Betrayed By One. Bound To Three-Chapter 76: You are not alone.

Selena pressed her hands together in her lap, her gaze dropping to the blanket beneath her. The forest was quiet now, the echoes of the warriors’ departure fading into the night. She drew a slow breath and finally spoke, her voice low but steady.

"I have always felt indebted to Silas," she began. "Years ago, he saved me from being killed by rogues. I believed he was loyal—to me, to my family, to the kingdom. I gave him my loyalty freely. I never imagined he was a snake, waiting for the moment to strike, to sting me when I least expected it."

Her voice trembled slightly, but she kept her gaze fixed on the dark treeline, as though the trees themselves had ears.

"After my father died, I trusted him even more. He stood beside me at my father’s funeral. He held my hand while I buried him. I remember thinking... at least I still had him. I placed the kingdom in his hands—and his father’s—without question."

Kael, Edris, and Ronan listened, their expressions unreadable, though their bodies leaned forward slightly, bracing for what came next.

"That illusion," Selena continued, "died the first time he betrayed me. In my first life, he pushed me from a mountain on the night of our wedding. I remember the look on his face when I fell. Not anger. Not hesitation. Just certainty. He wanted me dead. And that was when I found out—Loretta was his true mate. She was carrying his child. All those years, I had been blind."

She paused, swallowing. "When I woke up this time, I realized that time had shifted. I was two weeks away from my wedding, and I had no idea how long his betrayal had been hidden from me."

Edris’s jaw tightened. Kael’s hands flexed at his sides. Ronan’s lips pressed into a thin line. None of them spoke, but their silence pressed against her like the weight of the forest.

Selena’s voice became firmer. "I found a file. It contained some things that might have happened on the day I was attacked. Three young pack members were exiled.

Their names wiped clean. I don’t know who they are. I wanted to find them, to know the truth. To know what really happened on that day."

The triplets exchanged looks. Concern, confusion, and barely controlled frustration passed silently between them. They said nothing, waiting for her to continue.

"But before I could learn more," she went on, "Silas came after me. He tried to kill me in the woods. I would have died if the three of you hadn’t come. You saved me."

Kael’s hand moved slightly, brushing against hers in quiet reassurance. Edris’s dark eyes glimmered with intensity. Ronan’s jaw was rigid, but his stance softened slightly, a shield around her even without words.

Kael finally spoke, his voice low and steady. "And what now? What do you plan to do, Selena?"

Selena’s gaze lifted, her green eyes hard and sharp. "On my wedding day," she said, "I will expose him. In front of the pack. On the mountain. Everyone will see how much of a monster he truly is. How he betrayed me. How he tried to kill me. How he exiled innocent pack members without cause."

She leaned forward slightly, her fingers tightening in the blanket. "That day, I will strip him of every shred of respect the pack has for him. Every lie he’s built, every honor he’s claimed, gone. I will show the world exactly what he is. And when I am done, he will have nothing left to stand on—not power, not loyalty, not even his name."

Selena’s voice faded, the weight of her words settling into the quiet around them. The forest seemed to listen, the night holding still as if even the wind did not dare interrupt what had just been said.

For a moment, none of the brothers spoke.

Kael was the first to move. He stepped closer, his hand reaching for hers, holding it firmly, as if to ground her. "You should have told us sooner," he said quietly, though there was no anger in his voice. Only concern. "You carried all of this alone."

Edris nodded, his gaze steady on her. "But you are not alone now. Not anymore."

Ronan’s eyes were dark, his expression firm. "Silas will answer for what he has done. We will make sure of it."

Selena looked at them, one after the other, something soft breaking through the strength in her expression. "Thank you," she said, her voice quieter now. "For believing me. For standing with me."

Kael tightened his hold on her hand slightly. "There was never a question."

She let out a small breath, one that seemed to carry more than just words. "I really thought I was going to die," she admitted. "That night at the healer house... after I found out he had been poisoning me, everything made sense. The weakness, the pain, the way my body kept failing me. I thought it was just illness."

Her fingers curled slightly against Kael’s hand.

"But it was him," she continued. "All along. I thought I was going to die in the fields again."

Her voice dropped, almost lost to the quiet around them. "Maybe I would have, if you had not come when you did..."

She did not finish the sentence.

She did not have to.

The silence that followed was heavy, filled with everything she did not say.

Kael’s jaw tightened. Edris’s hand curled into a fist at his side. Ronan looked away for a brief moment, his breathing slow but controlled.

Then soft footsteps approached.

All four of them turned.

The healer stepped into view, her presence calm but firm. She had been watching from a distance, though it was unclear how much she had heard.

Selena straightened slightly. "You’re still awake," the healer said, her eyes scanning her carefully.

Selena gave a small nod. "I am. And... thank you. For saving me."

The healer shook her head gently. "I did nothing," she replied. "The ones you should thank are them." She gestured toward the triplets. "They went out of their way to make sure you lived. Without them, you would not be here."

Selena’s gaze shifted back to the brothers, something deeper settling in her chest.

"I know," she said softly.

The healer was quiet for a moment, then her expression changed slightly, something more distant settling in her eyes.

"I will be leaving tonight," she said.

Selena blinked. "Leaving?"

The healer nodded. "I need to find another pack. Somewhere far from here. I will start over."

Selena frowned, confusion crossing her face. "Why would you leave?"

The healer let out a quiet breath. "Because no one defies Silas and continues to live peacefully in his pack," she said simply. "And he already knows I helped you. It will not take long before he comes for me."

The words settled heavily.

Selena shook her head almost immediately. "His pack? The pack was never his and will never be. You will not leave," she said. "You will stay. I will protect you."

The healer looked at her, something almost sad in her expression. "You do not understand," she said gently. "You may be the princess, but you are still a woman. And in this pack, a woman’s words do not carry much weight. Not against someone like Silas."

The truth of it hung in the air, sharp and undeniable.

Before Selena could respond, Kael stepped forward.

"If she says you will be protected," he said, his voice calm but firm, "then you will be protected." 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Edris moved beside him, his presence just as steady. "You will not stand alone. Not against Silas. Not against anyone."

Ronan’s gaze locked onto the healer. "Stay," he said simply. "You will be under our protection too."

The healer hesitated.

Her eyes moved between them, searching, weighing their words.

"You would risk that?" she asked quietly.

Kael did not even pause. "Yes."

Edris nodded once. "Without question."

Ronan’s voice was low, but certain. "You saved her. That is enough."

Silence followed.

The healer’s fingers tightened in her sleeves, her gaze dropping briefly—as though weighing fear against something she had not felt in a long time.

Then slowly, the healer let out a breath, her shoulders easing just slightly. "Very well," she said at last. "I will stay. For now."

Selena’s expression softened, relief flickering across her face.

"Thank you," she said.

The healer gave a small nod but said nothing more.

The quiet returned again, though this time it felt different. Lighter, but still carrying the weight of everything that had been set into motion.

Edris glanced at Selena, studying her carefully.

"You are stronger now," he said. "I can feel it."

Selena tilted her head slightly. "I am," she admitted. "Better than I ever felt for as long as I can remember."

A small smile touched Edris’s lips. "Then maybe it is time."

Kael raised a brow. "Time for what?"

Edris looked back at Selena. "To remind yourself who you are," he said. "Would you like to shift? Take a run through the woods?"

For a brief moment, the silence between them felt like the calm before something far more dangerous.

Then something bright flickered in her eyes as a real smile spread across her face.

"Yes," she said. "I would like that."