested a carefully wrapped gift—a symbol of Kael's formal proposal and the seriousness of his claim.
Saphira's heart beat fast, not just from the cold, but from the weight of the situation. She picked up the gift hesitantly, eyes scanning the clearing. Kael emerged from the shadows, his presence magnetic and commanding as ever.
"You came," he said simply, his voice low, carrying both relief and intensity.
"I did," Saphira replied, keeping her voice steady despite the storm of emotions inside her. She held the gift between them like a shield. "But Kael… you're going too fast. Declaring me before the Council, sending this… it's hurting my father."
Kael stepped closer, his wolf instincts humming beneath the surface. "Saphira, the bond doesn't wait. We cannot ignore it. The Moon Goddess chose this, and the bond is real. Delaying only creates risk."
Saphira shook her head, her wolf stirring, impatient yet uneasy. "No, Kael. We barely even know each other. A mate bond doesn't erase that. My mate… will be someone I love, willingly, with my heart, not just because some bond decided it. With or without it."
Kael's eyes softened, but his resolve did not falter. "I understand your hesitation. I do. But this is bigger than us—bigger than choice. The bond is a force we cannot deny. I won't let anything take you from me, not even politics, not even your father."
Saphira's breath caught, torn between the pull of her wolf, the undeniable strength of Kael's presence, and her loyalty to her father. "Kael… I need time. I cannot rush into this—not for him, not for me. If you truly care about me, you'll respect that."
Kael hesitated, then nodded slowly. "Time… I can respect. But understand this, Saphira: the bond will not wait forever. The pull, the connection… it grows stronger every day. One day, you will feel it as intensely as I do."
Saphira looked away, staring at the snowy forest around them. Her wolf's warmth stirred beneath her skin, the mate bond a constant hum, reminding her of Kael's presence even across the distance of a single step. "Then we will see," she said quietly. "But I will only mate with the one I truly love, Kael. That is my choice."
Kael's gaze softened, a flicker of respect and longing crossing his sharp features. "Then I will wait," he said. "But I will not give up."
The snow fell silently around them as the tension lingered, a delicate balance between desire, restraint, and the force of destiny. Tonight, the bond had been acknowledged—but the story of their hearts, and their choices, had not ended it only just begun.
The snow fell silently around them as the tension lingered, a delicate balance between desire, restraint, and the force of destiny. Tonight, the bond had been acknowledged—but the story of their hearts, and their choices, had not ended it only just begun.