Fated To Not Just One, But Three

Chapter 428: A child I never Knew

Selene’s POV

With my breath panting, I hurried downstairs, my bare feet hitting the polished floor. My heart was still racing, but this time it wasn’t from Frederick’s touch—it was from the loud voices echoing through the manor.

This was strange.

Frederick’s home was always silent, almost unnaturally so. One thing I had learned since being here was that he hated noise. He loved quietness, the kind of silence that made you feel like even the walls were holding their breath.

But now... that silence was gone.

The voices grew louder as I neared the grand hall. Deep, angry, commanding tones mixed with nervous replies. My wolf’s ears perked inside me, restless, uneasy.

"What’s happening?" I whispered under my breath, clutching the banister as I came down the staircase.

I froze halfway down the stairs when I saw a maid slumped against the wall, blood spilling from the side of her neck. My heart jumped, my wolf snarling inside me.

And then I saw Frederick standing in the center of the hall, one hand clamped firmly around the arm of a boy who struggled against his grip. The child couldn’t have been more than five. His lips were smeared with red blood, fangs still bared as he hissed and kicked at the air.

"HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I WARNED YOU?" Frederick’s voice thundered, echoing through the vast manor. His eyes blazed red as he glared at the trembling housekeeper. "NEVER—never leave his door open!"

My breath caught as my gaze shifted back to the boy. His features... gods. The sharp cheekbones, the deep sea-blue eyes, the faint curl of his white hair—it was like looking at a smaller version of Frederick himself.

A cold shiver ran through me.

Was this... his son?

How had I never seen him? Never even heard of him?

The boy caught sight of me at that moment. His fangs glistened, his bloodstained lips curling into a mocking sneer. "Another woman warming my father’s bed?" he spat, his voice cruelly mature for his young age.

widened, shock rooting

since I’d known him, I saw a flicker of panic

turned on the boy, his expression sharp with fury. "You will

smirked,

wince. "Guard!" he barked. Two shadows moved from the edges of the hall. "Take him to

growling, but the guards dragged him away. His eyes never

moment they disappeared down the corridor, the manor seemed to

damp with sweat. She was human. She would

whispered, pressing my hand to her wound. My mind ticked

Frederick. His expression was

I said firmly. My

if weighing every word. Finally,

he asked, his tone filled

"No... not a healer," I admitted quickly. "But I know herbs. Remedies. I can stop the

a shake of his head. "Don’t bother." His voice was cold and dismissive. "A healer has already been called. She’ll be

pressing over the maid’s wound. My chest burned with something heavy. Slowly, I lowered my gaze,

just rejection. It was

trust me. Didn’t

he turned and walked away. His steps were steady, unhurried, as though none of this chaos had

looked down at the maid again, at the pale skin, the blood still seeping between her fingers.

jaw tightened. If it had been Olivia, she could’ve healed this maid in a heartbeat. She

Me?

the girl with herbs,

buried deep stirred again, sharp

here, even now, Olivia’s shadow still swallowed me whole.

moment longer, my fingers trembling as I pressed

my dress, and turned away. My first instinct was to go to my room, to shut the door, to bury myself under blankets and force my wolf