My Sister Stole My Mate And I Let Her (Seraphina) novel Chapter 225

Chapter 225: Chapter 225 STEAM AND ICE

KIERAN’S POV

Time dragged; I had no idea how long. The rain still fell in steady patters against the window.

Steam curled off Sera’s skin, and her breaths came shallow, uneven. Every so often, she whimpered—soft, broken sounds—like she was fighting something in her dreams.

‘In cases like this...a mate bond would stabilize her.’

I swore softly, holding her tighter, her heat burning into me even as the cold around us stabbed like tiny needles.

Frustration made my teeth grind, even as they chattered.

If there was even a fragment of a bond between Sera and me, it had to respond. It just had to.

But...

So much time had passed, and still nothing happened.

No spark. No warmth. No familiar pull.

Each second carved a bigger hollow of dread inside me.

Had I imagined it all?

Had I convinced myself she was my mate just to justify wanting her?

Maybe she never belonged to me at all.

I pressed my forehead to her shoulder.

“If I had just marked you,” I whispered, voice splintering. “The night of the Blood Moon Hunt. The night we married. The day Daniel was born. Any damn day over the last ten years—we wouldn’t be here. I could help you now.”

I closed my eyes; my throat tightened.

“But I didn’t. I was a coward. A fucking idiot.” I took a shuddering breath. “And you’re paying for it.”

The room was silent except for rain against the window and Sera’s faint, ragged breaths.

‘Regretting the past is pointless,’ Ashar’s voice was a morose rumble, offering a small comfort. ‘All we can do is move forward and focus on what we can do for her now.’

I tightened my hold on Sera.

“Do you remember,” I murmured, brushing my thumb over her skin, “the night Daniel had a fever, and you stayed up holding him because he wouldn’t let you go?”

My voice shook with the memory.

“You didn’t know I was watching from the crack in his door. You kept whispering that he was safe. That you were right there. You didn’t sleep for thirty-six hours. I thought you were going to collapse.”

I swallowed.

“Now it’s my turn.”

I pulled her closer, pressing a kiss to her temple.

“And I’m not going anywhere.”

I shifted slightly, cradling her tighter. Water sloshed over the edge, cold splattering tile and dripping from my elbows, but I didn’t care. The world could flood, and I wouldn’t move.

“You know...” My voice rasped, raw. “I always thought strength was loud. Violent. Teeth and claws and dominance. The kind of power I was raised to believe mattered.”

I brushed a wet strand of hair from her cheek, fingers trembling.

“But you—” I swallowed hard. “You were strong in ways I didn’t even know how to see.”

Her lips parted slightly, a soft exhale leaving her, her brow tightening like she was fighting something inside.

“You stood up to a world that didn’t want you. You kept getting back up even when the people who should’ve protected you were the ones pushing you down. You smiled through things that would have broken mere mortals.”

Pain tightened my throat so much I could barely squeeze the words out.

“And I was too blind, too stubborn, too stuck in my own fucking narrative to see you for who you were.”

A shiver ran through her, and water rippled as I tightened my hold, my body instinctively trying to shield hers despite knowing warmth was the enemy right now.

“You deserved better than being my obligation. You deserved better than ten years of silence and resentment.”

My voice dropped to a rough whisper, breaking beneath the weight of regret.

“You deserved a partner. A mate. Someone who saw you. Someone who chose you.”

My breath shook, warm enough to mist the cold air between our faces.

“And instead you got me.”

Silence stretched, heavy and echoing, broken only by the drip of water and the soft chattering of Sera’s teeth as her fever finally clashed with the cold.

“You know what kills me most?” I whispered, jaw tightening. “You never stopped trying anyway. Not for the pack. Not for Daniel. Not even for me. You probably thought I didn’t notice, but I did.”

I closed my eyes, letting the truth finally drag itself out of me.

“I knew you learnt about all of my favorite sports and hobbies so we would have something to talk about. I knew you learnt to cook all my favorite meals. I knew you tried to dress like Celeste so I would notice you.”

I brushed my lips against her damp hair, a breath of a kiss.

“It shouldn’t have taken me this long to see it, Sera,” I whispered feverishly. “Whether or not I recognized you as that little girl from all those years ago, it shouldn’t have taken me so long to realize you weren’t just someone fate trapped me with. You were someone I would have chosen if I’d had half a brain.”

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