Chapter 13 Can’t Let Her Win
Princes’ POV
Three Brothers. One Problem.
The Lycan Palace was rarely quiet.
But today… it felt heavy.
Too heavy.
Like something was shifting beneath the marble floors.
Like something had crawled into the palace and thrown everything off balance.
And the cause of it?
A maid.
A prisoner.
A girl who shouldn’t even be breathing in the Lycan King’s shadow.
Yet somehow… she was.
And the princes noticed.
Roger slammed the door of the east wing lounge so hard the windows rattled.
Kennedy didn’t even flinch.
He lifted a cup of tea to his lips like the chaos didn’t concern him at all.
Damon lounged on the velvet couch with his boots on the table, tossing a dagger in the air and catching it lazily.
None of them said a word at first.
But the anger in the room was impossible to ignore.
Damon finally smirked.
“So,” he said, “our dear brother has a new pet.”
Roger spun around.
“A pet? She’s a prisoner. A nobody. She was supposed to be scrubbing floors, not—”
He stopped himself.
Kennedy arched a brow.
“Not what?”
Roger gritted his teeth. “Not standing behind him like she belongs there.”
Damon laughed.
“That’s what this is about? She stood too close?”
Roger glared. “You weren’t there. You didn’t see the way Leon looked at her.”
Kennedy leaned back in his chair.
“He wasn’t looking at her.”
Roger blinked. “Then what—”
“He was watching,” Kennedy said simply. “There’s a difference.”
Damon caught his dagger again and twirled it between his fingers.
“Since when does Leon watch anyone? He barely looks at the council. He barely looks at women. But suddenly he’s stepping between a maid and Elder Taron like she’s royalty?”
Roger paced in a tight circle.
“That’s exactly the problem.”
Kennedy placed his cup down and finally sat up straight.
“Explain.”
Roger let out a frustrated breath.
“You didn’t see Taron’s face. The man looked ready to tear her apart. And Leon? He walked in and shut him down. Like Taron was nothing.”
Damon nodded slowly.
“I believe it.”
“And then,” Roger continued, “Leon told the girl to go to his chamber.”
Kennedy exhaled through his nose.
“A prisoner. Summoned to the King’s chamber.”
Damon shrugged.
“It’s Leon. He doesn’t do things without a reason.”
Roger’s eyes flashed.
“That’s what worries me.”
He stopped pacing and slammed his fist on the table.
“What does he want with her?”
Damon stretched, bored but listening.
Kennedy’s gaze sharpened.
“Maybe she knows something.”
“Like what?” Roger snapped. “She’s Evergreen trash.”
Damon shrugged again.
“She survived the invasion. That already makes her different.”
Roger’s jaw tightened.
“Different isn’t good.”
Kennedy leaned forward.
“Tell the truth, Roger. You’re scared Leon will replace you.”
Roger scoffed. “Replace me with whom? A maid?”
“Not replace your position,” Kennedy said calmly, “replace your usefulness.”
The silence that followed was thick.
Damon whistled low.
“He has a point.”
Roger clenched his teeth.
“She’s nothing.”
Kennedy smirked. “Leon doesn’t protect nothing.”
Roger turned away, but his silence said everything.
The three brothers sat in brooding quiet for a moment.
Then Damon broke it again.
“She’s quiet,” he said. “I’ve watched her. She doesn’t talk unless forced. She doesn’t fight back unless necessary. She’s… strange.”
Kennedy nodded.
“She endures humiliation without cracking. Even Sierra couldn’t break her.”
Roger scoffed. “Sierra was furious.”
“I know,” Kennedy replied. “That’s why it was entertaining.”
Damon smirked.
“Is that why Leon stepped in? Because Sierra was humiliating someone he actually cares about?”
Roger spun around again, eyes wild.
“Leon doesn’t care about ANYONE.”
Kennedy tapped his fingers on the armrest.
“He cared enough to order her straight to his chamber.”
Roger’s chest tightened.
He didn’t know why that bothered him so much.
No—
He did know.
And it wasn’t jealousy.
It was fear.
Leon was cold. Calculating. Impossible to manipulate.
But if a woman—
A weak, powerless girl—
could shift his judgment even slightly…
Then the entire palace was at risk.
And that meant the princes were, too.
Damon pushed himself off the couch.
“So what do we do?” he asked casually.
Kennedy’s smirk returned.
“We wait.”
Roger frowned. “Wait for what? Leon to crown her queen?”
Kennedy rolled his eyes.
“Relax. He won’t. Leon doesn’t do love.”
Damon snorted.
“Love? Leon doesn’t even do fondness.”
Roger folded his arms tightly.
“Then why her?”
Kennedy paused.
And for the first time since entering the lounge…
He looked unsure.
“I don’t know,” he admitted.
Damon’s smirk faded, too.
Roger swallowed.
The uncertainty made everything worse.
Finally, Kennedy leaned back.
“We don’t attack her,” he said. “Leon will tear our heads off.”
Roger’s face twisted. “So we just let her walk around like she owns the place?”
“No,” Kennedy said softly. “We let her live here.”
He paused.
“And we make her regret it.”
Damon cracked his knuckles, excitement finally glinting in his eyes.
“Now that,” he said, “sounds fun.”
Roger felt something cold settle in his chest.
This wasn’t jealousy.
This wasn’t rivalry.
This was survival.
Because whatever Leon saw in her…
Whatever made him shield her…
Whatever made him command her so personally…
It was powerful.
Too powerful.
And if the future Queen—or whatever Leon planned for her—was some broken Evergreen girl…
The princes needed to protect their own positions.
Their own power.
Their own future.
Kennedy stood up last, smoothing his jacket.
“Leon may claim her,” he said.
“But we will remind her where she stands.”
Damon nodded, eyes darkening.
“In the dirt.”
Roger clenched his fists.
“Good.”
Kennedy walked toward the door, speaking the final sentence without even looking back.
“She may have the King’s protection.”
A pause.
“But she doesn’t have ours.”
Outside the lounge, the palace halls buzzed with whispered rumors.
Maids. Warriors. Council aides.
Everyone was talking about the same thing.
The quiet girl who had somehow become the center of the Lycan King’s attention.
A storm was already brewing around Isabella. A storm she didn’t see coming. A storm she wasn’t prepared for.
Because the princes had made their decision.
And they were not going to make her stay easy.
Not here.
Not in the Lycan Palace.
Not under their rule.