CHAPTER 7: INTO BLACK HOLLOW
1590 Words
The silver necklace lay in Selene's trembling hands.
Tiny droplets of water clung to its delicate chain.
It was unmistakable.
Her mother had worn it every single day since Selene was a little girl.
She remembered playing with it while falling asleep in Eleanor's lap.
Remembered polishing it every birthday because her mother insisted it was her "lucky charm."
Now...
It was lying in her palm.
Without her mother.
Tears blurred her vision.
"They took her..."
Her voice broke.
"They really took her..."
Kael gently closed her fingers around the necklace.
"They wanted you to believe that."
She looked up.
"What?"
"They didn't kill Eleanor."
"How can you be so sure?"
Kael's crimson eyes softened.
"Because if they had..."
"...they would've sent something far crueler than a necklace."
Selene swallowed hard.
"So she's alive?"
"I believe so."
"But time is against us."
---
Outside the hospital...
Rain had finally stopped.
The city glistened beneath the moonlight.
Black SUVs lined the parking lot.
Men and women in black tactical uniforms moved with disciplined precision.
Selene stopped in her tracks.
There had to be over fifty of them.
Each wore a silver wolf crest on their shoulder.
Each carried themselves like elite soldiers.
The moment Kael appeared...
Every single one bowed.
"Your Majesty."
Selene froze.
No matter how many times she witnessed it...
She couldn't get used to people bowing to him.
A tall woman stepped forward.
She looked to be in her early thirties.
Her dark hair was tied into a neat ponytail, and a long scar ran across one eyebrow.
"Alpha."
She bowed.
"The Northern Guard is ready."
Kael nodded.
"Status."
"We've sealed every road leading out of the city."
"No movement from Ronan's forces."
She hesitated.
"But..."
Kael's expression sharpened.
"But?"
"We lost contact with the Black Hollow surveillance team."
"All twelve."
Silence.
Even Ethan looked troubled.
"All twelve?" he repeated.
The woman nodded.
"Not one radio transmission."
"Not one distress signal."
"They simply..."
"...vanished."
A cold silence settled over everyone.
Kael looked toward the distant mountains.
"Prepare the convoy."
"Yes, Alpha."
The woman hurried away.
Selene stepped closer.
"...Where is Black Hollow?"
Kael answered without looking at her.
"A forest."
"About two hours from here."
"Why have I never heard of it?"
"Because humans don't go there."
She frowned.
"What happens if they do?"
Kael finally met her eyes.
"They don't come back."
---
An hour later...
The convoy left the city.
Five armored SUVs sped down a lonely mountain road.
The deeper they traveled...
The quieter the world became.
Streetlights disappeared.
Cell service vanished.
Even the stars seemed hidden behind thick clouds.
Selene sat in the back seat beside Kael.
She couldn't stop twisting her mother's necklace between her fingers.
Her mind replayed every conversation she'd ever had with Eleanor.
Every hug.
Every smile.
Every promise.
She should've been there.
She should've protected her.
As if sensing her thoughts, Kael spoke.
"This isn't your fault."
She stared out the window.
"It feels like it is."
"If I hadn't accepted your proposal..."
"They would've left her alone."
"No."
His reply came instantly.
"They've been watching you for years."
Selene turned sharply.
"...Years?"
Kael nodded.
"They simply revealed themselves now."
Her heartbeat quickened.
"What am I?"
He looked away.
"I'll tell you."
"When this is over."
She sighed in frustration.
"Everyone keeps saying that."
"Because if you learn the truth..."
"...there's no going back."
---
The convoy suddenly slowed.
Ethan pressed a hand to his earpiece.
"Alpha."
"We've reached Black Hollow."
Selene looked through the windshield.
Her breath caught.
Towering black trees stretched endlessly before them.
Their branches twisted together like giant claws, blocking out the moonlight.
A thick silver mist rolled between the trunks.
The forest felt...
Alive.
Watching.
Waiting.
Without warning...
Every radio inside the convoy erupted with deafening static.
KRRRRRSHHHHH!
The headlights flickered.
One by one...
They went out.
The engines died.
All five SUVs rolled to a stop.
Silence.
Not a single insect chirped.
Not a single bird called.
The forest was unnaturally still.
Ethan frowned.
"This isn't possible."
"The engines..."
"They've all stalled."
One of the guards stepped out to investigate.
The instant his boots touched the ground...
A blood-curdling scream echoed through the night.
"AAAHHHHH!"
Everyone spun toward the sound.
The guard was gone.
Only his flashlight remained.
Lying in the middle of the road.
Its beam slowly rolled across the mist...
Until it stopped.
Illuminating...
A pair of enormous crimson eyes staring back from the darkness.
No one moved.
The crimson eyes remained fixed on the convoy from deep within the mist.
Selene instinctively grabbed Kael's arm.
"...What is that?"
Kael didn't answer immediately.
His gaze narrowed as he studied the darkness.
Then, quietly—
"It isn't one."
"It's many."
As if responding to his words...
More eyes appeared.
One pair.
Then another.
And another.
Within seconds, dozens of glowing crimson eyes surrounded the convoy from every direction.
A cold shiver ran down Selene's spine.
"We're surrounded."
---
The guards exited the SUVs, forming a defensive circle around Kael and Selene.
Silver bullets clicked into place.
Weapons were raised.
No one fired.
They couldn't.
The enemy remained hidden inside the fog.
Captain Nadia stepped beside Kael.
"Alpha."
"There are too many heat signatures."
"Can you identify them?"
Kael closed his eyes.
For a brief moment...
He simply listened.
The wind.
The heartbeat of every guard.
The faint rustling of leaves.
Then...
His eyes snapped open.
"Shadow Wolves."
Nadia's expression immediately hardened.
"I thought they were extinct."
"So did I."
---
The flashlight that had fallen onto the road suddenly rolled by itself.
It stopped at the edge of the forest.
A low growl echoed through the trees.
Then another.
Branches snapped.
Heavy footsteps approached.
Out of the mist stepped an enormous black wolf.
Its fur looked like living smoke.
Its crimson eyes glowed with unnatural light.
It was nearly twice the size of the wolves Kael had fought in the tunnel.
Another emerged beside it.
Then another.
Until twelve gigantic wolves stood silently at the tree line.
Selene's breath caught.
"Those..."
"...aren't normal wolves."
"They're not."
Kael stepped forward.
"They no longer belong to any pack."
The largest wolf lowered its head slightly.
Then...
To Selene's shock...
It spoke.
"You should have stayed away, Lycan King."
Its voice sounded rough, almost human.
Selene stared.
"They..."
"...they can talk?"
Kael never looked away from the creature.
"The older a wolf becomes..."
"...the stronger its human consciousness."
The wolf smiled, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth.
"We have no quarrel with you."
"Our orders concern only the girl."
Selene instinctively stepped closer to Kael.
The wolf's gaze followed her.
"So..."
It sniffed the air.
"The Moon Princess has finally awakened."
"I am not a princess!" Selene shouted, her voice shaking.
The wolves laughed.
The sound echoed eerily through the forest.
"You still don't know."
"How adorable."
---
Kael's patience finally wore thin.
"I've come for Eleanor Ashford."
The wolves fell silent.
The leader tilted its massive head.
"The human woman?"
"She's alive."
"Where?"
The wolf's grin widened.
"Beyond the Hollow."
"Then move."
"No."
A tense silence settled over the road.
The wolf's crimson eyes glowed brighter.
"If you wish to enter Black Hollow..."
"...you'll have to earn the right."
With that...
It threw back its head and howled.
The sound shook the forest.
Suddenly—
Every tree around them seemed to come alive.
Dark shapes leapt from the branches.
More wolves.
Dozens of them.
Then dozens more.
Within seconds...
Nearly a hundred Shadow Wolves surrounded the convoy.
Several guards instinctively stepped backward.
Even Ethan looked grim.
Selene whispered,
"...There's too many."
Kael calmly removed his watch.
He handed it to Ethan.
"Keep this."
Then he loosened the collar of his shirt.
Nadia frowned.
"Alpha..."
"You're still injured."
"The wolfsbane hasn't completely left your system."
"I know."
"You shouldn't transform."
Kael looked toward the endless sea of wolves.
"They've given me no choice."
Selene turned to him.
"...Transform?"
He looked at her.
For the first time since they met...
There was genuine regret in his eyes.
"I hoped you wouldn't have to see this yet."
Before she could ask what he meant—
The wolf leader roared.
"Kill them!"
The Shadow Wolves charged from every direction.
The earth shook beneath their paws.
The guards opened fire.
Silver bullets tore through the night.
Some wolves fell.
Others kept coming.
The battle erupted instantly.
A wolf lunged toward Selene.
She froze.
Before it reached her—
Kael stepped in front of her.
He closed his eyes.
The moonlight broke through the clouds.
Its silver glow fell directly onto him.
The air became heavy.
His body began to glow.
Bones cracked.
Muscles expanded.
A powerful wind exploded outward, knocking wolves and guards alike off their feet.
Selene shielded her face from the blinding light.
"...Kael?"
His answer came not in words...
But in a deafening roar that echoed across Black Hollow.
When the light finally faded...
Selene slowly lowered her hands.
She looked up.
And forgot how to breathe.
Standing where Kael had been...
Was a magnificent creature unlike anything she'd ever imagined.
Nearly ten feet tall.
Covered in midnight-black fur streaked with silver.
Golden eyes burned like twin suns.
Massive claws dug effortlessly into the earth.
He wasn't a wolf.
He wasn't human.
He was something far older.
Far more powerful.
The Shadow Wolves, who moments ago had charged fearlessly...
Stopped dead in their tracks.
One by one...
They lowered their heads.
Not out of respect.
Out of instinctive terror.
The Lycan King had revealed his true form.
- Writer
