Chapter 16: The Wolves Who Returned Empty
1240 Words
The warrior’s words changed the entire room.
“They said the Hollow has learned how to create Eclipse Wolves.”
Nobody moved.
For several seconds, the only sound was the warrior’s uneven breathing.
Then the room erupted.
“That is impossible.”
“The Eclipse bloodline cannot be created.”
“The records say—”
The voices overlapped until Caetano’s command cut through them.
“Enough.”
The hall went silent.
He looked at the injured warrior.
“Tell me exactly what happened.”
The warrior struggled to sit up.
“The northern patrol returned just before sunrise.”
Caetano’s expression tightened.
“All thirty-two?”
The warrior nodded.
“But something was wrong.”
Isadora stepped closer.
“How?”
The warrior looked at her.
“They did not recognize anyone.”
A chill moved through the room.
“What do you mean?”
“They knew our names.”
The warrior swallowed.
“They knew our faces.”
A pause.
“But there was nothing behind their eyes.”
Isadora felt the mark on her skin grow warm.
The Eclipse consciousness inside her became uneasy.
They are not alive in the way you understand.
She closed her eyes briefly.
Caetano noticed.
“What is it?”
She looked at him.
“The Eclipse inside me says they are not alive in the way we understand.”
The room became even quieter.
Caetano did not question it.
Not anymore.
He had learned that every time Isadora trusted her instincts, she uncovered something hidden.
Augusto stepped forward.
“The Hollow does not create life.”
Everyone looked at him.
“It creates copies.”
Amara Bellucci’s face turned pale.
“No.”
Augusto looked at her.
“You know this?”
Amara hesitated.
“My family recorded something similar.”
Isadora immediately turned toward her.
“Something similar?”
Amara looked uncomfortable.
“I did not know it was connected.”
“That is becoming everyone’s favorite sentence.”
The bitterness in Isadora’s voice made several people lower their eyes.
She was tired of discovering that everyone had known pieces of her story.
Tired of being the last person informed about her own life.
Amara accepted the criticism.
“You are right.”
The answer surprised Isadora.
“There are things my family kept hidden because we believed the information would destroy the balance.”
“And did hiding it work?”
Amara had no response.
Because everyone knew the answer.
No.
It had only allowed the danger to grow.
Caetano looked toward the doors.
“Take me to them.”
The elders immediately reacted.
“Alpha, that is dangerous.”
Caetano looked at them.
“Those wolves were part of my territory.”
His voice hardened.
“I will not leave them there.”
Isadora watched him.
This was different.
Before, he would have said he was going alone.
Before, he would have decided what was best for everyone.
Now he looked at her.
Not as someone to protect.
As someone whose choice mattered.
“Are you coming?” he asked.
The question was simple.
But it meant everything.
Isadora nodded.
“Yes.”
They reached the northern border before sunset.
The area looked normal.
That was the terrifying part.
The forest was untouched.
The trees stood tall.
The wind moved peacefully.
But Isadora could feel something wrong.
She stepped forward slowly.
The air felt empty.
Like something had drained the life from the place.
“They were here,” she whispered.
Caetano looked at her.
“How do you know?”
She touched a tree.
The bark turned silver beneath her fingers for a moment.
Then disappeared.
“The forest remembers.”
Nobody questioned it.
Not anymore.
They found the missing wolves standing near the edge of the clearing.
All thirty-two.
Standing perfectly still.
Waiting.
Leandro whispered:
“They look normal.”
Isadora shook her head.
“No.”
She could feel it.
They were missing something.
Not their bodies.
Their souls.
Caetano stepped forward.
“Call them.”
A warrior shouted one of the wolves’ names.
No response.
Another tried.
Nothing.
Then one of the returned wolves slowly turned.
His eyes moved toward Isadora.
And he smiled.
But it was not a familiar smile.
It was empty.
“You came.”
The voice was wrong.
Too calm.
Isadora felt the mark burn.
“Who are you?”
The wolf tilted his head.
“We are what you will become.”
Caetano moved instantly.
“No.”
The wolf smiled wider.
“The Ribeiro heir.”
The creature looked at him.
“You still think rejection saved her.”
Caetano froze.
Isadora looked at him.
The wolf continued.
“You pushed her away because you feared losing her.”
A pause.
“But you only delivered her to us.”
The air changed.
Dark energy moved through the clearing.
The other wolves began surrounding them.
Not attacking.
Watching.
Augusto’s expression became grim.
“This is not an army.”
Everyone looked at him.
“What?”
He stared at the returned wolves.
“This is a message.”
The wolf smiled.
“The Hollow does not need an army.”
His eyes moved to Isadora.
“It needs the original.”
Isadora stepped forward.
“You want my power.”
“No.”
The answer surprised her.
The wolf looked almost amused.
“We want what your power protects.”
A strange silence followed.
“What does that mean?”
The wolf’s smile disappeared.
“Your memories.”
Isadora felt cold.
“The Eclipse does not hold power.”
The wolf continued.
“It holds the history of everything the world tried to erase.”
The ground beneath them cracked.
“The Hollow does not want to destroy you.”
The creature looked directly into her eyes.
“It wants to remember.”
Suddenly, every returned wolf collapsed.
The darkness left their bodies.
For a moment, everyone thought they were free.
Then one of them opened his eyes.
Normal.
Terrified.
He looked around.
“What happened?”
A warrior rushed toward him.
“You’re alive.”
The wolf grabbed his arm.
“Where is my brother?”
The warrior froze.
“What brother?”
The wolf looked confused.
“I came here with him.”
Silence.
Because nobody knew what he meant.
The returned wolves had memories.
But not their own.
They carried pieces of other people.
Isadora stared at them.
The Hollow was not copying bodies.
It was collecting lives.
Then the Eclipse voice inside her whispered:
It is trying to rebuild someone.
Her heart tightened.
“Who?”
The answer came immediately.
A name.
A name that made Augusto turn pale.
“The first Eclipse.”
Isadora froze.
“That’s impossible.”
But the voice continued.
“Not the one inside you.”
A pause.
“The one before her.”
The wind stopped.
Caetano looked at Isadora.
“What did she say?”
Isadora stared into the dark forest.
And for the first time since awakening, she felt something close to fear.
“The Hollow is not trying to kill me.”
Everyone waited.
“It is trying to bring someone back.”
Augusto whispered:
“Who?”
Isadora looked toward the mountains.
“The Eclipse Wolf who was supposed to disappear forever.”
A cold shadow moved between the trees.
And a voice echoed from the darkness.
“Mother is coming home.”
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