Chapter 153: The Hollow Queen Rises
The first time she killed after leaving White Moon, it wasn't out of necessity.
It wasn't because she had to.
It was because she wanted to.
The man had been a rogue, half-feral, his scent thick with blood and rot.
He had seen her.
Thought she was prey.
Bella had smiled at him.
Let him believe it.
Let him believe she was nothing more than a broken, lost thing.
Then she ripped his throat out.
Slowly.
Painfully.
Watched as he choked on his own blood, as his body twitched, as his heart struggled to keep beating.
And when it was over?
She felt nothing.
No guilt.
No regret.
Just the thrill of the hunt.
And she wanted more.
So she took it.
Night after night.
Town after town.
Killing those who deserved it.
Killing those who didn't.
Until whispers of a new kind of monster started spreading through the rogue packs.
A woman.
A ghost.
A shadow with golden eyes and bloodstained hands.
And when they asked for her name—
She only ever gave one.
"Hollow."