Reed Hollow did not feel like a living place that day. It felt paused, tense,it felt like something grief was going to happen.

Even the wind refused to move through the ashwood trees, as if the forest itself had decided to wait. The sky above felt too dark for the hour, it pressed low and heavy, like something unseen was watching, and was choosing not to blink.

Inside the great hall, Xara Reed sat close to her mother. She was still a child, small enough to be hidden under some cloth. Small enough to believe adults always knew what they were doing.

But something was wrong. She could feel it in the way people moved, because no one spoke normally. Warriors sharpened blades they did not need to sharpen. Elders whispered, then stopped mid-sentence, as if the rest of their words were dangerous. Even servants walked too quietly, like sound itself had become a mistake.

Xara did not understand politics, she knew nothing about war or kingdoms. But she understood fear, she felt it was in the air. It felt heavy, metallic, sharp on her tongue when she breathed.

Her mother’s hand stayed on her shoulder. It did not feel soft, nor did it feel comforting. It was tight. Like she was holding on, because letting go would mean losing something forever. Xara looked up at her.

“Mother,” she said quietly, “why does everyone look like that?”

Her mother did not answer immediately. That pause told Xara more than any words could. When she finally spoke, her voice was controlled, but not calm.

“Stay close to me, do not move away.” she said

Xara nodded because that was what she was supposed to do.

But she still did not understand why it felt like everyone was already gone, even though they were standing right there. She felt that the world changed,not with sound, not with warning. Only a sentence, carried from far away like it had already been decided long before anyone could argue against it.

“Execute the order.” a voice said

It was not loud, and it did not need to be. Somewhere beyond Reed Hollow, power had spoken, not as a request, not as a question, But as a final decision.

Alpha King Rahl Draven gave no speech, no warning, no visible anger, only certainty. And certainty did not stop to explain itself.

Inside Reed Hollow, the reaction came late. Not because people did not understand, but because they refused to believe it was possible. They didn't believe it should be their land, or their people. ‘Not here’, they thought, not them.

But belief does not protect anyone from an army that has already begun moving. The first footsteps hit the ground outside the hall. It felt heavy, like every step was measured, and unhurried. Steel boots pressed into ashwood soil, like the land had already been taken, and resistance was only something to be cleared away.

The attack did not begin like chaos.It began like a correction. The Reed warriors rushed to defend their home, but something felt wrong immediately. Not because they were weak, but because the enemy moved like the outcome was already known, as if the battle had already ended somewhere else.

At first, steel met steel. Then steel met flesh, fire followed too quickly, spreading across buildings, like it had been placed there earlier and was only now being allowed to show itself. The great hall turned into noise and movement, Xara was pulled, lower beneath her mother’s cloak as screams rose outside, it felt sharp and sudden, like a glass breaking all at once.

Then the first shift happened, a particular sound had stopped. Not all did, just one part of it. Xara did not understand what changed at first, till she saw her mother move swiftly, Like she was pursued by something unseen. Then she felt something move. It was fast, but not fast enough. A soldier appeared through smoke. Without hesitation, no warning, his steel moved once. Which caused a huge ugly impact on Xara.

Her mother fell, there was no dramatic last moment, no words meant to be remembered, and no instruction passed on, only absence remained. Xara stared at her, her mind did not understand what it was seeing, ‘her mother was still there,’ she believed. Surely she was, but she was not moving.

“Mother?” Xara said softly

She felt absence in her words, It didn't feel like her.

“Mother, wake up.” she said again

Still nothing, the warmth then disappeared from her hand, that was the only thing her body understood before her mind could catch up.

Outside, the pack was not being defeated, it was being erased. One by one names were wiped, packs were slaughtered, and the hall shook as fire reached the structure. Wood cracked above them, like something breaking under too much pressure. Smoke filled the air fast, making it harder to breathe, and harder to think.

From a distance, someone screamed her name. It did not reach her properly, but she felt it in her spines. Immediately Xara ran. She had to survive. Barefoot, she ran through burning corridors that no longer looked familiar. Through rooms that used to hold people who were now gone or disappearing.

She called out names as she ran, But no one answered. Every space she crossed felt emptier than the last, then she reached the outside. The air burned her throat immediately. The sky was no longer sky, it was smoke, and fire mixing together until nothing felt real.

Reed Hollow was collapsing behind her. She felt confused at the moment, she couldn't explain that. At a distance, far away. On a rise above the burning settlement. A figure stood still. Not moving, not fighting nor reacting, Just watching.

Alpha King Rahl Draven.

Even at a distance, his presence felt heavy. It was not loud, not dramatic, it felt just absolute. He did not look like someone watching a battle, he looked like someone confirming something already decided.

Xara stopped without meaning to, something in her chest tightened, though she did not know why. It was not fear, not recognition, it was something she had no name for yet.

Rahl’s gaze shifted once, It moved towards her, from across the fire, across smoke, across everything breaking between them. For a moment, it felt like he saw her clearly, Not as a child, not as someone surviving. Just… her. Then the smoke thickened, and he was gone from view.

The forest outside Reed Hollow became chaos. Xara ran into it without thinking, Branches cut her skin, and her lungs burned. Her legs shook with exhaustion that she could not feel fully yet, because her mind was still trying to catch up to what had happened.

Behind her, Reed Hollow collapsed completely into fire. The sound of it followed her like something dying slowly and refusing to stop. Then something grabbed her, she was lifted off the ground instantly. It was one of the generals, he had strong arms, which were too strong for her to break free from.

Her body reacted late, and her hands pushed against armor she could not move. Her breath turned sharp and broken, then Panic arrived fully now . So this was it, this was how it ended, not in the hall, or beside her mother. Here, in the woods, alone, her mind screamed, but her body could not respond in time.

Then something changed again, a hand closed around the soldier’s arm, It was covered in blood. The grip was not gentle, so i felt it was final, the soldier froze immediately, like his body had been told to stop before his mind could argue. A voice came from behind him, It was cold, controlled and commanding.

“Let her go,” it said. A pause followed. Then the second line came, quieter, but heavier. “The pack is already dead.”

The soldier released her instantly, no resistance, no questions. Xara fell to the ground.

Immediately, she gasped, air rushing back into her lungs, too fast to feel safe. She looked up, but she could not see the speaker clearly, she saw only a shape. Only authority.

Blood on a hand that did not shake. Then the soldier turned and walked away as if nothing had happened. Xara remained on the ground in the ashwood forest. Once again, she was alive, not saved, not chosen. Just… allowed.

And in that moment, something settled inside her in a way she would never be able to unfrightened was not always kindness; Sometimes it was permission. Behind her, Reed Hollow burned until nothing recognisable remained. And Xara Reed disappeared into the forest alone.