Chapter 22 Luca
The meeting started the way pack meetings always did with arguments. The elders gathered in the long room beneath my father’s house, settling into a loose half-circle of carved stone chairs as though they were attending a lecture rather than preparing to decide the fate of the pack. The room had been hollowed directly from the mountain decades ago. The air smelled of old pine, wolf musk, and pride. Stubborn, ancient pride that refused to bend until it snapped.
I leaned against the far wall, arms crossed and already wishing I had refused Mason when he’d insisted this couldn’t wait any longer. My father stood at the head of the room, tall and unmoving. Alpha Dorian Hale never needed to pace or raise his voice. His presence alone carried authority, the kind that pressed down on your shoulders whether you wanted it to or not. He hadn’t called a meeting like this in over a year. The fact that the elders were here at all meant something had changed even if they were pretending otherwise.
“There is no confirmed hunter,” Elder Rowan said calmly, folding his thin hands over the silver-tipped cane resting between his knees. His voice was smooth, measured, and irritatingly unreasonable. “Only traps that could easily belong to poachers. Or foolish human teenagers wandering where they shouldn’t.”
A few elders nodded in agreement. I laughed loudly and every gaze swung toward me. “Teenagers don’t lace snares with silver.”
The murmurs that followed were immediate and agitated. My father’s eyes flicked toward me, a silent warning to watch my tone. I ignored it. I was so done swallowing and keeping this down. Elder Mara tilted her head, her sharp eyes assessing me the way they always did, like she was dissecting a problem rather than listening to a person. “Silver is rare,” she said. “Expensive. Why would a hunter waste it on shallow territory traps?”
“Because they aren’t meant to kill just anyone,” I replied. “They’re meant for werewolves.”
Rowan frowned slightly. “We don't know that for sure? That is speculation.”
“It’s experience,” I shot back. “I’ve been on the patroI team before and I know the difference between someone hunting animals and someone hunting us.”
My father straightened slightly. Growling, he said to me, “Mind your tone!”
“I found one trap less than a mile from Aria’s house,” I continued paying no heed to my Dad. “Another was set deeper in the woods along a path wolves actually use. They weren’t just random.”
The room fell into uneasy murmurs. Mason shifted beside me. “There was also a rogue sighting last week,” he added. “Rogues don’t drift this close to pack land unless something’s driving them. Either pressure or opportunity.”
My father raised a hand. The room went silent instantly. He turned toward me fully then, his gaze narrowing. “You didn’t tell me about the trap near the human girl’s house.”
I met his eyes without flinching. “Because I knew this would happen.”
His brow creased. “That you’d be dismissed?”
“That I’d be told to stand down,” I replied. “Again.”
A few elders shifted uncomfortably.
“Every time I bring this something up,” I continued, “I’m told to stop imagining threats. To trust the boundaries we set decades ago. Meanwhile, someone is laying silver on our land.”
Elder Rowan tapped his cane once against the floor. “Your tone is inappropriate, Luca.”
“My tone is appropriate,” I snapped, stepping forward before I could stop myself. “Because if the hunter is local, we’re already late.”
Mara’s eyes narrowed immediately. “Explain!”
I took a slow breath. This was the line. Once crossed, there was no going back.
“Hunters passing through leave signs,” I said. “Rumours or disturbances in surrounding towns and this one hasn’t. There's been no disappearances and no definite trail. That means they live here. They blend in and they’ve been watching us for a long time.”
Silence swallowed the room. My father studied me carefully. “And what makes you so certain?”
For half a second, I was nervous then Mason’s elbow brushed my arm lending me support. “Because the traps are placed with familiarity and also because the man I encountered in the woods last week wasn’t surprised to see me there.”
Rowan’s eyes narrowed. “Which man?”
I hesitated. My father’s voice dropped in warning. “Luca...”
I exhaled. “Mr. Donovan. The PE teacher.”
The reaction was immediate and explosive.
“That’s absurd.”
“He’s human.”
“He’s lived here for decades.”
“He coaches our children.”
Voices overlapped with disbelief and anger filling the room. I stood my ground, refusing to retreat.
“Hunters hide in plain sight,” I shouted, willing my voice to be heard in the conversational chaos. “That’s how they survive and how they win.”
My father raised his hand again, silencing the chaos. The muscle in his jaw worked slowly, not with anger but calculation.
“Do you have proof?” he asked.
“Not enough,” I admitted. “Yet.”
Elder Mara shook her head sharply. “Accusing a respected human without evidence risks exposure.”
“So does ignoring the signs,” I fired back.
My father turned to me, erupting with fury. “Enough Luca!”
Then to the elders, he said, “Luca is not wrong to be cautious but he is wrong to act alone.”
The words cut deeper than I expected.
“You should have come to me sooner,” he said, his voice firm.
“I tried,” I replied. “You would have told me to let it go. Wouldn't have believed me.”
He didn’t deny it.
Mason cleared his throat. “With all due respect, Alpha Dorian, Luca isn’t the only one feeling this. My wolf is also restless.”
The elders exchanged glances and unease crept into the room like a slow-moving train. My father exhaled slowly. “Then we proceed carefully. We observe and strike when confirmed.”
“And if the hunter moves first?” I asked.
His gaze locked onto mine. “Then we protect the pack.”
The words should have reassured me but they didn’t because the pack wasn’t the only thing at risk anymore. As the meeting dissolved and the elders filed out in low murmurs, my father stopped me near the doorway.
“You’re too close to this,” he said quietly.
I didn't pretend not to understand. “Someone targeted a human under my watch.”
His eyes searched my face. “This isn’t just about duty anymore, is it? It's about some human girl.”
I said nothing. His expression hardened. “That is dangerous, Luca.”
For a long moment, neither of us spoke. Finally, he said, “Stand down and let the elders handle this.”
I nodded, even though my wolf snarled at the command. Outside, the night air was cold as moonlight filtered through the trees as I stepped away from the house. I clenched my fists forcing myself to stay calm. If the pack hesitated, I wouldn’t, not when a hunter was already breathing the same air as the girl tied to my bones.
AUTHOR’S NOTE:
Pack meeting drama just hit HARD 🔥 Luca finally laid it all out and the elders are still trying to play it safe while his wolf is screaming to protect what’s his. That father-son tension? Oof. The stakes are rising fast.
What do you think—will Luca actually stand down like he’s supposed to, or is he about to go rogue (pun intended) and investigate on his own?