Betrayed By One. Bound To Three-Chapter 26: Bury Her.

Silas.

I had already given the order for the three rogues to be shown to proper rooms inside the pack house, and even as the words left my mouth I could feel the quiet ripple of shock among the servants who received the instruction.

Rogues were not welcomed within pack walls, let alone given chambers in the Alpha residence, yet I forced my expression into one of calm authority because I could not afford to reveal what churned beneath my skin.

The corridor to my chambers felt unnaturally long as I walked through it, each step echoing like a reminder of how the day had unraveled beyond my control.

This was not how this day had been written in my mind. By now, the elders should have placed the ceremonial markings upon me, the crown should have rested on my head, and the pack should have bowed in acknowledgment of my reign.

Instead, the halls hummed with whispers, servants exchanged wary glances, and uncertainty had replaced celebration.

All because she walked in.

Selena.

Alive.

I pushed open the door to my chambers and shut it with more force than necessary, the heavy wood slamming into place as though I could trap the chaos outside.

For a moment I stood still in the center of the room, staring at nothing, replaying the image of her entrance into the ceremonial grounds. She had not looked weak. She had not looked broken. There had been no hesitation in her posture, no tremor in her voice when she addressed the elders.

She had stood there with quiet authority, as though death itself had merely inconvenienced her.

How had she survived?

That question clawed at me with increasing intensity because I had not been careless.

That night in the forest had not been a moment of blind rage; it had been deliberate.

The moon had been veiled by thick clouds, the trees had stood as silent witnesses, and no one had followed us deep into the woods.

I had struck her repeatedly, not in panic but with calculated certainty, determined to ensure that she would not rise again to threaten everything I had worked toward.

When I left her there, unmoving on the cold forest floor, I had been certain that the Chapter of Selena was closed.

Yet this morning she stood before the entire pack without a single visible scar, her skin unmarked, her gaze clear, her voice steady.

It was not natural.

There was something I did not understand, and the unknown unsettled me more than her presence.

I was still wrestling with that realization when the door to my chambers opened without warning. I did not need to turn to know who it was because only one person in this palace would enter without permission on a day like this.

Loretta stepped inside, closing the door sharply behind her, and the fury on her face mirrored the storm inside me.

"I thought you killed her that night," she said, her voice sharp and laced with disbelief.

I turned slowly to face her, forcing my expression into controlled composure even though my hands were clenched at my sides. "I believed I had," I replied evenly, though the bitterness beneath my tone was impossible to conceal. "Until she chose to appear at my coronation."

Loretta’s breathing was uneven as she moved further into the room, her agitation evident in the way her fingers pressed unconsciously against her abdomen.

"Do you understand what this means?" she demanded. "If she remains here and postpones the marriage indefinitely, the elders will begin to question everything. And when they notice my condition, when they see that I am carrying your child, they will not be kind in their judgments."

Her anxiety grated against my already frayed control, and I turned away from her to stare out the window, forcing myself to think rather than react. "Lower your voice," I said, though my tone was colder than I intended.

She let out a frustrated breath. "I am carrying your heir, Silas. If this scandal unfolds before you secure the throne, I will be humiliated before the entire pack. They will call me shameless. They will strip me of any standing I have."

I pivoted back toward her, irritation flashing in my gaze. "Then bring me solutions instead of panic," I said sharply. "Complaints will not place the crown on my head."

Her eyes narrowed, anger replacing fear. "Do not speak to me as though this failure is mine. You assured me she would not return."

"And she should not have," I retorted, the control in my voice thinning. "I did everything necessary."

The weight of that truth settled between us in heavy silence.

Loretta studied me for a long moment before her expression shifted from outrage to calculation. "Then we correct it," she said quietly.

I watched her carefully, aware that despite her volatility, Loretta possessed a ruthless clarity when cornered. "This is not the forest," I reminded her. "The entire pack has seen her alive. Any reckless action will invite suspicion."

She stepped closer, lowering her voice further. "We were careful once. We will be more careful now. This time there will be no uncertainty, no reliance on chance, no leaving her where fate can interfere."

Her words hung in the air, deliberate and cold.

"We will bury her ourselves," she continued, her gaze unwavering.

The rage inside me began to cool into something far more dangerous than fury. Anger was impulsive, but this required patience. Precision. Strategy.

"She claims to remember nothing," I said slowly, recalling the way she had looked at me when I questioned her. There had been no accusation in her eyes, no flicker of recognition, only distance. "If that is true, then she does not yet know what happened."

Loretta’s lips curved faintly. "Then we are ahead."

I considered that carefully. If Selena truly had no memory of that night, then she posed less immediate threat, but her mere existence delayed everything I had planned.

The elders would not crown me while she stood unwed and undisposed. The pack’s loyalty would hover between us, waiting for certainty.

"And the rogues?" Loretta asked, her tone tightening slightly. "They are unpredictable."

I exhaled slowly. "They complicate matters," I admitted. "But they are temporary. The crown is not."

I walked toward the desk and rested my palms against its surface, grounding myself in thought rather than emotion. Years of planning could not unravel because she had returned unexpectedly.

I had maneuvered myself into this position with care, building trust among the elders, presenting myself as steady and capable. I would not lose everything because she had refused to die when she was meant to.

Loretta came to stand beside me, her hand brushing my arm as though to remind me what was at stake. "You will still be king," she said with quiet conviction. "And our child will inherit what is rightfully yours."

I stared ahead, my reflection faint in the polished surface of the desk, and allowed the last of my visible frustration to dissolve into resolve.

"She delayed my coronation," I said slowly, the words steady now. "She did not prevent it."

Because this time, when Selena disappeared, there would be no mystery.

No survival.

No return. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

And when it was done, the pack would have no choice but to look to me for leadership.

And I would be ready.