My Sister Stole My Mate And I Let Her (Seraphina) novel Chapter 257

Chapter 257: Chapter 257 A TRUE MATE

KIERAN’S POV

The barrier breathed.

That was the only way I could describe it—the way the silvery lattice of magic above the ravine pulsed, slowed, then gradually exhaled into something gentler. Less violent. Less excruciating.

The air no longer screamed against my senses. The pressure behind my eyes loosened, retreating inch by inch.

The agony that had been tearing through my chest for hours softened, like a muscle finally unclenching after being held too tight for too long.

It didn’t completely disappear. It lingered, dull and tender. But it was no longer consuming me whole.

My breath stuttered out of me.

“She’s...” My voice broke, weak and hoarse. “She’s fine.”

The bond no longer convulsed. It hummed—weak, distant, but alive.

Alive.

I pressed my palms harder against the moonstone, feeling its steady pulse beneath my skin. For the first time since I’d arrived, my hands stopped shaking.

Not far away, Alois straightened where he stood at the ravine’s edge. The lines etched into his face by age and years of scowling over manuscripts eased, if only a little.

He exhaled as well, quiet and measured, but unmistakably relieved.

Seeing that relief on his face sealed what the bond had already told me. Whatever trial Sera had endured behind that barrier, it had ended.

I pushed myself to my feet.

And although I knew that Sera was no longer in pain, every instinct I had still roared in the same direction.

See her.

Touch her.

Make sure she was breathing, standing, whole.

I took one step toward the barrier.

“Kieran.”

Alois’ voice cut through the clearing like a drawn blade.

I didn’t stop.

“Do not take another step.”

I spun to face him, fury crackling now that fear had loosened its hold. “Don’t you dare,” I snarled. “The trial is over.”

“For now.” Alois nodded. “That does not grant you the right to charge in.”

“My mate—”

“—is not your property,” he interrupted, eyes flaring pale amber. “And that”—he pointed towards the mountains and thick forest that hid Sera—“is not your battlefield to storm.”

A harsh laugh tore from my throat, ragged and raw. “You think I came to fight? I just want to see her. To know she’s safe.”

“And in what capacity do you intend to do that?” he asked calmly. Too calmly. His consistently placid countenance was really starting to piss me off.

“Ex-husband? Alpha? Unaccepted mate? Or another block placed back onto her path to freedom?”

The words landed like blows.

I clenched my fists. “That’s not fair.”

“Isn’t it?” Alois tilted his head. “You rush in now to offer her what? Comfort? Or gravity?”

My jaw tightened. “I’m still her family. I’m still Daniel’s father.” The name grounded me, sharpened my voice. “My son is at home, terrified because he sensed something was wrong. I owe him an explanation. I owe him reassurance.”

Alois’ expression didn’t change, but something like pity flickered in his eyes.

“Do you truly believe,” he said quietly, “that Seraphina would not consider her child?”

I hesitated.

“She has left her son behind,” he continued, “but she has not abandoned him. She has never stopped being a mother. She will be the one to reassure him.”

My teeth ground together. His words rang true. Of course Sera would reach out to Daniel as soon as she could.

Yet.

“I’ve already come this far,” I said, more to myself than to Alois. “I can’t just...leave.”

He regarded me for a long moment. Then he sighed, the sound weighted with age and knowledge.

“Tell me something, Alpha Blackthorne,” he said. “What do you believe the mate bond represents?”

The question caught me off guard.

I opened my mouth—and closed it again.

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