Thorold’s POVThe next morning, I wasn’t the same.The boy who longed for peace, for belonging — he was still there, but buried under something sharper.Harder.You’re being hunted, my instincts whispered. Act like it.So I did.The Academy library was massive, nearly a city unto itself, with wings closed to anyone without the right clearance.Lucky for me, I had inherited something from my parents — a knack for slipping past barriers.I spent hours digging through old registries, searching for any mention of Damon Vale. Past Alpha heirs. Student ledgers. Pack histories.Nothing.No Blackpine Pack listed among the recognized alliances. No Vale family named in any known bloodlines.He didn’t exist here.He didn’t exist anywhere.Who the hell are you really? I thought bitterly.I was about to dig deeper into the restricted section when Caelan found me.“Thorold,” he hissed, glancing over his shoulder. “What are you doing?”“Hunting,” I murmured, closing the dusty tome. “For answers.”“A
Thorold’s POVThe cell was cold. Damp. And too quiet.The walls weren’t just stone — they were spelled. I could feel it. A dull buzzing against my skin, like invisible chains woven into the air. I’d tried shifting once already, but the moment the fire in my blood surged, the magic swallowed it whole.Whoever built this place knew what I was.Knew how to contain me.Which meant this wasn’t about discipline.It was about control.I sat in the corner, arms wrapped around my knees, going over every second of that night in the courtyard. Damon’s voice. The blade. The invitation.He hadn’t expected me to fight him. That much was clear.He thought I’d want what he offered.Power. Belonging. Freedom.The worst part?Part of me had.That was the trick.It wasn’t the blade. It wasn’t even the threat.It was the way he made it sound like the answer to a question I hadn’t asked out loud:What if no one ever truly accepts me?I clenched my fists.I wouldn’t let them turn that fear into a weapon.N
Thorold’s POVI didn’t run,Not at first.I stood still, back pressed against a pine tree, heart hammering so loud I thought it might give me away.The forest was unnaturally quiet.Even the crickets had gone silent.My eyes adjusted slowly. The three figures beyond the ridge hadn't moved. Their cloaks rippled in the wind, pale moonlight outlining their shapes—tall, lean, cold.Council wolves or instructors but Assassins.I didn’t wait for them to step forward.I turned and ran.Branches whipped against my arms and face as I sprinted through the trees, my boots slamming against the dirt. I didn’t shift—not yet. I needed my hands. My balance. My senses.Behind me, I heard nothing.No breathing.No footsteps.But I knew they were there.They’re trained to hunt you, I reminded myself. This isn’t a spar. This is survival.Every path I took, they would predict.Every move I made, they would follow.So I did the one thing they wouldn’t expect.I stopped.I dropped to one knee in a clearing a
Thorold’s POV The land changed as I neared the Hollow. The trees grew darker, thicker. The air itself felt older. It pressed against my skin like breath — warm one moment, icy the next. Even the wind whispered differently here. Not in words, but in *warnings*. No birds. No beasts. Just silence… and that strange, pulsing energy that had called to me days ago. I didn’t know how long I’d been running. Time blurred after the first ridge. Every step had been pure instinct. Toward something I didn’t understand, but *needed* to. The path wasn’t marked. No signs. No roads. Just a sense that I was being led. Nudged by the forest itself. And then, just before sunrise, I saw it. Black Hollow, It wasn’t a city but It wasn’t a village. It was a wound in the world. The trees opened into a wide basin, as if the land had once collapsed inward. The center pulsed with low, steady magic — old and deep. Around it, stone towers rose like fingers from the earth, twisted and half-ruined, overgrown
Zara’s POV I had never seen Ryker like this. Silent. But not calm. He rode like a blade unsheathed — too sharp to be ignored, too dangerous to approach. The last time I saw him this still, there was blood in his fur and fire in his eyes. He hadn’t spoken since we crossed the northern ridge, where Seris told us the truth. Thorold had escaped. Not fled. Not rebelled. He had been **hunted**. And survived. Now he was in a place neither of us had seen in over two decades. A place buried under ancient law and deeper magic. Ryker finally spoke when the forest began to change. “He’s here,” he said hoarsely. I felt it too. The way the wind shifted. The hum beneath our wolves’ paws. The pulse of something ancient threading the air like a second heartbeat. Our son was here. And he was waking into something the world hadn’t seen in centuries. The entrance was subtle. Not a gate or a tower — but a twisted arch of stone and woven vine, hidden in the roots of a black wi
Zara’s POV The path out of Black Hollow was steep. Too steep. Every step away from him felt like betrayal. Ryker didn’t speak for the first hour. Neither did I. What could we say? What words could soften the truth that once again, we were walking away from our son? Except this time, it was his choice. This time, we weren’t the ones who had to make the sacrifice. He was. And we had to live with it. I rode just behind Ryker, watching the way his shoulders stayed stiff beneath his cloak, the way his hands clenched the reins too tightly. He was unraveling quietly — the way only he could. Not in rage or tears. But in the way he wouldn’t look back. Not once. “He’s stronger now,” I said finally, needing to fill the silence with something that didn’t ache. “You saw it. He’s not lost.” Ryker didn’t answer right away. Then: “He was always strong. We just never gave him the space to find it.” I swallowed hard. “You blame us?” “I blame the world,” he said. “And maybe myself. A lit
Thorold’s POV Black Hollow did not train warriors. It unraveled them thread by thread—until only the raw core remained. Then, and only then, did it start to rebuild. The first time I stepped into the Circle’s sanctum, I felt like the air itself rejected me. Every breath was too sharp, like drawing in starlight and thorns. The stone beneath my feet hummed with something… aware. I could feel it moving beneath the surface, ancient and watching. Elyra, the woman with gold eyes and a voice like midnight wind, stood waiting at the center of the sanctum. Around her, runes pulsed in a rhythm I couldn’t hear but could feel echoing in my bones. “You’ll need to let go of everything you think you know,” she said, her gaze piercing but not unkind. “Your name. Your blood. Even your wolf.” I swallowed hard. “Why?” “Because the Veil doesn’t care about legacies. It only listens to balance. You can’t touch it while clinging to who you were.” I nodded. I wasn’t sure I understood her. But I kne
Thorold’s POV The Hollow was quieter now, too quiet. It wasn’t just my paranoia. The wolves around me—once watchful but warm—had grown colder. Eyes that used to greet mine now slid past. Conversations stopped when I entered a room. And the wind carried whispers I wasn’t meant to hear. “He wasn’t meant to see that vision.” “He touched the Threadstream too soon.” “If he fractures, the Hollow falls with him.” Elyra had assured me everything was fine. That I was progressing faster than expected. But progress shouldn’t feel like isolation. I wasn’t just training anymore. I was being observed. I was summoned to the outer ring for a new lesson—one I hadn’t heard of before. Elyra didn’t meet me. Instead, I was met by a Guardian named Maelen. Tall. Silent. Eyes like winter steel. He gave no instructions. Just gestured for me to follow. We moved through unfamiliar paths, deeper into the Hollow’s roots. Into the dark. “Where are we going?” I asked. He didn’t respond. When we st
Thorold’s POV The blade at my throat was cold. Not just in temperature — it carried the chill of betrayal. It was the kind of cold that sinks into your skin, slides down into your bones, and makes you wonder if everything you’ve known was a lie. The face behind the blade was shadowed at first. But the voice? I knew it. “Lira,” I said quietly. “Why?” She didn’t flinch. Didn’t try to lie. Her grip on the dagger remained steady, her expression unreadable. “You were never supposed to get this far,” she said. “You were meant to burn out — like the others.” I blinked. “Others?” She hesitated. For just a breath. And in that pause, I saw her for what she really was. Not just a spy, but just a traitor. “The Council sent you,” I said. “To what? Watch me? Report on me? Kill me if I crossed a line?” “Yes,” she said. “But that’s not all.” The blade didn’t move. “Then what?” She stepped back slightly. Not lowering the knife — but giving us both room to breathe. “I was born in a
Thorold’s POV The Hollow was quieter now, too quiet. It wasn’t just my paranoia. The wolves around me—once watchful but warm—had grown colder. Eyes that used to greet mine now slid past. Conversations stopped when I entered a room. And the wind carried whispers I wasn’t meant to hear. “He wasn’t meant to see that vision.” “He touched the Threadstream too soon.” “If he fractures, the Hollow falls with him.” Elyra had assured me everything was fine. That I was progressing faster than expected. But progress shouldn’t feel like isolation. I wasn’t just training anymore. I was being observed. I was summoned to the outer ring for a new lesson—one I hadn’t heard of before. Elyra didn’t meet me. Instead, I was met by a Guardian named Maelen. Tall. Silent. Eyes like winter steel. He gave no instructions. Just gestured for me to follow. We moved through unfamiliar paths, deeper into the Hollow’s roots. Into the dark. “Where are we going?” I asked. He didn’t respond. When we st
Thorold’s POV Black Hollow did not train warriors. It unraveled them thread by thread—until only the raw core remained. Then, and only then, did it start to rebuild. The first time I stepped into the Circle’s sanctum, I felt like the air itself rejected me. Every breath was too sharp, like drawing in starlight and thorns. The stone beneath my feet hummed with something… aware. I could feel it moving beneath the surface, ancient and watching. Elyra, the woman with gold eyes and a voice like midnight wind, stood waiting at the center of the sanctum. Around her, runes pulsed in a rhythm I couldn’t hear but could feel echoing in my bones. “You’ll need to let go of everything you think you know,” she said, her gaze piercing but not unkind. “Your name. Your blood. Even your wolf.” I swallowed hard. “Why?” “Because the Veil doesn’t care about legacies. It only listens to balance. You can’t touch it while clinging to who you were.” I nodded. I wasn’t sure I understood her. But I kne
Zara’s POV The path out of Black Hollow was steep. Too steep. Every step away from him felt like betrayal. Ryker didn’t speak for the first hour. Neither did I. What could we say? What words could soften the truth that once again, we were walking away from our son? Except this time, it was his choice. This time, we weren’t the ones who had to make the sacrifice. He was. And we had to live with it. I rode just behind Ryker, watching the way his shoulders stayed stiff beneath his cloak, the way his hands clenched the reins too tightly. He was unraveling quietly — the way only he could. Not in rage or tears. But in the way he wouldn’t look back. Not once. “He’s stronger now,” I said finally, needing to fill the silence with something that didn’t ache. “You saw it. He’s not lost.” Ryker didn’t answer right away. Then: “He was always strong. We just never gave him the space to find it.” I swallowed hard. “You blame us?” “I blame the world,” he said. “And maybe myself. A lit
Zara’s POV I had never seen Ryker like this. Silent. But not calm. He rode like a blade unsheathed — too sharp to be ignored, too dangerous to approach. The last time I saw him this still, there was blood in his fur and fire in his eyes. He hadn’t spoken since we crossed the northern ridge, where Seris told us the truth. Thorold had escaped. Not fled. Not rebelled. He had been **hunted**. And survived. Now he was in a place neither of us had seen in over two decades. A place buried under ancient law and deeper magic. Ryker finally spoke when the forest began to change. “He’s here,” he said hoarsely. I felt it too. The way the wind shifted. The hum beneath our wolves’ paws. The pulse of something ancient threading the air like a second heartbeat. Our son was here. And he was waking into something the world hadn’t seen in centuries. The entrance was subtle. Not a gate or a tower — but a twisted arch of stone and woven vine, hidden in the roots of a black wi
Thorold’s POV The land changed as I neared the Hollow. The trees grew darker, thicker. The air itself felt older. It pressed against my skin like breath — warm one moment, icy the next. Even the wind whispered differently here. Not in words, but in *warnings*. No birds. No beasts. Just silence… and that strange, pulsing energy that had called to me days ago. I didn’t know how long I’d been running. Time blurred after the first ridge. Every step had been pure instinct. Toward something I didn’t understand, but *needed* to. The path wasn’t marked. No signs. No roads. Just a sense that I was being led. Nudged by the forest itself. And then, just before sunrise, I saw it. Black Hollow, It wasn’t a city but It wasn’t a village. It was a wound in the world. The trees opened into a wide basin, as if the land had once collapsed inward. The center pulsed with low, steady magic — old and deep. Around it, stone towers rose like fingers from the earth, twisted and half-ruined, overgrown
Thorold’s POVI didn’t run,Not at first.I stood still, back pressed against a pine tree, heart hammering so loud I thought it might give me away.The forest was unnaturally quiet.Even the crickets had gone silent.My eyes adjusted slowly. The three figures beyond the ridge hadn't moved. Their cloaks rippled in the wind, pale moonlight outlining their shapes—tall, lean, cold.Council wolves or instructors but Assassins.I didn’t wait for them to step forward.I turned and ran.Branches whipped against my arms and face as I sprinted through the trees, my boots slamming against the dirt. I didn’t shift—not yet. I needed my hands. My balance. My senses.Behind me, I heard nothing.No breathing.No footsteps.But I knew they were there.They’re trained to hunt you, I reminded myself. This isn’t a spar. This is survival.Every path I took, they would predict.Every move I made, they would follow.So I did the one thing they wouldn’t expect.I stopped.I dropped to one knee in a clearing a
Thorold’s POVThe cell was cold. Damp. And too quiet.The walls weren’t just stone — they were spelled. I could feel it. A dull buzzing against my skin, like invisible chains woven into the air. I’d tried shifting once already, but the moment the fire in my blood surged, the magic swallowed it whole.Whoever built this place knew what I was.Knew how to contain me.Which meant this wasn’t about discipline.It was about control.I sat in the corner, arms wrapped around my knees, going over every second of that night in the courtyard. Damon’s voice. The blade. The invitation.He hadn’t expected me to fight him. That much was clear.He thought I’d want what he offered.Power. Belonging. Freedom.The worst part?Part of me had.That was the trick.It wasn’t the blade. It wasn’t even the threat.It was the way he made it sound like the answer to a question I hadn’t asked out loud:What if no one ever truly accepts me?I clenched my fists.I wouldn’t let them turn that fear into a weapon.N
Thorold’s POVThe next morning, I wasn’t the same.The boy who longed for peace, for belonging — he was still there, but buried under something sharper.Harder.You’re being hunted, my instincts whispered. Act like it.So I did.The Academy library was massive, nearly a city unto itself, with wings closed to anyone without the right clearance.Lucky for me, I had inherited something from my parents — a knack for slipping past barriers.I spent hours digging through old registries, searching for any mention of Damon Vale. Past Alpha heirs. Student ledgers. Pack histories.Nothing.No Blackpine Pack listed among the recognized alliances. No Vale family named in any known bloodlines.He didn’t exist here.He didn’t exist anywhere.Who the hell are you really? I thought bitterly.I was about to dig deeper into the restricted section when Caelan found me.“Thorold,” he hissed, glancing over his shoulder. “What are you doing?”“Hunting,” I murmured, closing the dusty tome. “For answers.”“A