Veins Of Nightfall

The Hollow Watches

The wolf should have been dead.

Its chest was torn open so deeply Nyx could see shattered ribs beneath the blood, yet the creature's pale gray eyes stared directly at her with terrifying awareness.

Then it smiled.

Not like an animal.

Like a person.

Several wolves shifted instantly around the body while growls exploded through the courtyard. Guards lunged forward, but the injured wolf grabbed one of them by the throat with unnatural speed.

Bones snapped.

Blood sprayed across the snow.

Screams erupted everywhere.

"MOVE!" Kael shouted.

The courtyard dissolved into chaos.

The dead wolf threw the guard aside like he weighed nothing before staggering upright. Its movements looked wrong, jerking unnaturally like something unfamiliar was controlling its body.

Its eyes never left Nyx.

The symbol carved into its chest began glowing faintly silver beneath the blood.

Nyx's heartbeat slammed violently against her ribs.

She knew that symbol.

Not from tonight.

From her dreams.

The wolf opened its mouth slowly.

"Moonborn."

The voice sounded layered. Male and female at once. Human and animal together.

Every wolf in the courtyard froze.

Even Alpha Lila.

Nyx stumbled backward.

The creature tilted its head.

Then screamed.

The sound ripped through the estate grounds so violently several windows shattered instantly. Wolves collapsed to their knees covering their ears while distant howls echoed from deep within the forest.

Answering it.

Nyx felt ice crawl through her veins.

Something was coming.

Eve shifted first.

Massive black fur exploded outward as her body transformed mid sprint. She slammed into the creature hard enough to send both crashing through the snow while other wolves joined the attack immediately.

But the creature did not fight like a normal wolf.

It laughed.

Even while claws tore through flesh.

Even while Kael drove a silver blade directly through its shoulder.

The dead wolf grabbed Kael by the arm and whispered something into his ear.

Kael's expression changed instantly.

Fear.

Real fear.

Then the creature threw him backward twenty feet.

Nyx ran toward him without thinking.

"Kael!"

He hit the snow hard, coughing blood while the battle raged behind them.

"Stay back," he growled painfully.

Nyx ignored him and grabbed his arm anyway. "You're hurt."

"I said stay back!"

Before she could argue, the creature screamed again.

This time directly at her.

Every wolf stopped moving.

The thing stood in the center of the courtyard bleeding heavily while steam rose from its wounds into the freezing air.

Then it pointed directly at Nyx.

"The Hollow remembers you."

Nyx's breath caught.

"I've never been there," she whispered.

The creature twitched violently.

"Yes... you have."

A low rumble shook the ground beneath their feet.

Not thunder.

Something deeper.

The forest behind the estate suddenly erupted with movement.

Dozens of glowing eyes appeared between the trees.

Watching.

Waiting.

Pack members backed away instinctively.

Even Alpha Lila looked unsettled now.

Lucas slowly moved beside Nyx. "Those aren't wolves."

He was right.

The shapes moving between the trees were too tall.

Too thin.

One stepped partially into the moonlight.

Nyx felt sick instantly.

Its body looked almost human except for elongated limbs and blackened skin stretched tightly over visible bones. Hollow silver eyes reflected the moonlight while antler like branches twisted from its skull.

The creature smiled slowly.

Then another emerged beside it.

Then another.

The Hollow had come to the estate.

Alpha Lila stepped forward immediately, power radiating off her like heat.

"You do not cross onto Blackwood territory."

The antlered creature tilted its head curiously.

"We already have."

Suddenly every torch around the courtyard extinguished simultaneously.

Darkness swallowed everything.

Panic exploded.

Nyx heard wolves shifting everywhere around her while screams echoed through the blackness.

Then fingers wrapped tightly around her wrist.

Cold fingers.

Not human.

Nyx spun instantly but saw nothing.

Only darkness.

Then a voice whispered directly beside her ear.

"You were never supposed to survive."

Nyx gasped and ripped free just as silver flames suddenly burst across the courtyard.

Alpha Lila.

Moonfire illuminated the grounds in blinding light, revealing the Hollow creatures scattered throughout the snow like shadows given form.

And standing directly behind Nyx—

A woman.

Pale skin.

White hair.

Silver eyes identical to Nyx's.

The woman touched Nyx's cheek softly.

Then vanished.

Nyx staggered backward in shock.

"What the hell was that?" Lucas demanded.

But Nyx barely heard him.

Because for one brief second she recognized the woman.

Not from memory.

From portraits hidden beneath the estate.

The dead.

The forgotten.

The wolves nobody spoke about anymore.

The woman looked exactly like the Luna Queen who disappeared over a century ago.

And deep inside the forest something ancient finally woke up.