Betrayed By One. Bound To Three-Chapter 52: price of silence.

Silas closed the door behind him with quiet deliberation.

For a moment, none of the men inside the room spoke. The air seemed to tighten slightly around them.

Ronan remained standing near the door, his posture relaxed but alert, while Kael stayed near the window, though his shoulders had straightened. Edris remained seated beside the table, his gaze steady on the man who had just entered.

Silas looked at each of them in turn. His expression revealed nothing, but there was unmistakable calculation in his eyes.

"I hope I am not interrupting," he said calmly.

No one answered.

The silence did not appear to bother him. Instead, he stepped farther into the room and stopped near the center.

"I would like to speak with Edris."

Kael’s expression hardened immediately.

"About what?"

Silas’s gaze shifted toward him slowly.

"It is a private matter."

Kael did not move. Ronan crossed his arms.

"If it concerns our family," Ronan said evenly, "then it is not private."

For the first time, a faint hint of amusement touched Silas’s expression.

"You misunderstand," he said.

His eyes returned to Edris.

"I am not asking permission."

The room grew still again.

Edris watched him for a moment before rising from his chair.

"That will not be necessary."

Silas tilted his head slightly.

Edris stepped past his brothers and moved toward the door.

"Do not interfere," he said quietly.

Kael looked as though he might argue, but Ronan lifted a hand slightly, stopping him.

Edris opened the door.

Silas stepped back into the corridor, and a moment later the door closed behind them.

----

The corridor outside was empty.

Torchlight flickered along the stone walls, casting long shadows across the floor. For several seconds neither man spoke.

For several seconds neither man spoke.

Silas studied Edris with quiet interest before finally saying,

"You made a threat tonight."

Edris’s expression remained calm.

"I made a statement."

Silas’s mouth curved faintly.

"You informed Loretta that you would reveal her pregnancy."

"Yes. I did."

Silas watched him carefully.

"You seem confident she will remain silent."

"I am."

"And if she does not?"

Edris met his gaze evenly.

"Then the consequences will belong to her."

Silas exhaled softly.

"You are either very certain," he said slowly, "or very reckless."

"Neither."

Silas studied him for another moment before asking,

"What do you want?"

Edris was silent for a moment. His gaze did not waver from Silas’s face.

Then he asked quietly, "Are you not ashamed?"

Silas’s brow furrowed slightly.

Edris continued, his voice calm but cutting.

"You intend to marry Selena."

A brief pause.

"And yet you have already put a child in another woman." The torchlight flickered between them."Does that not trouble you?"

For a moment, Silas simply stared at him.

Then a low, humorless chuckle escaped him.

"You presume a great deal."

Edris did not respond.

Silas stepped a little closer.

"Let me explain something to you," he said coolly.

His eyes hardened.

"Rogues do not get to lecture me about morality."

The words were quiet, but the contempt behind them was unmistakable.

"You and your brothers live outside every law that governs a pack. No territory. No loyalty. No responsibility."

His gaze sharpened.

"You take what you want when it suits you and disappear when it does not."

Silas tilted his head slightly.

"And yet you stand here asking me if I am ashamed?"

He shook his head faintly.

"You have no authority to question what is right or wrong."

Silence settled again.

Edris regarded him steadily.

Silas straightened slightly, brushing an invisible speck of dust from his sleeve.

"Now," he continued calmly, as though the conversation had merely been a minor distraction.

"Let us return to the real matter."

His gaze locked onto Edris again.

"Men rarely make threats without purpose."

A faint smile appeared.

"So tell me—what is the price of your silence?"

Edris tilted his head slightly.

"You assume we are negotiating."

Silas’s smile returned.

"Aren’t we?"

"No."

The answer was calm and certain.

For the first time, Silas’s patience seemed to thin.

"You and your brothers seem to believe you have some place in this pack."

Edris said nothing.

Silas continued, his voice edged with quiet contempt.

"You are rogues. Wolves without territory. Without allegiance."

His gaze hardened.

"And yet you speak as though you have the authority to threaten members of my family."

Edris remained unmoved.

Silas stepped closer.

"You also appear to believe that whatever feelings you have for Selena give you influence."

Edris’s eyes flickered briefly.

Silas noticed.

His voice lowered.

"But those feelings do not matter."

A quiet pause stretched between them.

"Selena is Alpha born," Silas continued. "Even without a wolf."

The words were deliberate.

"And Alphas do not choose rogues."

For the first time, something shifted faintly in Edris’s expression.

Not anger.

Not doubt.

Something quieter.

Silas either did not notice it—or chose to ignore it.

"So whatever game you believe you are playing..."

A faint smile touched his lips.

"...it ends the moment Selena remembers what you are."

The words hung between them.

Silas watched him carefully, waiting for a reaction.

Edris gave him none.

Silas’s smile returned.

"So let us stop pretending otherwise."

His tone became calm again.

"Name your price."

Silence stretched for several seconds before Edris finally spoke.

"I will need time."

Silas frowned slightly.

"Time?"

"To discuss the matter with my brothers."

Silas’s eyes narrowed.

"You expect me to believe the three of you have not already decided what you want?"

Edris held his gaze.

"I prefer that we agree on the details before making a decision."

Silas studied him for a long moment.

Then he nodded slowly.

"Very well."

His expression hardened slightly.

"But do not take too long."

Edris inclined his head once.

"I will speak with them."

Silas stepped past him toward the far end of the corridor.

After a few steps, he stopped.

Without turning around, he said quietly,

"You should remember something."

Edris waited.

"You may believe you have leverage," Silas continued, his voice cooling. "But leverage only works if the other person fears the consequences."

A brief silence followed.

"And I do not."

He walked away without another word.

Edris remained where he was for several seconds, watching him disappear down the corridor.

Then he turned and opened the door again.

His brothers looked up immediately.

Kael spoke first.

"What did he want?"

Edris closed the door behind him.

"He wanted to know the price of our silence."

Ronan frowned.

"And what did you tell him?"

Edris looked at both of them.

"That I would discuss it with you first."

Kael’s eyes narrowed.

"You told him we might negotiate?"

Edris’s expression remained thoughtful.

"No."

He paused slightly.

"I told him what he expected to hear."

Silence settled in the room again.

Because now they all understood the truth.

Silas believed this was a negotiation.

But Edris had no intention of playing by his rules.