Jase had never cared for grand celebrations or spectacle. The lights, the noise, the expectations had always felt empty. But this was different.
Because this wasn't just any event.
This was his engagement to Celeste.
If the Luminaries wanted to celebrate, to fill the night with music and laughter, Jase would let them. Because none of it mattered. Not the gilded halls, not the chandeliers, not the guests raising their glasses to the future.
The only thing that mattered was her.
The engagement party was held in Velkan, in the grand halls of the Luminary estate. It was unlike anything Celeste had ever seen. Golden lights floated through the air, glowing softly above polished marble floors. Their reflections shimmered as they drifted, like stars caught indoors.
An enchanted glass dome arched overhead, revealing the night sky. Stars glittered above, quiet and vast, as if watching. Crystal chandeliers caught the light and scattered it across the hall, bathing everything in warmth. For a moment, Celeste felt as though she had stepped into another world.
She froze at the entrance, her breath catching as she took it all in.
"This is… beautiful." Her voice was barely above a whisper, awed, breathless.
Jase's smirk was immediate, his golden eyes locked onto her and only her. He didn't even glance at the grand display around them, at the splendor of the celebration.
"Not as beautiful as you."
Celeste flushed instantly, warmth crawling up her neck, but she nudged him playfully, shaking her head. "You can't say that every time."
Jase leaned in, his lips brushing against the shell of her ear, his voice low, teasing, utterly possessive.
"Watch me."
Her heart fluttered, unraveled, tumbled helplessly at the promise in his words. Because even in a room filled with powerful Luminaries, surrounded by opulence and spectacle—
The only person she could feel was him.
*****
The night passed in a blur of congratulations, smiles, and clinking glasses. Laughter and quiet conversation filled the hall, wrapped in the soft glow of golden lights. Celeste struggled to keep up with it all, the kind words, the gentle touches, the feeling of being watched not as an outsider, but as someone who belonged.
Jase's parents approached with calm grace, but there was warmth in their expressions. His mother, Seraphine, surprised Celeste by drawing close and pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead. The gesture was simple, but it carried clear acceptance.
"Welcome to the family, Celeste."
Her eyes shone with warmth so sincere it settled deep in Celeste's chest. She had spent so long feeling like an outsider, caught between two worlds that never fully claimed her. And yet here, they were choosing her. Not for what she had done or what she might become, but simply for who she was.
Jase's father, Adrian stood beside her, his stance firm, his presence steady. He didn't need grand displays of emotion to make his meaning clear. When he spoke, his words carried a quiet, unshaken certainty.
"You have always been one of us."
The words settled over her like a quiet truth she had never allowed herself to hope for. Warmth spread through her, unfamiliar but steady. She had always lived between two worlds, never fully part of either. But standing there now, she felt it clearly. She belonged.
Then, Seraphine stepped forward, her expression softer than Celeste had ever seen it. "There's something you should know."
Celeste blinked, confused, but Seraphine's gaze was steady, unwavering. "There's more to your story, Celeste. More to your parents than just their love. And more to your past than you remember."
Adrian stepped beside her, his own expression unreadable, though there was something knowing in his golden eyes. "Lucian and Evelyne didn't just love each other," he said, his voice even. "They risked everything to be together. Your father wasn't just a strong Luminary, he was one of the greatest warriors of our kind, a leader who defied the old ways because he believed in something greater. And your mother… She's different from any Mortalis that I have seen. She was my good friend."
Celeste swallowed hard, absorbing the weight of their words. She had spent years trying to piece together fragments of who her parents had been, but this painted them as more than just a tragic love story.
Seraphine smiled softly, tilting her head slightly as she studied Celeste. "They were determined to protect you, to give you the life they knew you deserved. But before they brought you to Alas, before they made the decision to keep you hidden…" She hesitated for a moment, then exhaled, her voice gentle but sure. "You and Jase used to live together for a short period after you were born."
Celeste stiffened. "What?"
Jase, who had been standing beside her in silence, suddenly went still. His golden eyes flickered with something she couldn't quite place, something unreadable.
Seraphine nodded. "When your mum found out that she was pregnant, she stayed with us till she gave birth to you. Your mum was very close to Jase too. You and Jase were together before either of you could even remember it."
Celeste's mind reeled, images flashing through her thoughts and the memories she didn't have but suddenly ached for.
Jase cleared his throat, his voice lower than usual. "I don't… remember much," he admitted. "But I do remember always feeling like something was missing when you left."
The quiet truth in his words struck something deep inside her, an ache she couldn't explain.
Seraphine gave her a small smile, almost wistful. "Your parents didn't want to leave you, Celeste. They wanted you to be safe. They wanted to keep you hidden long enough to give you a chance at something… normal."
Celeste exhaled, pressing her lips together, a wave of emotion rising in her chest. She had spent her whole life feeling like she was chasing something like belonging, identity, and understanding. And now, piece by piece, she was learning that she had already had it. That it had existed in a time before she could remember, with people who had loved her enough to protect her, to sacrifice everything just to give her a future.
And Jase… Jase had been part of that.
She turned to him, her gaze searching his, looking for something,a thread of recognition, a connection that had always been there, even if they had never known.
He met her gaze, quiet and steady. And then he reached for her hand, lacing his fingers through hers, his touch warm, grounding.
"It makes sense," he murmured.
Celeste tilted her head. "What does?"
In that moment, as his words sank in and his touch steadied her, Celeste saw what she had never dared to expect. Even the elders, who had once doubted her place as the Eclipse Child, met her gaze with quiet approval. It was more than acceptance. It belonged.
It was a moment she knew she would never forget.
Then Lucas lifted his glass. His signature cocky smirk played on his lips as he raised it high, his tone light, yet filled with undeniable truth.
"To Celeste who somehow managed to tame the great Jase."
Laughter rippled through the hall, the easy kind, the kind that carried genuine joy. Jase rolled his eyes, shaking his head, but the smirk tugging at the corner of his lips betrayed his amusement.
Amy, standing beside Lucas, lifted her own glass, eyes dancing with mischief.
"And to Jase for finally finding his soulmate."
Jase's gaze flickered toward Celeste then, and for a moment, it was as if the room faded into nothing as if it was just them. His golden eyes softened, glowing with something deeper, something unbreakable.
He exhaled softly, tilting his glass toward her, his voice lower now, intimate in a way that sent warmth curling through her.
"Yeah," he murmured, the word heavy with meaning.
His gaze never wavered.
"To my mate. My forever."
Celeste's chest tightened, emotions swelling like an unstoppable tide.
With a trembling smile, she lifted her glass, clinking it gently against his.
And in that moment, she knew.
This was where she was meant to be.
*****
Hours later, after the guests had long since departed and the golden glow of the grand hall had faded into quiet intimacy, Jase led Celeste through the dimly lit corridors to their private suite. The celebration was over, but the night was far from ending. The soft click of the door shutting behind them sent a shiver of anticipation through Celeste, the weight of the moment pressing around them like a silent promise.
And then the air changed.
Charged. Heated. Different.
Celeste barely had time to process it before she found herself pinned against the wall, her breath catching as Jase caged her in, his golden eyes dark, smoldering, heavy with need.
Her pulse skipped, stuttered, raced.
"Jase—"
His fingers trailed slowly down her spine, each brush of his touch igniting a fire beneath her skin, sending warmth pooling low in her stomach. His breath, warm, ragged, ghosted over her lips, so close, so unbearably close.
"Do you have any idea," he murmured, voice low, rough, dangerously intimate, "how hard it was to not touch you all night?"
Celeste shivered, her fingers clutching the fabric of his suit, her body thrumming with awareness as her heart pounded a frantic rhythm against her ribs.
"You seemed fine," she tried to tease, but her voice came out weaker than intended, breathier, betraying her.
Jase's smirk deepened, triumphant, satisfied, because they both knew the truth. He had not been fine.
Not with the way she had looked tonight, standing beside him, wearing his ring, belonging to him in every way that mattered.
His hand slid to her waist, his grip firm, possessive, his lips hovering just over hers, teasing, taunting, his breath a whisper of heat against her already burning skin.
"I was not fine," he admitted, voice strained with restraint he no longer wished to hold onto.
And then before she could respond, he kissed her deep and slow.
Celeste melted into him, her fingers threading into his hair, pulling him closer, needing more, needing everything. Jase let out a soft, guttural groan, pressing his body flush against hers, the warmth of him searing into her, imprinting, consuming.
He broke away—but only just. His lips brushed against hers, still close enough that she could feel every shaky breath, every quiet restraint he was barely clinging to.
"Say it again."
Celeste blinked, dazed, her mind still spinning. "Say what?"
Jase's smirk deepened, but his touch was reverent, his mouth tracing a slow, deliberate path down her jaw, to the delicate curve of her neck. His lips found the sensitive spot beneath her ear, where he placed a lingering, heated kiss.
"That you're mine."
Celeste's entire body responded, heat rushing through her at the way he said it. Not a demand. Not a request. But a need. A truth. An unshakable, inescapable truth.
She exhaled, slowly, deliberately, as her fingers trailed down the buttons of his suit. One by one, she undid them, parting the fabric, revealing the warmth of his skin, the strength beneath her fingertips.
"I've always been yours."
Jase groaned, low and desperate, and then—the last thread of his patience snapped.
In one swift motion, he lifted her effortlessly, his hands gripping her thighs as she instinctively wrapped her legs around his waist. Her breath hitched, her body molding against his perfectly, naturally, as if she had been made for this, made for him.
Her fingers traced over his chest, his shoulders, down his arms, memorizing him all over again, as if she didn't already know every part of him by heart.
"You're staring," Jase muttered, his voice rough, thick, already unraveling.
Celeste blushed, but her eyes never wavered, never strayed from him.
"So?"
Jase's golden gaze darkened, his grip on her tightening, his body tensed beneath her touch, barely holding on.
"So, you're going to drive me insane."
Celeste smiled against his skin, her lips pressing softly to the pulse at his throat, feeling it race, knowing she was the reason for it.
Jase moved effortlessly, carrying her across the dimly lit suite, his grip tight, secure, unyielding, as if the thought of letting her go had never once crossed his mind. His breathing was uneven, his pulse a frantic rhythm beneath her fingertips, matching the way her heart pounded against her ribs.
The moment her back met the soft mattress, Jase hovered above her, his golden eyes burning, devouring her. He braced himself with one arm, his other hand trailing slowly, deliberately, down her waist, his fingers spanning her ribs, teasing the sensitive skin beneath his touch. His body was warm, solid, pressing against hers but still holding back, still waiting.
Celeste's breath hitched, her hands already moving, already exploring, pushing his suit jacket from his shoulders, sliding over the hard muscles of his arms, the warmth of his skin searing into her palms. Jase let out a slow, unsteady exhale, his restraint hanging by a thread.
"You keep looking at me like that," he murmured, voice rough, hoarse, his thumb brushing the curve of her hip, "and I'm going to forget how to be gentle."
Celeste shivered, her body arching slightly into his touch, into the warmth of him, into the fire that had been simmering between them for far too long.
"Maybe," she whispered, eyes dark with longing, need, love, "I don't want you to be gentle."
Jase stilled.
The breath between them thickened, heavy with meaning, with unspoken promises that neither of them needed to voice.
Then, slowly, Jase leaned in, his lips hovering just over hers, teasing, torturous, his breath fanning across her already burning skin.
"You're playing with fire, sweetheart," he murmured, his voice so low, so wrecked, it sent a shiver down her spine.
Celeste smirked, hands trailing lower, her fingertips brushing over his bare abdomen, feeling every tense muscle beneath her touch.
"Then burn me," she whispered.
Jase snapped.
His lips crashed onto hers, the last remnants of restraint shattering as his hands gripped her waist, pulling her flush against him. Celeste gasped into his mouth, her fingers tangling into his hair, holding onto him like he was the only thing keeping her grounded.
Jase was everywhere, his touch, his scent, the heat of his body pressing into hers, the quiet groan that rumbled in his chest as she kissed him deeper, harder, needier.
He kissed her like he was trying to consume her, like he wanted to make sure she never forgot that she was his.
Celeste arched beneath him, her body aching for more, for everything, her hands sliding over his shoulders, down his back, memorizing every inch of him.
Jase pulled away just enough to look at her, his lips kiss-swollen, his breathing unsteady, his golden eyes dark with unrestrained hunger.
"I love you," he whispered, raw, unguarded, honest.
Celeste's heart clenched, warmth spreading through her chest, stronger than desire, deeper than passion.
"I love you too," she breathed.
And then, as Jase tangled his fingers with hers, pressing another slow, searing kiss to her lips, they became one.