Chapter 116 Luca
I didn’t realize I was losing control until I tasted blood that wasn’t mine. The world around me blurred at the edges, narrowing into flashes of movement and every heartbeat around me sounded like a threat. Every scent felt like something I needed to eliminate.
It took me a second to even register the body beneath me. It was a hunter or what used to be one. My hands were locked around his throat, fingers digging in hard enough to feel bone and tendon under my grip. He struggled, but it was weak now and I didn’t loosen my hold. I couldn’t. The rage in me wasn’t satisfied with stopping him. It wasn’t satisfied with winning.
It wanted to end it.
“Luca!”
The sound barely reached me. It felt distant, like it had to fight its way through layers of noise to get to me.
My grip tightened and he hunter’s movements slowed even more.
“Luca, stop!”
The rage had taken over too much of me, pressing down on everything else until there wasn’t room for anything. Somewhere deep in my head, something flickered, a memory pushing through the chaos. Aria’s voice. The way she said my name when she was trying to calm me down, when she was scared but pretending she wasn’t.
It should have pulled me back. It didn’t. Because the image that followed wasn’t her smiling or safe. It was her in that clearing, a blade coming down toward her and I felt that same panic explode all over again.
Something inside me broke and the sound that tore out of my chest didn’t feel human anymore.
“Enough!”
The hit came out of nowhere, slamming into my side hard enough to rip me off the hunter and send us both rolling across the ground. I hit the dirt and pushed up instantly, turning toward whoever had interfered without thinking, my body already ready to attack again.
Mason stood a few feet away, his eyes locked on me with a mix of anger and something that looked a lot like concern.
“Back off,” he growled.
I didn’t move.
Mason stepped closer. “It’s over.” He said in a firm voice.
“They’ll come back,” My voice rough and uneven.
“I know,” Mason replied. “But this one isn’t getting back up either way.”
My gaze flicked to the hunter lying a few feet away completely still now. I should have felt something seeing that. Relief, maybe or at least the sense that we’d won something instead, the rage was still there, clawing at me and refusing to settle.
“Luca,” Mason called again. “Look at me.”
I didn’t want to. Everything in me resisted it but something in his tone forced me to anyway and I met his eyes.
“Breathe,” he said.
I dragged in a breath anyway, and it felt wrong going in like my lungs didn’t know what to do with it. I held onto it, forcing myself to focus on that instead of everything else still crashing through me.
“You’re slipping,” Mason continued. “You keep going like that, you won’t come back from it.”
“I had him!” I gritted out.
“You were killing him.”
“He’s a hunter.”
“And you’re not a monster.”
For a second, the rage subsided.
Mason stepped closer. “We need you thinking not losing it every time they push us.”
“They almost got her,” I snapped before I could stop myself.
Mason’s expression softened. “I know.”
“You didn’t see it,” I insisted. “They were seconds away.”
“And you stopped them,” he said. “That’s what matters.”
It didn’t feel like enough because I could still see Aria on the ground, the hunter above her and the blade coming down too fast for her to react. I dragged in another breath, forcing the image back, forcing the rage down with it, even though it fought me the whole way.
Footsteps approached behind us. It was Rafe, Tessa, and the others. They looked rough, bruised, breathing hard, but they were still standing.
“We lost them,” Rafe said, scanning the trees. “They pulled back.”
“For now,” Tessa added.
Mason nodded once. “We expected that.”
Rafe’s gaze shifted to me. “You good?”
“I’m fine,” I nodded.
Tessa turned her eyes to me and the hunter on the ground. “That was reckless.”
My head snapped toward her. “They were targeting us.”
“They were testing you,” she corrected. “And you gave them exactly what they wanted.”
Mason exhaled slowly. “She’s right.”
Frustration flared again. “What was I supposed to do? Stand there and let them take another shot?”
“No,” Tessa said. “You’re supposed to stay controlled. That’s how we survive this.”
“They’re escalating,” Rafe added. “We can’t afford to lose our heads every time they push.”
My hands curled into fists at my sides. I hated that they were right. I hated that I knew they were right.
“They’re already inside our territory,” I shouted. “They’ve got weapons hidden near town. They’re setting traps. How much more control do you expect?”
“Enough to outlast them,” Mason said.
Tessa broke the tension. “We need to move.”
Mason nodded. “This position isn’t safe.”
Rafe glanced toward the deeper forest. “Back to the ridge?”
“For now,” Mason said. “We regroup and figure out their next move before they make it.”
I hesitated. Every instinct in me wanted to go after them instead, to track them down before they could regroup, before they could come back stronger but I knew better.
“Luca,” Mason said quietly.
I looked at him.
“Come on.”
We moved out quickly, leaving the clearing behind as the forest swallowed us again. I stayed near the front and forced myself to focus on the path ahead and on anything that would keep me grounded.
It wasn’t easy.
“Talk to me,” Mason said, falling into step beside me interrupting my thoughts.
“About what?” I asked without looking at him.
“That,” he said. “Whatever just happened back there.”
I exhaled slowly. “They’re pushing us.”
“I know.”
“They’re not just hunting anymore,” I continued. “They’re trying to break us.”
Mason’s gaze sharpened. “You think they’re getting close?”
“They’re targeting more than just the pack,” I said finally.
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“They’re targeting her.”
Mason went still for a second, then nodded slowly. “Aria.”
I didn’t deny it. “They know about us and the bond.”
His expression darkened. “How?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “But they’re not guessing. They’re moving like they’re sure.”
“Then we keep her out of it,” Mason said.