For a heartbeat, nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
Then air rushed back into three sets of lungs simultaneously.
A collective exhale swept through the room.
The reaction was different for each of them.
Silas closed his eyes.
Lucien's tail lashed behind him.
Kaelith slowly unclenched his fists. Deep marks from his fingernails lined his palms.
But beneath those differences were the same emotions.
Relief and Joy.
And the overwhelming certainty that Mirabelle had chosen them.
But she wasn't finished.
"Choosing a Beast partner should have been something intimate. Something instinctive.
But circumstances denied me that choice.
Which is why all three of you will hear my decision together."
She leaned back slightly against the throne.
"If you can live with me and the other two, then we can build a future together. For ourselves. And for Luchsenstein."
Her golden eyes sharpened.
