Three Years Hollow Novels & Stories

The Hollow was older than any map, older than the covens who whispered warnings about it. It sat deep in the marsh where the ground dipped into a natural sink, a bowl of ancient stone now cracked open by roots the size of serpents. The witches called it cursed. The wolves called it haunted. Vampires avoided it entirely—its earth tasted too alive. But for Selene, Rowan, and Lucien, it had become something else entirely. A sanctuary carved from ruin.

How could I tell him that I was dying? That the healer said my wolf spirit was fading fast— that I only had three days left before the bond would consume me completely? “Joseph,” I murmured, “would you come with me? We’ll go to Grandpa’s pack. They’ll love you there.” He hesitated. “Can we stay a little longer, Mom? Just three days? If he really doesn’t want us after that, we’ll go. But I want to call him Dad… just once.” Tears blurred my vision. I stroked his hair and nodded, though my heart was already breaking.

(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.

The attending physician's tone was grave. "Currently, no donor matches except Cassidy's bone marrow. Madam, please have Miss Cassidy come immediately to donate, or Rachel's next fainting spell could be life-threatening." Hearing this, Mom gazed at Rachel's sleeping face, worry etched deep. A new foreign doctor approached. "I just checked. Three years ago, the hospital stored leftover bone marrow from Cassidy. With her consent, the hospital can legally use it." He scrolled through his data, then froze, his face turning pale. "What? Cassidy died three years ago?!"

A family of three. The photos were arranged neatly in chronological order, from maternity shoots to his one-month celebration, all the way to Cody’s second birthday. As the so-called mother who had raised him for three years, I didn’t have a single proper photo with him. My entire body trembled as I stared at Dorian. "Three years ago, in the delivery room… The child I gave birth to… Where is that baby?" Dorian didn’t dare meet my eyes. His Adam’s apple bobbed. His voice came out dry.

His palm was warm and steady, safe in a way that asked for nothing and rushed nothing. “You came back,” he said. There was emotion in his voice, held back with visible effort. “I looked for you for three years, Rebecca.” “Oi, Liam, don’t look at her like you’re about to cry,” Sarah teased, though her smile softened at the edges. “Give the girl some room. She’s married now, remember?” A brief, awkward silence passed over the booth. Marcus cleared his throat and nudged Liam lightly. “Yeah, mate. Careful. She’s off the market.”

Like a stone moving. "Yeah," I say. "We come back." We walk out of the ruin, through the awakened forest, back to the road. Behind us, the Black Hollow Forest watches us go. And deep inside the ruin, the guardian's eyes dim back to dormancy. Waiting, as it has waited for three thousand years, for the carrier to return. ~~~

Seasons came and went. Another year passed. To me, time had become nothing more than sunrises and sunsets, tides rising and falling. Before I knew it, I was already in my fourth year in Ardenia. Professor Peter Foster looked over my research findings, his face full of satisfaction. "Nathan, excellent work. You're the only one who's produced results in this field so far. There won't be any problems with your doctorate." I smiled. "That's thanks to your guidance, Professor."

Draven goes very, very still. Because the Hollow just chose. Not him. Me.

- RAVENA The two goons Elder Marrow picked to dump me at the edge of the world didn't say a word the whole trip. They just gripped my arms, dragging me through the dirt until the dirt turned into frozen slush. We were heading for the Hollowland. Every wolf grew up hearing stories about this desolate, tundra-like expanse, and none of them were good. It’s basically a massive, frozen graveyard where the pack threw its trash. There were no trees, no shelter, nothing but these nasty, black "Iron-Grip" shrubs poking out of the permafrost like skeleton fingers.