The forest changed as we traveled.
Less wild.
More… silent.
No animals.
No wind.
Even the air felt strange.
I walked beside Kael, keeping pace while the ancient stranger led ahead.
"This place has terrible energy," I muttered.
Kael glanced at me.
"You can feel it already?"
I frowned slightly.
"Feel what?"
He didn't answer immediately.
Annoying habit.
"The Hollow hides power," he said at last.
"That sounds unhealthy."
"It probably is."
Fair.
We crossed a narrow path between massive stone cliffs.
The deeper we went, the colder it became.
Silver markings glowed faintly along the rocks.
My wolf stirred uneasily.
Not fear.
Recognition.
That scared me more.
"You've been here before?" Kael asked quietly.
"No."
I touched one of the glowing marks carefully.
Energy pulsed beneath my fingertips.
Warm.
Alive.
My chest tightened instantly.
The symbol flashed brighter.
Then
So did my hands.
Silver light spread across my skin.
I jerked back immediately.
"What the hell?"
The markings dimmed again.
Silence followed.
The ancient stranger looked back at me slowly.
"As expected."
I pointed at him.
"I'm starting to hate those words."
Kael stepped closer.
Concern clear in his expression now.
"Are you alright?"
"I don't know," I answered honestly.
That was becoming a problem.
We continued forward.
A few minutes later
The Hollow appeared.
And for the first time since all of this began
I understood fear.
The city was built into the mountain itself.
Massive stone structures.
Ancient silver lights.
Wolf symbols carved everywhere.
And people
Dozens of them.
Watching me.
Every single one stopped moving the second I appeared.
Great.
I loved unwanted attention.
"They know," I whispered.
Kael's expression stayed careful.
"Yes."
"That's somehow worse."
The ancient stranger continued walking calmly through the center of the city.
Everyone moved aside immediately.
Respect.
Or fear.
Probably both.
Their eyes stayed on me.
Curious.
Shocked.
Some looked emotional.
That was unsettling.
One woman actually bowed her head as I passed.
Absolutely not.
I stopped walking.
"No."
Kael paused beside me.
"No what?"
"No bowing."
The woman looked confused.
"It is tradition, heir"
"I said no."
The word echoed sharper than intended.
Silver energy flickered briefly around me.
The entire area went silent.
Oops.
Kael stepped closer immediately.
"Diana."
"I'm fine."
"You're glowing again."
I looked down.
Right.
My hands were shining faintly.
Fantastic.
I took a slow breath.
The light faded after a second.
The crowd kept staring.
I resisted the urge to scream.
An older man stepped forward carefully.
White hair.
Sharp eyes.
Powerful.
Not weak at all.
"The bloodline truly returned," he murmured.
I folded my arms.
"Still workshopping the whole bloodline thing."
The older man blinked once.
Kael looked like he was trying not to laugh again.
This was becoming suspicious.
The ancient stranger finally stopped walking.
"You will stay here tonight."
I looked around the massive city again.
Hidden warriors.
Ancient symbols.
Too many secrets.
"Comforting," I muttered.
Kael lowered his voice slightly beside me.
"You are safe here."
I looked at him.
"Everyone keeps saying that right before chaos happens."
"That's because chaos follows you."
Rude.
Accurate.
But rude.
A sudden sharp pain hit my chest.
I froze.
My breath caught instantly.
The bond.
Not Kael.
Not the bloodline.
One of the others.
The Alpha.
Pain pulsed through the connection hard enough to make me stumble slightly.
Kael caught my arm immediately.
"What happened?"
I clenched my jaw.
"Nothing."
Lie.
A terrible lie.
Because deep down
I knew something had changed.
And somewhere far away…
One of my rejected mates had just found me.