"So you both agree with the idea of me having all three of you as my mates?" Lilian asked, still unsure of what she was getting into, even though it felt right for her. A quadruple love?
"Yes," Dante and Adrian replied at the same time.
"We all agree with that," Lucien said.
Hearing that they were all proposing to her made her feel overjoyed, yet at the same time she also felt uncomfortable.
"I want to believe what you're saying," Lilian said quietly, looking at each of their eyes in turn. "But this goes against everything I was taught as a human. One person, one partner, and one love. What you're asking me to accept~"
"We're not asking you to blindly accept it," Dante interrupted, looking at her with dark intense eyes. "We want you to confirm it to yourself. To look at the evidence with your own eyes."
"Evidence?" Lilian repeated, her brow furrowed in confusion.
"You're worried this is a game, that we might be manipulating you just to sleep with you," Lucien said bluntly with his usual lack of a filter, leaning lazily against the doorframe. "Or using the mate bond thing as an excuse to share you between us. I can smell your doubt, gorgeous."
Heat rushed to her face. "I didn't say that~"
"You didn't have to," Adrian said gently as he moved closer and sat on the edge of her bed. "We can sense it through the bonds we've already started to form. Your fear that this might not be real, that we might be taking advantage of your inexperience. That was why we said to distance ourselves from you. It's just… we couldn't afford to see your confusions during your whole training."
"And honestly, that's smart," Dante added, surprising her. "You should be skeptical and demand proof before agreeing to something regarding your eternity."
"We're going to show you the historical evidence that divine hybrids need a few mates to survive," Lucien said, pushing off the doorframe and moving into the room.
Lilian's heart pounded as she looked between them, still in confusion. "What kind of evidence are we talking about?"
"Documents, research, the firsthand accounts from divine hybrids who came before you. Studies, journals, statistics. Everything," Dante replied, already turning toward the door.
"Now?" Lilian asked, standing from the bed. "You want to show me all of that now?"
"Unless you'd prefer we keep trying to convince you with words," Adrian said with a slight smile. "But I think you need to see the truth yourself."
Lilian was silent for a moment. She wanted to refuse and ask for more time to breathe, but she was also curious about how her body, or more precisely, her hormones, went wild every time these vampires came close to her.
"Okay. Show me," she said, bracing herself as she stood.
The tension in the room shifted with renewed energy. Dante looked satisfied by her decisiveness, while Adrian's smile widened with gentle encouragement. Behind them, Lucien's green eyes lit up with proud.
"Follow me," Dante directed, already leading the way out.
They left her bedroom and walked together through the estate's corridors. Lilian realized they were heading toward the library.
She hadn't been in this place for long, but she still remembered the way. "This is the library where Dante taught me the basics of transformation…" Lilian muttered as they stopped before the familiar double doors.
"You've seen the public section," Dante corrected, pushing open the doors. "What we're about to show you is something very few have ever been allowed to see."
The library was just as she remembered, towering shelves, rolling ladders, and the rich scent of paper and leather. It was impressive, but she still couldn't fathom why it required this kind of dramatic buildup.
Dante walked past the main collections without slowing and stopped at the far wall, in front of what Lilian had assumed was nothing more than decorative oak paneling.
"The Blackwood lineage has collecting and preserving vampire history for over two thousand years," Dante explained, his hand hovering over a specific carved symbol in the wood. "Most of that knowledge is public, available to any vampire who wishes to study. But some records are too dangerous, too controversial, or too valuable to share openly."
He pressed his palm against the specific pattern on the carving, and a muted click echoed through the room as a hidden mechanical lock disengaging.
"Secret passages," she muttered as an entire section of the wall swung inward to reveal darkness beyond.
"The estate is over four hundred years old," Adrian said from behind her. "We've had plenty of time to add improvements."
Lucien stood beside her, close enough that she could feel the coolness radiating from his skin. "Most vampires don't even know this archive exists," he said quietly, his voice dropping into a serious tone. "What we're about to show you is knowledge that could change everything if it fell into the wrong hands."
"Then why show me?" Lilian asked, looking at him and meeting his gaze.
His green eyes met hers with an intensity that made her breath catch. "Because you need to know the truth, and make your choice based on facts, not just our word. And because…" he said, reaching out to gently brush a strand of hair behind her ear, "…you're already one of us, whether you're ready to admit it or not."
Ahead of them, Dante had already descended the first few steps of a narrow stone staircase that spiraled downward into the earth. As he moved, the motion-sensor lights flickered, illuminating the way.
"Are you coming?" he called back, his voice floated up, echoing slightly in the confined space.
Lilian stepped through the hidden doorway with Adrian and Lucien followed close behind as the entrance sealed shut above them. The stairs spiraled down and down until she lost track of how deep beneath the estate they had descended.
With every step, the air grew colder, carrying scents that her enhanced vampire picked up. The ancient parchment, preserved leather, stones.
At last, the staircase opened into a vast underground chamber that stole Lilian's breath.