CHAPTER 214: CHAPTER 214: VAELEN IS HERE!

Author’s POV~

Aeron pushed the door closed behind them the moment they entered his room. He didn’t loosen his hold on Selene for even a second.

She was still clinging to him, her arms wrapped tightly around his shoulders, her face buried in the curve of his neck as if she was afraid the world outside might pull her away again.

He carried her straight to the bed and sat down carefully, keeping one arm around her waist so she wouldn’t slip. Selene didn’t lift her head. She just held on, fingers gripping his shirt tightly, breath still uneven from crying.

Only when Aeron finally calmed his own racing breath did he realize something that made his entire body stiffen.

She was so close to him.

Closer than any woman had ever been.

He didn’t touch females. Not since childhood. The idea of being near them had always made him tense and disgusted. He avoided them at ceremonies, turned away from them during greetings, and never let anyone hug him or even brush past him.

But Selene...

his mate...

She felt different.

Every inch of contact with her didn’t suffocate him.

It comforted him.

Her warmth on his chest, her breath on his collarbone, her small hands gripping his shirt... instead of disgust or panic, all he felt was a shy heat rising under his skin.

And a desperate wish to pull her even closer.

But he didn’t.

He wouldn’t take advantage of her when she was this fragile.

So he just guided her gently until her head rested on his shoulder. His hand rose and began to stroke her hair softly. Slow, steady motions. Something he had never done for anyone before.

Selene breathed out shakily. The tension in her shoulders slowly loosened, and she leaned her full weight against him, exhausted and overwhelmed.

Aeron tightened his hold around her waist and continued petting her silently.

Outside the room

While the two of them sat quietly inside, the air outside the house was entirely different...sharp, hostile, dangerous.

Luca jerked open the front door with a deep growl rumbling in his chest, ready to tear apart whoever dared disturb them at this hour.

But the sight in front of him stopped him for a second.

Three patrol guards stood there, stiff and pale, fists still raised from pounding on the door. Their armor carried the royal crest, proving they were direct soldiers of the king.

Luca’s growl only got louder.

"What the hell are you knocking for in the middle of the night?" he snapped, voice low and threatening, his alpha aura pouring out of him like a heavy fog.

The guard in front stepped back before he forced himself to stand straight. He was clearly a trained royal guard, but in front of Luca, the man looked like a trembling rookie.

"Alpha Luca," he said, voice shaking but trying to stay respectful, "we... we heard movement. A sneaking figure. We thought someone had broken into your home. We came to check."

He said all of it in one rushed breath, as if afraid Luca might snap his head off.

Luca’s eyes narrowed dangerously.

"You’re saying someone broke into our house," he growled, "and none of us noticed?"

The guard swallowed hard. Sweat formed instantly on his forehead. The three men behind him shifted nervously, eyes darting between the towering alphas at the door.

Lucian and Kael stood directly behind Luca, silent and deadly.

Kael’s arms were crossed, muscles tense.

Lucian’s hands hung loosely at his sides, but his eyes held a cold promise:

Take one more step inside, and I’ll break your legs.

Even without speaking, their presence alone made the guards stiffen in fear.

But the lead guard didn’t back down completely. He had orders from the king himself... keep watch over the four Alphas. Make sure nothing unusual entered or left their territory.

And he had seen someone. A flash of a figure. A shadow moving too quickly near their walls.

He couldn’t ignore that.

"Alpha... please," the guard said carefully, voice trembling even as he tried to act brave. "We must check. It’s protocol. We will only look for a moment."

"No."

Lucian’s voice cut through the air like a blade.

He stepped forward, his eyes glowing faintly in warning. "No one enters this house."

The guard froze.

Kael tilted his head slightly, assessing the men like a predator looking at prey. "You’re brave to ask," he said calmly, "but bravery won’t save you if you push your luck."

The guards tensed.

They were terrified.

But they also couldn’t return to the king and say they failed their duty.

The lead guard swallowed again, voice cracking slightly as he tried one last time. "We... we have to check. Just once. Then we will leave."

Luca’s lip curled into a dangerous snarl.

"Do you think we’re fools?" he snapped. "If someone was here, we’d tear them apart before they touched our walls."

The guard flinched but held his ground, though barely.

Lucian took one step forward.

Kael took one step to the side, blocking any possible entry.

Together, the three brothers formed an unmovable wall across the doorway.

Anyone with half a brain would understand the message:

No one is entering this home.

Not even the king’s men.

And certainly not when their mate was inside, in a vulnerable condition. Which they would never allow any men to see.

The guards felt the killing intent around them tighten. Their hands twitched at their sides, but the fear was winning. The lead guard opened his mouth to try again, but Luca leaned closer until their foreheads almost touched.

"Turn around," Luca said softly, almost whispering, which made it even more terrifying.

"Or I’ll make sure you can’t walk back."

The guard’s breath caught.

Kael’s expression was stone.

Lucian’s aura darkened.

All three guards behind the leader took a careful step back.

Finally, the lead guard broke.

He bowed quickly, mouth dry. "W-We will return to our patrol."

And with that, the group turned and hurried away, almost stumbling over each other in their rush to leave the Alphas’ territory.

Only when their footsteps faded did Kael shut the door and lock it firmly.

Inside, Aeron was still holding Selene on his lap, stroking her hair gently, unaware of the near confrontation at the front door.

Just as the patrol guards left, the three brothers didn’t wait before going inside to find her.

A few breaths later, the three brothers stood in front of her, watching Selene resting against Aeron’s shoulder. Her eyes were half-closed, lashes trembling, her body softening for the first time in front of them.

There was a gentleness in her they had never witnessed so openly. It hit all three of them in the same place...deep, quiet, and dangerous.

If she could be vulnerable like this... then she had started to trust them.

And that meant more than anything.

But before they could take in the warmth of that scene any longer, Selene suddenly jerked awake. Her entire body tensed as if someone had poured ice water down her spine. Aeron caught her instantly before she could stumble, holding her steady.

She stared up at him with wide, frightened eyes.

"Vaelen is here," she whispered.

Aeron froze. Luca and Kael stiffened at the same time. The softness in all three of their faces drained, replaced instantly by sharp, protective darkness.

And she was right. They could sense the prince’s scent now, faint but unmistakable...he had arrived far too quickly. The guards had been gone less than five minutes.

But Selene sensed him before any of them.

Of course she did. She wasn’t just a simple witch...she was powerful in ways even they didn’t fully understand yet.

Panic hit her next. She tore herself out of Aeron’s hold and scrambled to her feet.

"I need to go. He can’t find me here," she said, already moving toward the passage she had originally sneaked through.

Aeron’s chest twisted painfully at the sight of her terror. He reached out, caught her arm, and steadied her again.

"Selene. Don’t panic," he said softly. "We’ll handle him."

"No!" She shook her head violently. "I need to get away. I can’t let him find me. I have to go...please...I can’t stay here..."

Her voice broke. She didn’t even notice the brothers’ expressions darkening with every second.

Aeron did.

He stepped in front of her, firm but gentle. "You’re panicking. Let me help you. With me beside you, he won’t find us."

She tried to refuse again, "No, you should stay; I can manage..." but Aeron wasn’t listening anymore. The fear in her voice tore something open inside him.

And that was the moment something in him snapped.

Aeron moved without thinking.

His hands slid to her waist...her bare, soft waist, and his fingers curled around her as if she might disappear through his hands if he didn’t hold tight. Her skin was warm under his palms, fragile in a way that made his heartbeat slam hard against his ribs.

She gasped when he tugged her closer, her hands instinctively clutching at his shoulders. As she lifted her arms to steady herself, they brushed around him...loosely at first, then clinging when her panic surged again.

"Aeron..." she whispered, voice shaking.

"I’m right here," he breathed.

He drew her fully against his chest, one arm tightening around her waist, the other sliding up her back in silent reassurance. Her feet nearly left the floor from the force of how close he pulled her.

Then they did.

In one swift motion, Aeron lifted her clean off the ground, just enough for her toes to lose contact. Her breath caught, her fingers digging into him...but he only held her tighter.

"Hold on to me," he said in the gentlest voice he could muster.

And in the next heartbeat, both of them vanished from the room, leaving only a sharp gust of wind behind.

Luca and Kael stared at the empty space where they had stood. Their shock lasted barely a second before...

BANG. BANG. BANG.

A furious knock rattled the door...harder than before, shaking the frame.

The brothers’ expressions turned grim.

Only Luca stepped forward.

They couldn’t all rush to the door and look suspicious. They needed to appear normal. Calm and Unaware.

So Luca inhaled once, steadied himself, and opened the door with a smooth, practiced expression.