Chapter 30 Luca
I smelled the silver before I saw the arrow and pain tore through my shoulder before I even realized I’d been hit. It was sharp stinging pain that made my vision narrow and my teeth grit. One second I was cutting through the trees behind Silverpine’s old water plant running off the leftover frustration from the day and from everything, the next there was a hiss through the air sharp enough to slice the night clean open.
I ducked but I was too slow.
The arrow ripped across my shoulder burning like someone pressed a white-hot brand right into the muscle. I snarled, stumbled, and caught myself with a hand against the dirt. My skin sizzled beneath the torn fabric of my hoodie.
The arrow head was laced with silver and it was a shot meant to hit my heart if I’d been one step to the left. A human’s scent drifted toward me—sweat and metal polish all mixed together. The branches to my right shifted and I pivoted with a low growl, vision sharpening as my wolf surged.
A figure moved through the trees. It was tall, lean, wearing a dark jacket and gloves. I couldn’t tell the gender and he could’ve blended into any grocery store line or any school pickup lane. The face was shadowed under a cap but I saw the glint of another arrow in their hand, nocked and preparing to shoot. The figure wasn’t guessing. He knew exactly what I was and was ready.
“Come on,” the hunter muttered, like he was annoyed I’d dodged. The voice was too low to place it's identity and gender. Hell! It could even be a female! “Hold still.”
Yeah, not happening.
The next arrow flew and I lunged sideways, pain tearing across my shoulder and sprinted deeper into the trees. The hunter followed fast enough to keep me in range. He moved with practiced steps like someone who’d trained for this and had hunted things far bigger, faster and deadlier than I was. A trap snapped shut in front of me, the teeth of metal biting into empty air where my leg would’ve been.
He’d planned this path, knew where I ran to and had been watching. I vaulted over the trap, landed hard, and felt blood seeping warm beneath my sleeve. My wolf pushed harder, wanting to shift fully and tear the hunter apart until nothing threatened us again but I couldn’t risk it. Not this close to town in which we had humans and a witness with a camera could end everything.
So I kept running until the scent of the hunter finally faded and the silver sting dulled into a throbbing ache. By the time I reached the clearing behind Rafe’s place, I was already shaking from fury. Rafe stepped out onto the porch the second he heard me and his eyes went really wide.
“What the fuck, Luca? What happened?”
“The hunter.” My voice came out harsher than I meant.
Rafe didn’t swear often, but he did now and loudly. “Get inside.”
“I’m fine.”
“You’re bleeding silver, dude, you’re not fine not unless you want me to involve the Alpha.”
At the mention of my father, I let him drag me into the kitchen. He shoved me onto a chair and tore open the med kit we kept for emergencies usually for sprains when shifts went wrong and pack scuffles not something like this. He cut the sleeve of my hoodie and hissed when he saw the damage. “Damn! That’s gonna scar.”
“But I’ll heal nevertheless.”
“You keep saying that every time you do something stupid.”
“This wasn’t stupid,” I snapped. “This was planned and they waiting for me.”
Rafe paused, his expression shifting into something grim. “You’re sure it was human not a rogue?”
“Are you questioning my abilities now?” I glared fiercely at him. “And that silver did burned like hell.”
I forced a breath through my teeth as he pressed an herb mixture to the wound. “They weren’t guessing, Rafe. They knew.”
Rafe wrapped the bandage tight. “Then we have a problem.”
No kidding.
He leaned back against the counter, crossing his arms. “We can’t let the pack panic.”
“We can’t ignore it either.”
“And we sure as hell can’t let it get out at school,” he added. “Imagine one rumor—one TikTok video—of you getting shot by someone in the woods. The humans would have a field day. And if the cops get involved, the hunter would get bold.”
I rubbed a hand over my face. “So what’s the plan?”
“We track them quietly,” Rafe said. “And you—” He pointed at me like a pissed-off mom. “—are not running alone in the woods anymore.”
“I can handle—”
“You just got shot with silver,” he snapped. “If they aimed two inches higher, you’d be dead. Maybe stop pretending you’re immortal for five minutes.”
I glared at him and he glared back. Annoying, but he did have a point. I leaned back in the chair, shoulder throbbing. “He wasn’t trying to scare me. He was trying to kill me.”
“Which means this isn’t random,” Rafe said. “Someone in this town knows.”
Someone who didn’t care about collateral damage. Someone who might go after the pack and who might go after Aria.
My jaw tightened. I tried to push her face out of my head, but it came back anyway—the way she looked earlier today, frustrated, stubborn, and unwilling to listen. The argument between us still echoed in my chest like a bruise.
Rafe must’ve noticed my expression. “You thinking about her?”
I ignored the question.
“Luca,” he said, softer now. “You tell her anything about this?”
“No.” I looked down at the bandage. “And I won’t.”
He nodded. “Good. Because hunters go after the people you care about and they always do.”
A chill slid down my spine.
“This hunter isn’t random,” I said. “He knew where I’d be and used traps on the path I ran.” I looked up. “This is someone with information.”
Rafe stiffened. “Someone close?”
“Maybe.”
Rafe grabbed a notebook from the counter. “We start a list,” he said. “People who’ve been around too much, who ask weird questions and seem off. We should involve Mason.”
“He’s already on it,” I said.
“All of the humans,” Rafe replied. “Until we know exactly who tried to kill you.”
I exhaled slow. “We should include our kind too.”
To say Rafe was shocked is an understatement. “You think a werewolf might be the hunter also?”
I hated to think about it. “You never know, Rafe.”
“Luca, silver hurt werewolves! They can't even touch it.”
I knew now wasn’t the time for suspicions and Rafe was somewhat correct. But somewhere out there, a human with a silver weapon was planning their next move and none of us were safe.
AUTHOR’S NOTE:
Chapter 30 was a ride, right?? We finally got a direct encounter with the hunter and yes, he/she(lol) is dangerous and apparently very prepared. Luca finally taking a hit raises about six different alarm bells for the plot and for us 👀🔥.
Tell me your theories. I’m reading😊.