Chapter 4: The House of Shadows

The black SUV raced through the snow-covered streets while silence filled the cabin.

Evelyn sat in the back seat between Orion and Ryland, stealing nervous glances toward the man driving.

Thaddeus hadn't spoken a single word since they left the alley.

Neither had she.

Everything she had witnessed replayed endlessly in her mind.

A werewolf.

A vampire.

A man who caught bullets with his bare hand.

None of it should have been possible.

Yet she had seen every second with her own eyes.

"You're thinking too loudly," Ryland joked, trying to lighten the mood.

Evelyn looked at him.

"I just watched you turn into a giant wolf."

"Fair point."

"How are you smiling after everything that happened?"

Ryland shrugged.

"I've had a hundred years to get used to it."

Her eyes widened.

"A hundred years?"

Orion chuckled softly.

"He isn't exaggerating."

"You're serious?"

"Very."

Evelyn leaned back in disbelief.

"So... none of you are human?"

No one answered.

The silence itself became her answer.

Half an hour later, the SUV slowed before enormous black iron gates.

The gates opened automatically.

Beyond them stood a breathtaking estate surrounded by towering pine trees.

It looked less like a home and more like an ancient castle hidden from the modern world.

"Welcome home," Ryland said.

"Home?" Evelyn repeated.

"Temporary home," Orion corrected gently.

As they stepped inside, Evelyn's eyes wandered across the massive entrance hall.

Crystal chandeliers hung from high ceilings.

Ancient paintings covered the stone walls.

Everything felt expensive.

Yet strangely cold.

"I'll show you your room," Orion offered.

Evelyn hesitated.

"I'm not your prisoner... right?"

Ryland laughed.

"If you were our prisoner, the front door wouldn't still be unlocked."

"Ryland," Orion warned.

"What? I'm telling the truth."

Thaddeus finally spoke.

"She stays because she chooses to."

Looking toward Evelyn, he continued.

"If you decide to leave tomorrow, no one will stop you."

She studied his face carefully.

Despite his terrifying reputation, something about his eyes felt... lonely.

"Thank you," she whispered.

After showing her to a beautifully furnished guest room, Orion quietly closed the door.

The moment she was alone, Evelyn collapsed onto the bed.

"This can't be real," she muttered.

She reached into her pocket.

Her phone.

No signal.

"Of course," she sighed.

Meanwhile...

Downstairs...

Thaddeus stood before the fireplace.

"Report," he ordered.

Ryland became serious immediately.

"Those hunters weren't freelancers."

"I recognized their symbols."

"The Order?" Orion asked.

Ryland nodded.

"They're expanding again."

"Impossible," Thaddeus replied.

"We destroyed most of them decades ago."

"Apparently not enough."

Orion placed several silver bullets onto the table.

"These aren't ordinary weapons."

"Runes."

"Ancient witch magic."

Thaddeus frowned.

"Someone powerful is backing them."

"And they're after Evelyn."

"Which means they know what she is."

Ryland looked confused.

"But she's human."

Before anyone answered...

The lights flickered.

Every candle inside the mansion suddenly went out.

A wave of freezing air swept through every hallway.

"Do you feel that?" Orion whispered.

Thaddeus slowly nodded.

"Magic."

Upstairs...

Evelyn sat upright.

She felt it too.

The room had become unbearably cold.

A strange whisper echoed around her.

"Evelyn..."

She looked around.

"Who's there?"

No answer.

Again the whisper came.

"Find... the truth..."

The bedroom mirror suddenly cracked.

A symbol slowly appeared across the shattered glass.

A black crescent moon surrounded by glowing silver flames.

"What is that?"

Before she could move closer...

The mirror exploded.

Glass scattered across the room.

Thaddeus burst through the door instantly.

"Evelyn!"

He stopped the moment he saw the symbol burning across the opposite wall.

Ryland and Orion entered seconds later.

"No..." Orion whispered.

"That's impossible."

"What is it?" Evelyn asked.

No one answered immediately.

Thaddeus stared at the glowing mark with an expression she hadn't seen before.

Fear.

"Thaddeus?" Orion asked quietly.

"Tell me I'm wrong."

Thaddeus slowly shook his head.

"You're not."

"They've found her."

"Who?" Evelyn demanded.

"Who keeps talking about me?"

Thaddeus turned toward her.

His voice had become colder than ever.

"Because you're no ordinary human anymore."

"You never were."

"Your life has been built on a lie."

"And whoever marked that mirror..."

"...knows exactly who you really are."