Betrayed By One. Bound To Three-Chapter 16: What if?

Silas.

I woke up that morning feeling miserable like I have been since Selena suddenly disappeared without a trace.

I was dressed and ready for the day’s business but couldn’t stop pacing my room. We have searched everywhere. every wood and forest. Still nothing.

My last resort was to hire a group of rogues to go into the forbidden woods, hunted by the cursed triplet rogues.

"If you find her. Bring her back. Dead or alive and you all will have a seat at my council." I had told them before they set out.

But, up till now, I haven’t received a word if they have found her or not.

The door opened. My father entered without hesitation, his presence calm, controlled, unbothered by my unrest.

"Silas," he said, voice flat. "The elders want to see you."

I turned on him. "Have you heard anything from the rogues?"

"No," he replied calmly. "And I did not expect to."

My jaw tightened. "What does that mean?"

"You know where you sent them," he said. "Those woods are a point of no return. Our people call it the forbidden woods for a reason."

"I still feel she’s alive," I said. The words left me before I could stop them. "I can’t explain it, but I know she is."

My father’s eyes hardened.

"Wherever she is, it’s better she stays there and never returns," he said coldly. "Alive or dead."

I stared at him.

"I have instructed men at the borders," he continued. "If she is seen, if she crosses into our territory, she will be eliminated immediately. No hesitation."

He said, his voice cold and unremorseful.

"The pack cannot afford her return," he added. "Neither can you."

Something in me tightened, but I said nothing.

"The elders are waiting," he finished.

---

The elders sat in silence, their eyes fixed on me as I entered.

"She has been missing for nearly a week," the eldest said. "If she does not return before the week of her marriage, the crown will be offered to you. You will be crowned Alpha King."

I lowered my head.

"I truly wish she were alive," I said softly. "Selena did not deserve this."

The lie tasted smooth.

The elders exchanged glances.

"We cannot bring back the dead," one of them said. "And if she were truly special, like her father, our late king claimed, she should have been able to save herself."

I remained silent, wearing grief like a mask.

Inside, I felt the shift. The crown coming to me was no longer a question. It was a matter of time.

---

When I returned to my chambers, Loretta was already there.

She leaned against the far wall, firelight catching her silk and the sharpness in her gaze. Confident, dangerous, deliberate.

She did not appear to be a sister mourning her sibling. She looked like a woman who doesn’t let grief tie down her happiness.

I studied her for a moment. I had always liked her coldness. The way she did not waver, the way she took what she wanted without hesitation. I had never felt that from Selena.

Selena’s soft heart, her endless worry for others, her hesitation, her fear of hurting anyone—she would never have made a queen. She was too fragile, too tied to sentiment to sit on a throne and wield power.

She smiled when she saw me.

"I heard the elders have made their decision," she said softly. "I came to congratulate the Alpha King in waiting."

I studied her. She was beautiful. Calculated. Dangerous.

The complete opposite of her sister.

"You are beautiful," I complimented.

She laughed quietly. "Of course I know. There was never any real doubt."

She stepped closer.

"What if your sister suddenly shows up?" I teased.

"Point of correction, she was never my sister. And let’s be honest, Silas," she said. "There is no way Selena is alive."

Her voice held mockery.

"If you didnt kill her, her fatness would have. She could barely survive palace life, let alone the wild. That girl wouldn’t last a night out there."

Her words were cruel. Precise.

"She always needed protection," Loretta continued. "Always needed saving. That kind of woman doesn’t survive when the world gets sharp."

Her hand slid against my chest.

"She’s gone," she whispered. "And even if she isn’t, she won’t make it back the same."

I watched her face. There was no grief in her eyes. Only ambition.

"And even if by some miracle she did come back," Loretta added calmly, "your father has already solved that problem."

I said nothing.

She smiled wider.

"You don’t need her," she said. "You never did. You need a queen. A strong one. A loyal one. A useful one."

Her hand moved lower, stopping at my groin area, possessive.

"And you already have that."

She leaned closer.

"I’m carrying your heir," she said softly. "And I know what it is." 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

My eyes lifted to hers.

"A boy," she whispered. "I’m certain of it."

Power surged through me.

"A son," she continued, voice low with triumph, "to seal your claim the moment the elders crown you. An heir. A future Alpha King. Your bloodline. Your throne is secured before anyone can question it."

She pressed her forehead to my chest.

"No one will challenge you," she murmured. "Not the elders. Not the packs. Not the crown. Not even her memory."

Her lips curved into a slow smile.

"Selena was a stepping stone," she said. "I am your future."

I lifted her chin, forcing her to look at me.

"The moment I am crowned," I said quietly, "you will be announced as my Luna."

Her eyes lit with satisfaction.

"The pack will kneel," I continued. "The kingdom will bow. And our son will inherit a throne that no one can touch."

She exhaled slowly, pleased.

"Good," she said. "Because I was never meant to live in her shadow. Now, if we are done talking about the dead and irrelevant, why don’t you show your future queen what you are made of, my king," she purred.

I could feel the hunger in her eyes, ambition and desire mixing. I closed the distance between us, my hands framing her face. I pressed my lips to hers.

The kiss was slow, deliberate, possessive. Heat rolled through both of us as every inch of her body fit perfectly against mine.

She responded with the same hunger, hands sliding across my chest, lips pressing harder against mine. Desire and power tangled in a single, undeniable moment.

Every inch of her pressed against me, claiming, matching my intensity. Every whisper of her ambition, every touch, every breath reminded me why I had always been drawn to her coldness. Selena had cared too much. Loretta never questioned what she wanted, and neither did I.

I deepened the kiss, holding her, tasting her, letting her know she was mine and that together we would take everything.

The crown. The heir. The throne. Everything I had worked for and everything I would take—she would share it with me.

And yet... despite the affirmations, a thought slithered through the heat and pleasure, cold as ice. Despite every trap, every plan, every person I had set in motion, one uncertainty remained.

What if Selena comes back? What if she is out there right now, planning her revenge, planning to take over her father’s throne?