Chapter#02

Selene POV

Blood. It was everywhere.

I covered my ears, desperate to block out the echoes of screams—the cries of my people, the roars of my father, the haunting howls of Damien. Each sound tore through me like claws raking my insides. I pressed my hands harder, shaking my head violently, but the screams only grew louder.

“Please, stop!” I screamed. “I can’t bear it! I can’t—”

Laughter broke through the cacophony. I opened my eyes, trembling. There he was—Leandro. His cruel smirk sent ice down my spine. In his hands, he held my world: Damien’s head in one, my father’s in the other.

“No!” I tried to scream as he threw them at me, but my voice caught in my throat. My vision blurred. My chest burned as I gasped for air—

I bolted upright, clutching my throat. It was a nightmare. But the pain in my chest told me it wasn’t just a dream—it was a memory.

Rowan POV

It had been two days since everything fell apart. Two long days since we lost our home, our family, and everything we knew.

The cave where we hid felt cold and suffocating. Selene sat curled in a corner, trembling with her soft cries breaking the silence. My heart ached to see her like this.

I knelt beside her, brushing a strand of silver hair from her tear-streaked face. “It’s okay, Selene. I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.”

She looked at me with red-rimmed eyes and spoke, “How can one person be so brutal, Rowan? Why couldn’t our whole army stop him? Why did we…” Her voice trailed off as tears choked her.

I placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to steady her. “Right now, we need to think about staying safe. We can’t hide in caves forever.”

Her lips quivered, and I saw a flash of the strong sister I once knew—a girl who used to challenge me in everything, from sparring matches to hunting races. I remembered the way our father used to laugh as we bickered.

The memories hit me like a wave. I had promised to protect her, yet here we were, cowering in a cave, hiding from the monster who took everything from us.

I remember that day clearly.

The sound of laughter filled the training yard as Selene darted behind Father, giggling. I chased after her, “You can’t use Dad as a shield!”

Father chuckled, standing with his arms crossed. “I didn’t know I was a hiding spot.”

“She cheats,” I huffed, but I couldn’t help grinning as Selene peeked out from behind him, sticking her tongue out at me.

“Cheating or not, she’s outsmarting you, Rowan,” Father teased, ruffling Selene’s hair.

The image of his smile felt like a dagger now, twisting in my chest.

I shook the memory away as Caden sat down beside me. He didn’t say anything, but his glance told me he understood.

“We need to leave soon,” Caden said in a low tone. “We can’t stay here long. Leandro’s men might already be tracking us.”

I nodded. “But where can we go? Selene can’t be seen, Caden. If they find her…”

Caden’s gaze turned sharp, “She’ll come with us. To the Alpha King training camp.”

I frowned. “That’s insane. She can’t just walk into a camp full of werewolves. They’ll know her scent—”

“We’ll disguise her,” Caden interrupted. His voice was firm, though I could see the hesitation in his eyes. “We’ll make her Kaelen.”

The name hung in the air like a thunderclap. Kaelen, our older brother. The one who should’ve been at the camp with us. The one we had lost in the massacre.

Selene stirred as her tired eyes landed on us. “What are you two talking about?”

Caden didn’t flinch. “You’re coming with us, Selene. But not as you. As Kaelen.”

Her brows furrowed as confusion crossed her face. “You want me to pretend to be Kaelen?”

“It’s the only way to keep you safe,” Caden said, “Leandro is hunting you. The camp is the only place he won’t expect you to be. But you can’t go as yourself.”

Selene POV

I stared at them in disbelief. Pretend to be Kaelen? The idea felt like a betrayal—a betrayal of myself, of who I was. But when I looked at Rowan and Caden, the desperation and fear in their eyes, I knew they weren’t wrong.

“This is the only way?” I whispered.

Caden nodded grimly. “It is, I believe. It’s been two days I’ve been trying to figure out a safe place for us and the camp is the only place that keeps on coming in my mind.” He took out a knife from his pockets and offered it to me.

Me and Rowan exchanged looks and then he instantly broke the silence, “You don’t have to force yourself to do this.”

“If this is the only way to keep us safe…” My hands shook as I reached for the knife Caden offered, “then I’ll do it.”

Caden hesitated. “Are you sure—”

“For father, our brother and Damien.” My voice cracked, but I clenched my jaw.

Moonlight hit me as I began cutting my hair. The strands of silver, so much like Father’s, fell to the ground in lifeless heaps. Each snip felt like a piece of me was being stripped away.

When I finished, I ran my fingers through what little was left. I barely recognized myself.

“This isn’t enough,” Caden said, pulling out a small vial of dye. He worked quickly, staining my hair a dull brown. My silver locks, once a symbol of my family, were gone.

Finally, Caden uncorked another vial—a potion to mask my scent. “This will help you mask your scent.” The acrid smell burned my nose as he applied it to my neck and wrists.

When it was done, I walked to the water’s edge and stared at my reflection. The girl I saw wasn’t Selene. She was someone else. Someone unrecognizable.

I swallowed hard, turning back to them. “Let’s do this. For our family. For our people. For us.”

Rowan placed a hand on my shoulder, “For our Family. For our people. For us.”

My chest tightened as I nodded. I wasn’t just Selene anymore. I was Kaelen now. And I would survive—not for me, but for the family I had left and the one I had lost.