That night, Lilian lay awake in bed, staring at the ceiling and hyper-aware of every sound in the estate.
The new security measures meant one of the princes would be in her room through the night, keeping watch over her. The rogue scouts were still out there somewhere, and until they were dealt with, she wasn't allowed to be alone.
When she first came here, the arrangement should have felt suffocating. But now, it felt oddly comforting, knowing they would always be beside her.
A soft knock on her door made her sit up, even though she already suspected who it was. "Come in."
Dante entered, wearing dark pants and a black shirt, looking every inch the dangerous vampire he was. A book was tucked under his arm as he crossed the room and settled into the armchair by the window.
"I'm on first watch tonight. Adrian will take over at three, then Lucien at dawn," he explained calmly.
"You really don't all need to do this," Lilian said while pulling the blanket up to her chest. "I'm sure the estate security is sufficient."
"The rogues who attacked you weren't acting randomly," Dante said, opening his book but keeping his eyes on her. "They were trained and organized. And that means someone with resources and power is targeting you."
His voice sharpened. "So no. The security system isn't sufficient. Not when your life is at stake."
The intensity of his protectiveness and concern made her chest tighten. "Thank you for caring this much..."
"Of course I care," Dante said instantly, as if the answer needed no thought. "You're mine. Even if the bond isn't complete yet, even if you're not ready yet, you're still mine to protect."
His words made her heart flutter, and she felt the heat rising in her cheek. She lowered her gaze to her hands resting on her lap and stayed quiet for a long moment.
"Try to sleep," Dante said, returning his attention to his book. "I'll wake you if anything happens."
Lilian nodded and lay back down. But she couldn't sleep as she was too aware of Dante's presence in the room.
"Dante?" she said after several minutes of restless silence.
"Yes?"
"Can I ask you something?"
He closed his book, giving her his full attention. "Of course."
"Have you... I-I mean, before me... did you have other...~" She trailed off, not sure how to phrase the question without sounding jealous.
"Other lovers?" Dante finished for her. "Yes. In three hundred years, I've had many."
Something sour twisted in her chest. Many? A dozen? A hundred? Many could mean anything.
"Oh," she replied with just that oh.
"But none of them were my mate," Dante continued, his dark eyes intense even in the dim light. "For vampires, sex and mating aren't the same. Sex if physical release, sometimes companionship. But mating is soul deep, like choosing an eternal wife. I've never felt for anyone what I feel for you."
Lilian stared at him for a long second, biting her lower lip, then voiced the question that had been bothering her. "What about Lady Celeste?" she asked. "Adrian mentioned she was almost bonded to all three of you, but he didn't want to tell me more."
Dante's expression tightened just slightly, but she noticed, and her chest ached in response.
"Celeste was... complicated. We believed she might be right for us, but the connection never fully formed. Eventually, she chose another vampire, and we realized she was never truly ours to begin with."
"Did it hurt?" Lilian asked quietly, beginning to feel guilty for being jealous. "Being rejected like that?"
"It stung our pride more than our hearts," Dante admitted, now his stoic face not showing any emotions. "We cared for her, but we didn't love her. Not the way we..."
He stopped, seeming to catch himself.
"Not the way you what?" Lilian prompted, curious.
"Not the way we love you," Dante finished. His voice was soft, but he sounded certain.
Lilian's breath caught. "Y-You love me? Already?"
"I've loved you since the moment I tasted your blood during your fever," Dante said simply. "When I felt your divine essence, it was like finding something I'd been searching for without realising it."
One of her eyebrows raised. "Wait~ Lucien said the same thing. When exactly did all of you bite me? I didn't see any marks afterward."
Dante put his book aside. "We were trying to understand why your transformation stalled. We took a small amount of your blood as sample, remember?"
"Aahhh," the realization hit her, and embarrassment followed. "And all of you tasted it... "
"Yes," Dante replied evenly, his stoic expression unchanged.
He stood from the chair and moved to sit on the edge of her bed. "I know it seems fast by human standards, but vampire bonds don't follow human rules. When you know, you know."
"But I'm scared," Lilian whispered. "About how it feels... when I was taught that it should be wrong, and will lose myself in the bond."
"Your fears are reasonable," Dante said, reaching out to take her hand. His cool fingers intertwined with hers, the touch both soothing and electrifying. "But you won't lose yourself. The bond will enhance who you already are. And you have time to figure out who Lilian the vampire is before you commit fully to us."
"...What if I'm not ready for years? Or even a decade?"
"Like Adrian said, we will wait. We're immortal, Lilian. We have all the time in the world," Dante replied firmly.
The certainty in his voice made her want to hug him and kiss him, but she held herself down.
"Can I ask you something else?" she said.
"Anything."
"Earlier today, when you walked in on Adrian and me.... were you jealous?" she asked carefully.
Dante went silent, considering the question seriously. He squeezed her hands, and answered, "Yes and no. I was jealous because I know Adrian got to kiss you first. That he tasted your lips before I did, that he made you sigh like that."
He paused, looking directly into her eyes, his eyes seemed to glow in reddish hue in the dim light, like a cat's. "But Adrian is my brother in every way that matters, so I wasn't angry or resentful. I want him to be happy, and you make him happy. So it was... complicated."
"That's not how it works," Lilian said. "Jealousy leads to anger and resentment."
"That's for human, and we're not human," Dante reminded her. "And this isn't a normal relationship by any standard. The three of us learned centuries ago how to love the same person without competing or fighting. It's not always easy, but it's possible when everyone involved actually cares about each other's happiness."
"So if I kissed you right now," Lilian said, surprised by her own boldness, and she said it to Dante nonetheless, "Adrian and Lucien wouldn't be angry?"