CHAPTER 208: CHAPTER 208: SHE IS HERE

Serena’s POV~

I shifted slightly on the couch, trying to put a bit of distance between me and the two men flanking me, but it was useless.

Kael just leaned in closer with that infuriating smirk of his. "What’s wrong, princess? You look tense. Are we making you nervous?"

My cheeks heated instantly. "No," I said too quickly. "I’m fine."

"Really?" he drawled, clearly enjoying himself. "Then why are you sitting so stiff? You look like you’re about to bolt."

Before I could retort, Lucian spoke quietly from my other side. His voice was low and calm, but there was a subtle edge to it that made my heart skip.

"Maybe she’s uncomfortable, Kael," he said, his gaze flicking briefly toward me. "You’re sitting too close."

For a moment, I almost sighed in relief.

until he continued, deadpan...

"Move a little closer. That way she can’t escape."

My eyes widened. "Lucian!"

He didn’t even look at me. "What? It’s practical advice."

Kael burst into laughter, throwing his arm lazily over the back of the couch, dangerously near my shoulders. "Oh, I like this side of you, Lucian. Stoic, but evil."

Lucian gave the faintest hint of a smirk. "I learned from the best."

"Have you forgotten all limits of shamelessness?" I muttered under my breath, though my voice came out smaller than I intended.

"Sure, but you too," Kael teased, his tone sing-song. "That’s why you’re blushing like that, hmm?"

I quickly turned my face away, but it only made him chuckle more. His knee brushed against mine again, and I nearly jumped.

On the other side, Lucian had the audacity to hand me a cushion. "Here," he said. "You look like you need protection."

It took me a second to realize he was being sarcastic.

I grabbed the cushion anyway, mostly to squeeze it to vent my anger on it. "You two are insufferable."

"Admit it," Kael murmured, leaning closer, his breath warm near my ear. "You missed us."

Before I could snap back, Luca let out a long, drawn-out sigh from across the room. "Honestly," he said, rubbing his forehead, "are you two children?"

Both Kael and Lucian looked at him, completely unbothered.

Luca shook his head and muttered, "I’ll bring you something to eat...you must be hungry."

Then he turned and walked off toward the kitchen, leaving me trapped between two wolves who looked far too pleased with themselves.

The moment Luca disappeared into the kitchen, a cold jolt of panic shot through me.

No.

No no no.

My inner voice screamed so loudly I could almost hear it echo in the room.

Don’t leave me alone with these two wolves!

My eyes darted helplessly toward the doorway where Luca vanished... as if I could somehow call him back with sheer will.

Kael snickered beside me, clearly reading my expression like an open book.

"Yes, definitely hungry..." he drawled. "After all, climbing a hole has definitely made her hungry."

My jaw dropped. "Kael!"

He only laughed harder, his shoulders shaking.

Before I could smack him with the cushion Lucian had given me. He easily caught it.

And thank God I did not have to wait for long before footsteps approached again. Luca reappeared carrying a steaming bowl... and I blinked.

Noodles.

Actual noodles. Warm... soft... fragrant noodles.

My breath caught in my throat.

It felt surreal, almost like a memory resurfacing after years of dust and shadow.

How long had it been?

Since she last had noodles like this...?

Since she was a child.

Since her mother was still alive...

Before everything went wrong.

For a moment, something warm squeezed my chest.

Luca set the bowl gently in front of me. "Eat," he said softly. "It will pass your time."

I swallowed, my voice barely more than a whisper.

"...Thank you."

Luca gave a small nod and stepped back...only for Kael to immediately stretch his neck over my shoulder like a vulture spotting prey.

"Brother," Kael complained dramatically, "you’re so partial. You only bring food for her."

Then, without shame...because of course...he added:

"Don’t worry. I’ll eat from hers."

I stared at him, completely speechless, my hand frozen mid-air.

He really meant it.

He was already leaning closer, eyes sparkling mischievously, as if waiting for the perfect moment to snatch a bite.

"No, you will not!" I snapped, pressing the bowl closer to myself like some kind of shield.

Kael pouted. "Why not? Sharing is caring."

Lucian rested his elbow on the back of the couch, watching us with quiet amusement.

"If you touch her food," he said calmly, "I’ll break your fingers."

Kael blinked.

Then grinned. "See? He does care."

"I’m serious," Lucian replied, expression unchanging.

I hid my face behind the bowl for a moment, trying very hard not to combust from embarrassment or laugh out of disbelief.

This was...this brothers has gone insane.

Just as I lifted the fork again...Kael’s hand shot forward like a mischievous snake.

"I’ll just take one tiny bite..." he said, already leaning in.

"No!" I jerked the bowl away.

But before Kael’s fingers could even brush the rim, a blur of motion came from my right.

Lucian.

He moved so fast Kael didn’t even have time to gasp.

One moment Kael was reaching for my noodles...

The next he was pinned flat against the couch, one hand twisted behind his back, Lucian’s weight effortlessly holding him down.

"Ow—OW—okay, okay! THIS IS UNNECESSARY VIOLENCE!" Kael yelped.

Lucian didn’t even blink.

He looked up at me with a calm, serene smile...the kind that somehow made him even more terrifying.

"Eat," he said softly.

"I’m keeping him here."

I stared at him.

At Kael struggling uselessly on the cushions.

At Lucian’s composed, gentle-but-deadly smile.

And all I could think was...

How am I supposed to eat with two wolves staring at me like predators waiting for scraps?

My stomach twisted.

Indigestion.

Absolute guaranteed indigestion.

And then...

Luca walked back into the room carrying a glass of water, only to freeze mid-step as he took in the scene.

Lucian casually pinning Kael.

Kael yelling in pained betrayal.

Me clutching a bowl of noodles like I was at the center of some bizarre ritual.

Luca’s jaw tightened.

Very... very slowly... he set the glass down.

Then he strode toward us with a silent fury that made both Kael and Lucian tense.

Before I could blink, he took my wrist firmly—yet carefully—and pulled me up from the couch.

"Come," he said.

I barely had time to grab the bowl before he led me across the room to another chair...one far away from them.

"Sit here," he said, looking genuinely upset.

His voice softened only when he addressed me.

"They’re going to make you spill it."

I sat down quietly, still holding the warm bowl.

Luca took the seat right beside me...close enough that our knees brushed, his protective aura radiating like a shield.

Behind us...

Kael finally stopped struggling long enough to smirk evilly, even with Lucian still pinning him.

"Ohhh," Kael drawled loudly, sing-song, "so that’s why he moved her."

His lip twitched, amused. "It seems someone just wanted to sit with her."

My face flamed.

Luca shot them both a lethal glare. "Shut. Up."

Kael wiggled his eyebrows dramatically. "Possessive Luca is back..."

Brother, you can’t keep her from us...before she was surrounded once again by them, but thankfully they didn’t get much closer to her.

***

Aeron’s POV~

The night air was cold when I slipped past the guards, my steps silent, every sense sharp. I didn’t expect I’d have to sneak into my own quarters like a thief.

I’d barely crossed the courtyard when it hit me.

That scent.

Sweet, familiar, maddening. It curled through the night air like a whisper I could never forget. My body froze, breath catching halfway in my chest. No... it couldn’t be.

But it was.

Selene.

She was here.

For a long second, I just stood there in the shadows, my pulse hammering hard enough that it hurt. Every instinct in me...every part of my wolf...reacted at once, surging toward that presence. Before I knew it, my feet were already moving.

I didn’t even bother to change out of my dark clothes. The faint dust on my boots, the cold still clinging to my skin...it didn’t matter. I just needed to see her.

As I neared the living room, voices drifted through the hall. Kael’s lazy drawl. Lucian’s quiet hum. And her...soft, nervous laughter that made something inside me twist.

When I stepped into the doorway, the sight before me made me stiff.

She was sitting there...my mate on the couch, a bowl trembling slightly in her hands. Kael and Luca were seated on either side of her, both far too close, their broad shoulders framing her small form completely. Kael was grinning like the shameless devil he was, while Luca sat stoic, but his eyes... were softer than I’d ever seen them.

And even Lucian’s eyes were fixed on her gently as he sat in front of her.

I could feel my wolf excitement beneath my skin.

And then...she looked up.

Her gaze met mine instantly, and everything else vanished.

"Aeron!" she breathed, her voice lighting up like starlight. "You’re finally here."

The way she said it...bright, relieved, almost happy...hit me so hard I forgot to breathe.

Was... was she waiting for me?

For a moment, I could only stare at her, stunned. My chest tightened painfully, and the sharp edge of jealousy that had been clawing at me just melted away...replaced by something else. Something I couldn’t even name.

She set the bowl down quickly and stood, her eyes shining in that way that always made the world around her fade. "I...I wanted to ask you something," she said softly, stepping closer.

I still couldn’t move.

The way she looked up at me...hopeful, nervous, beautiful...it rooted me to the floor.

She stopped just in front of me, tilting her head slightly, waiting for a reply. "Aeron...?"

My throat worked, but no sound came out.

I could only nod, slow and wordless, still caught in the daze of her presence.

She was really here.

Close enough that I could hear her heartbeat. Smell the faint trace of herbs and warmth on her skin.

And for the first time in a long time, I didn’t know whether to breathe her in... or run before I lost control completely.

For a moment, it felt like time refused to move with me.

It was Luca’s voice that finally broke through the haze.

"Aeron," he said softly.

When I still didn’t respond, he stepped closer and nudged me lightly, just enough to pull me back into the moment.

I blinked, my breath catching as my muscles jolted at the contact. Slowly, I managed to inhale and force my voice to work.

"I...yes," I said quietly. "You... may ask anything."

Selene’s face brightened at once, her eyes softening in a way that made my chest tighten.

My gaze drifted to Luca then...just for a second and our eyes met. There was a glint there, subtle but unmistakable. A teasing spark... and something else beneath it.

Understanding.

And the moment I recognized it, heat surged up my neck and straight into my ears.

Luca exhaled softly, not saying a word, yet his eyes held a gentle warmth that made my heartbeat stumble all over again.

Because I could see it.

He felt the same thing I did.

The disbelief.

The fragile hope.

The quiet, stunned joy.

She is here. She is really here.

And she came... to meet us.

My ears burned even more at that realization, and I forced myself to look away from him before he could read anything deeper.

I turned back to her instead.

Her lashes fluttered when our eyes met, and that single, delicate movement made something twist painfully...beautifully...inside my chest.

"Forgive me," I murmured, my voice dipping lower than I intended. "I... was distracted."