Betrayed By One. Bound To Three-Chapter 41: Loretta Knows.

Loretta was walking toward Selena’s room that morning when she saw Kael step out of Selena’s room and close the door quietly behind him.

A million reasons why he was leaving Selena’s room that early rushed through her mind, and she decided there was no better way to know the truth than to ask him herself.

She did not confront him immediately. Instead, she moved back into the shadow of a pillar and watched him walk down the hall.

The hallway was quiet at that hour, washed in pale morning light that slipped through tall arched windows and stretched across the stone floors. Dust floated softly in the air, glowing in the sunlight. The palace felt still, unaware of what had just happened behind that closed door.

He was not rushing. He was not trying to hide where he had been. Yet there was tension in his shoulders, in the firm set of his jaw, in the careful rhythm of his stride. His hands were clenched at his sides as if he were holding something inside.

He looked like a man who had just left something he wanted but could not afford to claim.

Loretta felt a quiet thrill move through her chest. The sight pleased her more than it should have.

As he walked closer to where she stood hidden, she stepped forward.

"Kael," she called softly.

He stopped at once, though he did not turn immediately. When he finally faced her, his expression was already guarded. There was no surprise in his eyes. Only irritation and a trace of something else he quickly buried.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

Loretta smiled in a way that appeared almost innocent.

"That is exactly what I was going to ask, considering that I live here," she replied gently. "I know you rogues do not always follow rules or customs, but is it not too early to be visiting a woman’s chamber?"

His jaw tightened slightly.

"I went to retrieve something," he said.

"From Selena’s room," Loretta added, as if clarifying for him.

"Yes."

She walked closer, unhurried, studying his face carefully. There was something restless in his gaze, something unsettled that he could not fully hide.

"Did she invite you in?" Loretta asked quietly.

"That is none of your concern."

The sharpness in his tone did not offend her. It interested her. It confirmed that she had struck somewhere sensitive.

"So defensive," she murmured. "I only wondered whether she knew you would come, or whether you arrived unannounced. The difference matters."

"It does not concern you," he repeated.

"But it concerns the palace," she replied softly. "And you are in the palace."

His eyes darkened, and she noticed the way his breathing changed, slow but heavier than before.

"You care for her," she continued, tilting her head slightly. "It is written all over you. Even now you cannot hide it."

Kael said nothing, but the silence between them tightened.

"She is engaged to Silas," Loretta reminded him. "You know how that looks. You leaving her room at dawn will not go unnoticed forever."

His fingers flexed at his sides, and she saw the effort it took for him not to react.

"You are a rogue," she went on. "An outsider. The pack barely tolerates your presence. Do you truly believe they would accept you standing beside their future queen? Do you think the elders would ever allow that?"

"That is enough," Kael said quietly, though there was steel beneath the calm.

Loretta did not step back. Instead, she moved closer until only a small space remained between them.

"Or perhaps you believe she will choose you," she suggested softly. "Perhaps you think that if you stay close enough, if you look at her the way you do, she will forget her duty and choose desire instead."

His control thinned. She saw it happen in his eyes.

"You assume too much," he said.

"Do I?" she asked gently. "Tell me I am wrong. Tell me you feel nothing when you stand near her. Tell me you do not watch her when she speaks to Silas. Tell me you do not wish, even for a moment, that things were different."

Something dangerous flashed across his face.

Kael moved suddenly, his hand gripping her arm and pushing her back against the stone wall. The impact was firm and unyielding. His body blocked her path without pressing fully against her, but close enough that she felt his heat.

"You speak too freely," he said, his voice low and controlled, though anger trembled beneath it.

Loretta felt the force of his grip and the strength in his body. Fear brushed against her skin for a brief second, but it did not stay. What mattered more was the truth she had uncovered. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

He was not angry because she was wrong.

He was angry because she was close to the truth.

"You love her, do you not?" Loretta said quietly, even with her back against the wall. "It is too bad she can never be yours."

His eyes burned with restrained emotion.

"But you can have me," she whispered, her voice softening into something intimate. "I would not belong to duty. I would not belong to anyone else. Imagine how simple that would be. No secrets. No forbidden glances. Just us."

His expression hardened.

"I do not see you," he said, each word deliberate and cold. "Not as a woman. Not as temptation. Not as anything."

The rejection was sharp and absolute.

It should have humiliated her. It should have broken whatever pride she carried.

Instead, it sharpened her interest.

"If you place yourself in my path again," he continued, "you will regret it. Do not test me."

He released her abruptly and stepped back, as though he had remembered that losing control gave others power over him.

"I am not interested in you," he said plainly.

He turned and walked away without another glance.

Loretta remained still long after his footsteps faded. Her arm tingled where he had held her. Slowly, she lifted her hand to that spot, pressing her fingers there as if to preserve the warmth. His scent lingered faintly in the air, mixed with morning stone and cold light. It was subtle, but it was enough.

Kael had come from Selena’s room.

Kael had touched Loretta.

And Kael had reacted.

A slow smile curved across her lips.

He believed he had ended the conversation. He believed his warning had drawn a clear line between them.

He did not understand that lines could be moved.

She straightened her dress carefully and resumed walking down the corridor, her thoughts moving faster now.

Kael’s anger had confirmed what she suspected. He was not indifferent. He was attached.

If the elders learned that a rogue was spending dawn hours in Selena’s chambers, questions would rise. If Silas felt even a small seed of doubt, cracks would widen. If the brothers began to question each other, loyalty would weaken.

Loretta did not need to create lies.

She only needed to repeat what she had seen.

And perhaps add a little color.

Her smile returned, softer now, thoughtful and patient.

Nothing destroyed unity faster than desire divided three ways.

And she had just found the thread that could unravel all of it.