Chapter 56 Luca
I didn’t plan to spend my entire afternoon staring at a map of Silverpine like some deranged conspiracy theorist but that’s where I ended up kneeling on the floor of Mason’s room, surrounded by empty soda cans, and my cousin’s questionable taste in band posters.
Mason hovered over me, chewing on the end of a pen in that way that always made me worry he’d choke. “Okay,” he said, tapping the map. “Walk me through it again. Slowly like I’m stupid.”
“You are stupid,” I muttered, shoving his shoulder. “But fine.”
He grinned and waited. I exhaled and pointed to the first mark on the map which was a red circle. “This was the first attack near the abandoned railway.”
“Where you got nearly shot at,” Mason said.
“I didn’t get shot at,” I argued. “It was more like a near miss.”
“A near miss is still being shot at.”
I ignored him and pointed at the second red circle. “Then this one. The western ravine was two nights later.”
“And then today,” Mason added, tapping the newest dot. “North ridge. That’s the one Greta sent the patrol after.”
“Yeah.” My jaw clenched as I studied at the map. The hunter wasn’t random but methodical and methodical scared the hell out of me more than reckless ever could.
Mason leaned back on his hands. “So we’ve got three hits, all in a loose arc around town. The pattern’s obvious.”
“Too obvious,” I said.
“Maybe he’s sloppy and we’re overthinking.”
“No.” I shook my head. “This guy isn’t sloppy at all. The way he shoots and disappears before anyone can catch his scent. No human should be that good.”
“So he’s either trained,” Mason said. “Or he’s something else.”
I hated the idea that the hunter knew more about us than we knew about him.
Mason tapped the map again. “If he hits again, it’ll be right…” He dragged his pen along the arc of circles then stopped at a spot near the old lumber yard. “Here, logically.”
“Yeah,” I agreed, though nothing about this situation felt logical anymore.
Mason tossed the pen aside and flopped onto his stomach. “So what’s the plan? Besides you brooding so hard the roof collapses.”
I rolled my eyes but he wasn’t wrong. Ever since the first attack, something had been twisting in my chest—fear for the pack, fear for what this hunter wanted, and for Aria most of all.
Mason watched me for a second. “You told Greta yet?” he asked.
“Yeah. She wants us to check in with Ms. Thorne.”
Mason blinked at me. “The school’s librarian?”
“Yeah.”
“Human?”
“Yeah.”
He rolled over and stared at the ceiling. “We’re so screwed.”
I elbowed him. “She’s not useless.”
“She is allergic to this entire town.”
I sighed. “She’s also one of our informants.”
“Yeah, I know. It’s just weird.”
It was weird but Mrs. Thorne was humannand she knew about us. Had known for years. She wasn’t part of the pack but she had her own network of information from the town and surrounding areas that helped us more often than we liked to admit.
“Come on,” I said, pushing myself to my feet. “We should go before she closes the library.”
“Wait.” Mason sat up suddenly. “You’re gonna talk to her looking like that?”
I glanced down. “What’s wrong with this?”
“You look like someone who crawled out of the woods.”
“I patrol in the woods.”
“Yeah, but you don’t have to look like you live there.”
I threw a pillow at his head and walked out. “You’re coming with me.”
He groaned loudly but followed. The school’s library was mostly empty save a couple high schoolers pretending to study. Ms. Thorne was shelving books humming some old jazz tune under her breath. When she turned and saw us, her eyebrows rose above her glasses.
“Luca. Mason. Shouldn’t you boys be doing… things?”
“We are,” Mason said. “This is one of the things.”
I elbowed him so hard he coughed. Ms. Thorne adjusted her glasses and folded her hands in front of her. “Alright then. Follow me.”
She led us to the back office, shutting the door behind us. The small room was cramped with stacks of books and mismatched mugs with phrases like “Librarians Do It Quietly.”
“Now,” she said, crossing her arms, “tell me what’s attacking you this time.”
“It’s not attacking us exactly,” I began.
“Oh, good,” she said dryly. “That’s comforting.”
I stepped toward her desk pulling the folded map from my hoodie pocket. “We think a hunter’s targeting the pack.”
Her expression changed in concern layered with something deeper. She unfurled the map on the desk and studied it.
“Three attacks?” she murmured. “All in the outskirts. That’s too organized for a casual hunter.”
“Exactly,” I said. “He knows the patrol patterns.”
Ms. Thorne tapped one of the red circles. “You’re sure it’s one person?”
“Positive,” I said.
She frowned. “Hunters aren’t supposed to operate alone anymore. The last time one did…” She trailed off.
Mason leaned forward. “The last time one did what?”
She hesitated. I could see the debate behind her eyes. How much to tell us and how much she should keep to herself.
“Ms. Thorne,” I said gently. “Please.”
She sighed and sat in her chair smoothing the front of her cardigan. “Years ago, long before either of you were born, there was a hunter who went rogue. He didn’t just hunt werewolves—he hunted anything supernatural. Fairies, witches, vampires, whoever crossed his path. He believed he was saving humanity.” She glanced at me. “He believed he was doing them a favour.”
Mason blinked. “So a psychopath.”
“A very skilled psychopath,” she corrected. “One man caused an entire coven to scatter across states. Packs relocated and families disappeared.”
“Did anyone ever stop him?” I asked quietly.
Ms. Thorne gazed at the map again. “No. He vanished and there were no sightings of him for decades.”
A chill crawled up my spine. “Do you think this is him?”
“I don’t know. But whoever it is, they’re trained and determined.” She tapped the map. “You need to stay ahead of him.”
Mason leaned back, crossing his arms. “Great. Love when my day gets worse.”
I shot him a look and leaned closer to the map. “If he attacks again, we think it’ll be near the lumber yard.”
Ms. Thorne nodded. “I’ll make some calls. See if anyone in the area has seen strangers or unusual activity. You two need to stay alert.”
“We always are,” I said.
She folded the map back up and pressed it into my hand. “Tell Dorian he’s right to increase patrols.”
We thanked her and left quietly as the sky outside had shifted into early evening.
“Luca,” Mason said, nudging me. “We’ll figure this out.”
I nodded, even though the weight in my chest wouldn’t lift. “We have to.”
Because the hunter wasn’t just circling the pack. He was circling everything and everyone I cared about.
AUTHOR’S NOTE:
Okay, this chapter had me deep in my feelings. Things are heating up fast, and the hunter is about to get messy. Stay posted, my lovelies♥️.