Chapter 92 Luca
“Hunters are on the east ridge.”
The words cut straight through the council room and every voice died. Chairs scraped softly against the wooden floor as wolves shifted, tension snapping tight in the air. Rain beat steadily against the tall windows, the sound almost drowned out by the sudden silence. It’s been raining for days now and I wondered if the moon goddess was preparing us for the war with hunters.
I leaned over the long table, staring at the map of Silverpine spread across it. Red pencil lines marked patrol routes and circles showed weak spots along the border. Someone had drawn a heavy X on the east ridge.
Mason stood at the head of the table, one hand braced against the wood. My cousin looked calm, but I knew that look. Calm for him meant trouble was already moving.
“How many?” Rafe asked.
“At least five scouts,” Mason said. “Quinn counted them about thirty minutes ago.”
A low murmur moved through the room. Five hunters inside the forest wasn’t a coincidence.
It was a war message.
“They crossed the outer creek,” Mason added.
That got everyone’s attention. The outer creek marked the edge of pack land. Hunters stepping over it meant they weren’t just watching from a distance anymore. They were pushing in.
Someone near the back scoffed. “And Quinn just happened to be the one who saw them?”
Here we go again.
For weeks the pack had been whispering the same thing that someone had been feeding hunters information. Patrol paths. Territory lines and places wolves liked to run.
At first, Quinn had been the obvious suspect cause he had been seen with Sienna more than once. Well he was the wrong suspect but fear had a way of making wolves forget that.
“He’s already been cleared,” Mason said, his voice loud enough to cut the room in half.
“Cleared doesn’t mean innocent,” another wolf muttered.
Rafe turned slowly, eyes flashing. “You really think the guy risking his life tracking hunters is the one helping them?”
No one answered. I kept my eyes on the map. The real truth sat like a stone in my chest.We already knew where the hunters came from.
Sienna.
Aria’s best friend. The girl everyone once trusted. The girl who came from a long line of hunters and somehow managed to hide it until everything exploded. The memory of that night still burned in my head. Sienna trying to deny everything and Aria staring at me like the ground had disappeared under her feet.
Everything was falling apart and now hunters were suddenly bold enough to cross our borders. Yeah, that didn’t feel like a coincidence either.
“Quinn’s still tracking them?” I asked.
Mason nodded. “He’s shadowing the scouts. Two runners are with him.”
“That’s not much backup.”
“He didn’t want a bigger group spooking them.”
That sounded like Quinn. Stubborn, brave and possibly reckless.
“Or it’s a trap,” I said quietly.
The room went still again. Mason looked at me. “Explain.”
I tapped the east ridge on the map.
“Hunters know we patrol this area heavily. They send a small group just far enough in to get noticed. Quinn tracks them and they lead him deeper into the forest.”
Rafe frowned slightly. “Straight into an ambush.”
“Exactly.”
Silence spread across the table. Nobody liked that possibility. Mason exhaled slowly, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Even if it’s a trap, we can’t ignore it,” he said. “Hunters on our land changes things.”
He grabbed a marker and started drawing new circles across the map.
“Rafe, you take the south ridge. Double the patrols.”
“Already planning to.”
“Luca,” Mason said, glancing at me. “You cover the west forest.”
I nodded. “Got it.”
“Stay near the tree line. If Quinn pushes the scouts toward you, I want wolves ready.”
Around the table, wolves were already moving, grabbing their jackets but something about the whole situation sat wrong in my gut. Hunters didn’t usually move this boldly unless they thought they had the advantage of someone had given them confidence.
My mind flashed again to Sienna again. A hunter’s daughter raised in a hunter family and somehow managed to be Aria’s best friend. The thought made my wolf restless.
“Do we know where their main group is?” I asked.
Mason shook his head. “Not yet.”
“That’s the problem,” Rafe said. “Five scouts means ten more somewhere else.”
“Or twenty,” someone muttered.
The storm outside cracked with a sudden roll of thunder. Mason capped the marker and looked around the room.
“Defenses go up tonight,” he said. “No solo patrols and no shifting near town. Hunters are watching.”
His gaze landed on me again. “Especially you, Luca.”
I didn’t miss the meaning behind that. Too many eyes were already on me. Between the council politics, the pack tensions, and the mess surrounding Sienna and Aria, the last thing I needed was another reason for wolves to question my judgment. That wouldn’t be too good for the future Alpha.
“Understood,” I said.
The meeting broke apart quickly after that. Wolves filed out of the council hall speaking in low tones and moving stiffly. I stepped outside into the cold rain. Silverpine’s forest stretched out beyond the clearing with the wind pushing through the trees making the branches creak. Somewhere out there, Quinn was following hunters deeper into the woods.
My phone buzzed in my pocket and I pulled it out. It was a message from Quinn.
Quinn: They know.
My heart was ramming against my ribcage now. Another message popped up before I could type back.
Quinn: It’s Sienna.
For a second, the world seemed to tilt around me.
Sienna.
It was a lifetime of secrets none of us had seen until it was too late. My fingers were still hovered over the screen when the third message arrived that made my heart drop straight into my stomach.
Quinn: And she’s not alone.
Somewhere in the forest, a wolf howled low and deep in my bones, I knew one thing for certain. Tonight wasn’t just about hunters crossing the border. It was the beginning of a war.
AUTHOR’S NOTE:
Okay be honest. Did that last message make your stomach drop too? Because Quinn just confirmed the one thing the pack feared most. Sienna isn’t just connected to the hunters, she might be leading them right to Silverpine.
And if that’s true, what does that mean for Luca and the entire pack? Drop your thoughts below. I read every single one, and some of you may be getting VERY close to the truth 👀🐺