Kael’s POVThe world came apart in gold and shadow.Glass burst around him, the air splitting with a scream that wasn’t human. Kael hit the ground in a roll, claws raking through smoke that moved like flesh. The creature darted back, its form half-formed, its eyes two burning slits of white in the dark.He shifted fully before his feet touched the floor. The wolf tore free in a flash of bone and muscle, jaws snapping, fury given shape. His roar shook the timbers of the longhouse.Get them out.It wasn’t a thought, it was instinct. Aria. The baby.He spun toward the doorway where she’d vanished, the scent of her fear cutting through the haze of blood and ash. The creature lunged again. Kael met it midair, fangs sinking into something that hissed like boiling metal. The taste burned his tongue, but he didn’t let go. He slammed it to the ground and ripped until it stopped moving.Then the floor trembled.From somewhere beneath the Hollow came a sound like the earth cracking open, deep,
( Aria’s POV )They managed to find there selfs a cabin, after walking and running thru the woods.Having to get the baby out of the woods, letting him have a resting period. The Hollow felt smaller in the light.Morning spread thin across the clearing, weak and uncertain, painting everything in washed-out gold. Smoke rose from the pyres, the smell of ash and blood clinging to her clothes, her hair, her skin. Every breath tasted like something that wouldn’t fade.Aria stood near the longhouse, her hands slick with herbs and bandages, tending to the wounded who still breathed. But her mind wasn’t on the cuts and the broken ribs in front of her. It was on the sound that hadn’t left her since dawn.A heartbeat.Too small. Too fast.Her son’s heartbeat.She could hear it in the back of her mind, steady but distant, the tether between them that never fully went quiet. It had always been like that, ever since he was born under blood-red skies and Kael had cut the cord with trembling hand
( Kael's POV ) The Hollow fell into motion like a living thing.Orders rippled outward from Kael in low, clipped commands, the kind that carried weight without needing to be shouted. Wolves moved through the clearing with purpose, sharpening blades, shifting into their second skins, binding wounds hastily wrapped hours earlier. The storm’s aftermath still clung to the forest, but something sharper now cut through the air.Not fear.Readiness.Aria moved among them, checking packs, handing out fresh bandages, silver-tipped arrows, charms etched with old runes. Her hands didn’t shake, though her pulse beat hard in her throat. Every wolf she passed met her eyes, and she could feel it, the unspoken thing that came when you stood next to the Alpha. She wasn’t Kael’s second. She wasn’t even sure what she was anymore. But they looked to her anyway.She felt that weight settle across her shoulders and didn’t flinch.Kael stood at the center of the clearing, bare-chested, blood dried along t
( Kael's POV )The moment Kael stepped out of the longhouse, the Hollow shifted.Wolves moved like shadows between the mist and trees, some still carrying the scent of blood and storm from the night before. The fires burned low, more smoke than flame now, curling thin and gray into the pale light. The air itself seemed to hold its breath, heavy with the weight of something waiting just beyond sight.Aria kept close to Kael as they crossed the clearing, Jarek a pace behind. Her boots squelched against the soaked earth, the ground slick from the storm. She could hear the distant snapping of branches, the low growls of wolves in their skin, patrolling the perimeter. The Hollow had always felt alive, but this was different. The forest wasn’t just alive. It was watching.Kael’s jaw was set like carved stone. Every line of him screamed Alpha now , the man she’d curled against hours ago was hidden behind that iron mask. But she felt the heat of him anyway, the steadiness that bled into the a
( Aria's POV ) Dawn crept over the Hollow like a reluctant confession. The night’s storm had broken just before sunrise, leaving the forest wrapped in mist and silence. Trees still dripped from the downpour, the air sharp with the scent of wet pine and ash. The perimeter fires burned low, watched over by bleary-eyed wolves who had kept guard long after the creature disappeared into the treeline. The longhouse stood scarred but still standing. A jagged hole gaped in the roof where lightning had split it open. Smoke trailed weakly from the blackened hearth. But inside, for the first time in hours, it was quiet. Kael opened his eyes to pale gray light filtering through the cracked roof. His body ached in the familiar way it always did after a fight, ribs throbbing, blood crusted on his skin, wolf still humming beneath the surface. But it wasn’t pain that woke him. It was warm. Aria lay tucked against his side, her head resting on his shoulder, breath slow and even. At some poi
(Aria's POV ) The Hollow was quiet, but it wasn’t peace. The silence after the creature’s disappearance pressed down like a weight. The longhouse still smelled of smoke and iron. Wolves moved in hushed urgency outside, gathering what was left of the night, but no one dared enter. The storm might have passed, but its echo lingered in the walls, in their bones. Kael stood near the hearth, or what was left of it, hands braced on his thighs, blood still dripping sluggishly from the gash along his ribs. The firelight painted his wolf-scarred skin in bronze and shadow. His breath came in rough pulls, more animal than man. Aria sat on the floor with Storm curled against her, the boy’s small chest rising and falling in deep, exhausted sleep. His mark had faded to a dull ember. Her fingers trembled as she brushed the damp hair from his forehead. Kael turned his head slightly, watching her through the curtain of his wet, matted hair. The pack would have questions. The creature would re