Betrayed By One. Bound To Three Chapter 8: The Triplet

Selena.

The cool air outside brushes against my skin as I move closer to where they are. I am a little nervous and not exactly sure how to act around them.

Not while I’m painfully aware of how short the shirt I’m wearing is. Not while all the mocking voices of my pack mbers rang in my head.

I pause just beyond the threshold, my hands loose at my sides, taking in the n before , one by one. My chest flutters with sothing I cannot na.

Ronan turns first. His attention sharpens the mont he sees , and his expression eases as if sothing inside him settles. Relief, perhaps, or recognition.

Beside him stands another man, similar in build but carrying a very different energy. His posture is relaxed, his gaze openly curious, sweeping over without sha.

The third stands slightly apart from the others.

He is taller. Broader. Older. His arms are crossed, his stance rigid, his attention fixed sowhere beyond .

"Guys, et Selena, our mate," Ronan says.

The middle one steps forward. "Kael," he introduces himself with an easy smile. "And the silent one over there is my brother, Edris. He forgets manners whenever he sees a pretty girl." He teased.

"You talk too much," the third replies calmly.

That is when he looks at .

Only briefly. But it is enough.

His eyes are dark and assessing, sharp in a way that makes my chest tighten. There is no warmth there. No curiosity. Only calculation.

Sothing about him unsettles , but I do not linger on it.

Ronan gestures toward a fallen log nearby. "Sit," he says. "Did you enjoy your breakfast?"

"Yeah, it was nice. Thank you," I say.

"Well, you should be thanking him," he says, pointing to Edris. "He made the food."

I look toward him, but his gaze does not et mine.

I lower myself onto the log, subconsciously pulling my shirt to cover my thighs.

Kael drops beside easily, close enough that his knee brushes mine. "You’re shy," he says, smiling softly. "We’ll fix that."

Ronan chuckles. "Give her ti."

My eyes wander to Edris, who remains standing, a few steps away, his attention outward, watchful. He does not join us. He does not look away from the trees.

Kael leans closer and whispers. "He is not unfriendly," he murmurs. "Just a little overprotective."

Ronan nods. "We all are. In different ways."

Ronan shifts slightly closer to my side. Not touching , but close enough that I feel his presence like quiet reassurance.

"I want to thank you guys for saving and bringing here. Even though I don’t rember how I got here," I say.

"We found you badly injured in the woods," Ronan says.

Flashes of what had happened the night before hits again without warning.

this ti, I saw his face his cold face.

Silas.

My breath stills for a fraction of a second. How could I have ever believed the man I loved was incapable of killing ? Of leaving my body behind for the forest to claim?

Kael’s gaze sharpens. "Who did this to you? Who dared to lay his hands on what is ours?"

I lift my eyes to his.

I do not see judgnt there. Only concern. A readiness to act.

That makes the choice harder.

"I do not rember," I say.

The lie cos easily. Too easily. I tell myself I do not need to tell anyone about him. He was my problem. Not theirs.

To be honest, I was yet to really understand what was going on. It is true that the three of them are my mates. I feel their bond—the pull of it.

But, sothing didn’t feel right, though I couldn’t exactly tell what it was.

Kael studies for a long mont, then glances at Ronan before returning his gaze to .

"All the bruises on your face and head are gone. Do you usually heal this fast?" he asks.

My hand subconsciously touches my face and feels nothing, only a dull ache at the back of my head that still lingers.

"We heard you were wolfless," Kael continues. "Yet here you are without a single mark after being gruesoly attacked. What kind of magic did you use?"

"I do have a wolf," I say quietly. "She’s just dormant."

A sharp scoff rattles inside my mind.

"How dare you call dormant?" my wolf hisses, irritation dripping from her ntal voice. "I should have just let you die out there!"

I roll my eyes under my lashes. "You actually did. And newsflash—you would have been dead too."

"You are unbelievable," she growls, though I catch the edge of amusent in the reprimand.

Kael’s expression flickers. "If your wolf were truly dormant, you would have been dead within minutes."

"Yes. Finally. Soone with an actual brain," my wolf whines.

"And she howled to us for help," Ronan adds.

"She did?" I ask, unable to hide my surprise.

"I think she is a special wolf. You just haven’t trained her to co under your command." Kael says.

I do not argue. I let the silence answer for .

The eldest steps forward at last. His presence shifts the space around us, grounding it, sharpening it. He looks directly at now, his gaze steady and unflinching.

"Why were you alone in the woods with no guards?" he asks.

My throat tightens.

"I... I do not know," I say, swallowing past the lump that suddenly rises in my throat. "I was actually surprised to see myself here when I woke up."

Ronan smiles, a faint warmth threading through his sharp features.

"You slept through the ride. We carried you. I an—he carried you," he says, gesturing to Edris.

I study him, my heart lifting with the small reassurance. My wolf hums beneath my ribs, excited now, twitching with the bond already weaving itself tighter.

Maybe he wasn’t as cold as he wanted to believe.

"Thank you," I say to him.

But instead of an answer, his cold voice cuts through again, steady and asured. "You could have died out there."

"I know," I reply softly. "And it truly sucks that I don’t rember anything. I wish I did."

He watches for a long mont. His expression gives nothing away. Then he nods once, as if storing the answer rather than accepting it, and steps back without another word.

Kael glances at Ronan and shrugs as if unconcerned with their brother’s tantrum. "All that matters is she is safe now." Kael says.

Ronan exhales slowly. He turns to , his voice gentler. "You are safe here."

Kael nods. "All three of us will see to that. So long as you are our mate."

His words send warmth through .

Mates.

Their presence is warm. Steady. The bond pulses faintly beneath my skin, a quiet reassurance I do not yet trust but cannot deny.

I do not know their nas beyond what they have told . I am not familiar with their history and I do not know what it truly ans to belong to them.

But I know this.

I feel safe being with them. And I fear that if I speak Silas’s na, protection will turn into war.

And I am not ready to be the spark.