Chapter 16 Luca
“You look like you slept in a ditch,” Mason muttered as he flicked my basketball jersey with two fingers, like it offended him personally.
I shoved his hand away and kept walking across the cracked asphalt of the school parking lot. “I am fine, just tired,” I said.
“Tired from what? You bailed on us last night. Coach was pissed.” Mason lowered his voice. “If you are sneaking off to see some girl, at least pick one with a knack for commitment.”
I shot him a look that shut him up fast.
“You are hiding something. I know the signs.”
“I’m not hiding anything,” I gave him a glance.
“You know what the elders would say about the hunter issue?” Mason murmured as we neared the gym doors. “Stay put. If hunters are here, we let the adults handle it.”
“And wait until a wolf loses a leg in the meantime?” I yelled, losing my patience.
Mason sighed, shaking his head. “You are not the Alpha and do not get to call shots.”
I pulled open the gym door too hard. “I am aware.”
“You do not act like it.”
The truth was simple: I was not afraid of hunters. I was afraid of one human girl getting caught in the crossfire. The moment classes ended, I skipped practice again and drove toward Aria's house. A few steps into the trees, I crouched low. The ground looked disturbed, leaves were cleared and soil turned. I spotted something: a glint of something metallic buried just under a layer of dirt.
A trap. A trap laced with silver.
At first glance it could be mistaken for a crude animal snare, but werewolves knew better. Hunters did not use regular steel. They mixed metal with silver laced binding salts. My kind who stepped in one would not just bleed. They'd weakened. Their healing would be slowed and if in wolf form, they would not shift back easily and in worse scenarios, death.
Hunters did not make random guesses. They hunted patterns so either they were tracking rogues or they were tracking a pack. Or worse, baiting werewolves through a human. I leaned down to study the contraption. The scent almost stung my nose. Some of the metal had fresh residue indicating that someone handled it within a day.
I exhaled slowly. “You are playing a dangerous game, dear hunter.”
I turned the mechanism, searching for markings. Hunters rarely left signatures, but sometimes there were numbers etched into the frame to track batches. This one had none, and I had expected that. The pack should know but if I told my father, he would lock the perimeter, pull me from school, and probably send Mason to shadow me like a babysitter.
Drew appeared silently beside me, eyes wide as he took in the trap. “Holy shit!” he breathed. “That’s fresh. Someone was here last night?”
“Help me disarm it,” I said, voice low. “Don’t touch the metal.”
He nodded, grabbing a thick branch while I used another to lift the jaws. Together we wedged the sticks in, prying the mechanism open just enough to snap the trigger wire. The trap clamped shut on air with a violent clang that made both of us flinch.
Drew exhaled hard, wiping sweat from his brow. “That could’ve taken a limb clean off.”
“Or worse,” I muttered. “We bury it deep leaving no scent trail back to the house.”
We dug a shallow hole with our hands and a stick, dropped the trap in, and covered it with dirt and leaves. Drew glanced toward the house. “You think she’s in danger?”
“Everyone’s in danger if hunters are this close,” I said. “But yeah, especially her.”
He gave me a long look but didn’t push. We finished covering the spot, smoothed the dirt, and stepped back. It looked untouched again.
Back home, the house was quiet except for the soft clatter of dishes in the kitchen. Lila was there, loading the dishwasher but she froze the second I walked in. Her eyes—same gray as mine—narrowed instantly.
“You’re late again,” she said, arms crossed. “Third time this week.”
I shrugged, trying to play it casual. “Pack stuff.”
“Pack stuff, really?” she shot back. “And you look like crap. What’s going on, Luca?”
“Nothing you need to worry about.”
She stepped closer, lowering her voice even though we were alone. “You keep disappearing after dark. If something’s wrong, tell me.”
I rubbed the back of my neck. “There was a silver trap near the new neighbour’s place. Drew and I disarmed it. That’s all.”
Lila’s face went white. “Silver trap?” she whispered, voice cracking on the last word. “Near Aria’s house?”
“Wait, you know her name?!” I asked, incredulously but my sister only gave a look that asked if I was dumb.
“Oh my gosh!” she breathed. Her eyes went huge, shining with sudden fear. “Hunters. Actual hunters. And you’re just out there every night like it’s nothing?”
“Lila—”
“No.” She shook her head hard. “No, Luca. That’s suicide. You know what silver does if you’d stepped in it—” Her voice broke. She pressed a hand to her mouth, eyes filling. “You could’ve died. Or been stuck in wolf form. Or… or worse. And you didn’t tell me?”
“I’m handling it,” I said.
“You’re not handling it. You’re hiding it.” She stepped right up to me, voice trembling. “You’re putting yourself in the middle because of her, aren’t you? Why do you care so much about her?”
I looked away. Lila grabbed my arm, fingers digging in. “Luca! Look at me.”
I met her eyes. Tears brimmed there—real tears, the kind she hadn’t let fall since Mom died. I felt guilty for letting her feel that way so I pulled her into my arms trying to calm her down.
“If Dad finds out,” she whispered, “he’ll lock you in your room. You’re the future Alpha, Luca. He’ll say she’s off-limits and you’ll hate him for it. But more than that, you’ll hate yourself if something happens to her because you were too stubborn to ask for help.”
I swallowed hard. “I know.”
“Then stop acting like you’re invincible.” Her grip tightened. “Promise me you’ll be careful. That you’ll tell someone—someone other than Mason—if it gets worse. Promise me you won’t go out alone anymore at night.”
I held her gaze and saw the fear there. The same fear that had settled in our family since we lost Mom.
“I promise,” I said.
She searched my face, then let go slowly.
“And you can’t tell Dad, not yet. He’ll overreact.”
She nodded once.
“It stays between us,” I continued, “Swear it.”
“I swear.”
She exhaled shakily, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. “If you break that promise, I’ll tell him myself and make sure he grounds you until you’re thirty.”
Despite everything, the corner of my mouth twitched. “Noted.”
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Hey lovelies♥️,
The hunter is creeping closer, and now Lila knows, poor girl is terrified for her big brother. Do you think she’ll keep the secret, or will she crack under the pressure? Drop your thoughts in the comments—I love reading every single one!😊
If you’re feeling the tension (and Luca’s protectiveness), do add it to library so you don’t miss the next chapter. Things are about to heat up...see you soon!