(Hazel POV)
I could not stop staring at myself in the mirror.
The wedding dress was already prepared.
White silk layered with faint silver thread that shimmered whenever I moved.
Bella said I looked "dangerously pretty."
Klara said I looked "like a queen about to ruin men's lives."
Sera said nothing—she just nodded once, which apparently meant approval.
Still…
I did not feel like a queen.
I felt like someone standing at the edge of a life she could never undo.
A knock came.
I already knew who it was before the door opened.
Ryan.
He stepped in quietly.
No Alpha aura.
No dominance.
Just him.
His eyes landed on me and stayed there.
For a long moment, he didn't speak.
Then—
"You're still awake."
I nodded.
"I don't think sleep is allowed anymore."
That earned a faint smile from him.
He crossed the room slowly.
Carefully.
Like I might disappear if he moved too fast.
Then he stopped behind me.
In the mirror, I saw him watching me.
Not the dress.
Not the ceremony.
Me.
"I spoke to Lucifer," he said.
I blinked.
"That sounds… concerning."
"It was."
I turned slightly.
"Should I be worried?"
He shook his head.
"No."
Then he added—
"Just informed."
I narrowed my eyes.
"That's never just 'informed' with you people."
Ryan exhaled a quiet laugh.
True.
He moved closer.
His voice lowered.
"There will be no interruptions tomorrow."
"That was the agreement."
I studied him.
"And Lucifer agreed?"
Ryan nodded.
Then hesitated.
"…conditionally."
I sighed.
"Of course."
He watched me for a second longer.
Then—
his expression softened.
"I want to ask you something."
I felt my stomach tighten.
"Okay…"
Ryan stepped closer again.
So close I could feel his warmth.
Not Alpha.
Not warrior.
Just man.
"I know tomorrow is ceremony," he said quietly.
"But I don't want tomorrow to be the first time I tell you this properly."
My breath slowed.
"Tell me what?"
His hand lifted—hovering near my cheek, not touching yet.
As if asking permission even now.
"I don't just want to claim you," he said.
"I don't just want to protect you."
His eyes darkened slightly.
"I want a life that doesn't end when prophecy does."
Silence.
Heavy.
Then—
"I want mornings where you argue with me over coffee."
"I want nights where you fall asleep before I finish talking."
A faint smile tugged at my lips.
"I don't fall asleep that fast."
"You do with me."
Rude.
But accurate.
He leaned in slightly.
"And I want children who inherit your stubbornness and my bad temper."
That made my heart stutter.
I didn't expect that.
Not from him.
Not like this.
Ryan's voice softened even more.
"I want Scott," he murmured.
The name hit differently.
As if it already existed somewhere in the future.
I swallowed.
"You already named him?"
A rare, almost shy look crossed his face.
"…Maybe."
I laughed softly.
Then it faded.
Because something in me understood—
he wasn't speaking fantasy.
He was speaking certainty.
A future he had already decided to survive for.
My fingers found his sleeve.
"Ryan…"
He finally touched my face.
Warm.
Steady.
"I don't want tomorrow to be a contract between worlds," he said.
"I want it to be the beginning of everything we actually choose."
My chest tightened.
"I choose you," I whispered.
His eyes softened completely.
"I know."
Then—
he pressed his forehead to mine.
And for a long time, neither of us moved.
Outside the room, the mansion was chaos again.
Bella was yelling about decorations.
Nick was arguing with witches.
Klara was threatening someone about flower arrangements.
Even Lucifer was somehow involved in final ceremony arrangements, which should have been illegal in every universe.
But inside this room…
there was only silence.
Only us.
Until Ryan finally stepped back.
His voice was quiet.
"Rest."
I gave him a look.
"I thought sleep was cancelled."
"It is."
Then he added—
"But I want you rested when you become mine tomorrow."
My face instantly betrayed me.
"Stop saying things like that so calmly."
He smirked.
"I am not calm."
I blinked.
That was new.
He leaned closer one last time.
"I am barely holding myself together."
And then he left.
Just like that.
Leaving me alone with a future that suddenly felt too close.
Later that night, I went outside to the balcony.
The sky was endless.
Stars sharp.
Wind cold.
I held my ring tighter.
Tomorrow.
Everything changed tomorrow.
But for the first time…
I wasn't afraid.
Because somewhere inside me—
I knew Ryan was right.
This wasn't an ending.
It was the beginning of something that would not break.
Even fate would have to learn that.