Chapter 114 Luca
The night felt wrong before anything even happened. I noticed it the second we crossed the ridge. Not because it was quiet, but because it wasn’t the kind of quiet I knew. Silverpine at night usually had a rhythm to it. Crickets and the distant sound of water moving somewhere deeper in the woods but tonight everything felt stretched thin.
I slowed without thinking. The abrupt change in my pace was enough to make Rafe stop beside me. Tessa moved closer on my other side suddenly on alert. She had learned fast, I’ll give her that.
“You feel that?” she questioned.
I nodded in response. I could smell metal and oil mixed with smoke that didn’t belong here.
“They’re close,” Rafe muttered.
I enhanced my focus letting instinct take over. This wasn’t just random movement.
“They’re not scouting anymore,” I noted.
Tessa glanced at me. “You think they’re making a move?”
“I think they already did.”
The words barely left my mouth before something cut through the air. I moved on instinct. My hand shot out shoving Rafe sideways as an arrow slammed into the tree behind us. The impact cracked through the forest like a warning shot.
“Move!” I yelled.
Everything broke at once. More arrows followed faster this time and aimed to kill. Tessa dropped low, rolling behind a fallen log as another arrow sliced through where she had been standing. Rafe swore under his breath shifting position as he tried to track the direction they were coming from.
“Left!” Tessa called.
I didn’t hesitate. I pushed forward, weaving through the trees as my wolf surged closer to the surface. A figure broke from the shadows ahead.
The hunter scent now hit me in full force. I collided with him and the impact drove us both to the ground. He recovered faster than most, twisting out of my grip and bringing up a blade that caught the faint light.
Silver.
I jerked back just in time but not fast enough to avoid it completely. The edge grazed my arm and a sharp burn that spread instantly under my skin. Funny, I seem to be on the receiving end of their blades these days.
He came again and I adjusted, closing the distance before he could strike again. My fist connected with his jaw, snapping his head back, but it didn’t slow him the way I needed it to. Another hunter stepped forward then another and they were suddenly three.
“Tessa!” I called.
“I see them!”
She moved like a flash taking one of them down with a clean hit that sent him sprawling. Rafe joined in seconds later, tackling another, but the moment we gained ground, more movement followed and they were everywhere.
Another arrow tore past me, grazing my shoulder this time. I felt the sting but didn’t stop.
“They’re surrounding us!” Rafe shouted.
He was right.
This wasn’t about taking us down quickly. It was about trapping us and pushing us into a position we couldn’t fight out of.
“Fall back!” I ordered.
Tessa looked at me fiercely. “They’ll follow.”
“I know.”
We didn’t have a better option. I forced an opening, driving one hunter back long enough for Rafe to move. Tessa didn’t argue this time. She cleared a path ahead while I stayed just long enough to make sure they got distance.
Then I turned and ran. Branches whipped against me as I pushed forward, ignoring the burn in my arm and shoulder and my friends all followed.
“They’re splitting!” Tessa called.
My stomach dropped. “They’re trying to cutting us off.”
Rafe swore. “Where?”
“Everywhere.”
This wasn’t just about chasing us down but trying to herd us or driving us somewhere. My pace faltered for half a second as the realization hit and I changed direction instantly.
“Luca!” Tessa snapped. “That’s not the route!”
“It is now.”
Rafe caught on quicker. “You think they’re heading toward town.”
“I know they are.”
And if I was right, then we were already too late. I pushed harder with the pull in my chest growing stronger with every step. The trees began to thin and I could see the lights from town flickering ahead. I slowed just enough to listen to the voices that weren’t ours.
Hunters were closer than they should have been.
“They’re already here,” Tessa said quietly.
Then I saw Aria standing near the edge of the clearing like she had been searching for something.
“Aria!” I screamed.
Her head snapped up, eyes locking onto mine and relief flashed across her face then a hunter stepped out behind her. I was at her side in seconds grabbing her with me to the ground just as the blade came down missing us by several inches.
“Stay down,” I told her.
She didn’t argue.
The hunter turned again but I was already between her and Aria. Rage burned through me now.
“You picked the wrong target,” I said.
She smiled like he didn’t believe me. Behind her, I could see Tessa and Rafe break into the clearing seconds later, taking position at my sides but there were already too many of them now.
“Tessa,” I said, “get her out.”
“There’s no opening,” she replied.
Rafe clenched his fists. “They planned this.”
I glanced at Aria for half a second, just enough to make sure she was still there then I looked back at the hunters.
“Then we make one.”
The first attack came fast. Steel flashed and bodies collided. The clearing exploded into motion as everything fell apart at once. I was blocking, striking, and adjusting, but every second felt like we were losing.
A blade almost my side but Tessa intercepted it, forcing the hunter back long enough to give me space.
“Luca!”
I straightened and forced myself to stay on my feet. We couldn’t hold this without help and definitely not like this. The circle tightened until there was nowhere left to go. I realized I had to do something else my friends would be slaughtered. So I did the only thing I could do.
I howled and let my wolf loose.