Chapter 122: Trap

Seraphine's POV

The earring lay in my palm. Small. Delicate. Silver wolf charm catching moonlight.

Lyra's.

My fingers closed around it. Trembling. The metal was still warm.

She was here. Just now. Minutes ago. Maybe seconds.

Hope and terror collided in my chest. Squeezed until I couldn't breathe.

I looked up. Scanning the darkness. The garden stretched before me. Empty. Silent.

Too silent.

Then I heard it.

A rustling. Close. From the edge of the garden where it met the tree line.

Branches snapping. Footsteps on leaves.

Someone's there.

"Lyra?" My voice came out quiet. Testing. "Lyra, if you're there—"

The rustling stopped.

Silence.

Heavy. Expectant.

Like whoever it was had frozen. Listening.

Then—movement. Sudden. Frantic.

Running. Away from me. Toward the forest.

Fast. Panicked.

Someone fleeing.

"Lyra!" Louder now. Desperate.

The running continued. Getting farther away.

She was running from me. Why was she running from me?

Unless she wasn't. Unless someone was chasing her.

Terror seized my chest. Squeezed until I couldn't breathe.

I shifted. Didn't think about it. Just let my wolf take over.

Gray fur erupted across my skin. Bones cracked and reformed. My senses sharpened to painful clarity.

The running sounds were clearer now. Distant but distinct.

I ran.

Paws pounding against earth. Muscles burning with exertion. Following that sound through the darkness.

Through the garden. Past the small creek. Over rocks and fallen logs.

The forest grew thicker. Branches whipped at my fur. Roots tried to trip me.

I didn't slow down.

The footsteps stayed ahead. Always just out of reach. Every time I got close, they'd speed up.

Leading me somewhere. Drawing me forward.

My rational mind screamed warnings. This was too perfect. Too convenient.

But the panic drowned out logic. The terror of losing Lyralei again. Of failing her like I'd failed our parents.

I'd lost her once before. In that human village when we were separated in the chaos.

Never again. I'd promised myself. Never fucking again.

The trees started thinning. Moonlight grew brighter. The air changed.

Something was wrong.

The scent hit me first. Rot. Decay. Old blood mixed with fresh earth.

I skidded to a stop. Shifted back to human form.

The smell was overwhelming. Choking. Making my eyes water.

Three oak trees stood before me. Ancient. Massive. Twisted.

And decorated with corpses.

I staggered back. Bile rising in my throat.

Three bodies. Tied to the trees with thick leather straps. Arms spread wide like crucifixes. Heads lolling forward.

They'd been dead for days. Maybe weeks. Flesh rotting. Skin gray and bloated.

Flies swarmed around them. The buzzing loud in the silence.

My stomach heaved. I turned away. Gagged.

On the center tree, carved deep into the bark: "TRESPASS ON SHADOWMERE—THIS IS YOUR FATE"

Below it: "DAMIEN—I'M WAITING"

And above the writing—Kaelen's mark. That distinctive symbol I'd seen before. Two circles forming a wolf's pupil. The wolf head outline beneath.

Territory marking. A warning. A promise of violence.

Jesus Christ.

I'd known Kaelen was ruthless. Had heard the stories. But seeing it like this—

The bodies swayed slightly in the breeze. Leather creaked.

I forced myself to look away. To focus.

Where were those footsteps? Where was Lyra?

That's when I saw the ground.

Fresh disturbance in the grass. Claw marks. Deep gouges in the earth.

Signs of a struggle.

And blood. Not much. Just a few drops. But fresh. Still wet.

My heart stopped.

No. No no no no.

I dropped to my knees. Touched the blood with shaking fingers.

The scent was wrong. Off somehow. But I was too panicked to analyze it properly.

All I could think was: Lyra was here. She fought. She bled.

More marks on the ground. Like something—someone—had been dragged.

Leading away from the trees. Away from Kaelen's territory. Into the unprotected wilderness beyond.

I looked up at the corpses. At Kaelen's warning carved into bark.

This was the boundary. The edge of his protection.

Beyond this line, I was on my own. No Alpha's power to shield me. No pack to call for help.

Just wilderness. And whoever had taken my sister.

Logic tried to surface. Screamed at me that this was too convenient. Too perfect.

The earring placed exactly where I'd find it. The footsteps leading me here. The fresh blood.

A trap. Obviously a trap.

But what if it wasn't? What if Lyra really had been here? Really had been taken?

What if I walked away and she died because I was too paranoid to help her?

I couldn't. I fucking couldn't.

I'd failed my parents. Let them die while I ran away.

I wouldn't fail Lyra too.

I stood. Followed the drag marks with my eyes.

They led into darkness. Into danger.

Away from safety. Away from Kaelen's protection.

Exactly where they wanted me to go.

I knew that. Understood it completely.

Didn't matter.

I shifted again. Gray fur. Gold eyes.

One last look at those rotting corpses. At Kaelen's warning.

I crossed the boundary line.

The change was immediate. The air felt different. Colder. More hostile.

Kaelen's power didn't extend here. I was vulnerable.

Exactly as planned.

I ran anyway.

Following the drag marks. The disturbed earth. The occasional drop of that wrong-smelling blood.

The forest grew sparse. Moonlight flooded the clearing ahead.

Everything looked wrong. Too open. Too exposed.

The drag marks ended abruptly. Just stopped. Like the job was done.

I slowed. Circled the area warily.

Nothing. No more signs. No more trail.

Just empty clearing and bright moonlight.

Then I heard it.

A low growl. Deep. Resonant.

From my left.

I spun.

A massive wolf stepped out of the tree line. Bigger than any wolf I'd seen except Kaelen.

Dark gray fur almost black in the moonlight. Amber eyes glowing with predatory focus.

The scent hit me hard. Damien's wolf.

The wolf didn't attack. Just stood there. Watching. Waiting.

Like it had been expecting me.

Like I'd walked right into exactly the trap I'd known was there.

The wolf's lips pulled back. Showing teeth.

Not a snarl. A smile.

Fuck.

I'd been so stupid. So fucking stupid.

The wolf took a step forward.

I took a step back.

My mind raced. Calculating odds. Escape routes. Survival chances.

All came up zero.

I was alone. Outside Kaelen's protection. Facing one of Damien's wolves.

Everything I'd tried to avoid. Every precaution I'd taken.

Destroyed by one moment of panic. One desperate need to save my sister.

The wolf stalked closer. Confident. Unhurried.

It knew I had nowhere to go.

Knew I'd walked right into this.

Knew I was fucked.

I shifted back to human form. If I was going down, I'd do it on two legs.

The wolf's eyes tracked my movement. Amused. Entertained.

I raised my chin. Met those amber eyes directly.

"Took you long enough to spring the trap." My voice was steady. Didn't show the terror clawing at my chest. "I was starting to think Damien only hired idiots."