The Witch and Her Four Dangerous Alphas

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?"

glanced briefly at Selene before answering. "She was causing trouble..." His voice darkened. "She

brow twitched at

"So I thought if she wants to act untamed, we’d remind her what she is.

curled tightly against herself, her damp hair hiding most of her face. But now he

The collar.

neck—black leather with a metal bell

A slave’s collar.

what she was

name like a

a pause, "tell me before

as if brushing away the weight of the decision. "Do what you want

didn’t move, but her body

watched him go, silence hanging like a curtain until he

his jaw tight but expression cooled

The heavy silence

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

he hadn’t felt

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

just him. His wolf

it whimpered in the back of his mind,

the wolf whispered again, though quieter this time. Don’t throw her

wolf

wolf roared inside his head, clawing and growling as if Aeron had just