Chapter 55 The Trap Is Set
Lycian snatched the phone from my hand. Read the message. His eyes went pure gold.
“We’re going back. Now.” He was already turning the car around. “This ends tonight.”
“Wait. Think.” Cade leaned forward from the backseat. “Diana wants us to react. Emotional. That’s when we make mistakes.”
“She just threatened Elowen. Directly. We don’t wait for her to make the first move.” Lycian’s knuckles were white on the steering wheel.
“She’s baiting you. Both of you. Trying to draw you out.” Damien pulled out his phone. “Let me call Sienna. Get her tracking this number.”
We pulled over. Sat in a parking lot while Damien made calls. My hands shook. I clasped them together. Tried to breathe.
Diana had killed my parents. Watched me grow up from the shadows. And now she was coming for me. Had been planning it. Waiting.
“Why now?” I asked. Voice thin. “Why wait fifteen years just to threaten me?”
“Because you weren’t a threat before,” Cade said. “You were nobody. Just a human girl. But now you’re Luna. You have power. Influence. Resources. You’re dangerous to her operation.”
“What operation? Reed said she disappeared two years ago.”
“She did. But criminals don’t just disappear. They regroup. Plan. Come back stronger.” Cade’s expression was grim. “Whatever she’s been building, you’re a problem for it.”
Damien hung up. “Sienna’s tracing the number. But she says it’s probably a burner. Untraceable.”
“Of course it is.” Lycian slammed his hand against the steering wheel. “We’re always one step behind. Always reacting instead of acting.”
“Then we change that. We stop chasing. We set a trap.” I looked at each of them. “Diana wants me. Fine. Let her come. But on our terms. Our territory. Our advantage.”
“You want to use yourself as bait?” Lycian’s voice went dangerously quiet. “Absolutely not.”
“It’s the only way to draw her out. She’s been hiding for two years. Watching. Planning. She won’t show herself unless she thinks she can win.” I touched his arm. “But if I’m exposed. Vulnerable. She’ll take the shot.”
“And get killed trying to take it,” Cade said thoughtfully. “It could work. If we plan it right. Control every variable.”
“No.” Lycian turned to me. “I won’t use you as bait. I won’t risk losing you.”
“You’re not using me. I’m offering. There’s a difference.” I took his hand. “Diana killed my parents. She’s threatening everyone I love. I’m done running. Done hiding. Done being scared.”
Through the bond, I felt his conflict. Every protective instinct is screaming to lock me away. Keep me safe. But also understanding. Respecting my choice.
“We do this smart,” he said finally. “Total control. Maximum security. Any sign of danger and we'll pull you out.”
“Agreed.”
We drove back to Valor territory. Spent the night planning. Every detail. Every contingency.
The trap would be simple. A public event. Me visible. Accessible. But surrounded by hidden security. Wolves are positioned everywhere. Waiting.
“The spring gathering,” Elena suggested when we brought her in. “Two weeks. Pack celebration. Open to allied packs. Diana could slip in easily. Blend with the crowd.”
“Perfect,” Sienna said. Marking dates on a calendar. “Gives us time to prepare. Screen every attendee. Plant our people.”
“And if she doesn’t show?” Thaddeus asked.
“Then we know she’s smarter than we thought. And we try something else.” I looked around the room. At the faces of people who’d become family. “But my gut says she’ll come. She’s arrogant. Thinks she can’t be caught.”
“Arrogance makes people sloppy,” Cade agreed. “We’ll be ready.”
The next two weeks were intense. Planning. Training. Preparing for every possibility.
I went through my Luna duties like normal. Handled requests. Mediated disputes. Smiled at pack members. But underneath, tension coiled tight. Waiting for Diana to strike.
Lycian barely left my side. Even when I went to the bathroom, he stood outside the door.
“I love you,” I said one night. “But you need to breathe. I’m fine. We’re prepared.”
“I can’t lose you. If something happens. If she gets through our security.” He pulled me closer. “I won’t survive that.”
“Yes, you will. Because you’re strong. Resilient. The best Alpha I know.” I kissed him softly. “We’re going to catch her. End this. Then finally live without fear.”
“Promise me something. If it goes wrong. If Diana gets too close. You run.”
“I promise.” I didn’t know if I meant it.
The night before the gathering, I couldn’t sleep. Thinking about my parents. About Diana. About everything that could go wrong.
“Stop thinking,” Lycian murmured. “I can feel your anxiety through the bond.”
“That tomorrow changes everything. Either we catch Diana and get justice. Or she escapes and we’re back to waiting.”
“Then we make sure option one happens.” He traced patterns on my arm. “You’re going to be amazing tomorrow. And when Diana shows herself, we’ll be ready.”
“What if she doesn’t show? What if this whole thing is a distraction?”
“Then we adapt. Like we always do.” He kissed my forehead. “Now sleep. You need rest.”
I closed my eyes. Tried. Eventually, exhaustion pulled me under.
My dreams were dark. Filled with faceless wolves. Shadows that moved wrong. And a woman’s laugh. Cold. Cruel. Familiar even though I’d never heard it before.
I woke to sunlight and the smell of coffee. Lycian was ready.
“Security teams are in position. Sienna’s running background on every attendee. Cade’s coordinating surveillance.” He looked at me. “Last chance to back out.”
“Not backing out.” I got up. Showered. Dressed carefully.
Elena had picked my outfit. A dress that was elegant but practical. Easy to move in. The color made my eyes bright. Confident.
I looked in the mirror. Saw Luna staring back. Not the scared scholarship student I’d been months ago. Someone stronger. Braver. Ready.
The gathering started at noon. I stood at the entrance with Lycian. Greeting guests. Smiling. Playing the perfect hostess.
Every face got scanned. Every person was checked against the list. Security was everywhere. Visible and hidden.
Hours passed. Nothing happened.
Guests mingled. Ate. Drank. Celebrated. Normal pack gathering. No threats. No Diana.
By four, I started to relax. Maybe she wasn’t coming. Maybe we’d scared her off.
Then I saw her.
Standing at the edge of the crowd. Watching me. Dark hair. Cold eyes. A smile that made my skin crawl.
Diana Cross.
She raised her hand. Waved slightly. Like we were old friends.
Then she turned. Walked toward the woods. Slow. Deliberate. Inviting me to follow.
Every instinct screamed trap. But this was our chance. Maybe our only chance.
I touched Lycian’s arm. “She’s here. Heading to the woods.”
His eyes flashed gold. “Security, move in. Northwest corner. Target is Diana Cross. Approach with caution.”
But when security reached the tree line, she was gone. Disappeared into the shadows.
My phone buzzed. Message from an unknown number.
Nice try with the security. But I’m not that easy to catch. Want to talk? Come alone. The old oak. Five minutes. Or I disappear forever and you never get answers.
Lycian read it over my shoulder. “Don’t even think about it.”
“She’s right there. Right now. If I don’t go, we lose her.”
“It’s a trap. Obviously.”
“Of course it’s a trap. But it’s also our only shot.” I looked at him. “I have to go. You know I do.”
“Then I’m coming with you.”
“She said alone.”
“I don’t care what she said.” His voice was steel. Final. “You’re not going into those woods alone. Not for anything.”
Through the bond, I felt his absolute refusal. His terror at the thought of me walking into danger without him.
“Okay. Together. But we go now. Before she changes her mind.”
We moved quickly. Into the woods. Toward the old oak. A massive tree deep in pack territory.
Security followed at a distance. Hidden. Ready.
We reached the clearing. The oak stood in the center. Ancient. Huge.
And Diana waited beneath it.
She looked normal. Pretty even. Mid-forties. Professional clothes. Nothing about her screamed murderer.
“Hello, Elowen. You’ve grown up beautifully. Your mother would be proud.” Her voice was pleasant. Conversational. “And Lycian. The famous Alpha heir. How romantic. The human and the wolf. Like a fairy tale.”
“You killed my parents,” I said. Voice steady despite shaking hands. “Why?”
“Business. Nothing personal. Your father was going to expose my operation. Cost me millions. I couldn’t allow that.” She tilted her head. “I actually admire him. He had principles. Integrity. Rare qualities.”
“So you murdered him. And my mother.”
“Collateral damage. She wasn’t supposed to be in the car. But accidents happen.” No remorse. No guilt. Just facts.
Rage flooded through me. Hot and blinding. Lycian’s hand on my back steadied me.
“Reed confessed. Told us everything. You’re finished,” he said.
“Am I? Because from where I’m standing, I’m free. Untraceable. And you’re standing in a trap.” Diana smiled. “I didn’t come here to talk. I came here to finish what I started fifteen years ago.”
She whistled. Sharp. Piercing.
Wolves emerged from the trees. Ten. Fifteen. Twenty. All surrounding us.
Diana’s pack. Her operation. All here.
“Run,” Lycian said. Already shifting. “Now!”