Chapter 110
Elara's POV
I stared at the photo on Cole's tablet. My hands wouldn't stop shaking.
That woman running through the moonlit trees. That silhouette. That way of moving.
That was me.
Not this body. My real one. Lynette's body.
"Wait." My voice came out rough. "If my old body is still alive..."
The thought hit me like a physical blow.
"What if it's not just alive? What if—" I grabbed Cole's arm. "What if my sister, the original owner of this body, what if her soul went into my old body?"
Cole's eyes widened. "You're saying you didn't just reincarnate. You're saying you two... switched?"
"Blood moon." I was talking fast now, pieces clicking together in my head. "We both died on a blood moon. Same moment. Blood connection pulling us toward each other. What if we didn't just cross paths? What if we literally traded places?"
Cole went very still. "If that's true, then your sister is in serious danger right now."
My stomach dropped. Because he was right.
Some scared high school girl was running around in the body of the world's most wanted Alpha. Being hunted by the deadliest mercenaries in North America.
Because of me.
"Show me everything," I said.
Cole pulled up more files on his tablet. "This is Wild Hunt's movement pattern over the last three weeks."
A map of North America filled the screen. Red dots scattered across Canada, clustered heavily in the north. But as I traced them south, the pattern was clear.
"They're moving toward the border." My finger followed the trail. "And the dots are getting closer together."
"Frequency is increasing," Cole confirmed. "They were hitting a new location every two weeks in the beginning. Now it's every few days. And look at the personnel reports."
He swiped to another screen. Numbers. Lots of them.
"They started with a standard hunting pack. Six wolves. Now they've got twenty-three active hunters in the field, with another dozen on standby."
Twenty-three. For one target.
My throat felt tight. "They really want her dead."
"They think she's you," Cole said quietly. "The real Lynette. The Alpha who ruled the northern territories. The one worth a fortune dead."
I forced myself to think it through. Step by step.
"Okay. So here's what happened." I started pacing. The old lumber mill's concrete floor was cold under my boots. "Blood moon night. I died in Canada. She died here in Oregon."
"Both at the same time," Cole added.
"Right. Our souls got pulled toward each other because of the blood connection. Family. But instead of just... I don't know, passing by each other, we actually swapped."
"You came south into her body." Cole was following my logic. "She went north into yours."
"And she probably has some of my memories." That thought made me feel sick. "Enough to know how to fight. How to survive. That's how she's stayed alive this long."
Cole nodded slowly. "The tactics I've been seeing in the reports. The way she moves. It's too skilled to be random. She's using your training."
But she wasn't me. She was a seventeen-year-old girl who'd never killed anyone. Who'd been bullied at school. Who'd died choking on her own fear in a storage closet.
And now she was being hunted across Canada by professional killers.
"She can't keep this up," I said. "Even with my memories, she doesn't have the experience. She's never been in a real war. Never led a pack. She doesn't know how Wild Hunt thinks."
"And she doesn't know where to run," Cole said grimly. "Every move she makes, she's probably guessing. Hoping."
I thought about my sister. The girl whose body I was wearing. The girl whose memories I carried.
She'd been so scared. So tired. So desperate for someone to care about her.
And now she was alone in the wilderness, running for her life from monsters she couldn't possibly understand.
Because I'd died. Because my death had somehow pulled her into my nightmare.
"There's more bad news," Cole said.
Of course there was.
He pulled up another file. "This isn't a standard contract. Wild Hunt usually takes jobs with clear endpoints. Kill the target, collect payment, move on."
"But this one's different?"
"This is an unlimited contract. The client put down a massive deposit and promised ongoing payments until the target is confirmed dead. No time limit. No restrictions."
My blood went cold. "How much?"
"Initial payment was two million. With bonuses for proof of death. And the client has authorized Wild Hunt to use any resources necessary."
Two million dollars. To kill me.
Except it wasn't me they were killing. It was my sister.
"Do we know who hired them?" I asked.
Cole shook his head. "Client used multiple proxies. Shell companies. Encrypted payments. Whoever it is, they're careful. And they really, really want Lynette dead."
Or they wanted me dead. Before I'd switched bodies.
Someone hated me enough to spend millions. To hire the best killers in the supernatural world. To make sure I never stopped running.
And now my sister was paying for that hate.
"That's why things have been quiet here," I said suddenly.
Cole looked at me.
"Think about it. Wild Hunt's real target is Lynette's body. The body my sister is in right now. As far as they know, I'm just some harmless high school student in Oregon. Why would they waste resources investigating me?"
Understanding dawned in Cole's eyes. "They don't know the real Lynette's soul is here. They're chasing the body."
"Exactly." I felt sick. "My sister is taking the hit that was meant for me. She's being hunted because she's wearing my face. My body. My death sentence."
Cole was quiet for a moment. Then he said, "That's probably the only reason your family here is safe. If Wild Hunt knew the truth..."
He didn't finish. He didn't have to.
If Wild Hunt found out that Lynette's soul was in Elara Grey's body, they'd come for the Grey family. Mom. Dad. Ethan.
Everyone I'd come to care about would become a target.
All because of who I used to be.
I stood up. My hands had stopped shaking. My mind was clear now.
"I have to go get her."
Cole stood too. "Elara. These aren't random rogues. Wild Hunt is trained. Organized. They've been hunting supernatural targets for decades."
"I know what they are."
"Do you?" His voice was sharp. "Because the last time you faced them, you died. And that was when you were in your prime. In your own body. With your full strength."
He gestured at me. "Now you're in an Omega body that can't even shift. You're not ready for this."
"I don't care if I'm ready." My voice came out harder than I meant it to. "She's out there because of me. Because I died and dragged her into my mess. I'm not leaving her to face that alone."
"You'll get yourself killed."
"Maybe." I met his eyes. "But I'm still going."
Cole stared at me for a long moment. I could see him thinking. Calculating. Trying to find an argument that would work.
Finally he sighed. "You're just as stubborn as you used to be."
"Some things don't change."
"Fine." He pulled out his phone. "But we do this smart. I've been tracking Wild Hunt's patterns. I know their routes. Their tactics. We can use that."
"We?"
He looked at me like I was stupid. "You think I'm letting you go alone? I didn't spend three months tracking these bastards just to watch you throw yourself at them."
Something warm spread through my chest. "Cole—"
"Don't." He held up a hand. "You're still my Alpha. That hasn't changed, body or not. Where you go, I go."
I wanted to argue. To tell him this wasn't his fight. That he'd already done enough.
But the truth was, I needed him. I couldn't do this alone.
"Thank you," I said quietly.
He just nodded. Then pulled up a new map on his tablet. "Alright. Let's figure out where your sister is and how we're going to get her back."
I looked at the screen. At the red dots marking Wild Hunt's movements. At the vast wilderness of northern Canada where my sister was running, scared and alone.
Hang on, I thought. I'm coming.
Just hold on a little longer.