THE BATTLE FOR THE HOLLOW
878 Words
The Hollow trembled as wolves descended from the tree line, their howls like war drums echoing through the mountain valley.
Kaelen stood at the front of the rebel pack, eyes locked on his father across the battlefield. Behind him, Aria stood tall, her hands glowing faintly with the same ancient power that had awoken in the ruins of Shadowcrest. Her heartbeat was steady, but each thud carried the weight of destiny.
They had no more time to prepare. No more space to run.
The war had come to them.
And they would answer it.
The Ultimatum
Roen’s voice boomed across the clearing.
“Stand down and hand over the girl. She’s a threat to our kind. You know this, Kaelen. Even now, the bond clouds your mind.”
Kaelen stepped forward, his voice low but resonant.
“You talk about threats, Father—but you turned your wolves into weapons. You poisoned our bloodline with fear. And now you want to erase history just to keep your throne.”
Roen snarled. “I am the throne.”
Kaelen’s own wolf stirred beneath his skin.
“No. You’re a relic.”
He raised his arm—and the rebels surged forward.
The First Strike
The clearing exploded into chaos.
Wolves collided mid-air, snarls tearing through the morning fog. Aria darted through the trees, flinging pulses of glowing energy that knocked wolves back, disrupting their formations. Her power didn’t just damage—it confused, unbalancing the attackers just enough to give Kaelen’s forces an edge.
Viktor tackled two of Roen’s enforcers, his claws a blur. Lyla shifted mid-leap, her wolf form catching another in the throat.
Blood stained the snow.
Kaelen met his father head-on in the center of the field, their power crashing together like colliding storms.
Father vs. Son
Roen's transformation was brutal—his beast was massive, with blackened fur and jagged fangs that glowed faintly blue. Shadowbane ran in his veins, distorting his aura into something unnatural.
Kaelen met him blow for blow, silver fire flaring from his limbs as they fought in a blur of tooth and fury. The ground split beneath them, their howls tearing the clouds open above.
“I taught you everything!” Roen snarled mid-s***h.
“And I unlearned every lie,” Kaelen spat.
The battle was more than physical—it was symbolic. It was the shattering of legacy. The war of the old world against the one trying to be born.
The Poison and the Choice
As Kaelen was slammed into the trunk of a tree, Aria spotted something—Roen’s Beta slipping through the chaos with a vial of Shadowbane in hand.
It was meant for her.
She ran to intercept, catching him just before he could throw it.
“Stupid girl,” he hissed.
But Aria’s power surged, blinding and instinctive. She struck him with a blast that shattered the ground beneath him—and the vial tumbled from his grasp.
Aria caught it.
And hesitated.
What would happen if Roen’s own creation was used against him?
Sacrifice
Kaelen staggered, blood dripping from a gash in his shoulder. Roen advanced, ready to finish it.
That’s when Aria stepped between them.
She held up the vial.
“This is what you wanted to use to sever the bond,” she said. “But you don’t understand it.”
Roen growled. “Get out of my way.”
“I’m not afraid of you.”
She crushed the vial in her hand, letting the contents spill into the ground.
The earth hissed. The magic screamed.
But Aria’s pendant glowed—absorbing the toxin.
Kaelen realized what she had done. “Aria, no—!”
She collapsed, the power surging through her too volatile to contain.
The Standstill
Kaelen caught her before she hit the ground.
The Hollow froze.
Roen stepped back, staring at her unconscious form, her body glowing faintly.
“What did she do?” he whispered.
Kaelen’s fury returned tenfold. “She took your poison and turned it into power.”
Roen faltered, as if seeing the truth for the first time.
Around them, wolves stopped fighting.
They watched.
They waited.
And slowly—one by one—they turned their eyes to Kaelen.
Not Roen.
Kaelen.
The rightful Alpha.
The Breaking Point
Roen fell to his knees.
He was still breathing—but the war was lost. Not because he was weak.
Because they no longer feared him.
He looked up at his son with hollow eyes. “Finish it.”
Kaelen stepped forward.
But he didn’t strike.
Instead, he said, “No. You’ll live long enough to see the world rebuild without you.”
And he walked away.
The Bond Rekindled
That night, after the wounded were tended and the fires calmed, Aria stirred in Kaelen’s bed.
His hand was around hers immediately.
“You’re okay,” he whispered.
She smiled weakly. “I guess I’m harder to kill than I thought.”
“You saved us.”
“No,” she said. “We saved each other.”
He leaned in, pressing a kiss to her temple.
And then her lips.
The bond between them pulsed—stronger than ever. No longer just fate. No longer inherited.
Chosen. Forged in fire.
- Writer
