Black Hollow 2: Enchanted Beta
المؤلف
Lee Ellis
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36.4K
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Welcome back to Black Hollow, where danger breathes through every shadow and love burns hotter than any spell. Priya’s world tilts the moment fate binds her to Ted—the stubborn, golden-hearted man who refuses to let her face her demons alone. She’s survived nightmares, lost pieces of herself, and learned that sometimes the fiercest monsters wear familiar faces. Now, with her pack in peril and darkness rising, Priya must decide what she’s willing to risk for the ones she loves. Magic can wound or heal—but the heart? That’s where the real power lives.
Chapter 1: A Cosmic Disaster
PRIYA
There was nothing quite like watching your newly found best friend in a flowing goddess dress, bathed in moonlight and magic, to make your life feel like a complete and utter dumpster fire.
Kat looked breathtaking. Ethereal. Powerful. Like the luna she was always meant to be. Kael, standing beside her, was all smolder and dominance, with just the right touch of lovestruck fool. And everyone else? Teary-eyed, applauding, soaking up the fairytale. Everyone but me.
Don’t get me wrong, I was extremely happy for them. Kat and I may have only met a few weeks ago, but going to battle alongside someone will bond you in a way that nothing else can. I wanted nothing but happiness for her.
However, witnessing her in this moment only forced me to acknowledge what I didn’t have…what I couldn’t have.
I was standing on the edge of the clearing, half in the shadows, clutching my wine glass like it was the only thing keeping me tethered to this reality. And then there was him. Ted.
Of course, he found me. Bounding over like an overgrown golden retriever in a tux, full of that wild, untamed energy and a smile that could charm the socks off the grumpiest person alive. Which, let’s be honest, was probably his real superpower.
“There she is,” he said, sliding beside me with a grin and zero personal space awareness. “The woman of my dreams and also the woman currently trying to ghost me like I’m a bad Tinder date.”
I groaned. “We’re not doing this tonight, Ted.”
“We’re totally doing this tonight.” He raised his eyebrows and took a dramatic sip of champagne. “Look, if we were any more fated, the moon would’ve just tattooed our names on each other’s foreheads. I’m pretty sure the spirits are already betting on our mating ceremony.”
“It’s a cosmic disaster; I already told you that,” I muttered.
Ted blinked. “I prefer to think of it as a cosmic rom-com. Think about it. You, me, mate bond. I make you laugh; you roll your eyes. We fall in love, save the world, probably while riding matching motorbikes into battle.”
“You don’t even own a motorbike.”
“Not yet. But for you, Priya? I’d learn.”
I turned to him, arms folded. “This isn’t a joke, Ted. A mate bond is for life. It’s sacred. Serious.”
“And I can’t be serious?” He paused dramatically. “Okay, bad example. But I can try to be serious. I can also bake a mean lasagna and recite the entire third season of The Office by heart. You know. In case those are bonding perks.”
“You’re impossible.”
“But charming,” he added with a wink.
I hated how part of me smiled. Just a little. The very smallest of lip twitches.
The truth was, ever since I realized we were mates—thanks to Kat’s whispering ancestors and a very excited Ted practically shouting it from The Rusty Fang’s rooftop—I’d been trying to outrun the inevitable.
I wasn’t like Kat. I didn’t run headfirst into whatever the gods and goddesses threw my way. I was practical. Controlled. Calculated.
Mate bonds? They were messy. Dangerous. Cosmic chaos wrapped in pheromones and fate. And I’d worked too hard building walls to let the universe bulldoze them for me.
Ted bumped my shoulder gently. “I know you’re scared. I’d be scared too if I had to spend eternity with me.”
I snorted. “You’re such an idiot.”
“But I’m your idiot,” he said, his voice dipping just slightly softer. “Or at least, I could be…if you’d let me.”
And there it was. That terrifying, wonderful truth hanging between us. I could run. I could pretend the bond didn’t matter. But the way he looked at me? Like I was the only star in his sky? That wasn’t something you could ignore.
Just then, Kat’s laughter rang out across the field, and I looked up to see her and Kael dancing, Luna curled up like a furry little moon guardian on a nearby chair. For a second, it all looked…right.
“I’m not promising anything,” I said finally.
Ted’s grin widened. “So you’re saying there’s a chance.”
I rolled my eyes, and he reached out to lace his fingers with mine.
Just as I was about to pull my hand away from Ted’s—before he started planning our honeymoon or naming our children—I heard Kat’s voice rise above the laughter and music. “Priya! Talia! Ezra! You guys up for showing off a little?”
I turned to see her standing in the middle of the makeshift dance floor, barefoot, radiant, and grinning like a woman who had just won the lottery and defeated a coven of dark witches.
Talia was already at her side, eyebrows raised. “You want to do the star spell? Right now?”
“Why not?” Kat shrugged. “It’s a party, and everyone could use a little magic.”
I glanced at Ezra, who gave me a lopsided grin and nudged me forward. “Come on, little Priya. Let’s blow their minds.”
I rolled my eyes and handed my drink to Ted. “Hold this. And don’t spill it.”
“I’d never,” he said with mock offense, then leaned in and whispered, “Make the stars dance, Priya.”
Ugh. He was so annoying. And unfortunately…kind of adorable.
The four of us stepped into the center of the clearing, forming a circle on the dance floor, the moon casting a silver glow over everything. The crowd slowly circled around us, a mix of witches and wolves curious to see what would happen.
We didn’t need much, just each other and the memory of our practice sessions at the pack house under Mrs. Graham’s watchful gaze. We’d done this spell maybe a dozen times before. For training. For unity. For fun. But tonight, it felt different. Charged.
Ezra took the northern point of the circle, Kat faced south, Talia west, and I turned east. We closed our eyes, grounding ourselves. Kat’s voice was the first to rise, soft but certain. Then Ezra. Then Talia. And finally, me.
The chant was in Rae dialect, ancient and lyrical, like wind brushing across the surface of water. As we spoke, the air grew still. The sounds of laughter and clinking glasses fell away. A hush spread over the clearing.
Above us, the sky began to shimmer. At first, just a faint glow, like a ripple across a still lake.
Then…stars. Thousands of tiny, glowing points of light appeared overhead. No, not stars. Not really. They were fragments of energy, stardust woven from our magic and flung into the sky like a constellation caught in motion. They twinkled and shimmered, spinning in slow, mesmerizing spirals above the clearing.
A collective gasp spread through the crowd. Even the wolves stilled, ears perked, tails frozen in mid-sway.
I dared a glance across the circle and caught Ted’s eyes. He looked absolutely stunned, mouth slightly open, the reflection of the glowing sky shining in his dark eyes. But it wasn’t just awe; it was pride. Like he was watching someone he believed in, someone who made magic, literally and metaphorically.
And in that moment, something inside me cracked, just the tiniest hairline fracture. Not enough to admit anything. But enough to wonder…what if?
We lowered our hands in unison, our voices trailing off, and the stars above us dimmed slowly, like candles being blown out one by one, until the night returned to normal.
For a moment, no one moved. Then applause erupted. Whistles. Cheers. Someone yelled, “Do it again!”
Kat laughed and gave a small curtsy. Ezra bowed dramatically. Talia did a spin. I just stood there, chest rising and falling, heart thudding far too loud. I looked back at Ted. He still hadn’t moved.
“You okay?” I asked as I moved to stand beside him. He blinked and handed me my drink like I’d just walked off the set of a Marvel movie. “You’re…unbelievable.”
I arched a brow. “You’re just now figuring that out?”
He grinned. “Oh no. I always knew. But now I’ve got visual confirmation.”
After a bit more clapping, a lot more laughing, and a few very enthusiastic requests for an encore—which I politely declined by fleeing in the opposite direction—I finally managed to slip out of the circle and blend back into the crowd.
The music had picked back up, the pack was dancing again, and the scent of roasted marshmallows wafted from the fire pit.
I spotted Kat near the drink table, her cheeks flushed with joy and just a hint of champagne. She was glowing. Not in the magical way from earlier, though that too, but in the “just got initiated as luna and finally not fighting for my life” kind of way. She looked…happy. And it suited her.
I approached with a crooked smile. “Well, Luna,” I said, raising my glass in salute, “you clean up all right.”
Kat turned, her face lighting up. “Priya! That was incredible out there. We really nailed it this time.”
“I guess we should thank Drill Sergeant Thorn,” I said with a little shrug. “Can’t have the wolves thinking witches are all broomsticks and bad vibes, am I right?”
Kat laughed and pulled me into a hug. “Thank you. Really. For everything you’ve done. And for being here tonight.”
I returned the hug, then pulled back slightly. “I should get going, though. You and Kael deserve a night without magical distractions.”
Kat tilted her head, eyeing me. “Will you be around the pack house tomorrow?”
I hesitated. Behind her, across the clearing, Ted was holding court with a bunch of pack members, hands flying in animated gestures as he told some probably exaggerated story.
Laughter exploded from the group, and he mock-bowed as if he were on stage. I stared at him for a beat too long. Then turned back to Kat.
“I don’t know,” I said dryly. “I might need to spend tomorrow finding a really good hiding spot.”
Kat’s eyes sparkled mischievously. “That bad, huh?”
“That determined,” I corrected, sighing dramatically. “The man is like a golden retriever with a six-pack. If he fetches me one more damn drink and looks at me like I invented gravity, I’m going to lose it.”
Kat snorted. “You love it.”
“I do not.”
“You do.”
“If I find a lake house in another realm, I’m not telling you where it is.” She just smiled knowingly, like she had a front-row seat to the chaos that was about to become my life.
“Tell your oversized mutt of a mate congrats,” I said, nudging her shoulder. “And seriously—don’t let the champagne run out. This place needs it.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” she called after me.
I didn’t answer. Mostly because I had no idea if I’d be able to resist showing up. But judging by the way Ted’s eyes found mine the second I turned around, and his goofy grin spread across his face, yeah. I was definitely in trouble.
