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.

maelstrom that demands vengeance and

my wolves racing alongside me. There. A trace of sweetness, cloying and cold, shot through with the metallic tang of old blood.

Vampire.

surges as I lunge in the direction of that unholy scent. My paws devour the distance, powerful

your team northwest. Scent leads that

sounds more beast than man, roughened by the intensity of my focus. I sense

your group around to flank from the east. Box the bastard

territory, dared to threaten and kill my people. And

we do, I'll tear his fucking head from his shoulders and mount it on a pike for all to see. A warning to any bloodsucker who even

near the perimeter! Sabine, one of my hunters, her excitement

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

gut. South

again, terse and grim. Miles from the original

sweet vampire stench in different locations. Scattered throughout our territory like a web

in my chest. This isn't right. It's too spread out, too perfectly placed at the edges of our land. Almost

Fuck.

snarl of frustration rips from my throat. I should have seen it immediately. Multiple trails, each leading in opposite directions—it's a ploy. The leech

missing something vital. Being played for fools by a cunning monster who knows exactly how to manipulate

of the vampire's actual location amid the chaos of false trails. But there's nothing. Only the maddening

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