Tangled in Moonlight: Unshifted (Ava and Lucas)

Chapter 178 Lucas: Hunt Him Down

LUCAS

Hundreds of wolves flood the forest in search of the elusive vampire, filling my blood with the lust of the hunt and pride in my pack.

Ava's at the lodge and safe. I'm on my way. Kellan's mental voice is a welcome interruption.

Ryder scented him near the border of the human dairy farm. Take a team and move south, in case he's fucking with his trail.

Got it, Alpha.

Now that I don't have to worry about her safety, I can focus on this bastard who has the balls to come to our lands during this sacred time.

My wolf snarls, a vicious rumble deep in our shared chest as we race through the shadowed forest.

Moonlight weaves between the trees, illuminating the underbrush in random patterns, brushing against my dark fur as I weave between ancient trunks.

All around me, howls rise into the night sky. It's an eerie symphony of bloodlust, feral and free, as we rush through the land in pursuit, ready to tear any vampire we catch from limb from limb.

The pack's rage pulses through me, mingling with my own, until I can't distinguish where mine ends and theirs begins.

the depth of my wrath, the seething maelstrom that demands vengeance and blood in price for the eighteen wolves

seeking past the earth and trees, far past the past the warm musk of my wolves racing alongside me. There. A trace of sweetness, cloying and cold, shot through with the metallic tang of old blood. Death given

Vampire.

the direction of that unholy scent. My paws devour the distance, powerful muscles flexing as I give myself over to the pure instinct of

northwest. Scent leads that

roughened by the intensity of my focus. I sense Kellan's acknowledgment, feel him gathering the wolves under his command to

around to flank from the

undead filth that dared to invade my territory,

head from his shoulders and mount it on a pike for all to see. A warning to

the perimeter! Sabine, one of my hunters,

Ryder cuts in, his mental presence sharp with confusion. But it's...

through my gut.

up the scent by the human farms. Kellan again, terse and grim. Miles from the original

the pack-link, wolves reporting contact with the same sickly sweet vampire stench in different locations.

growl building in my chest. This isn't right. It's too spread out, too perfectly placed at the

Fuck.

my throat. I should have seen it immediately. Multiple trails, each leading in opposite directions—it's a

in my stomach, a gnawing sense that we're missing something vital. Being played for fools

heaving as I cast out with all my senses. Straining for any sign of the vampire's actual location

the pack-link like a whip. We're being toyed with. Ryder, Kellan, take a group each and sweep