Chapter 256 CHAPTER 256
Chapter 256 CHAPTER 256
Ethan rested his hand lightly against the edge of the table as he pulled out a chair, his gaze moving over the room in a quiet sweep before settling into place.
The dining hall felt different that evening—full, but not heavy.
“It feels strange,” Lisa said as she took her seat, her fingers brushing the edge of her plate before she looked up. “Being here like this after everything.”
“Strange in a good way, I hope,” Helena replied, her tone gentle as she sat beside her.
Lisa nodded. “Yeah. Different in a good way.”
Across from them, Jocelyn adjusted slightly in her chair, her eyes moving between the faces at the table before settling on Isabel for a moment longer than the rest. Isabel caught the look and gave her a small, reassuring smile before reaching for her glass.
Liam leaned back slightly, his posture relaxed, his attention moving easily between the quiet exchanges around him.
Ethan took his seat last.
There was a brief pause as everyone settled, the quiet kind that wasn’t uncomfortable, just unfamiliar after everything that had happened.
“Eat everyone,” Helena said softly. “Before it gets cold.”
A few faint smiles followed that, and the tension eased just enough for conversation to begin again in small, scattered pieces.
For a while, they spoke of simple things.
The boys who had been rescued were recovering well. The guards were rotating shifts more carefully now. Mooncrest was steady again.
Nothing too heavy.
Nothing too sharp.
Isabel listened more than she spoke, her fingers tracing lightly along the rim of her glass as she followed the conversation. Every now and then, her gaze drifted toward Ethan without meaning to.
And each time…
That same quiet shift returned.
She set the glass down slowly.
Ethan noticed.
He had been answering something Liam had said, but his voice trailed slightly before he finished, his attention shifting just enough to meet Isabel’s gaze.
For a second, neither of them looked away.
Then Isabel did.
She reached for her plate, though she didn’t eat.
Ethan exhaled softly.
Helena noticed that too.
Her eyes moved between them, something thoughtful settling in her expression before she leaned back slightly in her chair.
“Well,” she said, her voice light but deliberate, “I think we’ve avoided this long enough.”
Lisa looked up. “Avoided what?”
Helena’s gaze shifted toward Ethan, then to Isabel. “That,” she said simply.
The table quieted.
Liam’s brows lifted slightly, though he didn’t interrupt.
Jocelyn straightened just a fraction, her attention sharpening.
Ethan let out a small breath, his hand resting flat against the table as if grounding himself.
“I was going to bring it up,” he said.
Helena smiled faintly. “I’m sure you were.”
Isabel’s fingers stilled against her plate.
Ethan glanced at her again, this time holding the look a little longer.
“You’ve been feeling it too,” he said.
It wasn’t a question.
Isabel didn’t answer immediately.
She shifted slightly in her seat, her shoulders drawing back as she met his gaze again.
“I wasn’t sure what it was at first,” she said honestly. “I thought maybe… it was just everything that happened.”
A faint pause passed between them.
Then he leaned forward slightly, his voice quieter now.
“But it wasn’t – MATE.”
The word settled.
For a second no one moved.
Then Lisa’s chair scraped back.
“Wait—what?” she said, already on her feet before anyone could respond. Her eyes moved quickly between them, wide, searching, trying to catch up with what she had just heard. “No—no, hold on—are you saying…”
She didn’t even finish.
She crossed the space in two quick steps and pulled Isabel into a tight hug.
“Oh my God,” she breathed against her shoulder, laughing softly as she held onto her. “You’re my sister now. You are actually my real sister.”
Isabel let out a small, surprised laugh, her hands coming up a second later to return the embrace. “Lisa…”
“I knew it,” Lisa said, pulling back just enough to look at her, her hands still holding her arms. “I didn’t know it, but I knew something was off. You two were acting weird.”
“That’s because he was acting weird,” Isabel said, glancing at Ethan.
Liam let out a quiet breath beside them, a small smile forming as he leaned back slightly. “Took you long enough,” he said, looking at Ethan. “All that tension for nothing.”
Ethan shook his head faintly, though the corner of his mouth lifted. “I wouldn’t say nothing.”
“It was worth the wait,” Liam added, his tone lighter now.
Across the table, Jocelyn sat a little straighter, her hand still loosely wrapped around her glass, her gaze fixed on Isabel in a way that carried both surprise and something softer.
Lisa didn’t sit back down immediately.
She was still holding Isabel’s hand.
“Okay, wait,” she said, looking between them again. “Since when? How long has this been a thing?”
Ethan exhaled lightly, his fingers brushing against the table before he spoke. “I’ve known for a while,” he said.
Lisa turned fully toward him. “You knew?”
Isabel blinked, her brows drawing together. “You knew?”
Ethan nodded once. “Before everything. Before the village.”
A brief silence passed.
“I wasn’t sure how to tell you,” he continued, his gaze shifting to Isabel. “Not after everything that happened. Not after how I… handled things.”
Isabel’s expression softened slightly.
“You should have just told me,” she said. “I didn’t understand what I was feeling. There was this pull… even when you were trying to avoid me.”
Ethan exhaled, rubbing the back of his neck briefly before looking at her again.
“I didn’t know how you would take it,” he said. “Not after you had already gone through so many changes to your life.”
Isabel held his gaze for a second longer.
“having new powers, reuniting with your mother and now the mate bond….” His voice trailed for a second, “It all seemed so heavy to dump on you at once.”
Isabel’s shoulders eased slightly.
“Well,” she said softly, “Avoiding me was worse.”
Another pause.
Then Ethan let out a breath, his shoulders easing slightly as if deciding not to hold anything back now.
“So I’ll ask you properly,” he said.
The table seemed to still around them.
His tone shifted—not formal, not overly serious, just honest.
“Are you okay with it?” he asked. “With… us?”
Isabel blinked once, caught off guard more by the simplicity of the question than anything else.
“You mean…” she started.
He gave a small, almost sheepish smile. “Yeah. Me. You. The bond.”
A faint warmth crept into her expression.
“You’re asking me if I’m okay dating you?” she said.
Liam let out a quiet breath that almost sounded like a laugh, quickly covering it with a sip of his drink.
Ethan’s lips curved slightly. “That’s one way to put it.”
Isabel leaned back just a little, studying him for a second longer.
“You do know you’re older than me,” she said.
Ethan raised a brow. “I’m aware.”
“And a king,” she added.
“That too.”
“And slightly intimidating,” she finished.
He tilted his head. “Only slightly?”
A faint smile pulled at her lips.
Then she leaned forward again, her gaze softening.
“You also know I have an old soul,” she said.
Ethan’s expression shifted, something lighter settling in his eyes.
“I’ve noticed,” he replied.
The moment held for a second.
Then Isabel closed the distance just enough, her hand lifting lightly to his arm as she leaned in and pressed a soft kiss against his lips.
It wasn’t long.
It didn’t need to be.
When she pulled back, the faint smile was still there.
“Then I think I’m okay with it,” she said.
A quiet breath moved through the table.
Lisa smiled, her shoulders relaxing.
Liam shook his head slightly, though the corner of his mouth lifted.
Jocelyn let out a slow breath, her posture easing as she watched them.
Beside her, Helena leaned in just slightly, her voice low enough that only Jocelyn could hear.
“Well,” she murmured, “I suppose we’ve officially moved from cellmates to in-laws.”
Jocelyn glanced at her, a small smile forming despite herself. “I suppose we have.”
Helena’s gaze lingered on the table, on the people seated around it, her expression softening in a way that felt settled.
For the first time in a long while…
Everything felt like it was finally where it belonged.