Betrayed By One. Bound To Three-Chapter 30: Do You Miss Us

Selena.

Kael was the first to speak when I turned to leave their chamber, his voice carrying the quiet weight of someone who had been waiting longer than he wished to admit.

"You are leaving so soon?" he asked.

There was no accusation in the words, only the faint restraint of disappointment shaped carefully so it would not resemble a complaint.

"I have duties to attend to," I replied.

Kael exhaled slowly, the tension in his shoulders loosening in a way that told me how deeply my absence affected him despite the control he tried to maintain.

"You should not carry palace duties alone," Ronan added from where he stood near the window.

The statement carried the protective tone of a man who believed separation itself was a kind of danger.

I stepped closer to them, allowing the silence to settle before answering.

"I am not alone."

The words were calm, almost ceremonial in their certainty.

Kael studied me for a moment, his gaze searching my face as though trying to confirm something he was afraid to ask directly.

"You do not know how much we missed you," he said finally.

"I am here now."

"That is not the same."

Ronan’s muttered response carried deeper emotion than he intended.

Kael then crossed the distance between us slowly, the movement measured and deliberate, like a predator who wished not to startle something precious. There was hunger beneath the restraint in his eyes, but also the careful gentleness of someone who did not wish to frighten me.

"You do know what it feels like when you are away from us?" he asked.

"Yes."

"And you understand why we dislike the separation?"

"I do."

Yet there were many forms of understanding, and mine was not the same as theirs.

"I do not like that you must pretend with him," Kael said after a moment.

I knew he meant Silas.

"I must balance many expectations," I replied.

Ronan moved closer to my left side and lifted his hand slowly, hesitation preceding touch as though he were asking permission without words. I tilted my wrist slightly toward him.

His fingers closed gently around it.

The warmth of his skin against mine was grounding rather than overwhelming.

"I missed the way you were with us back in the forest," Ronan said quietly.

"I am not difficult to find," I answered.

"You are difficult to reach," Kael corrected.

His hand lifted, touching the side of my face with deliberate slowness. His thumb brushed across my cheekbone as though memorizing the texture of my skin, not in ownership but in longing.

"You look tired," he murmured.

"Not tired," I said. "Thinking."

Ronan’s thumb traced a faint, absent-minded line across my wrist, a gesture more intimate than overtly passionate.

"You are too close to him when you speak," Ronan said, his jealousy sipping through his voice.

"He is my mate in the eyes of the court."

"Not in ours."

Silence followed the statement, heavy but not hostile.

Kael’s hand moved from my jaw to my shoulder, studying me the way one might study something valuable that had survived damage.

"Do you even miss us?" he asked.

"Yes. But missing you does not mean abandoning what I must do."

"Then show it."

The request was not a command. It was spoken with the quiet vulnerability of men who had learned patience from years of wanting something they were not certain they were allowed to claim.

I smiled faintly.

"Very well."

I stepped closer first, allowing my hands to rest lightly against Kael’s chest. His breath tightened almost imperceptibly beneath my palms.

Then I rose slightly on my toes and pressed a soft kiss to the corner of his mouth.

The contact was slow and warm, more reassurance than passion.

Kael’s eyes darkened immediately, the restraint he maintained cracking only in the faint tightening of his fingers at my waist.

Ronan’s grip shifted slightly, steadying me as I turned to him and kissed him as well.

The kiss lasted longer, his hand moving to the back of my neck with careful control, fingers threading through my hair as though he were afraid that urgency might break something fragile between us.

The exchange of breath between us was quiet and deliberate, carrying the comfort of familiarity rather than desperation.

When I finally stepped back, I saw hunger in Ronan’s eyes, but it was patient hunger, the kind that waits rather than consumes.

Edris had not moved from his position near the wall.

Yet his gaze followed every motion I made with still, observant intensity.

"You are watching," I said softly.

"Yes."

"Why do you not join them?"

"I will have my turn, Mate," he replied.

Something warm and faintly familiar settled inside my chest at those words.

I turned back to Kael and allowed my fingers to trace lightly along the line of his collarbone.

"You missed me," I said.

"Yes."

"And you dislike the separation."

"Yes."

"Then remember," I said gently, "that I choose when I come and when I stay."

Kael’s jaw tightened briefly, not in resistance but in quiet acceptance.

After several moments of letting them touch and feel me, I stepped away.

"We should stop," I said.

None of them moved immediately.

"Why?" Ronan asked.

"If people notice I spend too long here, they will talk."

Kael nodded slowly.

"I understand."

I smiled, feeling the quiet warmth of their presence settle like a protective silence around me.

"Where is your room?" Ronan asked.

"On this same floor. My father chambers. But you must be careful," I added. "Visitors must not be obvious."

Kael’s expression softened.

"We will be careful."

Edris spoke then, his voice low and steady.

"When can we see you again?"

I considered the question.

"It depends on what you mean by see?" I teased, a light smile touching my lips.

He sexily narrowed his eyes at me and I felt my pulse spike. "You know what I mean."

Of course I did.

"Not during daylight hours unless necessary."

"Night?" Ronan asked.

"Yes."

Kael’s voice deepened slightly.

"We will come."

It was not a question but a promise carried on the weight of shared understanding.

I moved toward the door, then paused.

Kael spoke before I could leave.

"I am proud of how you stood up for yourself today."

The words were spoken quietly, but they carried something heavier than emotion alone.

"I am glad too," I replied.

I left before the warmth growing inside my chest could become something more complicated than safety.