Veins Of Nightfall

The Third Floor

"Nyx..."

The whisper slithered through the hallway above them.

Every wolf in the room heard it this time.

Kael's claws extended instantly. Lucas stood so abruptly his chair crashed backward against the floor. Even Hector Jr. looked unsettled now, his eyes fixed on the staircase disappearing into darkness.

Eve moved closer to Nyx immediately.

But Lila

Lila looked angry.

Not afraid.

Angry.

"Stay here," she ordered.

Nyx barely had time to react before Lila disappeared toward the staircase with unnatural speed. Hector Jr. followed close behind while Kael argued that they should all go.

"No," Lila snapped from halfway up the stairs. "Nobody moves."

Silence swallowed the room once they disappeared upstairs.

The candles flickered violently again.

Nox muttered under his breath, "That wasn't a wolf."

"No," Lucas agreed quietly. "It wasn't."

Nyx's chest tightened.

Because the voice had not sounded threatening.

It had sounded familiar.

Like someone calling her home.

She hated that part most.

The wanting.

Eve touched her shoulder gently. "Don't listen to whatever this is."

Nyx looked at her mother carefully. "You know something."

Eve froze.

That was answer enough.

"Mom."

Eve lowered her voice. "There are old things in these mountains, Nyx. Things your father spent her entire life trying to keep buried."

"What things?"

But before Eve could answer, a deafening crash echoed from upstairs.

The entire estate shook.

Kael bolted toward the staircase first.

This time nobody stopped him.

The family rushed upstairs together, their footsteps pounding against black marble floors as cold air flooded down from the third floor. Nyx's pulse hammered harder with every step.

The hallway outside her bedroom looked destroyed.

Portraits had fallen from the walls.

Windows stood wide open despite the freezing wind.

And claw marks—

Deep claw marks—

Covered the ceiling.

Nyx stopped breathing for a second.

Those marks were massive.

Far too large for a normal wolf.

Lila stood near Nyx's bedroom door, staring inside with terrifying stillness.

"Mom?" Hector Jr. asked cautiously.

Lila didn't answer immediately.

Then she stepped aside.

Nyx looked into her room—

And her blood went cold.

Words were carved into the wooden floor beneath her bed.

Not scratched.

Carved.

As if something burned them directly into the wood.

RETURN TO THE HOLLOW.

The room fell silent.

Lucas swore quietly.

Nox looked genuinely pale now.

Kael forced out a laugh that sounded far less confident than usual. "Okay. Not funny anymore."

Nyx couldn't move.

Because beneath the message—

Barely visible—

Was a symbol.

A crescent moon split down the middle by claw marks.

She had seen it before.

In her dreams.

Lila turned slowly toward her.

"Tell me the truth," she said coldly. "Now."

Nyx's throat tightened.

"What truth?"

"The voices."

The entire hallway went still.

Eve closed her eyes briefly like she already knew this moment would come.

Lila stepped closer. "How long have you been hearing them?"

Nyx looked between all of them.

Her family.

The people who already treated her differently.

The people who would fear her if they knew everything.

But the lie died in her throat.

"...Years," she admitted softly.

Nobody spoke.

Kael looked stunned.

Lucas frowned deeply.

Hector Jr. looked more worried than angry.

Only Lila looked unsurprised.

And somehow that hurt worse.

"You knew?" Nyx whispered.

Lila's jaw tightened. "I suspected."

"You never said anything."

"Because I hoped I was wrong."

Nyx felt something crack inside her chest.

Before she could respond—

A howl echoed again from deep within the woods.

Closer this time.

Much closer.

And somewhere below the estate—

Something answered it.