Betrayed By One. Bound To Three

Selena.

The night air outside the cave was cooler than it had been all day, carrying a quiet stillness that settled over everything like a warning.

The fire burned low, its glow stretching just far enough to light the space where the triplets stood, their voices low, controlled, and meant only for each other.

I stayed inside at first, moving quietly as I prepared their food, my hands steady out of habit even though my thoughts refused to settle.

Their voices carried faintly through the cave walls, not clear enough to make out every word, but enough to remind me that I was not part of whatever existed between them anymore.

Outside, Edris stood with his arms folded, his gaze fixed on nothing in particular, but there was something heavier in his expression than usual, something that did not quite match the sharp certainty he carried during the day.

"I have been thinking about Silas," he said after a while, his voice calm but thoughtful in a way that made Kael glance at him.

Kael shifted slightly, his attention sharpening. "What about him?"

Edris exhaled slowly, his jaw tightening just enough to show that whatever he was thinking about had been sitting with him for a while.

"I still believe she deserves everything she is getting," he said, and even without saying my name, I knew exactly who he meant. "Her father built that kingdom on blood. He ruined lives. Ours included."

Ronan gave a quiet nod, his posture relaxed but his eyes focused.

"But?" Kael asked, because he could hear it too, the part Edris had not said yet.

Edris’s gaze darkened slightly.

"But I do not think Silas deserves that throne."

The words settled between them, heavier than the silence that followed.

Ronan let out a quiet breath, something almost like agreement slipping through before he spoke.

"He doesn’t," he said. "If anyone deserves to sit on that throne, it should be us."

Kael did not respond immediately, but his expression shifted, more serious now, more deliberate.

"Our parents were killed by the late king after they were promised a land of their own," Ronan continued, his voice steady, but there was something deeper beneath it now, something that had not faded with time. "And since our parent never got the land that was promised to them, it is only fair that we take over. Especially since everything we have lost traces back to that."

Edris nodded once, slow and certain.

"And we are not getting any younger," Ronan added, his tone quieter now, more grounded in something real. "We cannot stay like this forever. Moving from place to place. Living like this. I am sure our parents wouldn’t like that."

Kael’s gaze flickered briefly, thoughtful.

"We need something stable," Ronan went on. "A place that is ours. Somewhere we can build something that lasts."

There was a brief pause before he added, more quietly, "A home. A place to raise pups."

That was what made Kael finally shift.

He looked between his brother, his expression unreadable, but there was no dismissing what Ronan had said. It lingered in the air, heavier than anything else.

"I understand that," Kael said slowly. "But taking the throne from Silas is not something we can just decide to do."

Edris’s jaw tightened slightly.

"It is not just Silas we would be fighting," Kael continued. "The elders already believe we had something to do with Loretta’s death."

Ronan’s expression darkened at that, his hand curling slightly at his side.

"Because he made them believe it," he said.

Kael did not disagree.

"And that means we are not just rogues to them," he added. "We are a threat. If we move too soon, we will not just be fighting for a throne. We will be hunted."

Edris’s gaze hardened, but there was no hesitation in his voice.

"Then we clear our names first."

Kael looked at him.

"We find a way to prove what really happened," Edris continued. "We take that from him. Then we take everything else."

Silence followed, but it was not uncertainty.

It was calculation.

I wanted to come out to tell them that I was willing to help them take the throne from Silas. I was willing to stand before the elders and testify but the fact that they might not want my help keep me rooted to the stop I was.

Ronan shifted slightly, his gaze dropping for a moment before lifting again, more thoughtful now.

"And after that?" he asked.

Edris frowned faintly. "After what?"

Ronan held his gaze.

"If we take the throne... if we build something stable..." he said slowly, "are we actually planning to take another mate?"

The question settled heavier than the ones before it.

For the first time, none of them answered immediately.

Kael’s expression stilled.

Edris looked away briefly, his jaw tightening.

Because there was only one truth beneath that question.

Selena.

Me.

"She is our mate," Ronan added quietly, not as a reminder, but as a fact that could not be ignored. "Whether we like it or not."

Kael’s gaze shifted slightly, distant for a moment, as though he were considering something he did not want to fully face.

Edris was the first to speak, his voice firmer now, cutting through whatever silence had started to build.

"That is not something we need to decide right now."

Ronan did not look convinced.

Edris’s expression hardened slightly.

"We focus on the throne," he continued. "We take back what was ours. Everything else..." he paused briefly, then finished, "we will deal with it when the time comes."

It was not an answer.

But it was enough.

For now.

Inside the cave, I stood quietly, holding the tray in my hands as their voices faded back into silence, their conversation settling into something I was not meant to hear.

I stepped outside slowly, keeping my gaze lowered as I approached them.

None of them spoke as I set the food down.

None of them looked at me at first.

I did not wait.

I turned and walked back toward the cave, my steps quiet, measured, as though I had learned how to exist without drawing attention.

Behind me, Kael’s gaze followed for a moment longer than the others.

Then he looked away.

Silence settled again, broken only by the quiet movement of them sitting down to eat.

For a while, none of them spoke.

Then Kael exhaled softly, his voice lower now, more thoughtful than before.

"Do you ever feel guilty?"

Ronan glanced at him.

"For what?" he asked, though he already knew.

Kael did not look up from the food in front of him.

"The way we treat her."

The question lingered.

Ronan leaned back slightly, considering it, his expression unreadable for a moment.

"Rarely," he said honestly. "But there are times..." he paused, his gaze drifting briefly toward the cave entrance, "when I wonder what she actually did to make us hate her this much."

Edris did not hesitate.

"She did nothing," he said.

Ronan looked at him.

Edris’s expression did not change.

"But her father did," he continued. "And she carries that whether she wants to or not."

There was no anger in his voice.

No hesitation.

Just certainty.

"I have thought about it," he added, more quietly now. "More than once."

Kael glanced at him.

"But I do not stay there," Edris said. "Because it changes nothing."

Ronan’s jaw tightened slightly, but he did not argue.

Edris looked toward the cave briefly, his gaze unreadable.

"She is paying for her father’s sins," he said. "And that is enough."

Kael said nothing.

But for a moment longer than necessary, his attention remained on the cave behind them.

And then, slowly, he looked away.