Veins Of Nightfall

Blood in the Snow

Nobody slept after that.

The Blackwood estate remained awake long past midnight while wolves guarded every entrance and window. The younger pack members whispered nervously through the halls while elders muttered prayers beneath their breath.

Nyx sat alone in the estate library staring into the fire.

She should have been scared.

Instead she felt restless.

Like something inside her had finally woken up.

Rain tapped softly against the massive windows while shadows danced across endless shelves of ancient books. The library smelled like dust, leather, and smoke — one of the few places in the estate where silence felt calm instead of threatening.

At least until the door opened.

"You always hide in here too."

Nyx looked up to find Lucas leaning against the doorway.

Unlike Kael, Lucas rarely mocked her outright. He mostly observed people quietly, like he was trying to solve puzzles nobody else noticed.

"You following me now?" Nyx asked.

Lucas shrugged. "Mom told everyone to stay in groups."

Nyx snorted softly. "Since when do you listen?"

"Since monsters started writing on your floor."

Fair point.

Lucas walked farther into the room before sitting across from her near the fireplace. Orange light flickered across the sharp angles of his face while rain continued outside.

For a while neither of them spoke.

Then Lucas finally asked, "Do you really hear voices?"

Nyx stared into the fire. "Would you believe me if I said yes?"

"No."

She almost laughed.

"At least you're honest."

Lucas leaned forward slightly. "But I believe something's happening to you."

Nyx's expression hardened. "That sounds worse."

"Maybe it is."

The fire cracked loudly between them.

Lucas hesitated before speaking again. "You know why everyone's nervous about the Hollow, right?"

"Because the elders tell ghost stories?"

His face darkened.

"No. Because people used to disappear there."

Nyx looked at him fully now.

Lucas lowered his voice. "Decades ago, before we were born, wolves started hearing things in the woods. Whispers. Screams. Their names being called." He paused. "Then they'd vanish."

A chill crawled down Nyx's spine.

"Mom and Eve were part of the last hunting group sent into the Hollow."

Nyx frowned. "What happened?"

Lucas looked toward the fire.

"They came back without half the pack."

Silence settled heavily between them.

Then—

A scream shattered the night.

Both of them jumped to their feet instantly.

The scream came from outside.

Nyx ran for the nearest window and threw it open despite the freezing wind.

Below the cliffs, wolves sprinted across the snowy courtyard toward the forest edge. Panic spread through the guards while distant growls echoed through the darkness.

Then Nyx saw it.

A body lying in the snow.

Blood surrounding it in dark crimson streaks.

Lucas cursed and ran from the library immediately. Nyx followed close behind despite every instinct screaming at her to stay inside.

The cold hit hard once they burst into the courtyard.

Wolves surrounded the body cautiously.

Nobody touched it.

Nobody wanted to.

Because the dead wolf's chest had been ripped open.

And carved directly into his skin—

The same crescent symbol.

Split by claw marks.

Nyx's stomach twisted violently.

But then the dead wolf's eyes snapped open.

And locked directly onto hers.