Chapter 48 - our bloodline

Chapter 48: 48 - our bloodline 48 ~Belinda’s POV I watched from the corridor, half-hidden behind one of the stone pillars. My arms were crossed tightly over my chest, my nails digging into my skin as I saw them, Kael, Ramon, and Damon, walking with her. Lisa. My jaw clenched. What was she doing with them? And more importantly... why were they taking her there? Of all places, the flower garden? The one sacred spot on the palace grounds, the one place even I had never been allowed to set foot in. I had asked Kael once, years ago, and he had told me flatly: "No one goes there." But now she’s going there? With them? My breath caught in my throat as I saw her hesitate by the door. I could read the confusion on her face even from a distance. Like she didn’t understand why they were being kind to her. And then they went inside, and the door closed behind them. I stood frozen for a moment, then spun around and stormed away. My heels clacked loudly against the tiles, but I didn’t care who heard. My hands were shaking. My stomach churned. That girl. That pathetic, weak, trembling little human. What did they see in her? Why were they wasting their attention on her? After everything, after they had already used her, broken her, discarded her like they should have, why were they now looking at her like she mattered? My chest burned with rage. I found her again near the corridor when she ran out of the garden, tears streaking her face. The sight of her made something inside me snap. Without thinking, I slapped her across the face. The sound was sharp. Satisfying. She looked at me, stunned, and for a second, I thought she might fall apart right there. But she didn’t say anything. Coward. I turned and left without another word, holding my head high. I didn’t go back to my quarters. I went straight to the other wing, to my father’s estate. The guards let me through without a word. Everyone knew who I was. Beta Roderick’s daughter. The one who had grown up side by side with the alphas. The one who was meant to be Luna. I barged into his study. He was at his desk, reading something with those tired eyes of his. But when he looked up and saw me, he sat up straighter. "Belinda? What’s wrong?" "They took her to the flower garden," I said, breathless, my voice shaking with fury. He frowned. "Who?" "Lisa! That human girl! The one everyone whispers about. The one they’ve been humiliating for weeks. I saw them, father. All three of them. They took her into that place." His brows furrowed. "That doesn’t sound right." "It happened," I snapped. "She doesn’t belong here. She never did. But now they’re giving her attention? Taking her where not even I have been allowed to go?" I was pacing now. My fists clenched. My heart was pounding. "She’s taking something that doesn’t belong to her," I said. "The Luna title is mine. I have done everything right. I have stayed loyal, trained, and carried myself like a future queen. I have followed your every word. I have done everything the elders ever told me to." I turned to him, my eyes burning. "And now some servant gets to walk with them into the garden like she matters? Like she has any place in this palace other than scrubbing floors and weeping in silence?" My father said nothing for a while. Then he sighed, closing his book. "Belinda. You know the triplets are difficult. They don’t always act in predictable ways. Maybe they were testing her. Maybe it was a trick." I shook my head. "No. You didn’t see them. I know them. They looked at her like... like they owed her something. Like she was special." The word made bile rise in my throat. "I won’t let this happen," I said, voice low. "I won’t let her take what’s mine." My father stood. "What are you asking me to do?" I met his gaze. "Make them see reason. Talk to the elders. Tell them Lisa is a threat to order in this palace. She’s a distraction. A human who has no right to stand beside the Alphas. The Luna title belongs to someone who knows our laws. Our customs. Someone born to lead. Not some pitiful girl with tear-stained cheeks." I stood in front of my father, my breath shaky, but my voice firm. I had never spoken to him like that before, not with such fire, but this wasn’t just about pride anymore. This was about everything I had grown up believing. Everything I had been trained for. Groomed for. Lisa was an infection spreading through the palace, through their minds, and if someone didn’t put an end to it now, she’d take everything from me. From us. He looked hesitant, rubbing his forehead, clearly unsure how to respond. "Belinda, this could cause tension..." "Then let it," I snapped, stepping closer, my eyes locked on his. "Lunas are from the Beta’s family, remember?" I could feel my heartbeat pounding in my ears. "It’s tradition. It’s the law. That girl is already destroying order. If the triplets keep entertaining her, even just to toy with her, others will start to talk. Start to think that anything is possible. The maids already whisper behind doors. Guards avert their eyes when she walks by. She’s throwing everything into chaos." He sighed, clearly weighing something heavy in his mind, but I didn’t let him speak. "Let them be angry," I continued. "Let them rage. But at least let them remember their place. And mine." I could see the flicker in his eyes then. The reminder of what our family meant. The weight we carried. We weren’t just anyone. We were the Betas. The backbone of this pack. Without us, there was no structure. No guidance. My father had spent his whole life building that respect. I wasn’t about to let him forget it now. I turned toward the door, keeping my spine straight, my steps firm. "If you won’t do it for me," I said coldly over my shoulder, "do it for your legacy. Your blood. Your honor." And then I walked out without waiting for his reply. I didn’t need to hear it. I had planted the seed. I knew my father. He’d think it over, and soon enough, he’d act. For the good of the palace. For the good of our bloodline.