Lily Carter POV
The ergency siren howled through Silver Peak as I ran toward the Alpha house. Pack warriors rushed past , their faces grim with fear. Sothing bad was happening at our borders.
I burst through the front door to find Alpha Marcus shouting directions while Aiden, Brock, and Caleb gathered their patrol gear. Maps covered the dinner table, marked with red X’s showing trouble spots.
"What’s going on?" I gasped, trying to catch my breath.
"Border patrol found signs of rogue wolves," Alpha Marcus said without looking up from his maps. "Fresh tracks, scent markers, signs they’ve been watching us for days."
My stomach dropped. After Luna’s claims yesterday and the Shadow Wolf’s threat last night, rogue wolves felt like the final piece of a terrible puzzle.
"How many?" I asked.
"We don’t know yet," Aiden said, putting on his patrol pack. "That’s what we’re going to find out."
"I’m coming with you."
All four guys turned to stare at . Alpha Marcus shook his head instantly.
"Absolutely not. It’s too dangerous, especially with the pack eting tonight. If these rogues are connected to Luna’s accusations—"
"That’s exactly why I need to co," I interrupted, shocking myself with my boldness. "If this is a trap, you’ll need soone who can sense things others miss."
"Lily," Caleb said gently, "you’re not trained for patrol duty."
"But I am trained to notice details," I argued. "And my oga senses might pick up things warrior senses don’t."
Aiden looked serious. "She has a point. During the last rogue attack, she felt danger before any of us."
"It’s too risky," Brock growled. "If sothing happens to her—"
"Sothing will happen to all of us if we miss important clues," I said firmly. "Please. Let help."
Alpha Marcus studied for a long mont. Finally, he nodded. "Stay close to Aiden. Follow his orders perfectly. And if things get dangerous, you run back here instantly."
Twenty minutes later, Aiden and I ran toward the northern border where the patrol had found the tracks. The morning air felt cold and sharp, making every sound seem louder. My Triple Moon mark tingled with worried energy.
"Are you scared?" Aiden asked as we ran.
"Terrified," I admitted. "But I’m more scared of sitting here doing nothing while danger threatens the pack."
He smiled at that. "You’re braver than you think, Lily."
We reached the border patrol checkpoint where three warriors waited with worried faces. The boss, Jake, pointed toward a cluster of pine trees.
"Tracks start about fifty yards that way," he reported. "At least four different dogs, maybe more. They circled our area for hours, testing our defenses."
"Show us," Aiden ordered.
As we approached the woods, I imdiately slled sothing wrong. Not just the sll of unfamiliar wolves, but sothing else. Sothing that made my mark burn with warning.
"Wait," I said, grabbing Aiden’s arm. "Sothing’s not right here."
The patrol warriors looked at with barely hidden doubt. Jake actually rolled his eyes.
"What do you an?" Aiden asked seriously, ignoring the others’ emotions.
I knelt beside the first set of tracks, running my fingers near but not touching the disturbed dirt. My oga senses scread danger.
"These tracks are wrong," I said slowly, trying to understand what I was feeling. "They’re too obvious. Like soone wanted us to find them easily."
"Tracks are tracks," Jake said dismissively. "Four rogue wolves circled our land. That’s the threat we need to deal with."
But I shook my head, moving to study other areas around the trees. "Look at this." I pointed to a patch of disturbed leaves. "The tracks go in a circle, but there are no scent marks. Rogue wolves always mark land they’re scouting."
Aiden crouched beside , his face growing serious. "You’re right. No wolf patrols for hours without leaving sll signs."
"Maybe they were being extra careful," another warrior offered.
I moved deeper into the trees, following a feeling I couldn’t explain. My mark got warr as I walked, like it was guiding toward sothing important.
"Lily, don’t go too far," Aiden called.
But I’d found sothing that made my blood freeze. Hidden behind a fallen log were different tracks – much bigger than the obvious ones near the border. These prints were deeper, wider, and gave off a sll that made gag.
"Aiden!" I called urgently. "Co here! Now!"
He ran over, the patrol warriors following hesitantly. When they saw what I’d found, their dismissive attitudes vanished quickly.
"Shadow Wolf tracks," Jake whispered, his face going pale.
The prints were massive, almost twice the size of average wolf paws. But worse than their size was what surrounded them – dead grass, withered flowers, and small animals that looked like they’d simply stopped living.
"They’ve been here recently," I said, feeling a blackened leaf that crumbled at my touch. "Maybe just hours ago."
"This changes everything," Aiden said sadly. "The rogue tracks were ant to distract us from these."
I stood up, my mind racing. "It’s a trap. The Shadow Wolves left fake rogue signs to draw our patrols away from the real risk."
"What real danger?" Jake asked.
My Triple Moon mark suddenly flared with burning pain. Through the trees, I could see movent – shapes that didn’t belong to any normal dog. My oga senses scread warnings so loud I nearly doubled over.
"They’re here," I gasped. "Right now. They’re surrounding us."
The warriors imdiately went into defensive positions, but I realized with increasing horror that we were already too late. Red eyes glead from the shadows between trees. Lots of them.
"How many?" Aiden asked softly, his hand on his weapon.
I counted the glowing eyes, my heart dropping with each pair. "At least a dozen. Maybe more."
"We need to get back to the pack house," Jake said. "Warn everyone."
But as we turned to run, more red eyes appeared behind us. We were completely trapped.
A voice like grinding stone echoed from the shadows: "Too late, little oga. You found our real tracks, but now you’ll never leave to warn anyone."
The biggest Shadow Wolf I’d ever seen stepped into view. Its eyes burned like hot coals, and its breath made nearby plants black.
"You’ve served your purpose," it continued, speaking directly to . "Your mate bond led us straight to the Alpha’s son. Now we can take you both."
"Run, Lily!" Aiden shouted, drawing his silver knife.
But there was nowhere to run. Shadow Wolves erged from every direction, their supernatural speed cutting off any escape route. The patrol warriors readied their guns, but I could see the fear in their eyes. We were outnumbered and outmatched.
My Triple Moon mark blazed with urgent heat. Sowhere in the back of my mind, I felt Brock and Caleb responding to my fear, but they were too far away to help.
The lead Shadow Wolf smiled, showing teeth like black daggers. "The pack eting tonight will continue as planned. But instead of banishing you, they’ll find your torn bodies as a warning of what happens to those who house forbidden magic users."
As the creatures closed in around us, I realized Luna’s plans had worked perfectly. While the pack prepared to vote on my removal, we were about to beco the first victims of a trap that would destroy everyone I loved.
The Shadow Wolf lunged forward, and I knew our ti had run out.
Reviews
All reviews (0)