Chapter 3

Selene swallowed hard, her throat dry as she stared back at Rowan. "I don't understand what any of this means," she said, her voice trembling despite her effort to stay calm. "You keep talking in riddles-about danger, about responsibility-but you're not telling me anything real."

Lachlan sighed, running a hand through his dark hair. "She's got a point, you know. If we're going to drop her into this mess, the least we can do is give her a heads-up."

Rowan's jaw tightened. "It's not that simple."

"It never is with you," Lachlan muttered under his breath.

"Enough," Declan said sharply, his voice cutting through the tension like a blade. He turned to Selene, his gaze steady. "You're right. You deserve to know the truth. But understand this-it won't make things any easier."

Selene crossed her arms, forcing herself to hold his gaze. "Try me."

Declan studied her for a moment before gesturing for her to sit down. She hesitated but finally perched on the edge of a worn armchair, her fingers gripping the armrest. The brothers remained standing, their presence like storm clouds gathering in the room.

"You've heard the legends, haven't you?" Declan began. "The stories about werewolves, about packs and bloodlines?"

Selene's stomach turned, her skepticism rising like a shield. "You mean the kind of stuff you hear in ghost stories? Sure. But they're just myths."

"They're not myths," Rowan said flatly.

She blinked, unsure if she'd heard him correctly. "What?"

"They're real," he said, his voice steady but heavy with meaning. "We're real."

Selene stared at him, her mind reeling. "You're telling me you're-what? Werewolves?"

Lachlan grinned, his eyes glinting with amusement. "See? That wasn't so hard to say, was it?"

"This isn't a joke," Rowan growled, shooting his brother a warning glance.

Selene's pulse thundered in her ears. She wanted to laugh, to call them crazy, but the memory of those silver eyes in the darkness stopped her. And the growl-she hadn't imagined that.

"Prove it," she said suddenly, her voice sharper than she expected.

Rowan raised an eyebrow. "Prove it?"

"Yeah," she said, gripping the armrest tighter. "If you're going to stand here and tell me I've somehow stumbled into a supernatural soap opera, you're going to have to do better than cryptic warnings and scary stories."

The brothers exchanged a look, and Selene couldn't help but notice the unspoken conversation that seemed to pass between them.

Lachlan was the first to move. He stepped forward, his playful demeanor shifting into something more serious. His gaze locked onto hers, and for a moment, she thought she saw a flicker of something inhuman in his bright blue eyes.

"Don't freak out," he said with a wink.

Before she could respond, his body seemed to ripple, his muscles tensing as a low growl rumbled from his chest. His hands shifted, the fingers elongating into sharp claws, and his face took on an unmistakably lupine structure.

Selene's breath hitched as she scrambled back in her chair. "Oh my god," she whispered.

Lachlan stopped the transformation before it went further, his features returning to normal in the blink of an eye. He straightened, his grin returning. "There. Proof."

Selene pressed a hand to her chest, her heart hammering against her ribs. "You're-this is-"

"Real," Rowan finished for her, his expression unreadable.

She looked between them, her mind spinning. "So you're werewolves. And you think...what? That I'm part of this somehow?"

Declan nodded. "It's more than that. Your arrival here-it's not a coincidence. This house, this town-they're tied to our pack's history. To our future."

Selene's head spun as she tried to process everything. She opened her mouth to respond, but the sound of a sharp howl in the distance cut her off.

Rowan's body went rigid, his eyes narrowing as he turned toward the door.

"Trouble," he muttered.

"Already?" Lachlan groaned, rolling his shoulders as if preparing for a fight. "Can't we have one peaceful night?"

Declan ignored him, his focus on Selene. "Stay here. Lock the doors and don't come out until we return."

"What's happening?" she asked, rising from her chair.

"Rogues," Rowan said, his voice a low growl.

"Rogues?"

"Wolves who don't belong to a pack," Declan explained quickly. "They're dangerous. And they've been circling Silver Hollow for weeks."

Before Selene could argue, the three brothers were already moving. Rowan and Lachlan disappeared through the door, their forms blurring into shadows as they shifted mid-step. Declan lingered for a moment, his green eyes meeting hers.

"Stay inside," he said firmly. "We'll handle this."

And then he was gone, leaving Selene alone in the silence of the house.

Her legs felt like jelly as she sank back into the chair, her mind racing with questions. Werewolves. Rogues. Prophecies. None of it made sense, and yet she couldn't deny what she'd seen.

The howl came again, closer this time, and Selene felt a chill crawl up her spine. For the first time, she realized just how isolated she was in this strange, dark town.

And just how much danger might be waiting for her beyond the shadows.