CHAPTER FOURTEEN: The Shadow Between Wolves

Zylia’s POV

I could’ve sworn none of them blinked throughout.

The Hollow had changed something in the air, also in me.

The whisper that had called my name still clung to my thoughts, threading through every heartbeat like a warning I couldn’t shake.

Night came without stars.

The ruins looked different in the dark , alive in a way that made my skin crawl.

Every stone seemed to hum beneath the moonlight, as if the carvings themselves breathed.

The air was thick, electric, waiting.

Raven sat by a low fire, cleaning her blades in silence.

Mason sharpened his knife beside her, his jaw tight.

Sparks flickered between them, small and mean.

I sat a few steps away, watching the faint shimmer still glowing on my palm. It hadn’t faded, not completely. My skin still remembered what it had done.

“Don’t stare too long,” Raven said without looking up. “Things that change you don’t like being looked at.”

“I wasn’t…” I started, then stopped. She was right. Whatever this was, it wasn’t meant for understanding.

Mason’s voice was low. “She’s scared.”

“I’m not scared,” I said too quickly.

He gave me a look. “You should be.”

The forest stirred beyond the light. The trees shifted like something moved among them. It was slow, almost deliberate.

Then came a sound, soft at first. A howl, broken halfway, as if warning the night itself to stay away.

My throat tightened. “Did you hear that?”

Raven was already on her feet, blade drawn. “We’re not alone.”

The words hung heavy. The air around us changed, cooler, sharper.

When I blinked, the shadows moved , not by wind, not by firelight, but by will.

Something stood there.

A figure, just beyond the circle of light. Tall, still, wrapped in darkness. The fire bent toward him as if drawn.

Mason moved instantly, stepping in front of me. “Stay back.”

The figure tilted his head. His voice came like smoke. “Zylia.”

The way he said my name, soft, familiar, made my skin crawl. Like he’d been waiting for me to answer.

“Who’s there?” My voice came out smaller than I wanted.

He didn’t move closer, but the dark seemed to lean with him. “You’ve already heard me,” he said quietly. “In the Hollow.”

The whisper. The one that had crawled through my veins.

My heartbeat stumbled. “That was you.”

“I’ve always been here,” he said. “Waiting for you to wake.”

Raven stepped forward, knife raised. “Step into the light.”

“Light doesn’t reach where I come from,” he murmured, almost amused.

“Where’s that?” Mason demanded.

“Between.” His gaze flicked to me. “Where she belongs.”

My stomach twisted. “What do you want from me?”

His tone softened. “To remind you who you are.”

Raven lunged, blade slicing through the air,

But the figure blurred, gone, reappearing behind her. His whisper brushed her ear: “Careful, huntress. The moon doesn’t favor those who bite her chosen.”

She spun around, slashing again, but he’d vanished like smoke. Only the echo of his voice lingered.

Mason’s arm brushed mine. “We need to leave.”

“No,” I whispered. “He knows something.”

The darkness laughed , low, soft, like the sound of water over stone. “She’s right. I know exactly what she is.”

“Then say it!” My words cracked through the silence. “Say what I am.”

He stepped forward just enough for the firelight to catch his eyes , silver, bright and ancient. They glowed like something that had seen the beginning of the world.

“You’re different from the rest.” His voice echoed.

I couldn’t breathe. My pulse was thunder. “You’re lying. It’s impossible. I’m an omega”

“Am I?” he asked softly. “You’ve felt it , the hum beneath your skin, the way the world bends when you breathe.”

The light flickered. My knees trembled. Mason threw his knife , but it passed through the shadow like mist.

“Your protector’s heart is too loud,” the man said, voice quieter now. “It’ll get him killed one day.”

“Leave him out of this,” I snapped. “Leave all of them out of it.”

He didn’t answer right away. Then, “You can’t stop what’s already written. But you can decide how it ends.”

The wind surged, the fire flaring bright. The ruins groaned. Silver veins of light rippled through the carvings again, like the Hollow itself was listening.

And then, I woke up.

There was no figure.

Raven and Mason were still awake, watching over me.

Raven’s blade lowered. “Bad dream?.”

Mason’s gaze lingered on me. I could’ve sworn I saw shimmer in his eyes.

“How was your sleep,” He let out a chuckle.

My hands brushed my face, shaking the sleep off.

I caught a smell of something sweet and salty at the same time.

My nose scrunched, catching the scent of the meat Raven was roasting.

“Steak? I went hunting” Mason asked me.

“Yes please, I’m starving.”

He passed me the steak and I devoured it immediately.

I had missed the salty sweet taste.

“What was your dream about?” Raven asked, sharpening her knife.

“Oh…nothing. It was just uhm..nothing serious. I forgot.”

“Weird,” Raven’s voice dragged.

My goosebumps still swirled up my arms.

There’s more I needed to know, something dangerous, something darker.

“Everyone get on the ground now!”