Chapter 13: Crossing Pack Borders

Emma's POV

The arrow whizzed past my ear, so close I felt the feathers brush my hair.

"Run!" Kai shouted, grabbing my hand as more arrows flew from the trees around us.

We raced through the forest, branches slapping at our faces. Behind us, I could hear wolves howling—not friendly growls, but the kind that meant we were being hunted.

"I thought you said Zara's pack was different!" I gasped, jumping over a fallen log.

"They are!" Kai replied, pulling me behind a thick tree trunk. "That's why this doesn't make sense."

Three wolves burst from the woods ahead of us, their eyes glowing yellow in the dim forest light. These weren't the government troops with their fancy weapons. These were real werewolves, and they looked angry.

"Trespassers!" the largest wolf growled, shifting back into human form. "You crossed into Moonhowl territory without permission."

"We need to speak with Zara," I said, moving forward despite Kai's warning grip on my arm. "It's about the moonstone theft."

The wolf laughed, but it wasn't a nice sound. "Zara Moonhowl doesn't speak with crooks. Especially not with the thief himself."

He pointed at Kai, and my heart sank. Even here, in a different pack's area, Kai was still being blamed for something he didn't do.

"He's innocent," I said strongly. "We have proof."

"Proof?" Another wolf stepped closer, smelling the air around me. His nose wrinkled in confusion. "What are you? You smell like pack, but also like something else."

That was the trouble. Ever since my powers had awakened at the moonstone shrine, other werewolves could tell that I was different. But I couldn't tell them the truth—that I was apparently the Moon Goddess's daughter. They'd either think I was crazy or try to capture me for their own reasons.

"She's with me," Kai said protectively, moving in front of me. "That's all you need to know."

"Actually, it's not."

The new voice made us all freeze. Zara Moonhowl stepped out from behind a tree, her red hair catching what little sunlight filtered through the leaves. She was exactly as I remembered from the book—tall, angry, and beautiful in a dangerous way.

But something was wrong. In the original story, Zara had been curious about Kai, maybe even drawn to him. Now she was looking at him like he'd personally insulted her entire family.

"Hello, Kai," she said coldly. "I heard you were dead."

"Sorry to disappoint you," Kai answered, his voice just as icy.

What had happened between them? In the book, they'd barely known each other at this point in the story.

"And you brought a friend," Zara continued, watching me with sharp green eyes. "How interesting. She smells like pack magic, but she's definitely not one of us."

"Look," I said, trying to sound stronger than I felt, "we're not here to cause trouble. We just need information about the moonstone thefts. We think they're linked to something bigger."

Zara raised an eyebrow. "Bigger than stealing holy artifacts? What could be bigger than that?"

"The government," Kai said softly. "They're building weapons using werewolf magic."

For the first time, Zara's confident face flickered. "That's impossible."

"We saw them," I said. "They have soldiers with moonstone-powered armor and weapons that can permanently hurt werewolves."

"Even if that were true," Zara said, though she sounded less certain now, "why should I trust anything either of you say? Especially him." She glared at Kai.

"Because three of my pack members have gone missing in the last month," said a new voice.

We all turned to see an older man coming. He had the same red hair as Zara, but his was streaked with gray, and his face was lined with worry.

"Father," Zara said, surprise clear in her voice. "I thought you were in council meetings."

"The meetings ended early when we received some disturbing news," Alpha Moonhowl said. He looked at Kai with interest rather than anger. "News about government vehicles being spotted near pack territories."

My heart started beating faster. "What kind of vehicles?"

"Silent planes. Armored trucks. And soldiers who seem to know exactly where our patrol routes are." Alpha Moonhowl's eyes were grave. "Someone has been giving them information about us."

"A spy," Kai said sadly. "In the packs."

"That's what we think," Alpha Moonhowl agreed. "Which is why I'm willing to listen to what you have to say, despite your... reputation."

Zara looked shocked. "Father, you can't seriously be considering trusting him. He's a thief and a liar."

"He's also the only one who seems to know what's actually happening," her father answered calmly.

I could see Zara dealing with this. In the original story, she'd been proud and stubborn, but also smart enough to know the truth when she saw it. I hoped that was still the case.

"Fine," she said finally. "But we do this my way. In my area, by my rules."

"What does that mean?" I asked nervously.

Zara smiled, and it wasn't entirely friendly. "It means you're going to show you're telling the truth. Both of you."

Before I could ask what she meant, I heard a familiar sound that made my blood freeze—the quiet helicopters were coming back.

"Everyone down!" Alpha Moonhowl yelled.

But it was too late. The trees above us exploded in blue light as moonstone-powered guns fired down at our group. One of Zara's pack members screamed as a beam hit him in the shoulder.

"They found us again," I breathed, fear washing over me.

"How?" Kai asked, helping the injured wolf to cover. "How do they keep tracking us?"

Zara was looking at me with a mixture of fear and suspicion. "Unless..." she said slowly. "Unless someone here is the spy."

She pointed straight at me.

"You show up with all this handy information about government weapons. You smell like pack magic but you're clearly not one of us. And somehow, everywhere you go, these men appear."

"That's not—" I started to protest, but more helicopters appeared overhead.

"Surrender the Moon Daughter," a voice boomed from above. "You cannot hide her from us forever."

Zara's eyes went wide. "Moon Daughter?" she whispered.

I felt sick. My secret was out, and now everyone thought I was either a spy or some kind of tool the government wanted to use.

"Emma," Kai said quickly, "we need to run. Now."

But when I looked around, I realized we were completely surrounded. Government troops were dropping from the helicopters, and Zara's pack members were backing away from me like I was something dangerous.

"I'm not a spy," I said desperately. "I'm trying to help you!"

"Then explain," Zara said, her voice deadly quiet, "why they're calling you the Moon Daughter. And why they seem to know exactly where you are at all times."

I opened my mouth to answer, but before I could say anything, one of the troops raised his weapon and fired.

Not at me.

At Kai.