Chapter 196: Vampire Luna

The guard on duty shifted his iron-tipped spear, the sharp steel gleaming dangerously under the dim morning light. Beside him, three more heavily armed warriors stepped out from the shadows of the wooden watchtowers, their rifles unslung and held firmly across their chests. They formed a tight, unbreakable line across the dirt path, completely blocking our way into the territory.

As my eyes scanned the perimeter, a heavy feeling of unease settled deep in my gut. Something was terribly wrong. The sheer number of guards stationed around the main entrance had increased dramatically since we left. When Ava and I had snuck out just a day ago, there were barely twenty men casually patrolling the perimeter fence. Now, there were easily over fifty fully armed warriors marching up and down the boundary line, their sharp eyes scanning every rustle in the surrounding bushes.

Normally, leaving or entering the pack didn't involve this level of paranoid security. Leaving was completely unrestricted, and coming back usually required nothing more than a quick, routine check to make sure no rouge vampires were sneaking past the border. But today, the whole atmosphere surrounding the iron gates felt suffocating, heavy with an underlying threat of violence.

Before I could even think about stepping past the boundary line, the lead guard stepped forward, his boots crunching loudly on the dry gravel. He brought his heavy rifle up to rest against his shoulder, his cold, narrow eyes sweeping over our travel-worn clothes before coming to a dead stop on the massive, bulging backpack slung over my shoulders.

He raised a gloved hand and jabbed a harsh finger directly toward the bag. "Hey! You two! What do you have stuffed in that bag?"

My heart gave a sudden, violent leap against my ribs, pounding against my chest like a trapped war drum. A cold sweat broke out across the back of my neck as a sharp wave of panic washed over my mind.

Damn it! I thought wildly, my fists clenching so hard at my sides that my nails bit into my palms. I hadn't prepared for this at all. In all my years living within this territory, I had snuck in and out a dozen times without ever facing a full body search at the border. My mind raced, frantically trying to calculate a way out of this trap. I flicked my dark eyes across the armed men surrounding us—there were simply too many of them. Even with my newly restored hybrid strength, taking down fifty heavily armed pack warriors in an open field without getting Ava or myself shot to pieces was completely impossible.

The guard leader took another heavy step closer, his top lip curling into a furious sneer as he gripped the handle of his rifle tighter.

"Are you deaf, girl?" he barked, his loud voice booming off the high wooden walls of the gatehouse. "I asked you a question! What the hell have you got hidden in that bag?!"

Before I could open my mouth to utter a lie or snap his neck, Ava took a quick, nervous step in front of me. She folded her hands tightly across her stomach, bowing her head in a delicate display of humility while keeping her voice smooth, calm, and utterly convincing.

"It... it is by his Royal Highness's direct orders, sir," she stammered softly, her brown eyes wide with faux innocence as she looked up at the guard. "I am afraid even we were not permitted to know what is packed inside. We were simply instructed to transport it back without touching the seal."

The leader didn't buy it for a single second. His jaw set hard, his dark eyes narrowing into dangerous, suspicious slits. "Open the bag. Now."

Ava hesitated, her hands trembling as she took a small step backward, clutching the hem of her shirt. "Sir, please... if the Alpha finds out we let anyone inspect his private—"

"I said open the damn bag!" the guard leader bellowed, his loud voice cutting through the morning air like a whip. He unclipped the safety on his weapon with a sharp, metallic click. "This entire pack is on total lockdown! The Alpha himself issued an emergency order two hours ago—every single inch of this territory is under a thorough, mandatory search! Someone high-profile is officially wanted, and no one passes through these gates without being searched down to their boots! That's why every warrior in the garrison has been deployed to the perimeter!"

Ava’s face remained remarkably composed, though a tiny flicker of nervousness crossed her features before she quickly masked it with a polite, respectful bow.

"Well... it was the exact same Alpha who gave us these strict orders late last night," Ava countered smoothly, her voice steady and laced with fake authority. "He sent us on a top-secret retrieval mission beyond the borders. He explicitly told us that the contents of this pack are sensitive medical equipment to be used for his private research... it is a matter of top-tier pack security. We weren't even allowed to look inside ourselves, and he warned us that anyone who tampered with it would face immediate execution."

The guard leader stared down at her, his jaw working as he weighed her words against the strict orders he had been given. A heavy, suffocating silence hung over the gate as he looked between Ava's calm face and the massive, locked bag resting against my back.

Finally, he let out a harsh, frustrated grunt, lowering his rifle just an inch. "Fine," he growled coldly, motioning with his head toward a low stone building built directly into the inner perimeter wall. "Follow me to the holding room. You both will sit quietly inside under guard until we contact the Alpha's office and get personal confirmation directly from his mouth."

He gestured sharply to two armed warriors standing nearby. They stepped up on either side of us, their hands resting heavy on their holstered handguns as they escorted us across the gravel courtyard toward the holding facility.

We stepped through the heavy reinforced door of the storage office, the cool, stale air of the windowless room swallowing us whole. The guards motioned for us to take a seat, and we sat down behind a wide, scuffed wooden desk sitting in the center of the concrete floor. I kept the heavy backpack resting securely between my feet, my muscles tense and ready to spring at the first sign of trouble.

The lead guard pulled out a thick, tactical satellite phone from his tactical vest, casting one last dark, warning glare toward our direction. "Don't even think about moving from those chairs," he warned gruffly, turning on his heel and stepping out into the hallway, slamming the heavy iron door shut behind him to make his call in privacy.

The second the latch clicked shut, silence fell over the cold room. I leaned back in my chair, my jaw tight as I stared blankly at the far wall, my mind racing through every possible worst-case scenario.

Not even two minutes had passed when the heavy iron door suddenly creaked open once again.

I raised my head lazily, expecting to see the guard leader returning with news from the pack house. But as the figure stepped across the threshold, every drop of blood in my veins instantly ran ice-cold.

My breath hitched sharply in my throat, my dark eyes expanding in absolute horror as I stared at the person standing in the doorway.

It was Mary.

Her sharp, arrogant eyes swept over the room before landing directly on my face, a slow, cruel smile pulling at her lips. Of all the guards, commanders, and pack members in this entire territory... it had to be my absolute worst enemy standing right in front of me.

A sickening knot tied itself tight in the pit of my stomach. Looking at her triumphantly standing there, I knew with absolute certainty that things were

about to go very, very bad.