Chapter Thirty Seven - The Battle ( Aria's POV)

The forest still smelled like smoke and blood.

By the time we reached the Hollow, dawn had folded into late afternoon. The trees grew denser here, taller, older, their roots knotted deep into the earth. The air hummed with something quiet but alive, like the forest itself was watching us.

The Hollow wasn’t just a place. It was a sanctuary.

The wolves had carved it out years ago, hidden beneath layers of spellwork and earth, woven into a valley wrapped in mist. No outsider had ever set foot here and lived to talk about it. The wards thrummed as we approached, soft pulses brushing against my skin like curious fingers.

Kael’s hand was steady at the small of my back as we crossed the threshold.

The moment the magic recognized him, the barrier parted like smoke on the wind.

Lyra exhaled shakily behind us. “Gods. Finally.”

The pack filed in one by one, bloodied but breathing. Rhea limped slightly on her left side but didn’t slow. Luka had streaks of blackened ash across his face, and Jarek was still half-shifted, his gold eyes bright against the gloom.

Kael didn’t stop moving until he guided me into the heart of the Hollow.

It wasn’t grand, but it didn’t need to be. A wide clearing sat surrounded by birch and ash, their silver bark catching the light. A stream trickled through the edge, and a stone circle, older than the pack itself, sat like a sentinel at its center. It wasn’t the same kind of Circle Ronan had used. This one wasn’t corrupted. This one belonged to us.

Kael crouched in front of me as soon as we reached the stone bench near the stream. His hands rested on my knees, grounding me even though he looked like he could collapse himself.

“You need to rest,” he said.

“I’m fine,” I lied.

He didn’t even bother to argue. Just raised a brow.

“Okay, mostly fine,” I amended.

Lyra snorted. “Mostly fine doesn’t cut it when you nearly blow a hole through the forest with ancient magic.”

I shot her a look. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

“It is when your heart nearly stops,” Kael muttered under his breath.

His hand slid up to cup the side of my face, thumb brushing beneath my jaw. “Aria… you scared the hell out of me again.”

My throat tightened at the way he said it. Not angry. Not scolding. Just raw.

“You’re impossible,” I whispered.

“Yeah,” he said softly. “And you keep surviving. So don’t stop now.”

Behind us, the pack began to settle. Rhea and Luka stripped their gear off and collapsed onto the grass like wolves coming down from a hunt. Jarek shifted fully, bones cracking and reforming, then stalked to the edge of the clearing to stand watch. No one had to tell him to.

The Hollow felt safe. But we all knew that didn’t mean much anymore.

Lyra knelt near the old stones, tracing her fingers along the etched lines. “They’ve been dormant for years,” she said quietly. “But they’re still strong. If we’re lucky, we can reinforce the wards before the next attack.”

Kael’s head snapped up. “How much time do we have?”

She didn’t answer right away. And that silence was enough.

“Not long,” she finally said. “The shadows won’t stop now. Not after what Aria did out there.”

I clenched my fists in my lap. “They felt me.”

“They saw you,” Lyra corrected grimly. “That spark isn’t just power, it’s a beacon. You lit a damn fire in the dark. And everything that feeds on that kind of power will come crawling.”

Kael straightened, Alpha in every line of his body. “Then we’ll be ready.”

Jarek’s voice rumbled from the edge of the clearing. “Even if it means a war?”

Kael didn’t flinch. “Especially then.”

The words settled over the Hollow like a vow.

The next few hours blurred into movement.

The wolves worked like they were built for this. Rhea and Luka set up patrol routes through the outer forest. Jarek coordinated with the scouts, his growls cutting through the low hum of activity. Lyra disappeared into the stone circle, carving new runes into the earth, sweat gleaming down her spine as she whispered in the old tongue.

Kael stayed close. He always did.

I sat near the stream with my hands on my stomach, feeling the faint, steady pulse beneath my skin. The child’s heartbeat. Mine. A tether that tied us both to everything that had just happened, and everything coming.

“Aria.”

I looked up. Kael stood a few feet away, shadows beneath his eyes, blood still dried on his jaw. He looked tired. He also looked like the storm outside couldn’t touch him.

He crouched down in front of me again, reaching for my hands. “Talk to me.”

I blinked at him. “About what?”

“About the part where you pulled something ancient and wild through your veins and burned through half a forest.”

I huffed. “I didn’t exactly plan that.”

He didn’t smile. Not really. His thumb brushed over my knuckles, slow and steady. “But you controlled it.”

“I don’t know if I controlled it or if it let me borrow it.”

“Either way,” he said, “it listened to you.”

That settled in my chest like something dangerous. Because he was right. The magic hadn’t fought me. It had recognized me.

Kael’s gaze flicked to my stomach for a heartbeat before meeting mine again. “We need to understand what that spark is. Before they come again.”

I swallowed hard. “Lyra thinks it’s tied to the bloodline.”

“Ronan’s?” he asked, low.

“No,” I whispered. “Mine.”

Something in his eyes softened then. Not pity. Something fiercer. “Then it’s not his legacy anymore. It’s yours.”

The words shouldn’t have felt like armor. But they did.

A sharp whistle cut through the air before I could answer. Jarek emerged from the treeline, chest heaving, eyes blazing gold.

“Alpha,” he barked. “They’re moving.”

Kael was on his feet instantly. “How many?”

Jarek’s jaw tightened. “A lot. Whatever you did out there lit the damn woods on fire. They’re coming fast.”

Lyra’s head snapped up from the stones. “How fast?”

“Before sunset.”

The pack fell silent.

Kael turned to me. “Stay in the Hollow.”

“Kael..”

“No,” he said firmly, stepping closer. “You’re the one they want. That means your job is to stay behind these wards. No exceptions.”

“Kael...” I tried again.

He grabbed my chin gently, forcing me to look at him. “I need you alive. You hear me?”

Something in his voice cracked the fight right out of me.

“Fine,” I whispered.

He pressed his forehead against mine for half a second, just enough for his heartbeat to steady against mine, then pulled away, mask sliding back into place.

“Jarek,” he barked, “double the perimeter. Rhea, Luka, flank the east. Lyra, finish those damn wards.”

The pack scattered into motion like a well-oiled machine.

The Hollow pulsed with energy now, runes lighting up one by one around the clearing. The forest seemed to shift with it, roots groaning softly, branches bending toward the center like they wanted to help.

Lyra muttered something under her breath that I didn’t catch. Her magic flared again, and the wards shimmered to life. A faint dome of silver light spread out from the stones, threading through the ground like veins.

When she finally stumbled back, she wiped the sweat from her brow with the back of her hand. “It’s ready.”

Kael gave her a short nod, then turned to me.

He didn’t have to say it.

If they break through, everything falls.

The sun sank behind the trees faster than it should have. The Hollow darkened, shadows stretching long across the grass. The wards glowed faintly, their silver edges pulsing in time with my heartbeat.

I stood at the edge of the stone circle, Lyra beside me. Kael and the others were out in the trees, just beyond the wards. I could feel him out there, not through the bond, but through something older. A weight. A presence.

The first scream came from the west. Not human.

Jarek howled in response, a sound that cut through bone.

Then the shadows arrived.

They poured through the forest like a tide of smoke, formless but not shapeless, moving with a hunger that made the air vibrate. The pack met them head-on—steel flashing, claws tearing through darkness, war cries shaking the ground.

I wanted to run to Kael. My whole body screamed for it.

But Lyra’s hand clamped around my wrist. “Not yet,” she whispered.

The wards flared bright as the first shadow slammed against them. The barrier held, rippling like disturbed water.

I clenched my hands into fists. The spark inside me pulsed again, restless.

They want me.

Fine.

They could come and choke on it.

“Lyra,” I said, my voice steady. “Open it if I call.”

Her eyes widened. “Aria...”

“Do it.”

She hesitated. Then nodded once.

The battle roared outside the barrier. Shadows screamed.