THE. HIDDEN CITY
964 Words
By dawn, the mountains began to change.
The sharp cliffs slowly softened into wide stone valleys, and the freezing wind that had followed them through the night faded into a quiet, eerie stillness.
Kaelen had not slept.
Werewolves rarely needed much rest, but the bond humming constantly in his chest made it impossible to relax.
Lucien walked ahead with Seris, their silhouettes pale in the dim morning light.
Aria trudged beside Kaelen, looking half asleep.
“I miss beds,” she muttered.
Kaelen almost smiled.
“You volunteered.”
“I volunteered for a revolution,” she corrected. “Not mountain hiking.”
Seris suddenly stopped.
“We’re here.”
Kaelen frowned.
The valley ahead looked empty.
Just a wide stretch of gray stone surrounded by tall cliffs.
Lucien studied it carefully.
“Interesting.”
Kaelen crossed his arms.
“Interesting how?”
Lucien gestured ahead.
“The scent.”
Kaelen inhaled deeply.
At first he smelled nothing.
Then—
Faint.
Hundreds of scents layered together.
Wolf.
Vampire.
Hybrid.
His eyes narrowed.
“This valley isn’t empty.”
Seris smiled.
“Exactly.”
She walked forward into the open stone clearing.
“Welcome to Noctra.”
For a moment nothing happened.
Then the ground shifted.
Stone walls shimmered like water.
Hidden doors slid open.
Lights flickered to life along the cliffs.
What had looked like bare rock slowly revealed an entire city carved into the mountains.
Buildings rose from the stone itself.
Bridges connected narrow terraces.
Dark banners moved in the wind.
Aria’s jaw dropped.
“Oh.”
She turned slowly in a circle.
“Oh that is cool.”
Kaelen stared.
Hundreds of people moved through the streets.
Some looked like wolves.
Others like vampires.
Some clearly carried both traits.
Hybrids.
Lucien’s crimson eyes gleamed with curiosity.
“You built a hidden city.”
Seris shrugged.
“Someone had to survive.”
As they walked through the entrance, dozens of hybrids looked up from their work.
Some watched cautiously.
Others nodded respectfully toward Seris.
The hybrid leader from the summit stepped forward from one of the terraces.
“You made it.”
Kaelen frowned.
“You knew we would.”
The man smiled slightly.
“The bond made the choice inevitable.”
Lucien tilted his head.
“You seem very confident about that.”
The leader extended his hand.
“I’m Orion.”
Kaelen didn’t take the hand immediately.
“What exactly is this place?”
Orion gestured toward the city behind him.
“A future.”
Lucien smiled faintly.
“That sounds suspiciously ambitious.”
Orion’s pale eyes moved between them.
“You two are proof that the world is changing.”
Kaelen crossed his arms.
“Or proof that it’s falling apart.”
Orion shook his head.
“No.”
He pointed toward the city streets where wolves, vampires, and hybrids walked side by side.
“This is what comes next.”
Aria whispered to Kaelen.
“I vote we stay here.”
Seris laughed.
“You might not get the choice.”
Kaelen frowned.
“What does that mean?”
Orion’s expression grew serious.
“Both your kingdoms are already searching for you.”
Lucien sighed.
“That was predictable.”
Orion nodded.
“The Crimson Court has declared Lucien a traitor.”
Lucien blinked once.
“Well.”
“That was fast.”
Kaelen felt his stomach tighten.
“And the Dominion?”
Orion looked directly at him.
“The Alpha Council is preparing to remove you from the line of succession.”
Aria’s eyes widened.
“Wait—what?”
Seris looked at Kaelen carefully.
“They’re going to replace you.”
Kaelen didn’t answer immediately.
His wolf stirred uneasily.
Lucien spoke quietly beside him.
“Does that bother you?”
Kaelen looked toward the city below.
Wolves and vampires laughing together.
Hybrids training in the open courtyard.
Something that would have been impossible anywhere else.
“Yes,” he admitted.
Lucien nodded.
“That’s honest.”
Orion folded his arms.
“Your people believe the bond is dangerous.”
Kaelen scoffed.
“They’re not wrong.”
Orion smiled slightly.
“But they don’t understand it.”
Lucien raised a brow.
“And you do?”
Orion’s eyes gleamed.
“Yes.”
He pointed toward them.
“Because your bond is not just rare.”
The wind shifted through the mountain city.
Orion’s voice dropped slightly.
“It’s the first of its kind.”
Kaelen frowned.
“What does that mean?”
Orion answered calmly.
“It means your bond could create something the world has never seen before.”
Lucien looked intrigued.
“Such as?”
Orion smiled.
“A new bloodline.”
The words hung in the air.
Even Aria went quiet.
Kaelen blinked.
Lucien slowly turned toward him.
“Well.”
His voice was calm.
“That sounds… complicated.”
Kaelen groaned quietly.
“Of course it does.”
Orion’s expression grew serious again.
“Your kingdoms will not allow that to happen.”
Seris leaned against the wall beside them.
“They’ll destroy this city before they let it exist.”
Kaelen looked around Noctra again.
Then he looked at Lucien.
The bond pulsed steadily between them.
Lucien met his gaze calmly.
“Tell me something.”
Kaelen sighed.
“What?”
Lucien’s lips curved slightly.
“Do you regret leaving yet?”
Kaelen glanced at the city.
Then back at Lucien.
“…Ask me again tomorrow.”
Aria clapped once.
“Great!”
She started walking into the city.
“Now can someone show me where the food is?”
Seris laughed and followed her.
Orion turned toward Kaelen and Lucien.
“Welcome to Noctra.”
The hidden city of monsters.
And the only place in the world where their bond might survive.
- Writer
