Betrayed By One. Bound To Three-Chapter 24: The return

Third Person POV

The sun had barely risen when Selena and the triplets stepped beyond the forest line and onto the path that led toward pack territory.

Dew still clung to the grass, and the scent of night lingered faintly in the air. Selena shifted slowly back into her human form, allowing the silver wolf within her to settle, though its strength still pulsed steadily beneath her skin.

Ronan, Kael, and Edris moved instinctively around her, not crowding her, but forming a quiet perimeter that spoke of protection without announcement.

None of them spoke about Silas beyond what they already knew, that he was the male she was meant to marry. They did not question her decision. They simply followed her lead.

As they approached the pack borders, patrol guards appeared ahead, clearly startled by the sight of her.

One of them stepped forward, eyes wide. "Princess...?"

Selena did not slow her pace. "It is I," she said calmly.

The guards exchanged looks, uncertain. One glanced nervously toward the palace as if unsure whether to sound an alarm.

Selena noticed their nervousness and the way their eyes kept flickering to the men behind her. Something told her they had been given orders.

"Is there any reason you are denying me access to my Pack?" she asked, her voice firm.

"No, Princess, we are not. "It’s just that—" The guard faltered as Ronan stepped forward, not threatening, but unmistakably powerful.

Kael’s expression held quiet warning. Edris’s presence alone was enough to silence further hesitation.

The patrol stepped aside.

No fight was needed.

By the time they reached the packhouse

gates, word had already begun to spread. The guards there froze when they saw her, disbelief written plainly across their faces.

"The princess..." one whispered.

The gates opened without further challenge.

Inside, the grand hall was already filled. Elders were seated in their ceremonial robes. Incense burned lightly. Banners hung high, catching the growing morning light.

At the center, near the throne, stood Silas.

He was dressed in dark ceremonial garments threaded with silver. His posture was composed, his expression calm as the kingmaker prepared to lift the crown.

"Let it be known that once this crown is placed upon Alpha Silas," the official declared, voice echoing across the hall, "no man or woman alive shall challenge his claim—"

The doors opened fully.

Footsteps echoed across the marble floor.

"And what of a woman assumed dead?"

Every head turned.

Selena walked forward, steady and unhurried, her hair falling over her shoulders, her presence filling the room before she even spoke. The triplets flanked her without crowding her, silent and watchful.

Gasps rippled across the hall.

Silas turned.

For a moment, he did not breathe.

His eyes locked onto her, widening in unmistakable shock.

"You..." His voice faltered before he steadied it. "You are alive?"

The words carried more disbelief than accusation.

Selena stopped a few steps from the throne, meeting his gaze evenly. "Very much so."

She held his eyes without flinching. She saw the shock there, but beneath it she saw something else. Disappointment.

Silas stared at her as though trying to decide whether she was real. "We searched everywhere for you. The forest search parties found nothing." His composure wavered for a heartbeat. "I thought..."

He did not finish the sentence.

Selena did not help him finish it.

The elders shifted in their seats, murmuring anxiously.

One of the oldest rose slowly, peering at her as though afraid she might vanish. "Princess... is it truly you?"

"It is," Selena replied, her voice calm and clear.

Another elder stood, guilt heavy in his expression. "We believed you dead. The pack mourned you. We followed the laws of succession."

Selena’s gaze swept across them. "Has the fourteen days of mourning passed?"

The question landed heavily.

A younger elder cleared his throat. "The pack required stability. With your proposed marriage to Silas already fixed before your disappearance, it seemed reasonable that he assume the role of Alpha King in your absence."

Silas’s jaw tightened slightly at that, though he did not interrupt.

Selena nodded once. "I understand the need for order. But I am no longer absent."

Silence stretched through the hall.

The kingmaker lowered the crown slowly.

Silas stepped down from the raised platform, closing some of the distance between them. His eyes searched her face carefully now, no longer shocked but assessing.

"You return on the morning of my coronation," he said evenly. "That is... unexpected."

"I did not plan my disappearance. You seem pleased that I returned," Selena replied.

A faint, almost disbelieving breath escaped him. "Of course I am happy."

There was tension in his voice, carefully contained.

One of the elders spoke again. "What is your intention now, Princess?"

"My intention," Selena said, lifting her chin slightly, "is to resume my place as heir until my marriage is fulfilled. Until then, no crown will be placed."

The statement was firm, but not aggressive.

The elders exchanged uneasy glances before slowly nodding.

Silas looked at her for a long moment. His expression had settled into something thoughtful, controlled. Then he gave a short nod of his own. "Since you are alive," he said, voice steady now, "then the law is clear."

The kingmaker stepped back entirely, lowering the crown.

Selena turned slightly, gesturing toward the three males beside her. "These are the warriors who found me and ensured my safe return."

All eyes shifted toward Ronan, Kael, and Edris.

Silas’s gaze lingered on them longer this time. Measuring. Weighing. "You have my gratitude," he said, measured and formal, "for bringing her back."

Ronan inclined his head slightly but said nothing. Kael’s expression remained neutral. Edris met Silas’s gaze calmly.

An elder spoke cautiously. "Princess... what happened to you?"

Selena paused just long enough to feel the weight of the hall’s attention.

"I do not remember everything," she said truthfully. "But I remember enough to know that I survived."

She did not elaborate.

A quiet murmur spread again, uneasy and uncertain.

Before it could grow louder, Loretta hurried forward from the side of the hall, tears already streaming down her face.

"Selena!" she cried, rushing toward her. "We thought we lost you!"

Selena turned to her.

The tears were convincing. The trembling hands, the breaking voice, the relief etched across her features. Anyone watching would believe it without question.

Selena stepped forward and embraced her.

"I am here," she said gently. "And I intend to remain."

Her tone was warm. Her posture relaxed. Nothing in her expression revealed what she knew.

Loretta pulled back, wiping her tears, still staring at her as though afraid she might disappear again.

The hall slowly began to settle, the shock transforming into cautious acceptance.

Silas returned to stand beside the throne rather than upon it. His earlier confidence had shifted into something quieter, more watchful.

"You have caused quite a morning," he said to her, almost wryly.

Selena met his gaze without hostility. "I imagine I have."

Silas noticed something had changed.

She was no longer the naive girl he had left for dead in the forest. She was something else now — and he would have to tread carefully.