Betrayed By One. Bound To Three-Chapter 65: Not Tonight

The dungeon walls were cold and unyielding, the stone echoing with every footstep and every whispered word, but the triplets barely noticed the confines.

Their minds were elsewhere.

Selena.

It was Ronan who first tensed, his hand brushing against his forehead as a faint pulse of unease struck him through the bond.

"She’s struggling," he muttered under his breath, the words almost lost within the stone corridors. "I can feel her... she’s in pain."

Kael’s eyes narrowed, his jaw tightening as the same shivering pulse coursed through him.

"It’s worse than we thought," he said, voice low. "She’s fighting to stay upright. Fighting to breathe. I... I can feel it."

Edris moved toward them, calm as ever, though the crease between his brows betrayed his concern.

"Through the bond," he said softly, "we feel her suffering. Whatever is happening to her... it’s breaking her."

Their shared awareness sharpened with every passing moment.

Then came the voices of the guards drifting down from the upper gallery—harsh, impatient, uneasy.

"She’s... she’s not going to make it," one muttered, the words carrying more weight than any blade.

"Quiet! Don’t speak so loudly," another hissed. "The healer said she’s slipping. I... I don’t think she’ll survive another night."

Ronan’s fists clenched, his knuckles whitening.

Kael’s teeth ground together.

Edris’s expression darkened, his calm barely masking the storm inside him.

"That’s it," Ronan growled. "I can’t stay here. Not one more second."

Kael flexed his fingers, ready for violence. "We’re done waiting. Done letting them gamble with her life."

Edris exhaled slowly, then lifted his gaze to his brothers.

"Then we end this. Now."

Power surged between them.

A low rumble vibrated through the dungeon as their combined strength pressed outward like a rising storm. The thick iron door that sealed their cell groaned under the pressure.

Then—

CRACK.

The hinges tore loose.

With a thunderous crash, the dungeon door burst open, slamming against the stone wall as splinters of wood and twisted iron scattered across the floor.

Guards shouted in alarm.

Ronan moved first.

He struck like a predator, disarming the nearest guard before the man could even raise his spear. Kael followed with brutal efficiency, slamming another guard against the wall hard enough to leave cracks in the stone.

Weapons clattered across the floor as panic spread through the corridor.

Within moments, the path ahead lay open.

"We’re wasting time," Ronan snapped.

Edris nodded once. "The healer."

The three brothers moved as one, storming through the corridors of the pack house dungeon and out into the night.

The healer’s small house sat at the edge of the compound, dimly lit and heavily guarded.

Silas had clearly anticipated trouble.

Four guards stood watch outside the entrance.

They barely had time to react.

Kael lunged forward, wrenching a blade from one guard’s hand and sending him crashing into the ground. Ronan tackled another, knocking the wind from the man’s lungs before throwing him aside like dead weight.

Edris moved last but no less deadly, his power rippling outward in a silent command that froze the final guard in place long enough for Kael to disarm him.

The door burst open under Ronan’s shove.

They stormed inside.

The small house was quiet.

Too quiet.

Herbs hung from the ceiling, their bitter scent thick in the air. Bowls, cloths, and glass bottles covered the tables.

But the bed where Selena should have been—

Was empty.

Ronan’s chest tightened.

"No," he breathed.

Kael searched the room in frantic strides, shoving open doors, checking every corner.

"She’s not here."

For a moment, the world seemed to tilt.

Then Edris stepped forward.

He lowered himself slowly, pressing his palm against the earthen floor.

His eyes closed.

Silence fell around him as he reached outward, letting his power sink deep into the ground beneath them. The earth answered him in whispers—roots shifting, soil breathing, life moving through the darkness.

Then he felt it.

A faint thread.

Fragile.

Flickering.

But alive.

His breath caught.

The vision struck him like lightning.

Selena lying in the undergrowth.

Her body limp.

Her breathing shallow.

The poison clawing through her veins as she fought to stay alive.

Edris’s eyes snapped open.

"I found her."

Ronan turned instantly. "Where?"

"In the forest," Edris said, rising to his feet. "Not far. She’s alive... but barely."

They were already moving toward the door when a voice spoke from behind them.

"Wait."

All three brothers turned sharply.

The healer stepped out from the shadows near the doorway, her face pale but determined.

"Let me come with," she said quietly.

Kael’s eyes narrowed. "You should stay back."

"I can’t," she said. "If she’s truly out there, she won’t survive long without treatment."

Ronan’s jaw tightened.

Every instinct told him to refuse.

But the image of Selena lying alone in the forest burned in his mind.

The healer stepped closer, her voice steady despite the fear in her eyes.

"Let me come. I can help her."

For a brief moment, none of them spoke.

Then Edris gave a short nod.

"She’s right. Selena will need her."

Ronan exhaled sharply.

"Fine," he said. "But stay close."

The healer nodded.

Together, they rushed into the night.

The forest stretched before them like a sea of darkness, branches whispering in the wind as they pushed forward. Ronan and Kael cleared the path with relentless speed while Edris guided them, occasionally brushing his fingers against the soil to keep the fragile thread of Selena’s presence from fading.

Time blurred into motion.

Branches snapped beneath their feet. Shadows shifted between the trees.

Every step carried the same desperate purpose.

Find her.

Keep her alive.

Then, Edris stopped.

His hand dropped to the ground once more.

"Here," he said.

Ronan’s gaze followed his line of sight.

And there she was.

Selena lay beneath the thick canopy of trees, motionless against the forest floor. Her chest rose and fell in shallow, uneven breaths.

But she was alive.

The healer rushed forward immediately, dropping to her knees beside Selena as her hands began moving quickly, checking her pulse, her breathing.

Ronan knelt beside her and carefully lifted Selena into his arms.

Her weight was frighteningly light.

Fragile as a wisp of smoke.

But beneath his fingers, her pulse still beat.

Weak.

Fading.

Alive.

Kael stood guard nearby, scanning the forest for any sign of approaching danger.

Edris crouched beside them, resting his hand lightly against the earth once more as he reached for the faint presence of her wolf.

"She’s still with us," he murmured. "She’s still fighting."

The healer exhaled shakily as she began preparing herbs from the pouch at her waist.

"I can help her," she whispered.

Ronan rose carefully, holding Selena close against his chest.

"Then we move," he said.

Kael stepped ahead to clear the path while Edris guided them through the darkness.

Together, the three brothers disappeared deeper into the forest, the healer close behind them.

A storm of fury and determination.

Every step driven by the same promise.

They would not lose her.

Not tonight.