Selena.
The cool air outside brushes against my skin as I move closer to where they are. I am a little nervous and not exactly sure how to act around them.
Not while I'm painfully aware of how short the shirt I'm wearing is. Not while all the mocking voices of my pack members rang in my head.
I pause just beyond the threshold, my hands loose at my sides, taking in the men before me, one by one. My chest flutters with something I cannot name.
Ronan turns first. His attention sharpens the moment he sees me, and his expression eases as if something inside him settles. Relief, perhaps, or recognition.
Beside him stands another man, similar in build but carrying a very different energy. His posture is relaxed, his gaze openly curious, sweeping over me without shame.
The third stands slightly apart from the others.
He is taller. Broader. Older. His arms are crossed, his stance rigid, his attention fixed somewhere beyond me.
"Guys, meet Selena, our mate," Ronan says.
The middle one steps forward. "Kael," he introduces himself with an easy smile. "And the silent one over there is my brother, Edris. He forgets manners whenever he sees a pretty girl." He teased.
"You talk too much," the third replies calmly.
That is when he looks at me.
Only briefly. But it is enough.
His eyes are dark and assessing, sharp in a way that makes my chest tighten. There is no warmth there. No curiosity. Only calculation.
Something about him unsettles me, but I do not linger on it.
Ronan gestures toward a fallen log nearby. "Sit," he says. "Did you enjoy your breakfast?"
"Yeah, it was nice. Thank you," I say.
"Well, you should be thanking him," he says, pointing to Edris. "He made the food."
I look toward him, but his gaze does not meet mine.
I lower myself onto the log, subconsciously pulling my shirt to cover my thighs.
Kael drops beside me easily, close enough that his knee brushes mine. "You're shy," he says, smiling softly. "We'll fix that."
Ronan chuckles. "Give her time."
My eyes wander to Edris, who remains standing, a few steps away, his attention outward, watchful. He does not join us. He does not look away from the trees.
Kael leans closer and whispers. "He is not unfriendly," he murmurs. "Just a little overprotective."
Ronan nods. "We all are. In different ways."
Ronan shifts slightly closer to my side. Not touching me, but close enough that I feel his presence like quiet reassurance.
"I want to thank you guys for saving me and bringing me here. Even though I don't remember how I got here," I say.
"We found you badly injured in the woods," Ronan says.
Flashes of what had happened the night before hits again without warning.
this time, I saw his face his cold face.
Silas.
My breath stills for a fraction of a second. How could I have ever believed the man I loved was incapable of killing me? Of leaving my body behind for the forest to claim?
Kael's gaze sharpens. "Who did this to you? Who dared to lay his hands on what is ours?"
I lift my eyes to his.
I do not see judgment there. Only concern. A readiness to act.
That makes the choice harder.
"I do not remember," I say.
The lie comes easily. Too easily. I tell myself I do not need to tell anyone about him. He was my problem. Not theirs.
To be honest, I was yet to really understand what was going on. It is true that the three of them are my mates. I feel their bond—the pull of it.
But, something didn't feel right, though I couldn't exactly tell what it was.
Kael studies me for a long moment, then glances at Ronan before returning his gaze to me.
"All the bruises on your face and head are gone. Do you usually heal this fast?" he asks.
My hand subconsciously touches my face and feels nothing, only a dull ache at the back of my head that still lingers.
"We heard you were wolfless," Kael continues. "Yet here you are without a single mark after being gruesomely attacked. What kind of magic did you use?"
"I do have a wolf," I say quietly. "She's just dormant."
A sharp scoff rattles inside my mind.
"How dare you call me dormant?" my wolf hisses, irritation dripping from her mental voice. "I should have just let you die out there!"
I roll my eyes under my lashes. "You actually did. And newsflash—you would have been dead too."
"You are unbelievable," she growls, though I catch the edge of amusement in the reprimand.
Kael's expression flickers. "If your wolf were truly dormant, you would have been dead within minutes."
"Yes. Finally. Someone with an actual brain," my wolf whines.
"And she howled to us for help," Ronan adds.
"She did?" I ask, unable to hide my surprise.
"I think she is a special wolf. You just haven't trained her to come under your command." Kael says.
I do not argue. I let the silence answer for me.
The eldest steps forward at last. His presence shifts the space around us, grounding it, sharpening it. He looks directly at me now, his gaze steady and unflinching.
"Why were you alone in the woods with no guards?" he asks.
My throat tightens.
"I… I do not know," I say, swallowing past the lump that suddenly rises in my throat. "I was actually surprised to see myself here when I woke up."
Ronan smiles, a faint warmth threading through his sharp features.
"You slept through the ride. We carried you. I mean—he carried you," he says, gesturing to Edris.
I study him, my heart lifting with the small reassurance. My wolf hums beneath my ribs, excited now, twitching with the bond already weaving itself tighter.
Maybe he wasn't as cold as he wanted me to believe.
"Thank you," I say to him.
But instead of an answer, his cold voice cuts through again, steady and measured. "You could have died out there."
"I know," I reply softly. "And it truly sucks that I don't remember anything. I wish I did."
He watches me for a long moment. His expression gives nothing away. Then he nods once, as if storing the answer rather than accepting it, and steps back without another word.
Kael glances at Ronan and shrugs as if unconcerned with their brother's tantrum. "All that matters is she is safe now." Kael says.
Ronan exhales slowly. He turns to me, his voice gentler. "You are safe here."
Kael nods. "All three of us will see to that. So long as you are our mate."
His words send warmth through me.
Mates.
Their presence is warm. Steady. The bond pulses faintly beneath my skin, a quiet reassurance I do not yet trust but cannot deny.
I do not know their names beyond what they have told me. I am not familiar with their history and I do not know what it truly means to belong to them.
But I know this.
I feel safe being with them. And I fear that if I speak Silas's name, protection will turn into war.
And I am not ready to be the spark.