CHAPTER 45: CHAPTER 45: AS SILENT AS A MOUSE

And then came the blow. Luca’s fist lashed out, striking Lucian across the jaw with a brutal crack that made Kael flinch. Blood spilled from Lucian’s mouth as he staggered back a step, but he didn’t fall. He simply looked back at his brother, eyes wide but resolute.

"How could you?" Luca shouted, voice cracking with pain more than fury. "You know what this place means to him! You know what this place is to us! And you let her in?"

Lucian didn’t answer. He just stood there, jaw clenched, blood trailing from his lip.

Kael still hadn’t spoken. He stood by the wall, pale and still, looking like he might collapse from the sheer weight of what had just happened.

The room still thrummed with leftover violence—Lucian’s split lip, Selene’s curled form on the cold floor, like she wanted to disappear, and Luca’s ragged breathing echoing through the air like thunder that hadn’t fully passed. But then... Aeron stepped forward.

His voice cut through the tension—not sharp, not cold, but calm in a way that only made his presence feel heavier.

"That’s enough," he said firmly, looking between his brothers.

His gaze lingered longest on Luca, whose fists were still clenched tight, and Lucian, whose chin still dripped blood. And then, Aeron exhaled.

"I forgive you," he said quietly.

It was a simple and unexpected answer. But it was honest.

Because no matter how furious he had been, no matter how sacred this place was, Aeron loved them deeply. They were more than brothers—they were the only fragments of his world he trusted. And watching them fight each other over this... it left a sour taste in his mouth far worse than any trespass ever could.

Lucian blinked at him in disbelief, and Kael let out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding.

"Then tell me," Aeron continued, turning to Kael now. "Why was she brought here in the first place?"

Kael straightened, his jaw twitching. He glanced briefly at Selene before answering. "She was causing trouble..." His voice darkened. "She laid hands on our future Luna."

Aeron’s brow twitched at that.

Kael continued, tone tight with irritation. "So I thought if she wants to act untamed, we’d remind her what she is. I brought her here to... tame her."

At that, Aeron’s gaze dropped to Selene once more—still silent, curled tightly against herself, her damp hair hiding most of her face. But now he noticed something he hadn’t seen before.

The collar.

It sat tightly around her neck—black leather with a metal bell at the center. His eyes narrowed slightly.

A slave’s collar.

So that’s what she was now.

The girl who once bore her father’s name like a crown now lay at his feet, marked like property.

"Next time," Aeron said after a pause, "tell me before bringing someone into this space."

He gave a faint shrug, as if brushing away the weight of the decision. "Do what you want with her. She’s yours to handle."

Selene didn’t move, but her body went unnaturally still.

The brothers watched him go, silence hanging like a curtain until he disappeared into his room.

Luca soon followed, his jaw tight but expression cooled now that Aeron had spoken.

Inside his room, Aeron sat on his bed. The heavy silence returned—but this time, it was within him.

He’d always hated strange scents in his space. Always loathed when anyone—especially women—got too close. He’d once thrown out a visiting noble’s daughter simply because her perfume had lingered on a cushion. His tolerance for she-wolves was nonexistent.

But with Selene... he hadn’t felt disgusted.

Not even when she was naked in front of him. Not when her scent clung to the air. Not even now.

And that was a problem. Because it wasn’t just him. His wolf had reacted too. Wildly. Needily.

Even now, it whimpered in the back of his mind, restless and unsatisfied.

Let her stay, the wolf whispered again, though quieter this time. Don’t throw her out. She belongs here. Aeron gritted his teeth. She’s nothing, just a slave.

Ours, the wolf said stubbornly.

When Aeron even thought of tossing her back into the omega quarters, the wolf roared inside his head, clawing and growling as if Aeron had just betrayed him. For a brief second, Aeron had felt the threat like his own mind had turned against him.

But now... the silence had returned.

As soon as he made the choice to leave her here, to let his brothers do what they wanted, his wolf quieted again. That, in itself, unsettled him.

But Aeron sighed. He was too tired to unravel that mess now.

He stood, peeling off his coat. He needed a change of clothes. A long shower. A good night’s sleep. He would deal with the fallout tomorrow.

Back in the main chamber, Lucian and Kael stood motionless, staring down at Selene.

The moment Aeron gave permission, a wave of twisted relief passed through them. Not because they wanted her there for company—no. They had no interest in warmth or affection.

To them, keeping her meant control. A toy to break. A chance to exact years of bitterness and cruelty they’d never been allowed to show. Already, their minds ran wild with thoughts of how they’d teach her obedience.

Selene, meanwhile, remained where she had fallen, still kneeling. Now she was even afraid to make a noise, not knowing which of them might suddenly get upset by her breathing and take it out on her. So she stayed there in silence, already too tired to keep fighting them.

But what stung more than the ache in her stomach or the shame in her heart... was the disappointment.

She had hoped Aeron would throw her out.

Even if it meant cold floors and scraps of food and silence, it would’ve been better than this, better than the cruelty in Kael’s eyes, better than the hunger behind Lucian’s stare.

He’d always been the coldest, but now he looked like a man given permission to play with fire.

She shivered and lowered her gaze to the floor, teeth clenching as her fingers curled against the stone.

Whatever came next, she would endure.

But her hope quietly died the moment Aeron walked away.